I am very slowly getting over a cold that has stolen my sense of smell for almost the last week. I didn't really miss smells because the most prevalent smell in our home is a repercussion of the weird food our dog has to eat.
Unfortunately, my sense of smell is returning and I too now groan when the dog lets one rip.
Or when someone starts the stove. Or when Dad gargles and then gives me a hug. Or when my sister uses too much perfume.
Suddenly every smell is suffocating. Anything with a scent makes me gag.
Isn't that life with the Holy Spirit? Sometimes you don't realize what you're missing until you have it. And then once the Holy Spirit begins to change your life, everything you once did makes you gag.
Of course, eventually smells will go back to being a normal part of my day (I can't wait!) and not overwhelming.
As we continue our faith journey, we grow more content with whatever our "normal" has become. Those things that once repulsed us are accepted now. We blaze through things that once made us pause and reflect.
Stop! Pay attention to what you're doing!
Breathe in the beautiful scent of life and exhale the rancid stench of sin.
<>< Katie
Showing posts with label Holy Spirit. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Holy Spirit. Show all posts
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Monday, April 18, 2011
A Lot Can Change
"A lot can change in four weeks." Using that often-forgotten fact, I was encouraged about post-graduation life.
Of all weeks to be reminded of that small fact, Holy Week. The time of the year when we remember Christ's warm welcome, final meal, prayerful agony, betrayal, sacrifice, lonely death, and wonderful resurrection.
A lot can change in a week.
On the day now commemorated as Palm Sunday, Christ was warmly welcomed as He entered Jerusalem.
The next day the great crowd that had come for the festival heard that Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem. They took palm branches and went out to meet him, shouting,
“Hosanna!"
“Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!”
“Blessed is the king of Israel!”
Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it, as it is written:
“Do not be afraid, Daughter Zion; see, your king is coming, seated on a donkey’s colt.”
At first his disciples did not understand all this. Only after Jesus was glorified did they realize that these things had been written about him and that these things had been done to him.
Now the crowd that was with him when he called Lazarus from the tomb and raised him from the dead continued to spread the word. Many people, because they had heard that he had performed this sign, went out to meet him. So the Pharisees said to one another, “See, this is getting us nowhere. Look how the whole world has gone after him!”
John 12:12-19
Of course, the next week the same crowd shouted for the death of the same Christ.
As soon as the chief priests and their officials saw [Jesus], they shouted, “Crucify! Crucify!”
John 19:6
A lot can change in a week. A lot can change in four weeks. The challenges that seem overwhelming this week may seem petty next week. Things you rejoice in this week could be devestating next week. And neither is too big for our God to handle.
Take peace in that this week as you remember when God defeated the biggest problem (sin) in the most humiliating, agonizing way (a criminal's death).
<>< Katie
Of all weeks to be reminded of that small fact, Holy Week. The time of the year when we remember Christ's warm welcome, final meal, prayerful agony, betrayal, sacrifice, lonely death, and wonderful resurrection.
A lot can change in a week.
On the day now commemorated as Palm Sunday, Christ was warmly welcomed as He entered Jerusalem.
The next day the great crowd that had come for the festival heard that Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem. They took palm branches and went out to meet him, shouting,
“Hosanna!"
“Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!”
“Blessed is the king of Israel!”
Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it, as it is written:
“Do not be afraid, Daughter Zion; see, your king is coming, seated on a donkey’s colt.”
At first his disciples did not understand all this. Only after Jesus was glorified did they realize that these things had been written about him and that these things had been done to him.
Now the crowd that was with him when he called Lazarus from the tomb and raised him from the dead continued to spread the word. Many people, because they had heard that he had performed this sign, went out to meet him. So the Pharisees said to one another, “See, this is getting us nowhere. Look how the whole world has gone after him!”
John 12:12-19
Of course, the next week the same crowd shouted for the death of the same Christ.
As soon as the chief priests and their officials saw [Jesus], they shouted, “Crucify! Crucify!”
John 19:6
A lot can change in a week. A lot can change in four weeks. The challenges that seem overwhelming this week may seem petty next week. Things you rejoice in this week could be devestating next week. And neither is too big for our God to handle.
Take peace in that this week as you remember when God defeated the biggest problem (sin) in the most humiliating, agonizing way (a criminal's death).
<>< Katie
Friday, April 1, 2011
God: Interpreter, Provider
I didn't realize how much time Neal and I spent together in Nicaragua until I got home and started telling these stories. I think this is the last one (for now).
On Thursday morning we drove to another middle-of-nowhere church where we were going to do a service at 10am. The Nicaraguan pastors suggested we walk around town and invite people, especially children, to the service. So we did exactly that.
We strategically split into two groups with our best Spanish-speaking students split up and our bilingual Nicaraguan pastors split up. Manolo, the bilingual Nicaragua pastor in our group, told me he wasn't going to translate our invitations. That was all my job. Huh what? Not fair!
I would have much preferred to hide in the back and not do any of the talking. Manolo was going to make sure that didn't happen.
So towards the first house we walked. Our team stayed in a crowd in the street, and Neal and I approached the front door.
"Buenas," he said. "We're going to have a church service over there at ten o'clock if you'd be interested in joining us. Especially children, we're going to have activities and games for them."
Yeah, I don't know those words. But I translated the best I could. Then Neal and I walked on to the next house, and Manolo talked to the people, probably clarifying what I said.
Neal tried to get the other people in our group to introduce the neighbors, but only a few did and still I did all of the translating. Honestly, I didn't really think it fair that they got to hang out and talk while I did all of the work.
That's because it was awkward and very uncomfortable to walk up to a house and talk to strangers about church... in Spanish never the less! Neal and I confessed to each other that it was out of our comfort zones. But with every house, we admitted, it got easier. Neal became comfortable with his spiel and thus I began to anticipate what he was going to say. Of course, he threw me a curve ball now and again but the more houses we talked to, the less clarification Manolo gave afterwards.
Of course, by now it was 10:05 and we were still inviting people to the service at 10:00... Nicaraguan time.
As we walked back to the church to prepare for the service, we talked about how the Holy Spirit interprets for us. It communicates what we cannot. That brought me so much peace. Even with my befuddled Spanish, the Holy Spirit allowed to be heard what needed to be heard.
When we got back to the church, we were able to see the fruits of our labor. Not at first, mind you, but slowly the church filled up. Eventually, they dismissed the kids to go out back.
One... two... three... four... I stopped counting at 50. Our final estimate was about 80. All squished into an area the size of a dorm room.
And again we had no plan.
We did a skit to stall for time. Then Sara told the story of Jonah (and Annalisa, our best Spanish-speaker, interpreted). Then we handed out Jonah coloring pages... until we ran out.
Then we handed out home safety coloring pages... until we ran out.
Then we handed out blank pieces of paper... until we ran out. That time we ran out of kids asking for paper.
I manned the paper and crayons while our other team members scattered themselves among the masses.
Some of our girls set up in the corner of the backyard area and made Salvation Bracelets.
We kept worrying about running out of beads, so we signaled for those incharge of the service to wrap it up. They saw, "Keep going."
Five loaves, two fish, and a half-a-bag of beads we did not run out. God is such a provider! It's was awesome!
It was great to be on the bus leaving and see the children wave, each boasting a Salvation Bracelet on the wrist that matches mine.
I came home with some very important lessons learned:
1. Sometimes God asks us to do things that are uncomfortable. But the more you do them, the more comfortable they become.
2. The Holy Spirit interprets and speaks when we cannot. What needs to be said is said through no doing of our own.
3. The Lord provides. It's as simple as that.
Thankful for Grace,
<>< Katie
On Thursday morning we drove to another middle-of-nowhere church where we were going to do a service at 10am. The Nicaraguan pastors suggested we walk around town and invite people, especially children, to the service. So we did exactly that.
We strategically split into two groups with our best Spanish-speaking students split up and our bilingual Nicaraguan pastors split up. Manolo, the bilingual Nicaragua pastor in our group, told me he wasn't going to translate our invitations. That was all my job. Huh what? Not fair!
I would have much preferred to hide in the back and not do any of the talking. Manolo was going to make sure that didn't happen.
So towards the first house we walked. Our team stayed in a crowd in the street, and Neal and I approached the front door.
"Buenas," he said. "We're going to have a church service over there at ten o'clock if you'd be interested in joining us. Especially children, we're going to have activities and games for them."
Yeah, I don't know those words. But I translated the best I could. Then Neal and I walked on to the next house, and Manolo talked to the people, probably clarifying what I said.
Neal tried to get the other people in our group to introduce the neighbors, but only a few did and still I did all of the translating. Honestly, I didn't really think it fair that they got to hang out and talk while I did all of the work.
That's because it was awkward and very uncomfortable to walk up to a house and talk to strangers about church... in Spanish never the less! Neal and I confessed to each other that it was out of our comfort zones. But with every house, we admitted, it got easier. Neal became comfortable with his spiel and thus I began to anticipate what he was going to say. Of course, he threw me a curve ball now and again but the more houses we talked to, the less clarification Manolo gave afterwards.
Of course, by now it was 10:05 and we were still inviting people to the service at 10:00... Nicaraguan time.
As we walked back to the church to prepare for the service, we talked about how the Holy Spirit interprets for us. It communicates what we cannot. That brought me so much peace. Even with my befuddled Spanish, the Holy Spirit allowed to be heard what needed to be heard.
When we got back to the church, we were able to see the fruits of our labor. Not at first, mind you, but slowly the church filled up. Eventually, they dismissed the kids to go out back.
One... two... three... four... I stopped counting at 50. Our final estimate was about 80. All squished into an area the size of a dorm room.
And again we had no plan.
We did a skit to stall for time. Then Sara told the story of Jonah (and Annalisa, our best Spanish-speaker, interpreted). Then we handed out Jonah coloring pages... until we ran out.
Then we handed out home safety coloring pages... until we ran out.
Then we handed out blank pieces of paper... until we ran out. That time we ran out of kids asking for paper.
I manned the paper and crayons while our other team members scattered themselves among the masses.
Some of our girls set up in the corner of the backyard area and made Salvation Bracelets.
We kept worrying about running out of beads, so we signaled for those incharge of the service to wrap it up. They saw, "Keep going."
Five loaves, two fish, and a half-a-bag of beads we did not run out. God is such a provider! It's was awesome!
It was great to be on the bus leaving and see the children wave, each boasting a Salvation Bracelet on the wrist that matches mine.
I came home with some very important lessons learned:
1. Sometimes God asks us to do things that are uncomfortable. But the more you do them, the more comfortable they become.
2. The Holy Spirit interprets and speaks when we cannot. What needs to be said is said through no doing of our own.
3. The Lord provides. It's as simple as that.
Thankful for Grace,
<>< Katie
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Being Used
"I'm tired," I said, resting my head on Neal's shoulder. It was lunchtime on our third day in Nicaragua and we'd already done three church services, visited three schools, and been performed for twice.
He put his arm around me in a side hug. There we stood in silence for a few minutes. I never said this but I was more than tired; I was discouraged.
The previous night we had done a worship service at a youth-filled home church in the city. It was in the upper room of this little house where our team of 26 took up most of the incredibly uncomfortable seats. The youth from this church sat scattered among us, crouched on the floor in the back, or stood squished in the corner.
They started out the worship service with some songs, prayer, a dance, and a short message. Then we did some of the same things: three songs, a skit (the only service we didn't do The Heart Skit), a prayer, a sign performance, a testimony, and a sermon. By the end of the service, most of our team was in tears, in awe of how alive the Spirit of the Lord was in that church.
This is an excerpt from my journal that night:
My head still resting on his chest, Neal rubbed my arm with his hand.
"God's using you, you know," he said.
As silly as this sounds, I was surprised to hear that. I knew that God would use me but I did not know He is using me. Present tense. Not some abstract future occurrence but right now.
Neal continued, "A lot of people said when you signed 'My Savior, My God' last night was when the Holy Spirit started to work on them."
What?
I had no idea. I figured God had started speaking when they danced, when we sang in two languages, when the father and son did a duet, when we prayed... sometime long before I took the stage.
Apparently not. The Holy Spirit used me and I had no idea. While I still would have liked to enjoy the overwhelming experience like the rest of my teammates, I was stunned and amazed to learn that I had been used and I had no idea.
I think I thanked Neal for telling me exactly what I needed to hear.
The version of "My Savior, My God" I signed was written to be a trio. I signed it by myself. A Trio, a Holy Trio, perfromed it.
Sometimes the Holy Spirit uses you and you know it. You feel it. But sometimes the Holy Spirit uses you and you have no idea. You don't feel it.
Are you ok with both?
I am.
<>< Katie
He put his arm around me in a side hug. There we stood in silence for a few minutes. I never said this but I was more than tired; I was discouraged.
The previous night we had done a worship service at a youth-filled home church in the city. It was in the upper room of this little house where our team of 26 took up most of the incredibly uncomfortable seats. The youth from this church sat scattered among us, crouched on the floor in the back, or stood squished in the corner.
They started out the worship service with some songs, prayer, a dance, and a short message. Then we did some of the same things: three songs, a skit (the only service we didn't do The Heart Skit), a prayer, a sign performance, a testimony, and a sermon. By the end of the service, most of our team was in tears, in awe of how alive the Spirit of the Lord was in that church.
This is an excerpt from my journal that night:
God, I'm a little jealous that everyone else had such wonderful experiences tonight. I know You are alive and here in Nicaragua but I didn't feel it the way everyone else did. I know that You speak to everyone in different ways but it seemed like You spoke to everyone in the same way tonight... except me.My eyes were dry. I felt nothing. I was annoyed with God for not allowing me to feel the same thing as everyone else. I was jealous, and I hadn't told anyone but God.
My head still resting on his chest, Neal rubbed my arm with his hand.
"God's using you, you know," he said.
As silly as this sounds, I was surprised to hear that. I knew that God would use me but I did not know He is using me. Present tense. Not some abstract future occurrence but right now.
Neal continued, "A lot of people said when you signed 'My Savior, My God' last night was when the Holy Spirit started to work on them."
What?
I had no idea. I figured God had started speaking when they danced, when we sang in two languages, when the father and son did a duet, when we prayed... sometime long before I took the stage.
Apparently not. The Holy Spirit used me and I had no idea. While I still would have liked to enjoy the overwhelming experience like the rest of my teammates, I was stunned and amazed to learn that I had been used and I had no idea.
I think I thanked Neal for telling me exactly what I needed to hear.
The version of "My Savior, My God" I signed was written to be a trio. I signed it by myself. A Trio, a Holy Trio, perfromed it.
Sometimes the Holy Spirit uses you and you know it. You feel it. But sometimes the Holy Spirit uses you and you have no idea. You don't feel it.
Are you ok with both?
I am.
<>< Katie
Sunday, January 9, 2011
Rediscovering a Favorite
Romans used to be my favorite book of the Bible. Then I tried to teach it. All. In one semester.
Ever since then, I've kind of been scared of it. Like my small group girls were going to leap out of the pages and call me a failure.
I've read Romans because I had to, but all in all I've tried to steer clear of it.
The other night, a verse popped into my head,
No, I was reading the Message. And I was loving it! Words, phrases, and ideas I'd grazed over a million times were hitting me in a new way. It was so powerful!
I read the chapter all the way through and immediately returned to verse one to read it again. Words bounced off the page and into my heart.
And I liked it. A lot.
TSD- Try Something Different
Excuse me, I have more passages to rediscover.
<>< Katie
Ever since then, I've kind of been scared of it. Like my small group girls were going to leap out of the pages and call me a failure.
I've read Romans because I had to, but all in all I've tried to steer clear of it.
The other night, a verse popped into my head,
"Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will." - Romans 12:2 NIVI wanted to investigate something, so I reached for my Bible and flipped to Romans 12. I started reading and nothing looked familiar. Maybe I had the reference wrong?
No, I was reading the Message. And I was loving it! Words, phrases, and ideas I'd grazed over a million times were hitting me in a new way. It was so powerful!
I read the chapter all the way through and immediately returned to verse one to read it again. Words bounced off the page and into my heart.
"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." - Romans 12:1-2 MSGI know it didn't have anything to do with Eugene Peterson or the MSG, but it had everything to do with the Holy Spirit. He used something different to get my attention.
And I liked it. A lot.
TSD- Try Something Different
Excuse me, I have more passages to rediscover.
<>< Katie
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