Division Only Gets More Divided

A church was having some issues with a pastor so they ended up getting rid of the pastor. This pastor had caused lots of division in the church. After getting rid of this pastor the church began to heal and began to work at getting a new pastor. For months the church had fill ins, but were still not happy. Then they advertised for a full time pastor for the church. They had several applicants, but those in charge would not consider them. They wanted to bring back the pastor that caused the division and in the end that pastor came back. The pastor made promises that he said he would keep. He looked good to them.

Well, when it was time for this pastor to start back with the church something went wrong. Attendance dropped by 75%. Offerings were down another 90%. Not to mention that within the first month of employment this pastor asked for a $40,000.00 raise (from $50,000.00). On top of that the pastor began to stop coming to activities of the church and even began to miss a Sunday or two of preaching. The members of the church were not happy at all.

A Congregational Meeting was held and a division began. The head elder of the church assured everyone that things were going to get better. That this preacher was going to change and give them everything that he promised. Things ended up only getting worse. Not long after that the pastor secretly took a job with another church that gave him the salary that he wanted. For 6 months this church who had taken him back was being told on Sundays that he could not come for one reason or another. The head elder believed this preacher's lies.

It wasn't until another member of the church spoke to their cousin that they found out what was going on. The cousin informed the member that this pastor was preaching at their church. The member went to the head elder and layed it on thick. The church was informed of what had happened. Members of the church vowed to leave the church unless the head elder didn't leave first.

In the end the head elder ended up moving away and was never heard from again. The pastor ended up also moving far away has never been heard from again. The church decided that they needed to work together to heal their division before they went any farther about getting a pastor. They were successful at this and in the end found a pastor that satisfied everyone.

This is an example of what happens when a division in the church is not healed. It makes the church more divided. When churches have a problem they need to work together to heal it before they move forward with anything that will make a big impact.

It is never a good idea when you have gotten rid of the conflict in the church to bring it back in. That only makes the division or the conflict worse.

What needs to happen is that there needs to be lots of prayers said about the situation. People need to as God into the situation and ask for his will to be done. There needs to be prayer sessions held with all the members of the church attending. Church members need to listen for the voice of God and hear what his will is for them.

Following one member of the church who thinks that they are right is not the right thing to do either. They may sound good, but really they may be a snake in sheep's clothing. You need to ask God for his advice before going down this path.

If we seek God in all things then he will help heal what is broken. He will show us what is right so that we don't make the wrong mistake. Making the wrong mistake only hurts others. We want to love other Christians and do the Lord's will in all things.

If we do that then all things will work for God's good.

Postive Thoughts Bring Positive Results

As I drive to work each morning I listen to Joel Osteen Radio in the car. His sermons are awesome and they have a great message. Most recently Joel has been speaking about being positive and the power of your words.

He says that what you say over your life or situation is what is going to happen. That you need to speak positive in order to get positive results. That when you speak negative that you are going to get negative results.

Joel is right. I have realized that there have been situation that I have thought negative about and then changed my thinking to see the results that I have been wanting. If you are in a situation that you feel will not go your way don't loose hope. Start speaking positive about the situation and you will see results.

Change your thinking to see what God has good in store for you. If you think more positive about things then more good things will begin to happen. Don't forget to seek God in the situation as well. Turing over the situation to God will also make good things happen.

Positive Thoughts Bring Positive Results~Joel Osteen

So Long School Year......Hello Summer Break!

So today is the official start to my Summer Break. Two month from today (8/17) I will be starting back to work. I hate to think that I only get 2 month off, but I am going to make the most of it. A part of me would rather have the Winter months off of work, but I know that I would just be stuck inside and could not go anywhere.

One of the things that I look forward to each Summer is Church Camp. I love to share my love of Jesus with others. Plus it gets me out of the house for 8 hours a day. Plus I get some sunshine which has lots of Vitamin D. I get to interact with others that I don't see often and I get to see kids from school.

I love the fact that the nights get longer in Summer. That means more time to get outside and enjoy life. Summer lends you to going places that you don't get to go most other times of the year. Most people go to the beach or camping.

Summer is also the time that people tend to start a new diet, take time to read more, and just relax.

This Summer I plan to blog more, read my bible more, have more prayer time, start the Daniel Plan Diet, and over all relax. I want to just unwind from the crazy year that I have had. I want to make the most out of this Summer.

So to all those that work in the school system I say...Enjoy Summer!

A Year and What A Year It Has Been

June 4, 2014....I was at work when the call came. Sara had to be taken to UVA because something was wrong with her unborn baby Isaac. The prayer chains were activated and prayers were started for Sara, Mitchell, and the baby. That was the beginning of the journey for Isaac.

June 4, 2015....Isaac turns 1 today and has been through so much in his sort life. He has had a heart transplant among the other procedures that he has had to have in the past year. He is a miracle for sure.

I look back on his mother Sara and how much faith that she has had through all of this. I don't think that if I was in the same situation that I would be as strong. I admire Sara's faith through this. She has never given up on trusting God to see her through it all. God sure has never let her down.

God has a plan and a purpose for Isaac to be sure. I can remember saying that Isaac was going to get a Christmas Miracle when he was in need of a heart. Sure enough he did get it right before Christmas. That was so wonderful.

So today I wish Isaac a very happy and blessed birthday. He is a blessing. God is going to use Isaac in great ways. Isaac is a testimony that miracles happen.

Live life a little lighter.....Shed the baggage

Joel Osteen was talking this morning in a message on the radio about shedding the baggage. That is we want to be a little lighter in life that we need to get rid of the baggage that is weighing us down. We need to let go of those things that are holding us back from being really happy. He said that we can live a much fuller life if we let go of the baggage.

That is so true. If we go around carrying the negative things of life then we are going to be negative. We then will never be able to move forward with life and be happy. We will always be living in the past. We need to live in the present and the future.

This reminded me of a man in a church that had for years kept a list of perceived wrongs that another person had done to him. The list went back 15 years or more. One day the man had had quiet enough of the other person and so he went to the church council for help. The list, six pages in full was read at the meeting. When all was said and done the man looked like a fool. The council members had laughed at him for keeping a this list for 15 years. They felt that it was silly to do such a thing. The person in the church who the list was kept on forgave the man for his silly act and was better off for doing so. In the very end because this man would not let things go he ended up bringing the church down with him.

We need to let go and let God take control. We need not sit by and let what has happened in the past destroy our lives. We need to live our lives to the fullest for God. We need not get caught up in things that will drag us down and make us miserable. We need to live life each day with the purpose of doing out best for the glory of God.

It is just like when I was very upset with a former friend about how she had treated me. I didn't go around carrying a grudge for years on end. I forgave her and felt so much better about it. That baggage was checked.

You have got to clear out the excess baggage in your life in order to have a happy life. Otherwise you are letting the devil take control. You are letting sin take root in your life and choking out the word of God. That is not what needs to happen. You need to let God shine through in your life.

Let go and Let God.....enough said.

Be Postive to See Positive

Most days on the way to and from school I have been listening to Joel Osteen Radio. Joel has had some really good messages. Most recently he was talking about being positive. He was saying that you have to be positive to see positive. That is so true.

Joel says that if you speak positive words over something that you are going to see positive results. That is so true. I have saw that with my job. I work as a Preschool Aide and this year we have been working to get a much needed Preschool Playground. Everything was in the works and something happened to put a halt to it. The negatives abounded. We felt like we were not going to get the playground.

I had heard Joel's message about speaking positive and I began to do just that. Everyday we would go out to the playground I would thank God for what we had and that I knew that he was going to give us what we needed. Then one day the principle of the school said that the playground was back in the works. That is the power of God at work.

It is like this with the situation with my church. I have been constantly speaking  positive things over the church knowing that in God's time that things are going to change. You got to have a positive mind set in order to see change happen.

Positive Thoughts = Positive Results

God is good. He knows that we get frustrated at times. However, God wants us to be positive so that we will see a change in things. God has a plan and a purpose in all that he does.

So the next time that something is going wrong or that you feel frustrated just turn things aroundby being positive.

Modern vs. Tradional Christian Music

Recently I sang a prelude at church. This is something that I do quite often. After the service was over a lady at my church came up to me and told me that the next time that I sang a solo that I needed to sing a more traditional song and that I needed to run it by her for approval first. I was shocked and stunned. How could someone who clamed to be a Christian say this to me? It really had me puzzled.

Then I got to thinking about it. Why would someone be so offended by the modern Christian music? I see nothing wrong with it. In fact, many denominations have embraced it. They sing some of the latest Praise and Worship hits as part of their services. Often times it is the more traditional songs that gets thrown by the way side.

To me I can see us having a mix of both in church. I would love to sing some of the modern songs along with the traditional. I just recently came across the hit song Glorious Day in our hymnbook under the title One Day. I would love to sing it, but I know that that would not go over too smooth at my church.

I don't see the offence. The modern songs have great messages to them. They get people up on their feet excited about worshiping God. Churches were modern praise and worship music is used have a high number of teens and young adults in attendance.  Young people, teens, and young kids is what my church needs bad.

At 35 I am the youngest adult in church. There is no one younger than me in church. I fear that it is because we are stuck in our comfortable traditional rut. We need to get out of it and fast. We need to look at what is not working and make a change.

If we start and make this change with the music then other changes will take place. It takes time, but it will be worth it to help the church grow.

So I encourage you to check out some modern music and see what it is all about. I will start by inviting you to check out Jason Crabb.  One of my favorite songs of his is I'm Amazed. I is so awesome. Also check out Daystar. Both of these are great songs.