In response to The Daily Post’s writing prompt: “Mentor Me.”
The Daily Post has asked ,Have you ever had a mentor? What was the greatest lesson you learned from him or her?
Early on in my Christianity I realized I could not live out my faith alone. I needed people to walk with and if I was to have that then I was going to have to join myself to a group of folks who were like-minded.
I think many new Christians make the mistake of thinking they need to find that one person who is going to be by their side forever leading them safely through all the pitfalls of life. What I have learned is that no human being can walk with me through every one of life’s situations. In fact, the only one who will or can do that is GOD. I guess in that respect GOD is my ultimate mentor. The Bible does tell us that the Holy Spirit is the One who brings us into all truth
Christian relationship is not about finding that one mentor, guide or friend. It is about learning to live your life in a body of believers who have access to you and ability to speak into your life.
I have had many mentors throughout my Christian walk. Each one of them have been raised up for me at a different time and for a different reason. Generally speaking they did not seek me out. I found them. Also usually my mentorship was not one-to-one but done in the context of a group of other believers.
Here are some lessons I learned from some of those mentors:
Ken Knowlton- Taught me that prospering in life requires submission to authority and a willingness to be faithful to the authority God places over you even when you disagree with it.
Norris Gallop- Taught me that in ministry, leadership decisions only look black and white from the outside. Areas of grey abound.
Barry Risto- Taught me to respond to rather than react to life. It is OK not to make snap decisions.
Paul Hackett- Taught me that you can do anything but you can’t do everything.
Jody Clapp- Faithfulness is about being in it for the long haul. The moment you are in is secondary.
These are smatterings, tidbits of the understanding a few of my mentors have poured into me. I think it is important to note that not one of them could have done the job alone. They were and are each vessels raised up by the Holy Spirit to challenge me with bits of truth.
Christianity is a lifestyle of discipleship and mentorship as Paul the Apostle said, So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, 12 to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up 13 until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.
14 Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming. 15 Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ. 16 From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work. Ephesians 4:11-16 NIV
It is not about a mentor but mentors!
Archives
Afloating
In response to The Daily Post’s writing prompt: “Afloat.”
Here is our photo challenge.
This week, show us what afloat means to you.
Clouds float in the sky.
Boats float in the water.
And little ducks float too!
Hope floats from the heart of prayer.
The church floats in eternity.
Not buildings me and you!
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Fix That Car! Fix That Porch!
In response to The Daily Post’s writing prompt: “If I Had a Hammer.”
Last night my daughter called and told me she needed a new water pump in her car. Last week I learned the ABS computer in my mini-van is toast. The price for these fixes? $700.00 and $1500.00 respectively. Right now I wish I was a mechanic and I had a whole auto shop in my back pocket.
My front porch made it through another winter but more pieces of it crumbled to dust in the winter freeze. I wish I was a natural born carpenter and that working with wood felt as natural to me as the moving my fingers across the keyboard.
So many are jealous of my voice, my musical ability, my quick way with words or the speed at which I read. Honestly sometimes I think I would trade those gifts to be mechanically inclined. Still I realize each of us has a gift and we are called to use it and not covet someone else’s gift. I know if I am just faithful to God with the gift He gave me He will make a way for the things that I have no gifting for to get done.
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Three’s a Magic Number!
In response to The Daily Post’s writing prompt: “Three Letter Words.”
The Daily Post has charged us to
Write an entire post without using any three-letter words.
Here goes!~
I have three kids.
Joseph, Amanda, Melanie. Somehow we have reduced each of their names to a three letter word “—“, “—” then of course “—” . I suppose technically Amanda’s nick-name is “Mand” or “Manda” . “—” seems ungirly. However I am from MAssachusetts so I often drop last letters of words I speak. That is what happens when those of us from Massachusetts speak words like the three letter way of saying “automobile” it resonates as “cahh” instead of “—”
Although we do tend to contribute letters to certain words, especially when they finish with letters like “a”. My sister’s name is Brenda. That name is invariably changed to “Brender”. Soda becomes “Soder”. However, “holler” becomes “hollah” .
My grandparents once experienced a whole argument over where the “Tuna” resided in their house. Gramps kept telling Grams “Cupboards keep tuna”. (Of course he used three letter words)
Grams found it nearby under some sofa cushions promptly using it to change television programs, Tuners, Tunas, Brenda, Brender: Life, in truth this story, would be so much easier if everything reduced to three “lettahs.”
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Life’s a Blur
In response to The Daily Post’s writing prompt: “Blur.”
This week the Daily Post has told us to find the blurry images in our collection.
Use the link above (blue blur) to see how others blurred the edges of life a little. Here are mine:
MFA Boston, Blown glass structure taken while rotating the camera
MFA Boston taken. This effect was created by moving the camera to the right while taking the shot.
Taken on the escalator in the Guiness factory and boosted,
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Show Me Your Face!
In response to The Daily Post’s writing prompt: “It’s a Text, Text, Text, Text World.”
How do you communicate differently online than in person, if at all? How do you communicate emotion and intent in a purely written medium?
Our lead pastor often reminds us as staff of the value of face to face meetings. In a world that values quick and constant communication it is easy to forget that while information can be disseminated by cell phone or e-mail, emotion cannot be completely communicated if at all in a tweet, a text or an e-mail. Words can convey emotion but it takes time and the use of narrative (something noticeably absent from most forms of e-communication).
So if my communication involves emotion: joy, sadness, confusion, anger, or fear, I need to see the people I am communicating with. I need to read their body language. I need to hear the inflection of their words. And if I cannot see eye to eye with a person then I must absolutely meet face to face!
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No Fool In This Prankster
In response to The Daily Post’s writing prompt: “Fool Me Once.”
So the Daily Post has given us these instructions
It’s April 1st! Pull a fast one — publish a post that gently pranks your readers.
Honestly I am not much of a prankster. Some people say I’m funny but not in any practical way.
Still April Fool’s Day always gets me thinking about this quote from Christian missionary and martyr Jim Elliot.
“He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose.”
Twilah Paris wrote this song in response to that quote
Now some of you may have come to this post hoping to read something funny. The joke’s on you. Happy April Fool’s Day.
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Living Life In the 10’s and 20’s
In response to The Daily Post’s writing prompt: “Tagline.”
Today the Daily post has asked, Often, our blogs have taglines. But what if humans did, too? What would your tagline be?
My tag line would be
“living life in the 10’s and 20’s”
A few years ago God began speaking to me, through my prayer time, about becoming more “slow, constant and intentional”. I have to admit I was sort of at a loss as to the method of accomplishing that. At the time my life could have been described as busy in fits and starts while being consumed by a cloud of mess that seemed to follow me everywhere.
But God never gives us a command He won’t give us the power to obey. In prayer the idea to change how I structured my day planner was downloaded into my wee brain.
If you look at my schedule now you will see that each day is scheduled around 3 times of prayer and study and headed up by a list that looks like this
20-20-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-10-6
That stands for
20 minutes of exercise
20 minutes of rest (yes I schedule a nap everyday)
10 minutes of indoor housecleaning
10 minutes of outdoor work
10 minutes of finances
10 minutes of writing
10 pages of reading
10 blogs to be read and commented on
10 pastoral or leadership connections
10 minutes of office cleaning
and
6 family connections ( I am working my way up to 10 a day)
I don’t always make every goal but I make more of them daily because I schedule them as priorities. This is living life in the 10’s and 20’s
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Weekly Photo Challenge: Ephemeral
In response to The Daily Post’s weekly photo challenge: “Ephemeral.”
This week the Daily Post has asked us to bring light to the word EPHEMERAL with our photos.
Here are my thoughts on the subject
“All people are like grass,
and all their glory is like the flowers of the field;
the grass withers and the flowers fall,
25but the word of the Lord endures forever.”
1 Peter 24-25
The Lord is like a father to his children,
tender and compassionate to those who fear him.
14For he knows how weak we are;
he remembers we are only dust.
15Our days on earth are like grass;
like wildflowers, we bloom and die.
16The wind blows, and we are gone—
as though we had never been here.
17But the love of the Lord remains forever
with those who fear him. Psalm 103:13-17
This is what the smell of Sandalwood Incense looks like.
At sunrise everything is luminous but not clear. It is those we live with and love and should know who elude us. You can love completely without complete understanding. Norman Maclean
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The Jesus Code
In response to The Daily Post’s writing prompt: “I Walk the Line.”
The Daily Prompt today asks Have you got a code you live by? What are the principles or set of values you actively apply in your life?
I suppose it is trite to say but I try to live by the motto “WWJD” (What would Jesus do). I approach everyday with prayer directed to Jesus Christ and a renewed hope in His mercies which are new every morning.
Over time I have learned that trying to be like Jesus in my own strength is a fool’s errand. I can no more attain Christ-likeness by my own striving than a turnip can attain humanity by growing in the garden. Left to itself a turnip will always be a turnip and left to my own machinations I will always remain a sinner. But there is hope, for me at least. While I am pretty sure nothing can make a turnip turn human there is something that can transform this sinner into a righteous man; That is the power of Christ.
2 Corinthians 3:16-18 says, “whenever someone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. 17For the Lord is the Spirit, and wherever the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. 18So all of us who have had that veil removed can see and reflect the glory of the Lord. And the Lord—who is the Spirit—makes us more and more like him as we are changed into his glorious image.”
The code is “What would Jesus do”. The ability to live by the code comes through my daily inviting Jesus into my life, by prayer, to do what He would!
Lillie-Put 