Romans 15:13 (NIV)
“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”

In case you haven’t guessed from my blog already…I love reading.  Even more specifically, I love reading books that encourage people to run hard after Christ with an intentional plan of becoming all that He created us to be.  That being said, you need to pick up a copy of Flight Plan: your mission to become a man.  That title seems to be an odd choice for a 31 year old woman, especially one with a 2 year old daughter!  However, I was sent a free copy of this book by one of the authors, Braxton Brady.  Braxton and I grew up together in Memphis, TN and he is now serving as the chaplain of Presbyterian Day School.  Braxton co-wrote this book with their Headmaster Lee Burns.  PDS is a private Christian school for elementary age boys located in Memphis.  Burns and Brady are both advocates of intentionally investing in young men.

As an educator I can vouch for the fact that we need to put a copy of this book in the hands of our young men.  I think that this book would be particularly helpful for middle school boys as well as those who parents or teach boys.  I can definitely say that this book helped me gain a better understanding of the boys I come in contact with on a daily basis and gave me insight on why they make some of the decisions that they do.

As a parent, I enjoyed the opportunity to read this book thinking ahead to the young men that my daughter will one day be interested in…particularly the one God intends for her to marry.  My husband and I pray daily for our daughter’s future husband.  This book helped me have a clearer understanding about what young boys are experiencing and how to encourage and pray for them.

Burns and Brady covered many different topics in this book coming from their years of experience investing in young men.  The flight plan theme is carried throughout the book and uses several stories of adventure to make their points.  I know that will really attract the boys!  I also appreciate the way that Burns and Brady used to Bible to counter some popular myths that are so pervasive in our culture.  This book is full of truth and will be a great tool in helping young men understand who they are in Christ and what their calling is as they become men of God.

Thanks to the good folks in the Book Sneeze program over at Thomas Nelson, I had the privilege of receiving a free copy of The Butterfly Effect: How Your Life Matters by Andy Andrews to read and review on my blog.  I have read several of Andrews’ other books and have always walked away from them reminded that God has a particular purpose and plan for my life.  The Butterfly Effect left me with the same feeling.  This book is full of stories demonstrating the sovereignty of God that proves that every life and every situation has a reason.

In The Butterfly Effect, Andrews shared several historical anecdotes in an effort to help the reader understand how the smallest decisions can lead to the greatest consequences that can impact generations to come.  This book would be a great gift for anyone you know that might be feeling insignificant or hopeless.  In my role as a high school administrator, I can think of a few students off the top of my head that would be ideal recipients of a book like this.  I honestly believe that it has the potential to change the course of their lives if it is applied properly.

Do you believe that God has a plan for your life?  Do you desire to do great things on His behalf that will impact eternity?  Then, you need to pick up a copy of The Butterfly Effect and share it with others!

Amazon.com

ChristianBook.com

Barnes and Noble

Cedarcrest Church

Sermon Series: Behind the Curtain
Message: Control (Week 6)

Matthew 16:24-26
24 Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me.25 “For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.26 “For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?

As we grab for control, we are walking away from what God desires for us.

Control is driven by fear.

2 Timothy 1:7
For God has not given us a spirit of timidity, but of power and love and discipline.

Fear is not a fruit of the Spirit.

Fear is a lack of faith in God.

Romans 8:31, 38
31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who is against us?

38 For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers

Surrender is the antidote for control.

Letting Go of Control

1.  Surrender your Fear.

Common Fear
Fear of rejection
Fear of failure
Fear of others behavior (leads to rebellion/rejection)
Fear of the unknown

Isaiah 43:1-3
1 But now, thus says the Lord , your Creator, O Jacob, And He who formed you, O Israel,
“Do not fear, for I have redeemed you;
I have called you by name; you are Mine!

2 “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;
And through the rivers, they will not overflow you.
When you walk through the fire, you will not be scorched,
Nor will the flame burn you.

3 “For I am the Lord your God,
The Holy One of Israel, your Savior;
I have given Egypt as your ransom,
Cush and Seba in your place.

Do I trust God at His word?

2.  Surrender your Sin.

Control lives like grace is unneccesary.

When I use sin to try and fight sin; sin wins.

Control attacks the actions of sin, surrender attacks the root of sin.

Ezekiel 36:26
“Moreover, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.

Question: When I am tired, lonely, frustrated, or angry where do I run?

3.  Surrender your life daily.

Luke 9:23
And He was saying to them all, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me.

Cedarcrest Church

Sermon Series: Behind the Curtain
Message: Consistency (Week 5)

2 Peter 1:5-8
5 For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge,6 and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness,7 and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love.8 For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

You will never stumble into godliness.
Godliness requires effort and consistency.

Consistent faith is the beginning of a godly life.

v5 Diligence leads to moral excellence.

v5 Moral Excellence leads to the respect of others.
1 Peter 2:12
Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation.

If people are going to be critical of you, let them mock your excellent behavior.
Am I living a life that is worthy of respect?

Ephesians 1:18
having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints,

v5 Knowledge that God is unchanging.
Hebrews 13:8
Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.

Revelation 22:13
I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.”

Recognizing that God is unchanging, proves that He is in control.
Knowledge without changed behavior is useless.
2 Peter 2:20-21
20 For what credit is it if, when you sin and are beaten for it, you endure? But if when you do good and suffer for it you endure, this is a gracious thing in the sight of God.
21 For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps.

v6 Self-control comes from the belief that God is in control.

Parents: Children will mimic what is consistently modeled.
Deuteronomy 11:19
You shall teach them to your children, talking of them when you are sitting in your house, and when you are walking by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.

Proverbs 22:6
Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.

v6 Perseverance: consistency in any circumstance.
not swayed by the situation
Faith is not faith when it is easy and everything is going our way.

v7 Godliness: my life points to Christ

v7 Brotherly Kindness serves others
Mark 10:45
For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

v7 Love is the defining characteristic of a consistent faith
1 Corinthians 13:7-8
7 Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
8 Love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away.

A consistent godly life is impossible without Christ’s divine power
2 Peter 1:3-4
3 His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence,
4 by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire.

God will not compete with you for the place of power in your life.

A consistent godly life requires my effort
2 Peter 1:10
Therefore, brothers, be all the more diligent to make your calling and election sure, for if you practice these qualities you will never fall.

I don’t put in effort to earn God’s love. I put in effort because of God’s love.
This effort must be driven by grace.

Cedarcrest Church

Sermon Series: Behind the Curtain
Message: Gossip (Week 4)

Gossip-Talking about others to edify myself.
Gossip is always poisonous and divisive.
It always damages relationships.
Gossip goes against the Word of God.

Ephesians 4:29-30
29 Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.
30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.

What kind of words are coming out of your mouth?

If you can’t say something nice, don’t say anything at all.
Our words reveal what is in our heart.

A Person Who Gossips:
Should be avoided.
1 Corinthians 15:33
Do not be deceived: “Bad company ruins good morals.”

Cannot be trusted.
Proverbs 20:19
Whoever goes about slandering reveals secrets; therefore do not associate with a simple babbler.

If someone gossips to you about others, they will gossip to others about you.

Reveals their own insecurity.
Proverbs 18:8
The words of a whisperer are like delicious morsels; they go down into the inner parts of the body.

How to Handle Gossip:
Ask for forgiveness.
Matthew 5:22-23
23 So if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, 24 leave your gift there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.

Jesus is calling us to deal with this.

Guard your words.
James 1:19
Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger;
James 1:26
If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, this person’s religion is worthless.
Go to the source.
Matthew 18:15-17
15 “If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother. 16 But if he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, that every charge may be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses. 17 If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church. And if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector.

This is not a license to be the sin police.

Galatians 6:1
Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger;

The purpose of confrontation should always be restoration.

John 17:22-23
22 The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one,
23 I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me.

Am I an answer to this prayer of Jesus Christ?

This summer I had a chance to read 34 books that included a variety of topics ranging from spiritual growth to leadership to educational innovation and even a couple of fiction books just for fun.  I can honestly say that the book that has impacted me the most was Ordering Your Private World by Gordon MacDonald.  This book addresses your relationship with the Lord, with your family, and in other areas including work and play.

I know that I can very easily get things out of balance and neglect my relationship with the Lord or with my family.  Gordon MacDonald did a great job with this book helping the reader see why you must stay on top of this battle all the time or risk losing ground very quickly.

I believe that I will reread this book each summer in an effort to reevaluate where I stand on the “boulders” in my life.  I have posted some notes below that I highlighted as I read this book.  I would encourage you to pick up a copy for yourself and also one for someone you love.

• Now, there is a busyness that reflects a plan of activity, a pattern of priorities, and a sense of purposefulness. It is a good and satisfying busyness through which one grows and increases competence.
  But there is also a busyness (a destructive busyness, actually) that reflects a chaotic way of life-a way of doing in which one is simply responding to the next thing in the day. The next thing! It makes no difference whether or not it has significance; it’s just the next thing, and one does it because it’s there to do.
• The order of my private world is an inside-out matter, not an outside-in matter. We are all too tempted to buy gadgets (organizer programs for our computers, PalmPilots, cell phones, and BlackBerries, to name a few) with the hopes that they will bring tidiness of life. But it doesn’t work that way. Forget the gadgets and start with the interior, the private world.
• The order we seek begins with a thorough scouring of the inside of life. With tough questions that it may take others to help us answer. With a confronting of beliefs and principles that are toxic and destructive. With a listening to the voice of God who has better things for us.
• I believe that one of the great battlegrounds of our age is the private world of the individual. There is a contest that must be fought particularly by those who call themselves practicing or observant Christians. Among them are those who work hard, shouldering massive responsibilities at home, at work, and at church. They are good people, but they are very, very tired! And thus they too often live on the verge of a sinkhole-like collapse. Why? Because although their worthwhile actions are very unlike those of Wilde, like him they become too public-world-oriented, ignoring the private side until it is almost too late.
• Wayne Muller writes:The busier we are, the more important we seem to ourselves and, we imagine, to others. To be unavailable to our friends and family, to be unable to find time for the sunset (or even to know that the sun has set at all), to whiz through our obligations without time for a single mindful breath, this has become the model of a successful life.’
• Fred Mitchell, a leader in world missions, used to keep a motto on his desk that read, “Beware of the Barrenness of a Busy Life.” He too understood the potential collapse that follows when the inner world is ignored.
• One writer of Proverbs put the principle of the inner world in these words: “Watch over your heart with all diligence, for from it flow the springs of life” (Prov. 4:23).
• In the New Testament, Paul made the same sort of observation when he challenged Christians to “not be conformed to this [outer] world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind” (Rom. 12:2). He’s talking heart here. I’ve always preferred J. B. Phillip’s version of this verse: “Don’t let the world squeeze you into its mold.”
• There must be a quiet place where all is in order, a place from which comes the energy that overcomes turbulence and is not intimidated by it.
• How did we get to a day when stress and fatigue are almost a badge of success?
• We have work to do in our private worlds. For an inner life fraught with unresolved drives will not be able to hear clearly the voice of Christ when He calls. The noise and pain of stress will be too great.
• Unfortunately, our society abounds with Sauls, men and women caught in golden cages, driven to accumulate, to be recognized, or to achieve. Our churches, unfortunately, abound with these driven people as well. Many churches are fountains gone dry. Rather than being springs of life-giving energy that cause people to grow and to delight in God’s way, they become sources of stress. The driven man’s private world is disordered. His cage may be lavishly golden. But it’s a trap; inside there is nothing that lasts.
• As the twelve disciples discovered, an audience with Jesus over a period of time exposes all the roots and expressions of drivenness.
• To deal with drivenness, one must begin to ruthlessly appraise one’s own motives and values, just as Peter was forced to do in his periodic confrontations with Jesus. The person seeking relief from drivenness will find it wise to listen to mentors and critics who speak Christ’s words to us today.
• It is this quality-the quality of an inner-directed person-for which we seek when we compare driven persons and called persons. Driven people often project a bravado of confidence as they forge ahead with their achievement-oriented life plan. But often, at the moment when it is least expected, adversities and obstructions conspire, and there can be personal collapse. Called people, on the other hand, possess strength from within, a quality of perseverance and power that are impervious to the blows from without.
• Called People Understand Stewardship
• St. Paul offered a valuable precedent when he wrote to Timothy and recited his call from Judaism to Christian faith and apostleship: “I was the worst of sinners, he wrote; I was once a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent man … the grace of our Lord was poured out on me abundantly” (1 Tim. 1:13-14). A man with a memory like that, regularly freshened, is not likely to think of himself more highly than he ought.
• Called People Possess an Unwavering Sense of Purpose
• Called People Practice Unswerving Commitment
• Somewhere in my library is a book in which the story is told of an English headmaster who was appointed when he was forty-five years of age. His first act was to write himself a letter to be opened on his sixty-fifth birthday. In it he wrote (and I paraphrase), “Today you are sixty-five, and it is time to give the task of being headmaster over to a younger person. You will tell yourself that there is no one who can replace you; that the school cannot do without you. But don’t believe this self-aggrandizing propaganda.”
• What makes you tick? Why are you doing all of that? What do you hope to gain as a result? And what would be your reaction if it were all taken away?
• When I look into the Bible, I am deeply impressed with the practical lessons on organization that one can learn from the life and work of Jesus Christ. All four Gospel writers present to us a picture of Jesus under constant pressure, as He was pursued by friend and enemy alike. His every word was monitored, every action was analyzed, every gesture was commented upon. Essentially, Jesus had no private life to speak of.
• The first thing that impresses me is that Jesus clearly understood His mission. He had an overarching task to perform, and He measured His use of time against that sense of mission.
• A second insight into Jesus’ personal organization of time is that He understood His own limits.
• Jesus knew His limits well. Strange as it may seem, He knew what we conveniently forget: that time must be properly budgeted for the gathering of inner strength and resolve in order to compensate for one’s weaknesses when spiritual warfare begins. Such private moments were a fixed item on Jesus’ time budget because He knew His limits. And it was very hard even for those closest to Him to fully appreciate this.
• I think Jesus included a third important element in His strategy of time budgeting, for He set time aside for the training of the Twelve. With a world of millions to reach, Jesus budgeted the majority of His time to be with just a few simple men.
• Law #1: Unmanaged Time Flows Toward My Weaknesses
• Law #2: Unmanaged Time Comes Under the Influence of Dominant People in My World
• Law #3: Unmanaged Time Surrenders to the Demands of All Emergencies
• Charles Hummel writing years ago in a small and classic booklet said it best: We are governed by the tyranny of the urgent. Those of us with any sort of responsibility for leadership in vocation, in the home, or in our faith will find ourselves continually surrounded by events that cry out for immediate attention.
• Law #4: Unmanaged Time Gets Invested in Things That Gain Public Acclamation
• I Must Know My Rhythms of Maximum Effectiveness
• A careful study of my work habits has revealed to me an important insight. There are various tasks I accomplish best at certain times and under certain conditions.
• I Must Have Thoughtful Criteria for Choosing How to Use My Time
• I Manage Time and Command It Best When I Budget It Far in Advance
• People whose minds are not strengthened for endurance are by no means always unintelligent. They simply have never stopped to think that the use of the mind for the purpose of growth is a necessary part of a God-pleasing lifestyle. It is easy to fall into the trap of allowing the mind to grow flaccid, especially when there are many dominant people all around who would just as soon do our thinking for us.
• The mind must be trained to think, to analyze, to innovate. People fully organized in their private worlds work at being thinkers. Their minds are alert and alive, taking on fresh amounts of information every day, regularly producing new discoveries and conclusions. They commit themselves to the daily exercise of the mind.
• The person who does not know how to think will be relentlessly shaped and influenced by the dominant culture around him or her. But the transformed person (presumably transformed by the Spirit of Christ) will be busy thinking, reflecting, and making independent conclusions about the meaning of life and reality.
• Thinking is the amazing capacity God has given the human being to discover and observe the stuff of creation, to compare and contrast each of its parts, and when possible, to use them properly so as to reflect the glory of the Creator. Thinkers see old things in new ways; they analyze hypotheses, separating out the true from the false. Thinkers sometimes describe old truths in new words and forms; they help others to see how applications to life can be made. Thinkers make bold decisions, help us see new visions, and overcome obstacles in previously unseen ways.
• Proverbs 25:2 says, “It is the glory of God to conceal a matter, / But the glory of kings is to search out a matter.”
• The Mind Must Be Disciplined to Think Christianly
• The Mind Must Be Taught to Observe and Appreciate the Messages God Has Written in Creation
• The Mind Must Be Trained to Pursue Information, Ideas, and Insights for the Purpose of Serving the People of the Public World
• Our first step in spiritual discipline is finding solitude and silence; the second step is learning to listen to God. The third step, the pushing of the “enter” key, is done through reflection and meditation.
• Worship and intercession are far more the business of aligning myself with God’s purposes than asking Him to align with mine.
• Henri Nouwen said it best when he once wrote:Prayer is a radical conversion of all our mental processes because in prayer we move away from ourselves, our worries, preoccupation, and self-gratification-and direct all that we recognize as ours to God in the simple trust that through his love all will be made new.’

]]> http://meganstrange.com/?feed=rss2&p=2245 http://meganstrange.com/?p=2242 http://meganstrange.com/?p=2242#comments Mon, 23 Aug 2010 00:24:53 +0000 meganstrange http://meganstrange.com/?p=2242

NCCS FALL RETREAT UPDATES
Fall Retreat updates can be found on our NCCS Student Life blog here.  Fall Retreat pictures will be available on our NCCS Student Life Google picture album here.  Please keep in mind that internet access will be limited as our goal is to spend time building relationships with our students and staff.  We look forward to keeping you updated at least once a day.  Thank you for praying for us this week!

“Follow me, as I follow the example of Christ.” 1 Corinthians 11:1

Around North Cobb Christian School, next week is lovingly referred to by our staff, students, and families as Retreat Week.  This will be our 5th year in a row of taking all of our middle and upper school students on a retreat.  We will leave here early on Monday morning with all of our 9-12th graders headed up to The Woodlands until Wednesday.  On Wednesday, the 9-11th graders will head back to NCCS late in the afternoon.  On Wednesday morning, the 6-8th graders will head to camp.  The 6th graders are going to Camp Glisson and the 7-8th graders are headed up to The Woodlands.  The seniors will stay for the 2nd half of the week to serve as leaders on both of the middle school retreats.  The 6-8th graders and seniors will return on Friday.

I love this model of retreat because it allows all of our students and faculty/staff to get away for a few days and focus on discipleship and worship.  The purpose of our retreats always goes right along with our theme verse.  This year’s theme verse is from 1 Corinthians 11:1, “Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ.”  We have shortened that a little to challenge our crew to think about what it means when we say “Follow Me”.

Next week will be hectic.  It will be awesomely chaotic and full of opportunities to be flexible and compassionate.  We probably won’t get a ton of sleep and I feel quite certain that there will be a meal here and there that isn’t a favorite, or an activity that requires us to step out of our comfort zones.  However, we have been praying, preparing, and planning for this for several months and we truly believe that God has incredible things in store for all of us.  We are begging God to reveal Himself to us in new and exciting ways and preparing our hearts to worship Him and glorify Him for that.

Would you be willing to commit to pray for 30 minutes a day for us next week while we are gone?  Maybe you could use your commute next week to pray for the NCCS Fall Retreats.  How about that time while you are grocery shopping or out for a walk in your neighborhood?  Perhaps you could pray for us while you are cooking dinner or in place of Facebooking.  Whatever fits your rhythm of life the best would be a tremendous gift offering on your part to stand in the gap for what we believe is going to be an incredible week in the history of NCCS and more importantly, in His story for each of us.

We will be posting pictures and blog updates as we can so that you can follow along from home.  Thank you again for your willingness to intercede for us as we run hard after Christ!

Emma is talking all the time and it is nice to be able to have short meaningful conversations with her. I thought we really had a spiritual breakthrough the other night.  I was pretty excited about that since she isn’t two years old.  I figured she might be the most Christlike toddler or something.  Emma loves to bring books to Clint and I and she will hand it to you and say “book”.  This time she brought me her children’s Bible and said “Bible”.  I was pretty fired up that she already knew the difference and was ready to send her into strict training for the next round of Awana Olympics.  While I was putting together my plan for her scripture memorization and theological preschool education, she walked up to me with “Elmo rides the Bus” and proclaimed…”Bible”.  I think we still have a little work to do on this!

In the past month our family bought a boat.  It is a pontoon boat that is great for our curious little passenger.  Emma seems to love being out on the boat, swimming in the lake, and entertaining all the friends and family that have joined us out on the lake so far.

We also joined a new church this month, Cedarcrest Church in Acworth.  Emma really loves her new teachers and the kids in her class.  There are a lot of NCCS families at Cedarcrest and it is cool to know that some of Emma’s church buddies will also be her school buddies.

This summer has been a blast for our family.  We are enjoying watching Emma try a lot of new things.  She is quick to pick things up and also quick to celebrate when something works like she wants.  It is such a blessing to see our little girl so happy and healthy.  We are very grateful that God has blessed us with our sweet Emma!

Here are some pictures of the last month…