Change - inevitable..good?

Last Thursday we talked about change. Change. Does that word make you cringe?? Shudder?? Spark excitement?? Intrigue you?? Change can create all kinds of emotions good or bad- sometimes so fast you feel like in a tornado of swirling thoughts and feelings. What we often forget is what a blessing the ability to change is. We chatted about what causes change, how change happens, what makes change possible, what does change bring and so much more. What I took from it- that change is possible even when we don't think there is anyway- with God there is always a way.




Read this song Chris August wrote-



Maybe it's a mind thing,

Maybe I'm a lost cause,

Either way I'm tired,

Gotta gather up a life lost.



I tell myself I'm okay,

To keep myself from crying,

How am I to make a change,

If I'm never trying?



[x2:]

If my world will never be the same,

Maybe one of these days I'll change.

Make a start in forever in the pain,

Maybe one of these days I'll change.



Swimmin in an ocean,

Trying just to find out,

Hatin what I'm knownin,

And knowin what I'm all about.

If I could change this,

If only this could change me,

Then I will be new man,

Back to when I believed.



[x2:]

If my world will never be the same,

Maybe one of these days I'll change.

Make a start in forever in the pain,

Maybe one of these days I'll change.



I walked away

But I'm crawling back,

Said I'm coming full circle.

It took some time,

So many years,

But I'm coming full circle.

I wanna be free,

But talk is cheap,

Said I'm coming full circle.

The blame is me

And now I see

That I ran,

I pushed away

But you stuck right by my side,

I'm changing.



[x3:]

If my world will never be the same,

Maybe one of these days I'll change.

Make a start in forever in the pain,

Maybe one of these days I'll change.



Turn this life around



If my world will never be the same,

Maybe one of these days I'll change.

Make a start in forever in the pain,

Maybe one of these days I'll change.







Now if you are a Chris August fan like me- you are thinking- wait I have never heard this- is this a new song??? Nope. This song was release in 2007. Before he was awarded the GMA Dove Awards for New Artist of the Year & Male Vocalist of the Year for 2011. Hmmm.... wait song was released in 2007- won NEW artist award in 2011. His hugely popular song "Starry Night" was released in 2010.... Timeline not adding up. Well here is why. Chris was in the music business for several years before he rededicated his music and life back to God. So what I noticed is Chris sang this song in 2007 about turning his life around and wanting to someday change. "I pushed away but you stuck right by my side." "If I could change this, if only this could change me, then I will be new man, back to when I believed." Okay quick timeline. So here is a guy who was a Christian- walked away, wanted to change- but clearly not easy, YET- rededicated his life to God and with God it was possible...HE CHANGED! He went from a average mainstream artist to NEW artist of the year and male vocalist of the year. See with God ALL things are possible.



Maybe that still seems impossible to you- trust me- IM WITH YOU! I don't hate change, I just doubt it. Maybe you are saying the same thing I would- "Ok but Chris August is famous- life is different- he's not just an average person like me." Well in a sense that is true- although he is about the most average musician you could find- actually at the last concert I saw him in at he was outside walking the line of ticket buyers- just chatting it up- even went in and got his guitar and played a few songs to entertain us. Stood right by me just like a normal guy. Anyway back to my point. Here is the amazing thing. God created each of us with the ability to change. Not just Chris. But you and me too. It's funny because as I sit here writing this I have been struggling all week with a change I feel God is directing me to. I have wrestled it around in my mind so much I feel like screaming about it- I honestly just want to yell at God- "Are you nuts???? There is no way that is possible!!!" My own words just smacked me in the face- dummy read what you are writing.



So maybe you are up against a big change in your life like I am, maybe yours is a change in relationship, behavior, addiction, job, housing, or anything- IT CAN HAPPEN! Here is my plan...and I can think of nothing better than to do it with a friend....



Romans 12



Place Your Life Before God



1-2 So here's what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don't become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You'll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you.



We will be meeting again Thursday June 28th at 6:45-8:00PM, at McAllister Recreation Center, just off 20th and Schuyler Ave, Lafayette. Love to see you there!





Megan

Coaching & Teams, More than more style!

So I'm not a sports smarty and honestly not really even a fan of well...any sport.  Yet I love the concept of a team led by a coach.  And here is what I noticed.  A good team is not created by the coach- but led by the coach.  A good team is not based on the number of wins, but by the attitude of the team.  A good team includes a wide variety of individuals with various skills.  A good coach not only teaches his team physically but emotionally.  A good team is not dependent upon their coach but supported by their coach.  A great team will not collapse in the absence of their leader.  Here is how I know.  Our More than More leader was unable to attend our last meeting due to an unexpected situation.  WOW was he missed, yet the group pulled together and made it happen.  Turns out we are a pretty good team with a darn great coach.  And in my opinion we shared a beautiful example of what More than More is to several newcomers.  A couple of times I heard some of the regulars encourage the newcomers that they would have to return for the full experience because it just was not the same without our leader.  Yet as different as it was from a normal (not sure I can use that word to describe us) Thursday at McAllister it was still us.  We shared the value of relationships that had been built through this group, shared the amazing wonder of how a bunch of strangers became a family, shared individual experiences, shared laughter- lots of laughter, shared some broken pieces of our lives, shared prayers and stories, shared our time just chatting and enjoying each other company.  Made me ask myself " What is More than More?"  And more importantly how do you fully yet simply describe something so amazing.  As I delayed writing this because I could not put it into words- something amazing happened.  Two people defined it for me.

 

First my pastor:  He told us to imagine a community of people know by these things-love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness.  People who love, know peace, generous- just give freely...it would be like heaven.  What if we were known by how quick we are to extend compassion.  It would be a lifestyle people would naturally gravitate to.  It's odd-it's different than this life.  It's produced by extraordinary God- not us.  He asked... "What would this look like?"

I just grinned- MORE THAN MORE!!!

 

Second- one of our own wrote this:  The reason we reach out and love one another the way we do, is we are trying to "simply embrace what the Spirit is doing in us."  When we do that, we won't treat people as remote and unimportant.  We will text, we will we call, we will cook, we will clean, we will baby-sit, we will dive into each other's lives, pain and all.  We don't want to be a Band-Aid to each other, we want to truly help each other heal, live in each other's pains and joys, just as Jesus did with his own disciples.

 

So what is More than More???  Well there is no exact definition.  To understand you really have to experience it.  Simply- to me- it is love.  Want to see for yourself??????  PLEASE join us Thursday 6-14-12 at 6:45 pm at McAllister Center- 2351 N 20th St.  Fantastic childcare provided for all ages!

Hope you can Join us Thursday Night!

Hey everyone!  We will be hanging out this Thursday night, 6/14, 6:45-8:00PM at McAllister Recreation Center, just off 20th and Schuyler ave, Lafayette.

It is always a great time to laugh and enjoy some time with some people who accept you for who you are and to begin to see some new ways of looking at life!!

hope to see you there!