Moulin Rouge

"All you need is love." Though far from being on my favorite movie list, there's something compelling about the story line of Moulin Rouge. The entire movie centers around this idea that "all you need is love." And if you can just find love, you've found everything that was meant to be found.

So why am I concerning you with Moulin Rouge? Maybe it's because I think the writer was right on when it comes to what life is all about. All we need is love. All anyone is looking for is love. And unfortunately, what most people are finding is anything but love.

What got me started on this? Well, God's Word has got me thinking (funny how that happens). As I was reading through a portion of Jesus' Sermon on the Mount, His words stuck out to me in Matthew 5:22, 23-24. In the passage, Jesus is talking about anger and how we need to get our hearts & relationships right. And as I read through & began really studying what He was saying, I decided to look up some related Scriptures (a good thing to do). And well, here's what I found...

"The LORD, the LORD, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin." -Ex 34:6-7

"The LORD is slow to anger, abounding in love and forgiving sin and rebellion." -Num 14:18

"But you are a forgiving God, gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love." -Neh 9:17

"But you, O Lord, are a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness." -Ps 86:15

"The LORD is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love." -Ps 103:8

"Return to the LORD your God, for he is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love." -Joel 2:13


You know, I think God's trying to make a point here. Kind of like teachers do in school. When they really want you to get something, they repeat themselves over and over and over. And while you may think it's annoying...the fact of the matter is, you remember it! They've made it important enough & emphasized it enough, that it just kind of sticks with you.

The LORD is gracious, compassionate, faithful, and forgiving. He is slow to anger, abounding in love!

So back to Jesus & the passage in Matthew. Jesus lived a life of love- EVERYTHING He did was out of love. Imagine if we lived every moment of our life out of love...love for God. WHAT IF, we lived a life of love?

Jesus couldn't have been more clear that "All we need is love." That's why the greatest commandment is "LOVE the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. And the second is like it: LOVE your neighbor as yourself." -Mt 22:37-39

WHAT IF, we lived a life of love? WHAT IF, everything we did was because we LOVE God and want to live like Jesus?

Global Impact

Tomorrow...you won't want to miss out on all that is happening at NMC. Tomorrow is an opportunity to jump on board this movement of "Living Beyond Yourself." Come & see firsthand how you can get involved in taking God's story across the street and across the sea!

We've said "I'm In" so let's really live it out! Pray, give, go, do whatever...just get involved in sharing God's story!

My Date with Isaac

So, this weekend is incredibly packed for me because Global Impact Day/Expo is next week!!!! I have so much to get done by then...but no matter how busy things get, I ALWAYS have time for Isaac.

For those of you who don't know...Isaac is the cutest guy EVER!!! Blonde hair, blue eyes, cutest smile, best laugh...truly a dream come true! Nevermind the river of drool, chubby cheeks, and occassional diaper that needs changed! (Sorry if you thought Isaac was actually my age!) He's my college roomie's 1 1/2 year old little tike...that's right, a tike! He's walking, more like running, & is quite the talker and giggle box. If you can't tell, I absolutely adore him!

And I got to hang out with him today for 5 1/2 hours! We sang songs, played with toys, ran around, took a nap, and watched Little Einsteins. Does it get much better than that? Nevermind the mass of work that is now looming over my head...my Saturday has been a blast!

The Chair

Ever feel like you're in a wrestling match with God? That's exactly how my morning started out. I won't go into great detail because I'm still sorting through everything, but I'm pretty sure I got hit by "the chair." You know, the device that's brought out in a match when the guy really wants to get his point across & let his opponent know who's in charge? I can't say that I've ever really watched a lot of wrestling, not really much of a fan myself, but I think I can relate to all those poor unfortunates who've been clobbered over the head with "the chair."

I even hesitate to write this because my spirit is still so unsettled...but I guess that's what happens when you've been completely knocked off your feet! Anyway, the following statements jumped off the pages of the book I'm reading:

There's something God wants you to do- not to sit back and watch Him do it or passively wait for Him to do, but a calling that God waits for YOU to embrace, pursue, and fulfill...How many times have we pointed to not knowing God's will for our lives as the reason we are paralyzed from doing it? If we are not careful we will find ourselves condemning God for being silent, when in fact we have condemned ourselves for refusing to listen.

Like I said, I'm still sorting through it all...but after reading those statements, I just felt like I completely got the wind knocked out of me. So where do I go from here? What's my next step?

Great question.

The Sustaining Power of Becoming

"We all show the Lord's glory, and we are being changed to be like him." -1 Cor 3:18

Ever wonder what God is up to in your life? You know that a change needs made or something is coming, but you can't quite put your hands around it? For the past 3 nights now, I've had some restless nights. I thought maybe it was just because I've been incredibly stressed with everything going on in my life right now. But there's a stirring deep down within, a restlessness in my heart and mind. God's up to something, but what????

This morning I read this...
Perseverance is more than just waiting. It's about how and why we wait. Perseverance is both the resolve to be patient and the commitment to endure. Perseverance is critical so that we don't turn to another source of provision. Satan knows God fully intends to supply our every need, so he tempts us to choose another way before God meets us in the middle of the test. He tried to convince Jesus to turn stones into bread (Mt 4:1-11).

Most of us are eating rocks instead of waiting on God to bring us His bread! We keep trying to meet the deepest longings of our souls apart from the God who intimately created us.

"And my God will meet all your needs according to His glorious riches in Christ Jesus." -Phil 4:19

Sometimes, it's simply a matter of waiting, trusting, & persevering. God, help me to live this way- I don't want to be found eating rocks when you show up with the bread!

A Revolution...

Webster defines revolution as "a complete or radical change of any kind." With all due respect to Webster, that definition doesn't do justice to the revolution that started today! Radical? Yes, and unbelievable, indescribable, insanely amazing, start of something new!!!! That's the kind of revolution that happened when 650+ people decided to go out into their surrounding communities & literally take to the streets this idea of serving others!

"Let what we do in here, fill the streets out there!"

The Revolution has begun...