Whistle as You Ride Your Bike!

It amazes me to watch my son.  Children are oblivious to things that we as adults (unfortunately), let eat at us.  He does things with an innocence and carefree attitude, that makes me envy him. When his friend says something hurtful, or dumps him to go play with another kid, he shrugs his shoulders and moves on.  He doesn't dwell on it. He doesn't let it play over and over in his mind.  He doesn't lose sleep.  He gets on his bike and rides around the block whistling to himself!

*This literally just happened to him, and that is what he is doing*

I can't help but think, if I handled things the way he does, how much better things would be. I just spent the last week fretting on and off about something, when I should just have gotten on my bike and rode around the block whistling to myself!  Why do we do this?  

Now granted there are some things that as adults, should be in our thoughts.  We can't live life oblivious to our responsibilities, the family that God has entrusted to our care, to our marriages, etc.  I'm talking about the other things that occupy WAY too much of our thoughts and time, but are not as big of a deal as we make them out to be.

You know what I'm talking about......

"So and so didn't say hi to me as she passed me in the hall!" 

"This guy cut me off in traffic, now my whole day is ruined" 

"They gave me American cheese instead of cheddar on my sandwich today" 

Ok, these are exaggerations to make my point.....I hope!

But seriously, be truthful with yourself for two days. Write down the things that occupy your thoughts each day. Take a few minutes every couple of hours and just jot down the things that have occupied your thoughts in that time.  

At the end of the day, read your list. Pray about it, and ask God to help you 

~ improve on the things that occupy your thoughts and time, that shouldn't. 

~ to worry less and dwell less on things that really, in the grand scheme of things, don't matter. 

~ to not let your day get ruined by trivial matters. 

~ rely on Him more. 

You will not only see where your day goes better, but also where your evening time with your family is better, as well.  You'll find more to praise God for.  

Banana Chips

As I sit here eating banana chips, I can’t help but think about the fact that I used to think they were disgusting. I wasn’t (I feel) what you would have called a picky child growing up, but it still amazes me how many foods I have grown to like over the years. Foods that, as a kid, I would never have eaten or ever thought I would.

But there is one thing that makes this a possibility....without it, I would never know that I now like banana chips....the gumption to take a chance and try again.

It is hard to fathom how many foods I could be assuming that I don’t like, had I not had the courage to try them for the first time, or even again!

Of course, this topic covers more than just food. There are so many things that God could be placing before us right now, that we are just assuming are something we will not care for. So many opportunities, interests, friendships....that we are just letting pass us by.

As I finish my banana chips, let me encourage you to.......

pick a new venture.....retry something......open yourself up to the possibilities, opportunities and friendships that God is placing before you.

Community

Community...it can be a scary thing. True community does not come easily or cheaply. It goes beyond just going to church together, or even serving in the same Ministry together. It breaks down the borders of the superficial relationship. It causes us to dive into something deeper, more personal....

But why is that so scary? Why does it frighten us to be in a position where people can get to know us better? Why are the feelings of vulnerability so strong?

I think it is because we are afraid that we are going to be alone. Ironic....yes....we are trying so hard to keep ourselves on an island, all because our true fear is that we will be...ALONE!?

What am I talking about? I am talking about that fear that we are going to finally come out of our shell, share that “thing” that we have been holding inside of us, and we are going to hear the collective gasp and see the shaking of heads. That we will be ALONE in our sin, or what we are thinking or feeling.

Well, it is simply not true. The exact opposite is the truth. When you finally allow yourself the opportunity to truly get to know others, you see that you are not alone, that you have commonalities with people that you never knew existed. This withdrawal, we feel, promises us safety...but it really just causes us to miss out on countless times of joy and support. All of us need a sense of belonging...to know that there is a group of people who know what’s going on in our life Monday - Saturday, and who will support us when needed.

Don’t let your fears keep you from forming friendships and bonds. Community is a creation of God. This next year, make it your goal to allow Community in your life. Find ways to make those connections. They are easier to find then you think.

“Two are better than one,
because they have a good return for their work:
If one falls down,
his friend can help him up.
But pity the man who falls
and has no one to help him up!
Though one may be overpowered,
two can defend themselves.
A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.”

Ecclesiastes 4:9-12

“As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.”

Proverbs 27:17

We Are To Be Mirrors

What if we had a mirror in front of us all day, every day.....
showing us our every move, how we handle situations, how we act....
showing us what the people around us see.....?

Would we be pleased with ourselves?

Better question....Would God be pleased?

2 Corinthians 3:18 says "So all of us who have had the veil removed can see and reflect the glory of the Lord. And the Lord - who is the Spirit - makes us more and more like Him as we are changed into His glorious image." NLT

So, let's go back to the mirror.....are we seeing and reflecting the glory of the Lord? How can we be better at this?
Let's look at those two important words: see and reflect.
The definitions of these two words are:
See- to perceive mentally; discern; understand
Reflect- to cast back or show image of

*Seeing leads to becoming....Becoming leads to reflecting.*
When you see something, this is not just a fleeting glance. It is to stare, to study, to contemplate....so that through the knowledge that we gain, we can become....and through that becoming, we can accurately portray or reflect.

So, in order to reflect God, we need to see Him, to know Him, so that we can reflect Him. That comes through having a relationship with God. If we don't strive to know God, we are going to have a hard time reflecting Him.


Looking back in a journal from last year on notes I wrote while reading "It's Not About Me" by Max Lucado, I was reminded of the story he told about G.R. Tweed:

Tweed had been hiding in Guam for nearly 3 years (trying to keep from getting caught and placed in a POW camp), when late in the day on July 10, 1944, he spotted a friendly vessel. He scurried up the hill and positioned himself on a cliff. Reaching in his pack, he pulled out a small mirror. He began sending SOS signals, and caught the eye of a sailor on board. A rescue party boarded a dinghy and rescued Tweed.

Lucado goes on to say that it was not just good that Tweed had the mirror, but that he knew how to use it to reflect the sun. That knowledge came by him understanding how to catch the sun's rays and how to reflect the correct pattern to send out the SOS. If he just had the mirror, but didn't know enough to know what to do with it, who knows what kind of message he would have sent?

I leave you with these thoughts as we begin a new year:
Let's strive this year to know God more, so that through that knowledge, we can reflect Him so that more might come to know Him.

Lucado's last thoughts in the chapter "God's Mirrors" was:
"Mr. Tweed's use of a mirror led to a rescue.
May God's use of us lead to millions more."

Matthew 5:16 "In the same way, let your good deeds shine for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father."

Thank You

As another year comes to a close, I want to take the time to thank everyone involved in the Worship Arts Ministry for another great year! If your contribution is playing an instrument, running sound, lights, or ProPresenter, helping lead worship, acting in a drama, sharing a special, leading in prayer...(the list goes on) please know that your contribution is so much greater that you probably even realize. Our Sunday services are called by God to sow and water seeds, and he has used our team to impact lives in ways that will count for all eternity.

As we close this year, and begin another, I challenge us all to take a look back at this year....to mentally scroll back.

How have you seen God impacting POCC, its members and visitors, Port Orange, our
WA team, us as individuals....

We have seen those who have been impacted by a particular song or a dramatic presentation of struggles that we all face. We have had our own lives impacted in the same ways, and by the awesome privilege it is to be able to use our talents to serve and glorify our Heavenly Father.




After we have looked back, let's look forward to the coming year....

How are we each going to allow God to use us this next year? As a team, as individuals....

What lives will He be able to impact when we let go and let Him: use us, stretch us, pull us out of our comfort zones...


I am amazed at how our Heavenly Father has worked in us and through us this last year, and can't wait to see what amazing things He has ahead for us.

Thank you for using your gifts and talents to serve and glorify Him.

Our EXCELLENT Adventure!

What is excellence? Why do we throw this word around when we talk about our preparation and delivery for Sunday?

A lot of times it is easier to first look at what something is NOT, in order to form a better understanding of what something is. So....what is excellence NOT?

It is not mediocrity. Mediocrity comes when we take a lackadaisical or "it's only Church" approach to our preparation. We have to understand that the hour on Sunday deserves so much more than that. It is our opportunity and privilege to bring sacrifices, worship and praise to our Heavenly Father. It is an opportunity to touch lives for Him. Either of which, we should not take lightly. When we look at Malachi 1, we see God's disgust and anger for His people's second rate sacrifices. Were they bringing their animal sacrifices as God had asked? Yes.....but their sacrifices were blind or crippled. They were bringing God mediocrity....they were offering second rate and keeping the best for themselves. How many times are we guilty of the same?

Now, let's look at the other end of the spectrum....Perfection! This is another thing that excellence is not. Perfection can actually be a driving force to mediocrity.

What? Did she say what I think she said?

It's true! Now, don't hear me wrong, we should strive to do our best, but understand that things are not always going to turn out PERFECT! We are going to fumble the ball periodically (football reference to keep the men reading). When our obsession with perfectionism drives us to a place where all we can see is what went wrong and we miss everything else, that is a problem. And that problem often leads to mediocrity, because we tend to give up all together. We take on an attitude of, "if I can't be perfect, then why even try." Don't focus on the wrongs, learn from them and also look to what went great. We have to see the bigger picture! God does! He knows our hearts and our intentions!

So, where does that leave us? Excellence is somewhere in between mediocrity and perfection. It means we need to strive to do our best and to bring our best to God. This means forethought, practice, prayer....and by doing this, we then are open and able to allow God to work through us. We are not striving for excellence for our own benefit or glory, but for God's. It also means that we will have moments that, even with our preparation, do not go as we had hoped. But we learn from our blunders and move on, knowing that we are doing our best to bring God sacrifices that are worthy and the best that we can bring!

The month of March was filled with reminders that we don't know when our time here on earth will be complete.

~A friend of ours from Florida Christian College passed unexpectedly after giving birth to her son. She leaves behind a husband and four children (all ages 5 and under).
~In our Port Group, we are studying Francis Chan's book "Crazy Love." The chapter we read in March talked about what type of legacy we want to leave behind...what we want to be known for...how we want to be remembered.


My mind could not help but go to a song by Joy Williams, called "Legacy." In this song she says...

"In the end, I want to hang my hat on more besides, the temporary trappings of this world...
I want to leave a legacy
How will they remember me?
Did I choose to love?
Did I point to You enough to make a mark on things?
I want to leave an offering
A child of mercy and grace, who blessed Your name, unapologetically...
And leave that kind of legacy!"


We do not know when our time here will be complete.
What kind of legacy do we want to leave? Do we want it to be filled with earthly accalades?....or do we want it to be filled with how our lives pointed to God and led others to Him?



"Not well traveled, not well read....Not well-to-do, or well-bread.....
I just want to hear instead......"Well done good and faithful one!"