Three C's : Confidence, Celebration, and Conviction

 Psalm 54 : Save me, O God, by your name;
    vindicate me by your might.
² Hear my prayer, O God;
    listen to the words of my mouth.

³ Arrogant foes are attacking me;
    ruthless people are trying to kill me—
    people without regard for God.^[c]

⁴ Surely God is my help;
    the Lord is the one who sustains me.

⁵ Let evil recoil on those who slander me;
    in your faithfulness destroy them.

⁶ I will sacrifice a freewill offering to you;
    I will praise your name, Lord, for it is good.
⁷ You have delivered me from all my troubles,
    and my eyes have looked in triumph on my foes.

Over the past month I've been praying about God's path for myself.  What he intends for me to do work wise and creative wise. Mid month I decided that I needed to re-group my mission statement.  What's that?  Well, I had to right one back in the day at NWMSU in one of my education classes.  It's been the same for each school that I've taught and pretty much summed up my life & views.  I took it out and re-read it and thought, geez, Sherry.  I really do believe in that old mission statement but my world has become bigger and my views have too with time.  I'm not the same 20 something ....in reality I'm a forty something that feels like I need to be re-schooled & write a newbie mission statement.  That was something that I thought, sure, that will take a day.  But it's been two months and I still haven't got it wrote.

I've been diving deeper and deeper into my faith over the past month.  I've been blessed to be talking to friends, family, and peers about our faith journeys.  It's been remarkable and a little daunting at times. Through it all I've been gathering what I believe, stand for, and the premise for my path in this world. I can say that as a "forty something" I know that I will never change the world....that's just too idealistic for me and I'm getting old....lol.  

Last week I talked with a gal pal from Des Moines.  She and I were talking about God, church, and how we interplay with both. How our worlds have been rocked by God and her ministry within her church. I shared with her I was trying to write a mission statement.  I asked her "what's your mission statement for Christ?".  She told me she felt that she's been called to music ministry.  She was always gifted as a singer & musician.  She told me that it would be "to glorify God through her voice and music".  I talked with another gal pal and asked the same question.  She told me it would be to work with the homeless.  We talked about how when our kiddos were little we used to have them help make 20-50 brown bag specials with us.  Our kids would make PB sandwiches and homemade cookies.  We would take and bag one sandwich with a cookie in each bag.  Then load the coolers with ice and bottled waters and head into downtown KC. As we drove we asked God to keep us safe and take us to the people he would intend.  And, yup, we went under the viaducts, to the parks, and lots of places with our wheely coolers, brown bag specials and kids.  Finally, I talked with another friend who shared that they felt compelled to go out to the lowest of the low in the world.  I asked them what is "lowest of the low".  They told me it would be the drug addict, alcoholics, and others in need.  

All these mission statements and conversations have been rolling through my mind and spirit.  I've been digging into the scriptures and praying for God's intervention in my own path to help me to what he intends.  It led me to a wacky dream last week that stuck with me.  Ever had one of those?  Well, here's mine.  

I was at a marketplace ....yeah, those of you that know me know I love to shop.  How perfect, right?  Well, I wandered around and felt totally relaxed.  I then remember looking for a way out and it seemed more like a labyrinth than a marketplace.  I felt panic in my heart and nothing was familiar.  Suddenly, I came to a shop that was way too familiar.  It contained lots of stuff that I once had.  How could I not go in and start to browse around, right?  I picked up a purse that I had in high school and someone yelled and grabbed my arm and said, "Redemption?".  I was totally puzzled and scared as I stood there with the purse in my hand and he said again, "Redemption....how will you pay?".  All I could think of was a picture of Christ that I've got in my head from being a kid.  At that my arm was dropped and a door was there which I opened and I woke up.  And, yeah, my heart was racing and I was a little freaked out.  What did I do?  I started to journal.  

I wrote the words "what a crazy dream" and the word "redemption" at the top of the page. Then I went on to write about my dream.  I then wrote about talking with my friends about their mission.  I wrote about how if we stick to one specific mission that we might miss people in our path that God wants us to connect with.  Why?  Because they don't fit our criteria for our mission.  Why?  Because I know what it feels like to be one of the lowest of the low.  I shared this thought with Ted and he completely understood what I was thinking because he lived it with me.  God gave Ted to me to have life experiences that would lead us both to God's "redemption" in our lives.

What if  the cheery, positive newbie school teacher kept a makeup kit in her car & classroom with concealer and foundation to cover the bruises on her face and arms when she goes to work each day.  She never knows what morning she would have a new one.  It is through God's redemption that a fellow newbie teacher sees her go into my classroom one morning looking "rough".  She knocks on the door and finds her in tears behind the cubbies near a mirror trying to make herself look "bright and cheery" for the world.  She could see that she may look "bright and cheery" each day but her heart and spirit were broke.  She prays with her, doesn't judge her, and goes each morning to her room to do the same.  Would that young teacher count as "lowest of the low"?

What about the abusive hubby that finds himself without a home?  Because after a few years of abuse his wife stood up for herself and got a restraining order?  Would they take him into their home for dinner or approve of letting him sleep on the floor in a church basement?  Would they believe it when he told them that he saw the Bible in the moonlight, picked it up, read from it and gave his life to Christ?  Or, because he looks like the fun, preppy, young dad and hubby would they walk away from him and look for another soul to save?  Would they never realize it was him that was there in front of them that needed God's redemption?

My examples could be endless but these two are my own.  If it were not for God's intervention in my and Ted's marriage our lives twenty years ago we would have continued to be lost, broken, and walking shells of what God had planned for us.  But God gifted us with people that loved the Lord. His loved gleaned through them and their actions. And, yes, it took me a while to give up that God doesn't count my failures and that he has never wrote me off but I got it. I realize that God's "redemption" was there all along for me. 

I realized that my challenge is to treat each person I come into contact with God's love.  If that means a small note in the mail, a dinner for a family, or when I have them on my heart and mind praying for them.  I realized that my newbie mission statement needs to include my ability to serve God in a way that "redemption" won't only be mine but to those around me.  I'm still writing that mission statement as I pray about the future and what I'm going to do.  I'm excited about the idea of working creatively, teaching adults and kids.  In my "perfect" world I'd be able to fund supplies myself and each child could come to my artroom free of cost.  Well, I do have a ton of stuff but that's not realistic.  I've been praying on how to make the workshops I want to provide affordable to anyone that would want to attend them.  Feel free to pray about that for me.  And, if you know someone that knows how to help fund "special projects" send them my way.

All, that said, what is your "mission statement" for life?  Does it differ from the mission statement of what you can do for Christ?  Is there a way to mesh both of them for God's glory and to fulfill what he intends for you life? I think in my heart and spirit there is.  I'm still working on that but would love to hear your perspective.  I'd love to hear what you do daily, weekly, yearly for God and how it all works for you.  Feel free to comment, send my an email, etc.  

Blessings -Sherry

Update:

  

I got the pink sink & toilet for the artroom....and I'm tickled pink about them.

Last Friday, our dryer went out.  Ted went to replace the belt on it, started it up and there was a power surge in our house and sparks flew. We are blessed to have our washer still working, quarters for the laundromat in the kitchen piggy bank, and a local laundromat to dry our stuff.  We are saving for a used dryer.  

Ted & I have been having some real, open conversations about our faith.  I love what the "bread of life" cards have done for our world.  It truly has opened us up to talking to one another again about everything.  He shared with me that he was so thankful that we went to the Crossroads and he got to see me in my "element".  He said he got a peek at who I once was before he knew me & what is important to my spirit.  Love that he shared that....way to go, Tedster!

My Betsy Bravada is overheating....that would be my car.  I had to cancel my Cancer Institute doctor's appointment for the month because of it.  I was worried about going down there and not getting back safely.  We've contacted a friend about looking at it when he has a chance.  And, I was able to giggle today as I had a hot flash.  My Betsy Bravada must be having some sympathy pains for me and having "hot flashes" too.

Emily will enroll in classes for the summer on April 15th.  Pray for her.  

I've got two craft shows in April.  Pray that I'm able to do each for God's glory.  I've got some ideas of what I want to make but nothing is a for sure.  I'm hoping that God guide my path creatively as to what I should make or do to take to them.  That is on my "to do" list for the week. 

 Dale's birthday is on the 28th.  I'm blessed to have him for 15 years and thankful that God gave me a kindred spirit in the world that loves brownies, art, dogs, and learning.  If you see Dale this week or this weekend wish him a happy birthday.  We are planning on going to Nelson Atkins on Sunday to celebrate.  Last year, Dale, wanted to go there for an exhibit but I felt so rotten that we couldn't but this year we are going!