Screamin' Plants

During our "Saturday Morning Cartoon Extravaganza" this morning, me and little man watched Beakman's World. While Beakman was answering viewer questions, he stumbled across one that asked, "Do plants really make noise when they need water?" His answer was something I had never heard before....YES! I did not know that plants made a high pitched screaming noise when they need water, higher than what we can hear, almost like a dog whistle or something. Maybe I just missed that one during 3rd grade Science class, anyways, just humor me.

Ever been there? Screamin' out, and nobody can hear you. You need relief, but it seems that you are doing nothing more than blowing a whistle that nobody else can hear. This is a common place, not only for leaders, but it seems that this silent scream has found it's way into all of our lives sooner or later. Nobody to talk to, they wouldn't understand, their judgments to much to handle, but the bottom line....if you don't get some water pretty soon, you will die in this desert land we call life.

Thank God for His Son Jesus, that gave us a promise in John 7:37, "If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink." The only difference between our inner scream and a plants' scream is the simple fact that when we scream out, someone hears us.

In High Demand

The other day, I had a thought about working with volunteer helpers and lay ministers....people who put in lots of work for not a lot of pay! How much can you demand from them? When have you asked for too much? When are you on safe ground? Have you strained your relationship? Are you still scraping the bottom of the bucket when the supply ran out a long time ago? These are all questions that run through the minds of leaders whose realms stretch beyond paid employees.

As I pondered this question it seemed as though Jesus spoke with clarity to my spirit and said, "You can go as far as your investment and chemistry will allow you." What a thought! Jesus invested everything into his followers while always attempting to make a valid connection with everyone He met. His time, His resources, His energy, His passion, His LIFE, everything He had...He invested. Investments insure that our stock is sufficient for the demand. In the leadership arena though, investment is not enough alone. The Scriptures are clear about the first century church, "they had everything in common." (Acts 2:44) Sounds like a pretty incredible chemistry to me! Surely they weren't all the same personalities with the same interests. So, why were they so connected? They had the same goal and the same purpose in view. They followed the same vision wholeheartedly....they all KNEW the vision! No matter how many different ministries we have, and how diverse the responsibilities, there must be one common thread, something strong enough to hold everyone together and push them towards the end result while allowing them to operate in their individual giftings. Their "common thread" was to love God and love people (as should ours be), and that very command kept them connected and energized to see the mission fulfilled. But, that would have never happened if Jesus didn't first invest, and He couldn't have invested without some type of chemistry or connection. That is why His teachings were always relative to the audiences personalities and experiences. It was probobly the reason Paul stated "I become all things to all men that I might win some."(1 Cor. 9:22) Investment and Chemistry absolutely go hand in hand. If I invest in you, but I have no chemistry with you, you might respect me for my investment while you will still be reluctant to fully commit to me or the mission because there is no real connection between us. If we have a great chemistry, but we never invest anything into the relationship, the chemistry that initially connected us will dissolve. Given, we will not always have a personal chemistry with everyone we meet, but there should be One Common Thread with the people we serve with.

I could talk about this for awhile, but that is it in a nutshell. If we want our volunteers and laity to respect us and stay on board we should invest in them and allow the chemistry provided to the body of Christ through the Cross to keep us connected. Just a thought!

The Most Horrible Thing

I had to take Seth to get his 12 month shots yesterday. It was a heart-wrenching experience to say the least! The nurse immediately stated that Seth would be needing 7 SHOTS! Of course, I freaked and asked, "Why so many?!" After my confessed concern, she found her mistakes and the total was reduced to 5....still a lot of torture for my little man, but better than the alternative. I was unaware of the fact that they could've also combined the shots to minimize the number of punctures he would recieve, and so ignorantly, I held Seth's little hand while they commenced to gouge his little thighs with five needles. It was horrible to watch him go through such repeated pain. I know....I know, it was the best thing for him, but it was still a grueling experience. I was pretty upset when I found out that she could have combined the shots and never told me! Anyways, after that experience, my thoughts reverted back to the relentless punishment that the Son of God endured. I couldn't help but think about Jesus on the Cross, and the Father having to turn his head from His one and only Son as he suffered so intensely. At least I was able to comfort my son, God had to turn from His Son because Jesus became sin on the Cross for our forgiveness. For the first time in all of eternity or all eternity to come, Jesus and the Father were separated from communion together, as evidenced in Matthew 27:46. I cannot fathom the weight of that moment. It boggles me. The love, the sacrifice, the victory....it is all so deep. It is hard for me to let my son go through agony even when it is for his own benefit, much less letting him endure it for someone else! God's love amazes me...and it challenges me to confront my own shallow version of love and delve deeper and deeper into that Love that knelt at that whipping post, bore the shame, endured the mockery, and hung there on that Cross over 2,000 years ago.

Freedom

OK, so God woke me up the other night for one of those 3a.m. meetings, you know....one of those bitter sweet experiences. I hate being messed with when I am sleeping, but I am sure glad that I responded to God that night! God began to pour into my spirit some pretty cool bits of wisdom on the topic of freedom. Here are a few of the highlights from that awesome meeting:

• Freedom is a release from the things that hold us captive, from the powers that delve us deeper and deeper into despair, from the demons that incapacitate us, and from the temptations that manipulate us.
• Freedom is never relegated to one specific place, but is meant to better the lives of those surrounding it, and not only better them, but solidify them as well.
• When you are set free, you have a responsibility to that freedom to allow it to permeate the areas surrounding you. If you ever stifle that freedom, you will surely lose it...freedom has a natural progression, not recession.