Wednesday, February 24, 2016

What a Joy and a Good Laugh...


Monday night I had the opportunity to speak at Evergreen Baptist Church in Tulsa, OK. It was such a sweet time of fellowship as I was able to meet with some of the ladies that make gifts for our trips, go, pray, and support our missionaries on the field. Also I was able to make some new acquaintances and had several women step-up that are prayerfully considering traveling with us this fall or in the spring of next year.  

This brings me to this bit of information. The slots are starting to fill up for the teams to Southeast Asia, Mexico, and Greece. Please contact me at vickie@purejoyinternational.org soon if you are interested in going and/or know someone who might be. I will be glad to come to your church location if you would like for me to share with your women how they can be involved in going or just being a part of a trip without leaving the country.

The above part of the blog was the ‘what a joy’ part. But this is the ‘good laugh’ part....
Monday as I was coming into Tulsa, Deb, our logistics person was at the hospital with her husband and mother-in-law who was having shoulder replacement surgery. I headed that direction because we were going to ride together to my speaking time since I was staying the night with them. Well, as life would have it, I was busy thinking about my thoughts as I was driving along and I ended up in the wrong lane to go forward at a busy intersection. So I honked at the guy to the left of me to see if he might let me pull in front of him when the light changed which would put me in the correct lane. He gave me a hand signal like “show me the money and I will”, which off course ticked me off because I wasn’t in the mood for stupidness; didn’t he know I had a church function I was going to speak at. In the meantime while I was dealing with Mr. Show Me the Money, the car behind me was laying on their horn because of course I was blocking the lane that would allow them to go ahead and turn right on red. Where is the compassion; didn’t they have enough sense to know I made a mistake and it was obvious? And yes, I was in Oklahoma with my Arkansas license plate showing. Well, the light changed and Mr. Show Me the Money let me go in front of him at which time the girl in the car behind me swooshed by on the right close enough for me to be able to tell what color eye shadow she had on as she gave me the proverbial hand sign. Now at that second I lifted my hands up as to say, “sorry” - after all I was on my way to a church speaking engagement, but while my hands were lifted up in the pose of “sorry” my ‘flesh hands’ and body were secretly out the window and fastened tightly around her little neck shouting “What is wrong with you? Do you really think I wanted to be stuck in the wrong lane with Mr. Show Me The Money and you leaning on your horn while I know I’m stopping up your passage way!” And again I reminded myself “you are speaking at a church tonight; gather your flesh and put it under the control of the Holy Spirit and for Pete’s Sake, pay attention to what lane you are supposed to be in from now on.”

Just a little true story to remind us all that apart from Him we are one big mess!!!

Love you All…

His,
Vickie

Tuesday, February 16, 2016

Consolidate....

Yesterday I had the privilege of meeting with a young man (25-year-old) to look at some possible updates to our website. The young man is very wise for his age and probably doesn’t even know it. Notice I said ‘wise’ not ‘intelligent.’ However, it just so happens he is very intelligent, too! What a powerful combination!

I want to focus on his wisdom in the blog today. As I said I was meeting with him to look at our website together and get a ‘younger mind’ perspective. In the character of the apostle Paul he started out by telling me the good things about our website. He even went on to share that we had most of the guts (my word) needed for a website to communicate. He then shared with me that while the look of our web site isn’t bad, it is just out of date. We then proceeded to talk about how to make it more user friendly, communicate what we wanted communicated more clearly and improve the look. Then he made a statement that I shall forever have packed away in my little ‘nugget bag’, “The goal isn’t to tear away features but to consolidate.”

My mind immediately switched gears from our conversation (of course he had no clue my mind had left the table) to how many marriages, families, churches, ministry organizations, etc., I have watched be destroyed over the past many years because someone didn’t like something anymore and instead of having the wisdom to know how to consolidate, they became a wrecking ball. (Please note: I realize that sometimes you cannot consolidate, so there are exceptions but I am talking generically.)

Consolidate means to:

1.      Make something physically stronger or more solid “the first phase of the project is to consolidate the outside wall.”

2.      Combine a number of things into a single, more effective or coherent whole “all manufacturing activities have been consolidated in new premises.”

Synonyms: combine, unite, merge, integrate, amalgamate, fuse, synthesize, bring together, unify

The goal with our website isn’t to go in and tear away features but to consolidate them, to do whatever it takes to make the website stronger, more effective, and a more coherent whole. 

In marriage and/or family counseling, I’m not looking at the gaping hole in the wall but I’m listening to see if I have any building materials left to work with to bring the marriage and/or family back together. To consolidate, make it stronger with what I have left to work with, not to destroy it all because of a hole. 

In churches and organizations the trend is for someone to come in and tear away the features of that church and/or ministry organizations instead of looking for and listening for ways to consolidate those features and make it stronger and unified. That is a missing piece of wisdom in our leadership today in many churches and ministry organizations. 

Can I ask you a question? Is it time to ‘listen’ instead of focusing on the hole in the wall in your marriage, family, church, and/or ministry organization? Is it time to apply the wisdom of learning that you don’t have to tear away all the features but you need the wisdom to know how to consolidate, bring together, unify, etc.?

Please be willing to step back and ask yourself these questions. Be willing to kneel before our Heavenly Father and ask Him to show you if Satan has deceived you into believing a lie that God isn’t big enough to consolidate and strengthen what the enemy has tried to take a bite out of!

Be praying for Southeast Asia. We are zeroed in on our hotel and hope to open up registration to the m’s come the first part of March. Our theme is Fight the Good Fight from 1 Timothy 6:12. 

Because we have two conferences going back to back please make sure in your giving to designate to which trip you want sponsorship for the m’s to go - Southeast Asia (September) and/or Mexico (November).

Love you all and can’t wait to watch all that God is up to for the m’s that will be attending these retreats.

His,
Vickie

 

 

Sunday, February 7, 2016

Pushed out......

Have you ever been in a situation where you were 'pushed out' of your position? Maybe standing in line for tickets to an event, boarding a plane, in line to enter an event, etc. Our flesh certainly rises up in those circumstances, doesn't it? That flesh nature of ours wants to respond immediately with "Hey! Who do you think you are?" Translated, “What about me?" Sometime we are more politically correct with a smug "Excuse me" which still translates “What about me?” Our flesh nature loves for us to snuggle up close to it! Otherwise it means death to the flesh!!!

Well, recently in reading one of my favorite authors, A.W. Tozer, he made this statement as part of his prayer, "O God, My Father, Fill me with Thyself until all myself has been pushed out."

Wow! I love that word picture. I can see and know the battle between my flesh and spirit. I can see my flesh fighting for position! I know my heart desires to submit to His spirit in me. I cry out too, LORD fill me with Thyself until all myself has been pushed out!" How ‘bout you? Need a little push today?

Teams are beginning to form for three trips in the near future. The first trip will be to Southeast Asia in September 2016. The second trip is Guanajuato, Mexico, in November 2016. And finally, Athens, Greece, February 2017.

If you are interested in going on any of these trips contact me now at vickie@purejoyinternational.org. The teams are already forming.

Love you all!

His,
Vickie