A Very Lucky Girl

On the last Sunday of 2012, Life Church recruited a guest speaker to come and speak to our heathen souls about leadership. Whaaaaaa? Right? Leadership isn't exactly a cookie cutter, Sunday School, bible-beating topic. But excellent leadership is scarce, so it actually makes perfect sense to instill leadership wisdom into Christians. Because, NEWSFLASH, believing in Jesus doesn't automatically make you someone worth following (even on Twitter). You need common, worldly sense, coupled with spiritual maturity, to effectively influence people.  The guest speaker also refreshed my memory on the ACTS acronym (a useful guideline when you are lost about how to pray). But during said speaker's heartfelt advice about prayer, my mind started to wander. The ACTS acronym is honestly great for any tricky conversation. A is for Adoration. Suck up. "You've been looking so great recently! Have you been working out? I love that color on you!" C is for confession. Humbl...

Forever, regardless of age. Sharbear and I typically shop for Operation Christmas Child shoeboxes this time of year, but life is changing. So when Tyler suggested we grab Christmas Wishes from Life Church a few Sundays ago I was definitely on board. I scanned through the names and requests and landed on one-year-old Isaiah, figuring he'd be easy to shop for.  Except then I got in the car and couldn't brainstorm a single age-appropriate toy. So I texted Sharbear, since she had a one-year-old ginger at one point in life and I figured they are pretty similar to real babies, and asked her opinion on what to get Isaiah for Christmas. Our conversation went somewhat like this: Me: What do one year old boys like? Sharbear: Their mommies Me: Okay, well...he's a foster kid so...next best thing? Sharbear: Things that light up and make noise. Buttons to push. Trucks. Soft things to hug. Me: Older boys like those too.... The observation is completely true. Boys of a...

You could say I'm a little bit passionate about gender equality. In fact, people have labeled me a feminist in some respects in the past. So Sharbear wasn't surprised when I leaned over, harshly whispering in angst over the wording of a particular Life Church bullet point during the final installment of the series, "Strapped." Is that image big enough for ya? I went with extra-large photo sizing to encompass my extra large problem with this phrase. To be fair, the finale of the financial sermons was a Q&A wherein Craig Groeschel and money guru Dave Ramsey addressed concerns that had been sent in throughout the entire 5 week series. So I'm going to give Craig the benefit of the doubt here and assume that a masochistic jerk in the congregation sent in the loaded question.  I don't have a problem with the concept behind the querie. However, the phrasing can be much improved upon. For example, "What is the best way to correct your SPOUSE IF they spe...

Life Church has been doing a series on money management for the past 4 weeks. Certainly not a bad thing for a college student like myself to learn more about. Paul and Shari did a wonderful job of instilling the value of saving in me at a young age. From the time I began to receive an allowance (a monthly stipend of my age at the time didn't really go that far...), they required that 10% be placed in the offering plate on Sunday and 20% went to my savings account. That left 70% for me to do with what I pleased.  I'm still a great saver. I've saved up enough so that I won't be stressed out when I have an insurance bill for my car and the financial pull of a gas tank next year. I'm comfortable. But I fell off the tithing bandwagon probably a year ago. I owe God a lot, not just in the way of money, but also in the way of abilities and talents.  Craig Groeschel's comments about the importance of tithing and what I've been reading in Steven Furtick's ...

"Success is not final, failure is not fatal; it is the courage to continue that counts."-Winston Churchill What a brilliant guy. During their series "At the Movies", Craig Groeschel used the movie "Moneyball", starring the ever-handsome Brad Pitt to illustrate a sermon. I really liked Craig's points, some of the verses he highlighted for the congregation, and the close-ups of Brad's face.  "For though a righteous man falls seven time, he rises again..."-Proverbs 24:16 "Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up."-Galatians 6:9  I remember the first time I failed a test in school. I was in 6th grade in Ms. Newsome's history class and we were learning the African countries and capitals. Well, the rest of the class was learning them. I didn't, as evidenced by my failing grade on the quiz. This previously straight A student was DEVASTATED. Think hiccuping ...

On Sunday I went to Life Church with two of my favorite people in the whole wide world, Megan and Tyler. All was fine and dandy until Craig Groeschel (the pastor) convinced me with sucker punch wisdom that I don't open my Bible enough. Let me explain. You see that blue book leaning against the wall in the corner? That's the Holy Bible. Want to know how long it's been sitting there unopened? YEAH, I'LL BET YOU DO. I'm not telling. I do read the Bible regularly, Tyler and I do daily verses from the YouVersion Bible App that Life Church produces (yes, we are the cutest couple in all rooms at all times, how'd you know?) But I don't read it in print. I have been known to rant against the atrocity of all books being available digitally now, classics such as Little Women and Anne of Green Gables should stay page-TURNERS, not page-swipers. But what's the most classic of them all? The Bible. Do I treat it like my worn copies of my favorite reads? No, it sits ...