Prayer of Jabez 30 Day Challenge
Day 8
Prayer of Jabez
And Jabez was more honorable than his brothers: and his mother called his name Jabez, saying, Because I bare him with much sorrow. And Jabez called on the God of Israel, saying, Oh that thou wouldest bless me indeed, and enlarge my coast, and that thine hand might be with me, and that thou wouldest keep me from evil, that it may not grieve me! And God granted him that which he requested. (1 Chronicles 4:9-10)
7 weeks ago, our Woodland Hills church campus began a spiritual boot camp. One of the things as a church we were encouraged to do was pray about how we could be more intentional for Christ and for God's kingdom.
Each week, we were encouraged to make sacrifices. The first week, we were all challenged to give up eating out. The second week, we were challenged to give up drinking sodas, coffee, etc. while dining out. During week 5, we were challenged to pray for a revelation of our own sacrifice.
Marcus and I prayed and prayed...and weren't sure what we were supposed to do. Finally, one day Marcus brought up the idea of using one of our businesses to be a blessing to others. We are independent distributors for Herbalife. We both have a passion for health and wellness, not only for ourselves, but for all people.
After we talked about what that would look like, we got on our knees and began praying about it even more. For me, at times, it seemed like we were praying to no avail. I still had no clue how the idea would look once put into action.
One of the outreach programs at Shepherd of the Hills Woodland Hills is a Christmas Eve dinner and service. It is the biggest event that our campus puts on each year. Dinner is at 5:30pm, followed by a service. All people are invited. The church members are encouraged to invite friends, family and strangers. We are also encouraged to invite homeless individuals.
A few weeks ago, we were asked to bring items to contribute to homeless packs. In addition to feeding homeless individuals physically and spiritually, the church desires to send them away with useful items (ie. combs, brushes, toothbrushes, toothpaste....)
At this point, we still hadn't figured out how to use our business to be more of a blessing to individuals. I was beginning to get antsy. But continued trusting God would, faithfully, answer in His perfect timing. After church that day, while discussing our possible contribution to the packs, Marcus suggested we use the money we make from Herbalife to purchase the products.
I said something to him like, "That's a great idea. I'd like it even more if we were consistently making money from Herbalife right now."
We continued praying. He then suggested we ask our friends and family to purchase products for themselves, and let them know that the monies would go toward purchasing items for the homeless packs. After that conversation, we didn't go any further with it. A negative voice in my head reminded me of how sceptical some of the people we know can be. I further thought, several people have purchased the products and don't use them. As I stated earlier, I am very passionate about health and wellness. I love being healthy, and want for all people to take the initiative to lead more healthy lifestyles. I"ll admit, I enjoy making money. But the last thing I want to do is sell products to people that won't use them. I'd rather not make money from people if the products, only, sit on their shelf.
With that, we continued in prayer, not sure if we were supposed to do anything...no actions taking place. Finally, last Friday, Marcus saw a Facebook post from a mutual friend. She and her Husband bought a couple of burgers for a homeless guy. As they were walking away from him, they noticed a homeless woman approaching that wasn't with him. She said there's got to be something more we can do for the homeless population, and talked about an article that suggested providing homeless individuals with healthy nutrition shakes.
Marcus shared this information with me sometime Friday night; but it kind of floated into the back of my mind. Yesterday, he brought it up again, and even showed it to me. He then shared the idea with his Mom, who said we've been thinking about what to do and our minds and hearts began going in that direction. The post from our friend was God's way of telling us we need to go ahead and do it.
My Mother in law further said that sometimes God will give us our answer. Rather than reacting to His response, we spend time pondering His answer and whether or not we heard Him correctly.
Last night, we made the decision to go ahead and put it into action. We prayed about it. This morning when I woke up, I had a nervous feeling. Part of me didn't want to do it. That negative voice in my head told me that it was a dumb idea and no one would ever go for it. I was then reminded that "The things which are impossible with men are possible with God." Luke 18:27. God can do anything, if He wants to. I just have to put my trust in Him.
I prayed about it once more: that God would bless our idea and give me the courage to put action behind our plans. I finally got on Facebook and updated my status with the information. I put the information in a note. I created an event inviting everyone on my friend list to participate in it. Finally, I sent an email out to friends and family members that are not on Facebook. Talk about getting completely out of my comfort zone.
Upon checking out the response thus far, there were 5 "No", 1 "Maybe" and 2 "Yes". Both yes responses were from me and Marcus. I began to get discouraged. "Oh my gosh! How embarrassing! I put myself out there, and I get rejected..." Proverbs 18:21 states that "Death and life are in the power of the tongue..."
Additionally, God made this promise to each of His children, "Ask and it shall be given you....for everyone that asketh receiveth..." Matthew 7:7-8, so I changed my attitude. I reminded myself to trust God.
The Prayer of Jabez not only asks for God's "blessing indeed". It also asks for God to "enlarge my territories". Expanding your territory is not always comfortable. Enlarging of territory requires some growth. With growth, there are growing pains. Stepping out of my comfort zone is definitely a growing pain.
The thing is, I asked. I made my request known before God. I don't believe my request for God to expand my territory was made with impure intentions. I believe my request was made out of the desire to see how God could be glorified in my life if I put my trust in Him and let Him do His work. Jeff Olsen wrote in The Slight Edge, "Time will either promote you or expose you." So may God expose me and my true motives if my heart's desire isn't for Him to be glorified in all this...
In the mean time, "...faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." Hebrews 11:1, so I can't allow my feelings and what I see with my carnal eyes to effect my faith in my belief of what God can do.
God is so much bigger than all the negative thoughts I've been experiencing. If I allow my mind to focus on the negative thoughts, I'm basically saying I think those thoughts are bigger than God. If this is truly God breathed, and there's a way for Him to be glorified in all this, it will happen. It will come to pass and it will be a blessing "indeed".
PAR
Showing posts with label Shepherd of the Hills Woodland Hills. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Shepherd of the Hills Woodland Hills. Show all posts
Monday, December 13, 2010
Day 7
Yesterday was a day of celebration. For the last 7 weeks, our church has been going through a boot camp. Our goal was not to become the most physically fit church in Southern California (although I'd be all for that). The goal was to become more spiritually fit as a church unit.
The main campus, in Porter Ranch, has been working on a Miracle in the Making. Their miracle is to raise money in order to build a new sanctuary. After much prayer, the leaders of our campus realized that the best thing for the Woodland Hills campus would not be a new building, but to become more spiritually fit as a campus.
After weeks of enduring many sacrifices, it all came to an end yesterday with the celebration of 5 baptisms!
Although baptism has nothing to do with your salvation, it is still a celebration in that it is a public expression of your love for Christ. It's basically saying you're letting go of your old life in order to make way for your new life.
"Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life." Romans 6:4
A baptism symbolizes the end of one thing (or death) and the beginning (or birth) of something else. Much like in life, when we celebrate birthdays and the New Year, in baptisms, we celebrate the death of our old selves and the birthd of our new selves. We celebrate the birth of our new life in Christ Jesus.
I also believe that yesterday was symbolic in another way. For the Woodland Hills campus, I believe yesterday symbolized the death of old things in our campus. With the baptisms of those 5 individuals, there was also the washing away of past hurts that were still lingering in the atmosphere of the Woodland Hills campus.
Now there are no more excuses. There are no more reasons to hold on to the past and continue dwelling on how painful and uncomfortable the changes have been. With the close of our first official spiritual boot camp session, I think God is moving us forward into a new season. It is the birth of a new season: a season full of spiritual growth and spiritual maturity.
"When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things." 1 Corinthians 13:11
The last 7 weeks of preparation were only the beginning. Now, it's up to us (as individuals and a church unit) to decide if we want to continue moving forward or remain fixated on the past.
God's pruning, molding and moving us ahead is never really easy or comfortable time for any of us. It is, however, a time for us to draw closer to Him. It's a time of tremendous blessings. We need only keep our eyes, ears and hearts open and prepare ourselves for what He has in store for us so we won't miss it.
PAR
The main campus, in Porter Ranch, has been working on a Miracle in the Making. Their miracle is to raise money in order to build a new sanctuary. After much prayer, the leaders of our campus realized that the best thing for the Woodland Hills campus would not be a new building, but to become more spiritually fit as a campus.
After weeks of enduring many sacrifices, it all came to an end yesterday with the celebration of 5 baptisms!
Although baptism has nothing to do with your salvation, it is still a celebration in that it is a public expression of your love for Christ. It's basically saying you're letting go of your old life in order to make way for your new life.
"Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life." Romans 6:4
A baptism symbolizes the end of one thing (or death) and the beginning (or birth) of something else. Much like in life, when we celebrate birthdays and the New Year, in baptisms, we celebrate the death of our old selves and the birthd of our new selves. We celebrate the birth of our new life in Christ Jesus.
I also believe that yesterday was symbolic in another way. For the Woodland Hills campus, I believe yesterday symbolized the death of old things in our campus. With the baptisms of those 5 individuals, there was also the washing away of past hurts that were still lingering in the atmosphere of the Woodland Hills campus.
Now there are no more excuses. There are no more reasons to hold on to the past and continue dwelling on how painful and uncomfortable the changes have been. With the close of our first official spiritual boot camp session, I think God is moving us forward into a new season. It is the birth of a new season: a season full of spiritual growth and spiritual maturity.
"When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things." 1 Corinthians 13:11
The last 7 weeks of preparation were only the beginning. Now, it's up to us (as individuals and a church unit) to decide if we want to continue moving forward or remain fixated on the past.
God's pruning, molding and moving us ahead is never really easy or comfortable time for any of us. It is, however, a time for us to draw closer to Him. It's a time of tremendous blessings. We need only keep our eyes, ears and hearts open and prepare ourselves for what He has in store for us so we won't miss it.
PAR
Sunday, December 12, 2010
Day 6
Yesterday was my day 6. Today is my day 7. 7 days down, 23 more to go...and my Prayer of Jabez Challenge continues...
Yesterday our church had a Progressive Dinner. For some reason, I thought that it had something to do with Jesus and Christmas. Don't ask me why. I found out yesterday that the Progressive Dinner was created in our church as a way for the different Life Group members to meet each other. I attend Shepherd of the Hills in Woodland Hills, CA. There are other campuses in the Los Angeles and San Fernando Valley area. The main campus is located in Porter Ranch, CA.
My Husband and I began attending the church last February. What we didn't realize then, was that the church was going through a great deal of change. The pastor for our campus moved to another state; and once he left, several other families left the Woodland Hills campus.
I remember back in February when Marcus and I first began attending, there were two services. Both services were packed with people. I noticed that each Sunday the audience crowd would to get smaller and smaller, until finally I wondered, what the heck is going on here?
I had never been in the midst of anything like this before. I was raised 1st United Methodist in a small Texas town (Lubbock, Texas). As far back as I can remember, my church was small. I used to wish I went to a big church, because for me at that time, a bigger church meant more children to play with. In Austin, after I gave my life to Christ, we began attending Agape Christian Ministries. My Husband and I decided to join Agape in January 2009. That church was HUGE, and it only seemed to be growing.
I had never been a part of a church that was shrinking, nor did I want to be. From the beginning of our relationship, Marcus and I always did things our way. We now lead more surrendered lives and do our best to follow God's purpose and will for our lives. Honestly, the more I saw the church shrink, the more uncomfortable I became with being there. I'd pray and pray to God, asking Him to put Marcus and I in the church He wanted us to be in...expecting God to send us somewhere else.
We were even being "wooed" by another church around that time. For a brief moment, I thought God might be leading us there. The church was really big and seemed to be growing. There were also several people my age that attended, and their vibe felt very much like an inviting family...
The thing is, God wasn't leading us to that church, or any other one. As a matter of fact, rather than leading us away from Shepherd of the Hills, God seemed to continue pushing us further into it.
When we were having a hard time trying to find a place, one of the church members graciously opened up her home to us. Others rallied together to get us various apartment information. I couldn't believe how helpful these people were to us. Sure we'd become involved in one of their Life Groups. And I'd volunteered for the hospitality ministry a few times; but we weren't members.
When Marcus went back to Austin last summer to work, I was overwhelmed by the number of people in the church that told me, "If you need anything, let me (us) know." This wasn't the first time someone used that line with me. So I was like, "Thanks!" In my mind I was like, "I'll be fine. I'm an independent woman..." This was the first time, however, when a group of people actually said it and meant it. AND I didn't even always have to ask. I can't tell you how many times I got invited to dinner, or offered a ride. People constantly asked me if I needed a ride to get groceries or wash clothes, etc. I was overwhelmed by the amount of love they showed me.
I remember sitting in church without my husband during the summer and feeling a tug on my heart whenever the pastor made announcements about the campus needing help with Sunday morning set up. Stepping out of my comfort zone, I finally decided to volunteer my time, because by mid summer, I had plenty of it.
Then, someone on the technical team approached me later that month asking if I'd be willing to help them out. I was hesitant at first. I really didn't want the extra responsibility. I agreed that I'd help out "when I could", telling myself I'd do it for a little bit.
God had other plans. I actually continued working with the tech team for the remainder of the summer. When Marcus came back, I figured I'd step back and volunteer less. Again, God had other plans. Not only did He intend for me to continue volunteering my time every Sunday, He also had every intention of making sure Marcus was used in the church. Four and a half months later, we continue to volunteer every Sunday.
In September, Marcus and I found ourselves a difficult situation. Once again, circumstances forced us to search for another place to live in this city. One day after praying about the situation and asking God to provide a place for us, we received an email. Someone in our church ask if we were looking for a place to stay. Long story short, he gave us the home owner's number, and it ended up being the perfect place for us to live right now. Even better, he and his wife are our housemates!
Psalm 37:4-5 states, "Delight thyself also in the Lord; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart. Commit thy way unto the Lord, trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass." For a moment, I thought we belonged at another church. I thought we were at the wrong church. God knew exactly what He was doing sending us to that church. He knew exactly what we needed. I believed it was my heart's desire to be at another church; a church where God wouldn't require me to do as much. Where He'd be ok with me just worshipping and showing up Sunday morning for service and Wednesday nights for Life Group.
The thing is, God's desire is for us to be at Shepherd of the Hills Woodland Hills. And when we grow to love God, His desires for our lives become our desires as well. The closer we grow in relationship with Him, we learn that His desires for us are always better than anything we could ever imagine for ourselves.
Once again, God works in mysterious ways. I would have loved to finish my "Day 6" blog yesterday as yesterday was day 6. Thanks be to God that I've become content with doing things His way...no longer struggling to have control over my life and missing God's incredible blessings--most of the time anyway...
In waiting on God, I came to realize today that The Progressive Dinner last night was not only a time for me to stuff my face with tons of delicious foods. I came to realize that it really was about Jesus and Christmas. John 3:16 says, "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life."
There's so much in that verse. But the key part here, is that God so loved the world. God loved us so much, that He sent His one and only son, Jesus, into the world for us. Christmas is a time of celebration. Celebration of the Savior that came into the world with the purpose of dying for us on a cross so that we wouldn't perish into sin, but live a life free from sin and have eternity with God. What's a better way to celebrate Jesus than by fellow shipping with the ones we love?
Sitting around last night, eating and fellow shipping at each home, I felt something. I wasn't sure what it was until earlier today. It hit me right before I began writing this blog, actually. I felt love. Looking back on last night, I realized that those people of Shepherd of the Hills Woodland Hills have become my family. And I love them. I never thought I'd say that. But here I am. I love them. And I'm so thankful that I remained obedient to God by staying with my family, even though the beginning of the journey was tough for me.
2010 was a difficult year for Shepherd of the Hills Woodland Hills. They lost a dynamic leader along with several families and friends. Change is not always an easy thing. But this was obviously all part of God's plan. I don't know what happened, and it really doesn't matter. I do know that unknown to Marcus and I, we were a part of that plan. God always puts us exactly where we need to be when we need to be there.
I thought I knew what I wanted and needed. But God always knows our needs even when we think we do. God drew us into that church with His love...through the members of the Woodland Hills campus, God's love touched our lives in so many ways. He opened up several doors for us there, so that we could be involved in the growth of the church.
Today is day 7 of my Jabez challenge, and God gave me revelation about my day 6 blessing. Although we moved to LA for me to pursue my acting career, God blessed me with something even better: a loving family. I'm so thankful to God's continued grace in my life. And I look forward to His continued blessings, "indeed"!
PAR
Yesterday our church had a Progressive Dinner. For some reason, I thought that it had something to do with Jesus and Christmas. Don't ask me why. I found out yesterday that the Progressive Dinner was created in our church as a way for the different Life Group members to meet each other. I attend Shepherd of the Hills in Woodland Hills, CA. There are other campuses in the Los Angeles and San Fernando Valley area. The main campus is located in Porter Ranch, CA.
My Husband and I began attending the church last February. What we didn't realize then, was that the church was going through a great deal of change. The pastor for our campus moved to another state; and once he left, several other families left the Woodland Hills campus.
I remember back in February when Marcus and I first began attending, there were two services. Both services were packed with people. I noticed that each Sunday the audience crowd would to get smaller and smaller, until finally I wondered, what the heck is going on here?
I had never been in the midst of anything like this before. I was raised 1st United Methodist in a small Texas town (Lubbock, Texas). As far back as I can remember, my church was small. I used to wish I went to a big church, because for me at that time, a bigger church meant more children to play with. In Austin, after I gave my life to Christ, we began attending Agape Christian Ministries. My Husband and I decided to join Agape in January 2009. That church was HUGE, and it only seemed to be growing.
I had never been a part of a church that was shrinking, nor did I want to be. From the beginning of our relationship, Marcus and I always did things our way. We now lead more surrendered lives and do our best to follow God's purpose and will for our lives. Honestly, the more I saw the church shrink, the more uncomfortable I became with being there. I'd pray and pray to God, asking Him to put Marcus and I in the church He wanted us to be in...expecting God to send us somewhere else.
We were even being "wooed" by another church around that time. For a brief moment, I thought God might be leading us there. The church was really big and seemed to be growing. There were also several people my age that attended, and their vibe felt very much like an inviting family...
The thing is, God wasn't leading us to that church, or any other one. As a matter of fact, rather than leading us away from Shepherd of the Hills, God seemed to continue pushing us further into it.
When we were having a hard time trying to find a place, one of the church members graciously opened up her home to us. Others rallied together to get us various apartment information. I couldn't believe how helpful these people were to us. Sure we'd become involved in one of their Life Groups. And I'd volunteered for the hospitality ministry a few times; but we weren't members.
When Marcus went back to Austin last summer to work, I was overwhelmed by the number of people in the church that told me, "If you need anything, let me (us) know." This wasn't the first time someone used that line with me. So I was like, "Thanks!" In my mind I was like, "I'll be fine. I'm an independent woman..." This was the first time, however, when a group of people actually said it and meant it. AND I didn't even always have to ask. I can't tell you how many times I got invited to dinner, or offered a ride. People constantly asked me if I needed a ride to get groceries or wash clothes, etc. I was overwhelmed by the amount of love they showed me.
I remember sitting in church without my husband during the summer and feeling a tug on my heart whenever the pastor made announcements about the campus needing help with Sunday morning set up. Stepping out of my comfort zone, I finally decided to volunteer my time, because by mid summer, I had plenty of it.
Then, someone on the technical team approached me later that month asking if I'd be willing to help them out. I was hesitant at first. I really didn't want the extra responsibility. I agreed that I'd help out "when I could", telling myself I'd do it for a little bit.
God had other plans. I actually continued working with the tech team for the remainder of the summer. When Marcus came back, I figured I'd step back and volunteer less. Again, God had other plans. Not only did He intend for me to continue volunteering my time every Sunday, He also had every intention of making sure Marcus was used in the church. Four and a half months later, we continue to volunteer every Sunday.
In September, Marcus and I found ourselves a difficult situation. Once again, circumstances forced us to search for another place to live in this city. One day after praying about the situation and asking God to provide a place for us, we received an email. Someone in our church ask if we were looking for a place to stay. Long story short, he gave us the home owner's number, and it ended up being the perfect place for us to live right now. Even better, he and his wife are our housemates!
Psalm 37:4-5 states, "Delight thyself also in the Lord; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart. Commit thy way unto the Lord, trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass." For a moment, I thought we belonged at another church. I thought we were at the wrong church. God knew exactly what He was doing sending us to that church. He knew exactly what we needed. I believed it was my heart's desire to be at another church; a church where God wouldn't require me to do as much. Where He'd be ok with me just worshipping and showing up Sunday morning for service and Wednesday nights for Life Group.
The thing is, God's desire is for us to be at Shepherd of the Hills Woodland Hills. And when we grow to love God, His desires for our lives become our desires as well. The closer we grow in relationship with Him, we learn that His desires for us are always better than anything we could ever imagine for ourselves.
Once again, God works in mysterious ways. I would have loved to finish my "Day 6" blog yesterday as yesterday was day 6. Thanks be to God that I've become content with doing things His way...no longer struggling to have control over my life and missing God's incredible blessings--most of the time anyway...
In waiting on God, I came to realize today that The Progressive Dinner last night was not only a time for me to stuff my face with tons of delicious foods. I came to realize that it really was about Jesus and Christmas. John 3:16 says, "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life."
There's so much in that verse. But the key part here, is that God so loved the world. God loved us so much, that He sent His one and only son, Jesus, into the world for us. Christmas is a time of celebration. Celebration of the Savior that came into the world with the purpose of dying for us on a cross so that we wouldn't perish into sin, but live a life free from sin and have eternity with God. What's a better way to celebrate Jesus than by fellow shipping with the ones we love?
Sitting around last night, eating and fellow shipping at each home, I felt something. I wasn't sure what it was until earlier today. It hit me right before I began writing this blog, actually. I felt love. Looking back on last night, I realized that those people of Shepherd of the Hills Woodland Hills have become my family. And I love them. I never thought I'd say that. But here I am. I love them. And I'm so thankful that I remained obedient to God by staying with my family, even though the beginning of the journey was tough for me.
2010 was a difficult year for Shepherd of the Hills Woodland Hills. They lost a dynamic leader along with several families and friends. Change is not always an easy thing. But this was obviously all part of God's plan. I don't know what happened, and it really doesn't matter. I do know that unknown to Marcus and I, we were a part of that plan. God always puts us exactly where we need to be when we need to be there.
I thought I knew what I wanted and needed. But God always knows our needs even when we think we do. God drew us into that church with His love...through the members of the Woodland Hills campus, God's love touched our lives in so many ways. He opened up several doors for us there, so that we could be involved in the growth of the church.
Today is day 7 of my Jabez challenge, and God gave me revelation about my day 6 blessing. Although we moved to LA for me to pursue my acting career, God blessed me with something even better: a loving family. I'm so thankful to God's continued grace in my life. And I look forward to His continued blessings, "indeed"!
PAR
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)