Support Church Planting When you Shop this Christmas

If you have been wondering how you can play a part in supporting the work God is doing in our life, yet feel strapped in this crazy economy, now you can. A supporter of ours generously provided us with a website through “shop to earn.” Shop to Earn is an internet web portal that has connected with hundreds of retailers, many of whom we all use on a weekly basis, to pass savings on to consumers.

During this Christmas season, if you purchase your gifts online instead of the store, Shop to Earn will pass up to 20% of your purchases along to us. This money, in turn, goes on to fund the church planting process. We understand that not everyone can give financial so we are excited to be able to provide a way for you to support our ministry with the purchases that you make everyday. Please go to the link in the top right corner or go to shoptoearn.net/oldham, choose the retailer you would like to shop through and it will take you to their website and you can purchase the items like you normally would. If you have any questions on how this works or how you can contribute in this way please feel free to call or email us.

WHY PLANT?

Why would anyone want to plant a church in the city?

The city is full of hookers and robbers...

liars and addicts...

drug dealers and perverts...

Exactly.

It's beginning to look a lot like...

Tonight we are going to begin decorating for Christmas. Yeah yeah...I know. Its early. I was talking to a friend this past week about how much I love Christmas. Its not because of the presents. Its not even the decorations, music, food, or cultural traditions that we attach to the Holiday.

I love Christmas so much for a few reasons.

1. Life slows down. The nights are longer and the days are short and gray. Its either raining or snowing and cold all the time. Thus, people don't run around at such a fast pace. (except for inside the malls) I feel that when we slow down, we are able to see life around us, experience our relationships, and actually take time to look at our lives and ask questions.

2. People are exponentially nicer. Maybe its the feeling of the season. Maybe its because they think Santa sees them when they are sleeping (funny... if you rearrange the letters in Santa you get Satan...coincidence?...I think not). But people do the Thanksgiving thing and for at least once in the year are counting their blessings. Also, we all know we are going to be around family. Some of our families are awesome...some may be lunatics. Either way, we are prepared to be nice to them in the spirit of the season.

3. I'm a big "Jewishness of Jesus" guy. I believe that we can't fully understand the implications of the incarnation, life, death, and resurrection of Jesus unless we learn the Jewish background that comes along with the story. I always picture myself at the turn of history... living in a crazy political climate...yearning for a Messiah...praying for a Deliverer. Singing songs, reading Psalms, quoting Scripture that rings of the promise. And then, almost out of nowhere, since the prophetic utterances that became OT Scripture had ceased for 450 years, Jesus, the eternal God takes on flesh...Can we every truly understand what happened? The plan that has existed since before the world began was being fulfilled. The God of the universe was coming to man, becoming a man, to save man...His beloved creation. Oh the mystery of what we call Christmas!!!

I want to live my life pursuing that mystery but most of all pursuing the God that became man to save me from my sins, turn away the wrath that was due me, and bring me into intimate fellowship with Himself.

I pray that as you walk these next couple months out, you would be in awe of that God. That you would know, deep down in your being, that life is more than all of this... school...work...relationships with others...eating...planning...saving...investing...creating a life for ourselves. Our life is a gift of a gracious God who wants us to use it finding Him.

Let's find Him.

The Grand Weaver

I have begun to re-read the book The Grand Weaver by Ravi Zacharias. First of all if you haven't read this book I strongly encourage you to do so, I first read The Grand Weaver after Christmas last year. I had no idea what the book was about when I walked into the Christan book store and asked the sales associate for a recommendation. Without even thinking he told me I had to read this book because it has changed his view of God and life. Intrigued I obliged to get the book and try to complete it. I am not much of a reader but this book gripped my heart and spoke to me where I was at in that season of life. Fast forward, I decided that it was time to give this book another read through. I started reading the introduction and on page 11 Ravi says

"To allow God to be God we must follow him for who he is and what he intends, and not for what we want or what we prefer."

This hit me hard. I have been struggling with this lately. I know that God is sovereign and that he wants what is best for his children, but often I do not understand his plan. I have been struggling a lot lately with our in ability to have children. It is my hearts deepest desire and I know that the Lord knows that. But ultimately He is enough. It is in this season that he is allowing me to see the depths of who he is. To allow me to feel the depths of his love in a way that I would not otherwise have ever experienced. I know that he could in an instant allow us to have children... I have never ceased to believe that. However, it is in this season of waiting and longing that he allows me to see him as sovereign even when it means that I don't "get" what I want right now. It is in this valley the he is chipping away the things of me that are not of him... the things that when removed will make me a better wife, a better partner in ministry, a better friend, a better daughter and hopefully one day a better mother.

I am thankful for the wait. It is not everyday that I believe that but ultimately it is true.

So think about that quote and rest in the fact that to allow God to truly be God we must follow him for who HE is and what HE intends, and not what we want or would prefer.