Power with Purpose!

Get a red envelope. You can buy them at Kinkos, or at party supply stores..

On the front, address it to:

President Barack Obama
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Ave NW Washington , D.C. 20500

On the back, write the following message:

“This envelope represents one child who died because of an abortion. It is empty because the life that was taken is now unable to be a part of our world.”

Mail the envelopes out March 31st, 2009.

Put it in the mail, and send it. Then forward this event to every one of your friends who you think would send one too. I wish we could send 50 million red
envelopes, one for every child who died [in the U.S.] before having a chance to live.

It may seem that those who believe abortion is wrong are in a minority. It may seem like we have no voice and it's shameful to even bring it up. Let us show our President and the world that the voices of those of us who do not believe abortion is acceptable are not silent and must be heard.

Together we can change the heart of The President and save the lives of millions of children, or at least expose him for who he really is – an ultra-liberal who cares nothing for the sanctity of life.

Thank you.

Barack Obama spoke at a Planned Parenthood Action Fund event, uttering the now infamous line, "Well, the first thing I'd do as president is, is sign the Freedom of Choice Act. [Applause.] That's the first thing that I'd do."

An empty red envelope will send a message to President Barack Obama that there is moral outrage in this country over this issue [The Freedom of Choice Act, which will essentially "undo" every law currently in place to limit abortion in the U.S. (i.e., parental consent laws, parental notification, waiting periods, prohibition of transporting a minor girl across state lines to obtain an abortion, etc.)]. It will be quiet, but clear.

I was thinking about Romans 12:3-5 this morning and how we all need to think soberly about ourselves; not too high, or too low. Because we are all members of the same body of Christ. We all have different places and we are members of, and for each other.

The body of Christ is like a puzzle and each of us is a piece of that puzzle. Some of us are in the puzzle but we don't quite seem to fit, so we wonder if we are in the right spot.

Some of us are in the wrong spot - but we are so sure that we are in the right place that we will stubbornly hold firm; thinking only of ourselves and our place while the rest of the puzzle remains incomplete because of us. Puzzles with missing and/or out-of-place pieces are a sore sight!

No matter where we are in the process of the puzzle there is a Hand that can take each piece and place it exactly where it needs to go for a perfect fit for itself, and the whole puzzle! As pieces, our place is "printed" on us by the Puzzle Maker: He knows where we belong better than we do!

This is where faith and trust come in. Do you believe God is in control and knows where to place you? Can the clay ask the potter, "Why hast thou made me thus?" How about a puzzle piece asking the same thing about where to be in the puzzle? Remember, the One piecing the puzzle together is the only one that can see the big picture.

What do you think?

We held Session 3 of Chip Ingram's Romans 12 series at Perry and Michelle's house and it was yet another wonderful move of God!

Good food as always and wonderful fellowship preceded a purposeful time of study as we discussed verse 2 of Romans chapter 12 - being separate from the world system. I was expecially honored that the teenagers among us felt free to talk about their view of the world system in an honest and forthright way. The young people of our church face many challenges in dealing with what the world entices them with and many more challenges from within themselves as they wrestle with the curiosity that comes natural to young people on the verge of adulthood.

Being separate from the world system is not such a challenging task for many of those who have spent their life in church and have their heart set on the things of God. However, there are many people coming into the church today that are bringing a lot of worldly baggage with them and they think it's okay to try and be a Christian while still hanging on to it.

If you've been a Christian for a while and have dedicated your life to God, you'll know that interacting with people like this can be difficult. How do you encourage new converts to live for God when they still seem to want to hang onto so much of the world system and their old ways? Obviously something out there is still appealing to them.

It takes prayer and patience. It takes trusting God, and it takes knowing His word. Encouraging new Christians to surrender to God and become separate from the world is necessary! Otherwise they will simply not last. Falling away is easy to do for dedicated people, many of us have seen it. Those new to the faith don't really stand a chance if they don't see seasoned Christians demonstrating the Romans 12 lifestyle.

That is why we are studying Romans 12. We want to be authentic disciples of Jesus Christ.

As always, we finished our lesson and discussion with prayer. God has been moving in a powerful way during these prayer times and you can feel His strengthening and uplifting presence. I can't find the words in the short amount of time I have to explain phenomenon but I can tell you that we're all exciting about where the Lord is going to take us as we continue to move forward, preparing ourselves so that He will always be free to work His will in us.

As I was praying today I began to hear the still, small voice speaking to me about a time of letting go of past experiences and education. I was reminded of the prophecy that came through John Ragsdale last year. I just so happened to have took some notes on that prophecy and they were this:

“A new wave is coming to the body of Christ. New things always precede new ways. There's a new sound coming and the sign is in the sound. God has set you up with a purpose. He doesn't care about your talent or your looks. He cares about the purpose being fulfilled.”

It's not difficult to look around and see the fulfillment of His purpose getting closer every day. I see it in my own life and the lives of others around me. God is indeed preparing to do something different and He is preparing His people to be ready for it, (A new wave is coming to the body of Christ. New things always precede new ways. There's a new sound coming and the sign is in the sound. God has set you up with a purpose).

It seems like past experiences and some things we have learned are going to have to be shelved and moved out of the way in order for this move to take place (He doesn't care about your talent or your looks). More than anything else, I can see the preparation taking place in my life and the lives of others. The changes happening in our mind and in our circumstances give me hope that the Lord is almost ready to make a move (He cares about His purpose begin fulfilled), but it seems as if this move will not begin until we let go of some more things.

What is it you may ask? I don't know. In fact, there are many of us that think we know but I believe God is going to surprise all of us. The 'newness' of this thing is not based on what we know of the past whether it be circumstance, experience, or education. It is based on God's word which is timeless, without beginning or end. To us what will be, with God, already is.

His time, His will, His way. It's almost here.

Recently a door opened for my wife and I to get away for a few days, and a good couple, sensitive to the need, really came through for us with a great place to stay.

I have to say that Sandra and I probably enjoyed ourselves this weekend more than any other time since we have been married. We definitely discovered that God has truly brought us into a state of being in one mind and one accord. You're supposed to have that when you're married, right?

We have always been pretty good at working through the various difficulties we have had to face in our marriage. It's been a matter of caring enough about the other half of yourself that you're willing to give and compromise. Stubbornness and selfishness must go to the back of the bus.

How did we get here? I had been spending daily time in the Word and in prayer regarding our upcoming getaway. I welcomed the opportunity not just for relaxation, but to get some meaningful and lasting time for reflection and regrouping. You see, I quickly came to understand that; once the vacation was over, the same problems and stresses that we left would be there when we got back. My question then was, "How do I use this time to relax yet also make it profitable in light of my current season?"

Changing my way of thinking has been at the forefront of my thought life. The reason was; after reflecting upon the past few years, I realized that a change was overdue. A lot of (what I thought was), God's will simply wasn't bearing fruit, and through my studies I began to realize that it was time to “let go and let God…”

In preparation for our weekend together I started by writing down the issues that I wanted to deal with. Then I listed the goals that I wanted to achieve for the year. Then I began to study the resources that I had built up over the years that dealt with problem solving and goal management. I listed relevant notes regarding each subject in my paper. As the paper grew and matured I continued to pray and read. The Daniel Fast and other changes in my diet helped tremendously with my ability to focus and avoid thinking traps. By the time our mini-vacation was here, I was pleased to see that my study and prayer time was beginning to pay off. Answers to most of my questions were listed on the paper and my focus went from a generalized, round-about jumble of possibilities to a laser-focused outline of an action plan - exactly the result I was looking for!

Actually, the results were a combination of putting off some things as well as making changes. Sandra and I were very pleased with what we ended up with. The plan we have in place relieves us of a lot of unnecessary stress and unrealistic expectations. It frees us up to objectively evaluate our responsibilities, our needs, and our desires. It has helped us to turn our goals into S.M.A.R.T. goals, (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and Timely). It also revealed to us some things that we were neglecting in our lives; things we thought were meant as a test or sacrifice for the kingdom. In fact, they were simply things that we needed to stop neglecting and take care of: things that we were avoiding, avoidance that was justified for the sake of 'being faithful.'

Where do we stand now? We are a lot clearer on both our immediate needs and our future goals. Our attitude is better about almost everything and our to-do list is more manageable. One specific thing we realized about time management was that; like a financial budget, your time budget needs maneuvering room. It needs a little (sometimes a lot of!) grease for the wheel now and again. This is something we learned about our money a few years back and it has paid off in both peace and prosperity.

Finally, I have reconciled within myself that there are some things that I wish would happen that probably won’t. God has given me the grace (through prayer, fasting, study, and a great speech by Tommy John on knowing your limits), to accept this and the joy to continue what the Lord has gifted me to do without the unnecessary burden that comes with aiming too high, too far, and by taking into account that; sometimes, you have to use a little ‘windage’ to hit the target.

This would be a good spot to paraphrase Elizabeth Gilbert: You may have hit your peak, past your prime, and your best work may behind you. Then again it may not. Just keep doing your job: “Continue to show up for your piece of it… the most extraordinary aspects of our being may not come from you but, maybe, if you just believe that they’re on loan to you…”

Ole’ nonetheless, Elizabeth! Ole' nonetheless!