God of the Impossible Messes

Monday, 13 July 2009

Sally is doing morning devotionals for us each morning on the life of Jacob from Genesis. Here is what struck me about Jacob as I was thinking through what she was saying and what God’s word says about him:

Genesis 25:23 “And the Lord said to [Rebekah], ‘Two nations are in your womb, and two peoples from within you shall be divided; the one shall be stronger than the other, the older shall serve the younger.’”
25:27 “When the boys grew up, Esau was a skillful hunter, a man of the field, while Jacob was a quiet man, dwelling in tents.”

Jacob was quiet, probably sitting back and observing all that was going on, figuring ways to work his family to his advantage. He cheated his brother out of his birthright. He lied and schemed to steal his Father’s blessing which also belonged to his brother. The Lord ordained from the beginning of time that the older (Esau) would serve the younger (Jacob) and all of this would be accomplished through Jacob’s sin. Bottom line: Jacob was a liar and a cheater.

So, when God refers to Himself as “The God of Jacob,” He is saying that He is the God of the liar and the cheater. I find that incredibly encouraging! Perhaps He really can be trusted to work in areas where things seem to be out of control or where we think we have crossed some self-defined point of no return. Perhaps He truly is the God of impossible messes!

Diva

Sunday, 12 July 2009

I love sitting around with women and talking, really talking and not just shooting the breeze. That was dinner Sunday night. Connie, Sally, Whitney and I went to an Italian restaurant and the food was okay but the conversation was incredible and just what I needed. Sally doesn’t really know any of us so she began asking questions to remedy that situation. She was asking about my job as a counselor and the kinds of situations I see in dealing with my students. I hear some horrible stories from my students about their families and their lives but very rarely am I able to cry with them over these. This seems strange because if you have sat anywhere near me in church the past few months, you know I’m a crier; so much so that Whitney has started carrying Kleenex in her purse for me. Sally inquired about this and I took it as an invitation to somewhat unload some of the emotional circumstances of my life lately. Of course she didn’t have any solutions and I didn’t expect her to, but it was so encouraging to hear a fresh perspective. She left me with a lot to think about. I really feel like I’m on a much needed spiritual retreat and I am loving it.

Burbany

Sunday, 12 July 2009 Greystones Presbyterian Church

Church was so good! Monty, the pastor, had a baptism at his other church so John, the intern, did the whole service. I love that he wore blue jeans, a t-shirt, a hoodie, and 2 earrings. Despite his shy nature, it is obvious that he loves Jesus and longs for others to know Him. I think someone said he became a Christian through a conversation over the internet. Anyway, he basically read his sermon which I was a little concerned about at first, but WOW!!! God really spoke to me through him and I can’t wait to go online and listen to it again. It was good to hear again, from a fresh perspective, what I already know to be true. He preached from 1 Peter 1-2:3 about being a new person in Christ.

He said several things that were noteworthy but here are three that have resonated with me since:

• In the midst of persecution, the early Christian church was known to out live, out love, and out laugh their neighbors. I don’t think that is the case these days. It seems that many believers often think it more spiritual to be solemn and sad when we are called to be joyful.
• Our faith becomes stronger and purer in the face of temptation and trials. No one was ever pampered into being strong in their faith.
• I am called to be a new person but at the same time, He is making me a new person. So often I live as though it is all up to me but it isn’t. It makes me think of The Good Confession by Andrew Peterson:

“All I know is that I was blind but now I see;

Though I kick and scream, love is leading me;

And every step of the way His grace is making me;

Every breath I breathe, He is saving me;

And I believe.

So when my body’s weak and the day is long,

When I feel my faith is all but gone,

I’ll remember when I sang this song that I believe:

I believe He is the Christ, Son of the Living God.”

He who began a good work in me will be faithful to complete it. Thank God!

Knickerbocker Glory

We arrived in Greystones, via Dart train, around 6pm last night. The weather was horrible and luckily we were able to get in touch with Gwen Montgomery (Gwen's husband, Monty (David) is the pastor at Greystones Presbyterian Church) who was able to pick us up instead of us walking as we had originally planned. We are now staying at The Slievemore Bed and Breakfast with Pippens and Stan, the owners. We had our first experience in a real Irish pub. It was pretty much what I had imagined: people sitting around drinking pints and socializing. The time with Gwen and Monty was really good as we learned much about their ministry in the community of Greystones. What I gather from them, as well as from Paige whom we met up with Friday night, is that the Irish are pretty non-committal when it comes to fellowship. They will come to church on Sundays for the Sunday service but don't want take part in anything outside of that. The lack of community can lead to frustration and burn-out very quickly. I was reminded, once again, just how blessed I am to have the fellowship and community that I have.

I'm presently sitting in a restaurant with Whitney, using the wi-fi. There is no place to plug in the computer so I'm going to have to cut it short today. I hopefully will write more later. I want to tell you about the worship service we went to today.

Here is a photo of me from St. Stephen's on the Green, a park/garden area in Dublin. Well, nevermind; the wi-fi signal is too low.

An Eight Hour Flight and A Four Hour Nap

Here are the highlights of our trip to Ireland so far:

• The flight from Birmingham to Atlanta was short and uneventful except for the heavy breather that sat next to me.
  
• We got to Atlanta with a little time and empty stomachs. For some reason we thought On The Border (Mexican) would be a good idea for dinner before getting on a 7 hour flight. Oh, by the way, it wasn't.
• Photo 1: Whitney and I on the flight to Ireland; we had already taken our sleeping meds and were ready to snooze. Photo 2: Connie asleep on the plane. We weren't fortunate enough to be bumped up to first class like Bob was so we didn't get much sleep. Photo 3: The food they served on the plane; didn't eat it.
  

• We found a bus that would take us to the general vicinity of our hotel and then walked a short way on the streets of Dublin with our luggage. Our hotel is adjoined to a fire station. For those who know the story, that is really funny!
• We got to the hotel and slept for almost 4 hours and now we are ready to see some of the city.

Keep checking back for more updates.

IRELAND!!!!!

I leave for Ireland this Thursday, for 13 days, with 5 other women! In her latest blog post, Whitney sums up exactly what I'm thinking and feeling about this trip. Here is a copy of the email I sent to my supporters with some prayer requests attached:

Thank you so much for partnering with me as I travel with 5 other women to Dublin and Greystones, Ireland. We are all so excited about this trip and can not wait to see what the Lord has in store for us. This is trip is a little different from other mission trips I have been on in the past in that we do not have a set schedule. We have been told by one of the missionaries in Ireland that the Irish are much more concerned with the relationship than the time constraints we tend to put on meetings and agendas. As I mentioned in my support letter, Sally Breedlove, author and speaker, will be traveling with us and speaking at a couple of women's retreats sponsored by local churches. The goal is to use these retreats as a way to minister to the churched and unchurched women in the local communities. We will also spend a good bit of time with three missionaries (one married lady and two single ladies), encouraging and ministering to them.

I hope to update my blog daily with photos and stories of what we are seeing the Lord do. My blog can be found at www.learningtowaltz.blogspot.com.

Below you will find a few prayer requests for our team and our time in Ireland. Your prayers during our time away are so important and coveted. Thank you, again!

Julie

Prayer for 2009 Ireland Missions Team

July 9 – 21, 2009

Julie Ammons, Sally Breedlove, Michele Bullock, Connie Norton, Whitney Shores, Allison Sinclair

Prayer Needs:

· Pray for Michele Bullock to overcome her fear of flying, and that she and Allison will have no anxiety or fear during their flights! They are flying out 3 days after Connie, Whitney, and I.

· For God to open up doors for us to share the Gospel with the women of Ireland & that He will use our team to create a thirst for more of Jesus in the hearts of these women. (Colossians 4:2-6)

· For God to use us to encourage Michelle Tarter and Gwen Montgomery during our time with them.

· For God to prepare our hearts as we seek to love these women with the love of Christ. (Phil. 1:9-11)

· Team Unity, Physical Health and Safety. (Philippians 2:1-4 & Psalm 91:11)

· For God to help us plan for another missions trip for 2010.

· That God would do “exceeding abundantly beyond ALL that we could ask or think, according to the power that works within us – to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus forever and ever!” (Ephesians 3:20-21)

· Names of People we will be connecting with: Chuck and Michelle Tarter, Monty and Gwen Montgomery, Paige Larson and Sarah Julien.

The Challenge

My Monday night small group started this challenge today. Check it out; you might want to do it yourself.