Many of the women of Our Time have been looking to the importance of this scripture in James 4:14, where is says, “You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away.”  We have always known that we have a mandate to make this moment count, however, if we are just a vapor, a wisp that goes by that fast on this planet, we had better make our time count!  So it is with increased urgency that we are building the hearts of the women of our church.  Through in depth Bible Studies and learning times together, we are enlarging our capacities, we are reaching out to our world to give and to help  more. We are not content any longer to sit with the ranks on the sidelines in life, but we are throwing ourselves into the game.

This week I have seen women get in the game by helping and loving children at Mega Sports Camp.  I have seen women choose to get back in the game after realizing that they are done with their needed time out.  I have seen women get in the game by encouraging others to do a really tough Bible study that takes tenacity.  I have seen women get in the game by voicing their gratitude in emails.   I have seen women in the game when they love their families with all their strength.  I have seen women in the game when they face illness with dignity and courage.

And  when I see these women in the game, I see that they are BEAUTIFUL!

Upcoming Events

Hey just wanted to update everybody on some upcoming events in Children’s Church!

This Sunday is our quarterly Beyond Us Offering.  In celebration of that we will be handing out free donuts and juice to all the kids that come.  Don’t forget to bring you change when you come so that you can participate in the offering.  This is an excellent opportunity to bless those less fortunate than ourselves. 

Also, this Sunday is the kick-off of Mega Sports Camp 2009 – The Journey!! We will be having evening services for kids ages 5-12 Sunday through Thursday. Services will begin at 6:30 pm and end at 8:00 pm. This is a communty event so feel free to bring as many visitors as you can. We will have different sports that the kids can participate in, bounce houses on Wednesday, free snacks will be provided at each service, and there will be a raffle prize every night.

Can’t wait to see everyone on Sunday!

Follow us on Twitter – @cccpowerup

A Little Friendly Perspective

A couple weeks ago, my husband and I went to Bishop to enjoy their small town 4th of July festivities. They had elephant ears, corn dogs, (mmm), fun stuff for kids to do, and fireworks for sale.  As I sat to wait for some friends, I watched a young girl on the rock climbing wall.  She struggled to get her hands and feet to stay on the footholds, but kept sliding down.  Finally someone who was watching out for her started yelling to her, “there are hand grips on the sides!  Hold on to the grips!”

And the girl still couldn’t see them and kept sliding off.  The person continued yelling, “lean back and look!  They’re right there!”  So the girl leaned her body backward and scanned the wall with her eyes, and sure enough, the grips were right there.  She grabbed hold, and up she went.

It got me thinking, how we are sometimes too close to our own problems, and we can feel ourselves climbing in vain, wondering what the problem is, confounded by the fact that we keep falling down.  We need a friend who will step back, look at our situation and holler out to us, to tell us a better way.  That’s what a good friend will do, even if we don’t want to hear it.

I have been so blessed with many wonderful friends.  I used to use the description, “I go to church with that woman”, or “that chick is in my Bible Study”, but now these are the same people I now consider very dear friends who I can stretch and grow with every week.  Last week they blessed me so much with kind words of encouragement on my birthday.  More love than I could have imagined actually.

I hope you have firends in your life who will look out for you and yell at you when you need to do something different in your life, and friends who will grow with you, and friends who will love you and celebrate who you are.   Don’t forget to express love to the friends in your life this week.  They are a gift to you from God.

School Packets are available beginning Monday, August 3rd online or through the CCS Office.

The forms inside your School Packet are due back to the CCS office no later then the first day of school.

Please do not hesitate to call the CCS office at 883.3009 or email melanie@thinkccc.com, if you have any questions.

Thank you for choosing to enroll your student in Capital Christian School!

Longing

This past Sunday we started on a journey in worship, and where we will end up I am not sure. I know God is leading us in a general direction but I am not sure of the specific location. It’s like knowing you’re going north, but there is a lot up north and you could end up anywhere.

Anyway…lots of people like to say, “A leader can’t lead where he has never been.” I don’t think that’s true. I am trying to lead on a journey of worship, and I’ve never been there because I don’t know where we are going. I think a leader can’t lead where he is not willing to forge a way or go himself (or herself). In other words, if we can only lead to places we’ve already been where do we leave room for entrepreneurs and exploration to the unknown. We would be left without Columbus and the New World; Lewis, Clark, and the West; a man on the moon. We need people who will lead us into the unknown.

That’s where we are headed over the next 4-6 weeks. The unknown. But it started this week as we tried to put words to our longing for God. I’ve discovered that a lot of my time is spent praying for God to fill the gaps in my life. And I know He loves to do that. He loves to provide for my needs. But this past week I’ve been struck by the need to pray for God to make some gaps in me. I want God to create some longing in me.

Why?

Because God has some wonderful promises for people who long in life. Matthew 5:6 says, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.” Filled. Filled to the top, overflowing, can’t contain it. Filled. That’s a promise worth having.

Isaiah 55 in the Message says:

Hey there! All who are thirsty,
come to the water!
Are you penniless?
Come anyway—buy and eat!
Come, buy your drinks, buy wine and milk.
Buy without money—everything’s free!
Why do you spend your money on junk food,
your hard-earned cash on cotton candy?
Listen to me, listen well: Eat only the best,
fill yourself with only the finest.
Pay attention, come close now,
listen carefully to my life-giving, life-nourishing words.
I’m making a lasting covenant commitment with you,
the same that I made with David: sure, solid, enduring love.

That’s a promise we would all like. Free, unmerited, unearned, unexpected generosity. An outpouring of sure, solid, enduring love.

The chapter finishes:

So you’ll go out in joy,
you’ll be led into a whole and complete life.
The mountains and hills will lead the parade,
bursting with song.
All the trees of the forest will join the procession,
exuberant with applause.
No more thistles, but giant sequoias,
no more thornbushes, but stately pines—
Monuments to me, to God,
living and lasting evidence of God.

What a picture! Your life turned from thistle to giant sequoia! My life, whole and complete. Us, monuments to God.

There’s only one problem. To hunger and thirst, you have to be in a place of want in life. You have to lack. And I am always asking for God to make my life without want. Without lack. Without longing. The promises are for those whose state of being is unfulfilled. Not a prayer I hear a lot. But I know that this is where the journey begins. My leap, our leap, into the unknown begins with an unsatisfied longing deep within our souls. Pray that dangerous prayer with me and let’s see where God leads us.

Upcoming events

Summer is in full swing, and it’s time to have some 20someone fun. So here are a few things coming up that you should mark on your calendar.

THIS WEDNESDAY. July 15, 7:00 PM-Bowling at Carson Lanes. There are still open during construction, and we have lanes reserved. You’re gonna need some cash for games and those awesome bowling shoes.

Wednesday, July 29 Day at the beach. We might hang out there all day, but you can join us anytime. I will have more info for just as soon as I decide on the info.

Friday and Saturday, August 14-15 Camping and Job’s Peak Hike. This is awesome every year. You can come just for the camping but I encourage you to stay for the hike. Last year a couple got engaged up there so I wonder what will happen this year!

Of course we will have more details for you, but mark ‘em down and save the date.

See you Wednesday.

Life Lessons From My Dog

I arrived home from camping last week end and bathed my  dog Mayflower, which was quite a process, and put her out in the yard to dry, thinking she’d be so worn out I wouldn’t see much of her again that day.  As I watched her, I observed many things.  She realized at one point that she had gained an audience, so she began running in circles, chasing her tail, until she succeeded.  At which point she would stop and look up, tail in mouth, expecting applause.

I continued to watch her patrol the perimeter of the yard, chasing birds away from the water fall.  Barking at passing noisy children.

And I observed her coming to me, just to say hello.  Resting her little head on my leg.  Wanting to sit with me and just be. Or getting nose to nose with me, looking me in the eye, to make sure I smile at her.

And it got me thinking about how similar the Christian life can be to that of Mayflower life.  Let me tell you how:

The running around part?  Catching the tail part?  That is sometimes us, when we do things for God  in public.  Things like serving and volunteering. We pant really hard, run around fast, and strive for the approval of the people, and of God, as we then stop and wait for applause.

The patrolling of the yard is like the diligent efforts to maintain our Christian walk; the reading, the prayer, the character building things that we can never allow ourselves to get tired of.

But oh, the spending time with me?  That’s us spending time with God, just saying I want to be close to you, God.  That’s us coming alongside people, looking them in the eye, making sure they are doing well and growing and connecting.

Paul says in Ephesians 4:2-3 “I want you to get out there and walk—better yet, run!—on the road God called you to travel. I don’t want any of you sitting around on your hands. I don’t want anyone strolling off, down some path that goes nowhere. And mark that you do this with humility and discipline—not in fits and starts, but steadily, pouring yourselves out for each other in acts of love, alert at noticing differences and quick at mending fences.”

So, which part pleases me about my dog?  All of it.

Which part pleases God about us?  All of it.  Every part of our life is pleasing to God when we go all out for Him.

So let me encourage you today, run hard, bark loud and sit.  It gives God joy to watch you be who you are.