Being Missional

This was the first weekend I haven't traveled away from home (being Chi-town) in over a month.
And it was the first weekend back at Jericho Road in over 3 months...

And it felt

GREAT!

While I've been gone they've been talking about Missoinal Communities.
So today Jeff talked through Luke 9:1-3

Missionares...

1) Go with the power of Jesus Christ

2) We are sent by God RIGHT AWAY

3) It is both actions and words

4) Rely on God to provide

5) You represent Jesus

All important things to remember as I try to live for God in ALL aspects of my life.

Then we talked through how/why/difficulties of living this Mission Life (to use an LT term that I talked about with students week in and week out this summer.)

We got a nifty handout with 10 Simple Ways To Be Missional by Tim Chester

1) Eat with other people

2) Work in public places

3) Be a regular

4) Join in with what's going on

5) Leave the house in the evenings

6) Serve your neighbors

7) Share your passion

8) Hang out with your work colleagues

9) Walk

10) Prayer Walk

So what's the first step you ask?
Just that... a step. Something specific and attainable.
Here's how I'm going to try and be missional

1) Continue Crock Pot Wednesday's this year at LT (accomplishes #1,7 & 8)
2) Walk after work 3 nights a week (#5,9,10)
3) Go to La Spiaza - the coffee shop my Community Group chose to be our "hub" or hangout (#1,2,3,4,5,7)
4) Step out of my comfort zone - approach a stranger who I feel led to talk to.
         I did this last Saturday at La Spiaza. There was a musician who was setting up for his set. There weren't a ton of people in the coffee shop and he seemed a little nervous. So I just asked if he needed help moving tables. His name is Matt and he writes his own worship songs, works with a church down near the Loop and lives a little further north. 

So what are you going to do this week to show God's love?

Because you might be the only person who shows it to someone.

Ignore it or Return It

To jump back from my terrible blog update months - Here's a story of how God spoke to me from one of the most mundane un-biblical things in my life right now...

BUYING A COMPUTER.

The first big purchase I ever made with my own money was a laptop the summer before I left for college.

That was over 5 years ago. And I've still got that same laptop. So, she's kind of dinosaur like when it comes to the current shiny and fast models others have now a days.

Which means that it's finally time to look at some new options. 

After several weeks of research and conversations with computer people savvier than myself -  I finally decided on a Samsung Series 5 Notebook. Happily ordered it from Amazon and waited patiently for it to be mailed to the office.

On Wednesday the large box arrived at the office and I excitedly opened it up and slowly starting transforming it from a stock computer to MY computer.

A mere 8 hours later my "new computer" joy popped.

The mouse buttons had stopped working. 

Kind of a vital piece for a working laptop, CORRECT?

I'll spare you the gritty details about online chat help, long phone calls one too many people with difficult to understand accents and not enough answers and terrible wait music, but I discovered over the course of Thursday, that this was a recurring problem with the laptop and although "fixable", still a problem. By Thursday evening I had got the mouse working again and played around on the computer all day enjoying all its other features
fast processing speed, Windows 7, great speakers, keypad that is comfortable to type on

but with the threat of the mouse possibly not working again, I felt un-easy about my computer purchase.

So I prepared my shiny new friend to return to Amazon with the promise of a refund. 

Last night as I wiped any memory of my stuff off the laptop in preparation for its return journey I thought...
"I was so excited!
And everything else worked really well...
And it's working now...
Is this really worth giving up and going through this mess?"

YES!!!
my mind screamed.
It's the mouse... it is a big deal!
Get it out of here!

And then God poked me -
"sort of like that one sin you've been dealing with.
Everything else looks great, and it can seem like not a big deal.
But to me, sin is sin.
And I call you to love me wholeheartedly.
And I want you to be holy because I am holy.
So get it gone!
Return it now... don't keep it a second longer!"

And He can do that you know. He's the Creator and Savior of the ENTIRE world. He can get rid of my sin just as quickly as I got rid of that laptop.

The only difference. It cost me $12.85 to ship the laptop back (I stupidly threw away the box)
Christ asks me for my whole life.
It sounds like a bigger sacrifice.
But I'm actually finding it to be true freedom.

I promise I'll be updating more regularly this fall.
Things to look forward to:
Summer Rewind: I'll post my weekly updates that got sent to supporters and probably a couple great pictures and stories from my summer service in Dayton, OH.
What My Summer With LeaderTreks Taught Me: A mini series with guest writers Adam & Alissa (the two best interns a gal could ask for) and myself sharing a little bit of what God taught us from our summer in Dayton together
Grateful Journal: This year God has taught me a lot about living a grateful attitude, and I'll begin to share some of the things I've been thankful for throughout the month
Sunday Reflections: Short posts about what God is sharing with me and changing me through the amazing community at Jericho Road Church

So check back soon!

Hello My Name is John:

Despite the somewhat late night on Friday I could feel God pulling me to awake and start my Saturday strong with Him

So I set my alarm for 6:50
And made my way to the beautiful sancutary of my church home.

It was there, on the green carpeted floor to the right of the alter in the streaming light of the stained glass window that God spoke clearer to me than I'd heard him all summer.

"My Beloved Heather,

You not only are studying the life of John the Baptist, I'm calling you to live the life of John the Baptist."

Just as John dressed in camel's hair

(unusual dress for the day)

I'm living out of suit case with 98% sports wear

Just as John ate locusts and honey 

(must have gotten pretty tiring after week 4)

So I eat the same meals weekly

Just as John lived in the wilderness with no bed or "home"

(must have stunk getting sand in his underwear every day)

So I sleep in the church basement

Just as John spoke hard truth into people's lives

(nobody likes being told that their lives need to change)

So I call middle and senior high students to see the areas in their lives
where Jesus is not King yet.

Just as John had doubts

(Jesus sure didn't look like the knight in shining armor that an Israelite was looking for)

So I wonder some days when exhaustion is high if this is actually the path I should be on

And just as John stuck to it till death

I have decided
To say NO to everything self

and continue to say YES

To proclaiming the coming of the Lord
As a voice calling in the Desert
Prepare the Way for the Lord.

So Hello,
My name is John
And I'm living a life with a message
That is worth dying for