The Lord’s Prayer gathering…

We tied up our series in Souljourn on the Lord’s Prayer this last week with a big review and… time of prayer!!  Imagine that.  Here is our order of service… I’ll try to explain a little how what we did.  The flow was beautiful and one thing naturally flowed into another.  On the left hand side are the phrases of the prayer, read by MJ (pastor) and on the right is what we said, sang, watched, etc…

AUDIO 2 Chronicles 7: 13-14 (read from biblica.com)

MJ Prayer:                                          Prayer for the churches in Anchorage

SONG                                                         Pray

*Our Father in the heavens              (FATHER’s Love Letter – youtube with Scriptures list)

SONG                                                         He Knows My Name

*Hallowed be thy Name Renee: (lead church through listening prayer, Ps 139 verse, hand positions of surrender)

*Thy Kingdom come … (songs)

SONG                                                           Let Your Kingdom Come

SONG                                                             Lead Me to the Cross

MJ: (at some point during song invite people to cross which is in center of room today)

*Give us our daily bread at the cross for communion

*Forgive us our sins… MJ: stay @ cross and write out sins of others & self, tack up onto cross

SONG                                              Lead Me to the Cross,  bridge and chorus

SONG                                              Freedom Reigns

SONG                                              Taste and See

*Lead us not into temptation… MJ (laying on of hands for HS empowering)(CD music)

*For Thine is the Kingdom… (Six people reading six sentences relating the following statement back to each of the previous portions of the Lord’s Prayer… “Because the Kingdom, Power and Glory belong to You, we can….”  while music begins)

SONG                                     Yours Is the Kingdom

SONG                                     Salvation Belongs to Our God

SONG                                    Our God Reigns – (forever His Kingdom Reigns)

SONG                                   Salvation Belongs to Our God (chorus)

Sign up sheet for a week of 24/7 prayer…

It was a beautiful time of bringing the series together and taking the ‘rote’ out of the Lord’s Prayer.

Bits of family life

Am I really back?  I’m not sure why I blog anyway, to be honest.    I suppose it is a record of sorts.

After 11 days of fevers, Talia was finally better, and Thad came down with ‘it’.  I suppose they were both swine flu.  Thad ended up with a monster ear infection by the 4th day, but his fevers are now done, and it looks like no one else is getting sick.  I am looking forward to no more sickness and improved sleeping habits by the youngest.  I think her tummy has settled from the antibiotics and her yeast levels are back to normal, so I believe we’ll be starting solids this week! I think we’ll start with one of the 15 squash sitting on our kitchen window sill!   Here are the first lot before Bryan went to the store and brought home another 7!   I don’t even like squash, to be honest, but I am surely going to be eating it!!

Talia is rolling all around the floor now, impressing us and herself.  She is smiley and beautiful and an absolute joy.  Now and then she has a real temper.  I heard her in a huge upset and came in worriedly, and Bryan was standing there laughing at her on the floor, screaming mad because he took a book away from her!   wow.  She may be like me in more ways than one…

Tonight is the conclusion of our study on the Lord’s Prayer.  The whole service will be ‘the prayer’… I’ll make a post of it tomorrow so you can see kind of how we did it.  It will be followed by a week of the prayer room in Eagle River being open 24/7.  I am praying God continues to change us as we seek Him, and that the vision for a 24/7 prayer room in Anchorage will realized sooner than we can deem possible.

Worship Gathering Feb 8

This evenings gathering was great.  It wasn’t everything I hoped it would be.  (As in there were plenty of ’sitters’ who weren’t ready to participate in any new ways – such as painting, bowing, kneeling, dancing, flags… whatever)  But there was still a sweet time of worship, and the worship team had a great time together!

Keenan really wanted to paint, so we went and got him from children’s church (which he thinks he might be a little old for – and I let him know he is more than welcome to stay up with us!)

He painted… I couldn’t watch him really from where I was, but he was really into it, standing using both hands and arms, tongue out in concentration as he does… towards the end using the paint bottles to splash color all over his work…

I asked him later to tell me about his painting.  (It’s true… I wasn’t sure…)  It looked like a cross underneath a whole lot of paint… a 18 x 18 square which looked purpley browny black… then I realized it was a man… with lots of paint on top splashed with red and smeared in, and then streaks of yellow on top.

His answer: Jesus coming out of hell after freeing all the people.

Well.  Ok then!   He never ceases to amaze me!!

I asked him why he thought to paint that, and he answered: because I felt really happy.

If only I had a copy of it… whoever cleaned the paint table chucked all the paper out!!

Leading worship, Prayer rooms, and …

Warning:  Ramble ahead…

I am supposed to be putting together a worship set for our gathering tomorrow evening… I’m so distracted and unmotivated.  I want to gather… and I want to worship… And I want to pray… but I’m so not interested in this planning part.

Planning is necessary, at least to some extent.  But I think I need a sabbatical.  No planning.  Just time to worship and dig in with no agenda other than getting with God.

So, maybe that is REALLY what my planning sessions should look like.  Worshiping.  Digging into the Word with God. Worshiping. Praying. Worshiping.  And out of that will come  some vague or not-so-vague outline of our music set.

That is pretty much what happens anyway, I just feel guilty about not planning like the worship-leader books, that I don’t read anyway, tell me to do.  I’m worn with planning.  What is the balance here?

How I pray that God will send someone to lead the worship at Souljourn… or rejuvenate my spirit…

so the title of this post: Prayer Rooms… this is where I want to be.  God has given ‘the boys’ clear direction on WHERE it should be… which narrows the search a lot.  Now we wait for the space and the resources and the partners to come alongside us so we can open this for Anchorage.

It cracks me up that our tiny church of 20 – 30 mostly college students or military (moving!) has been given a vision of a 24-7 prayer room.  So not practical and feasible.  So God.

The first Tuesday of every month in our house church is centered on prayer.  This last week was great.

I feel like God has been relatively silent in my life lately.  Could be I’m not hearing.  Could be there is a barrier.  Could be He is silent.  What I realized though, is that it’s fine… because just because He is silent, I will not stop seeking and pursuing.  So if there is a barrier or sin or I’m not listening… there’s bound to be a breakthrough at some point.  And if He is silent, when He does speak, I’ll be listening and ready.

The holiday season and what we are ‘doing’

Or I should say PLANNING on doing… since we all know just because we SAY it, doesn’t mean it will actually happen!

We have started “The Glorious Coming” by Ann Voskamp again this year, hanging the matching ornaments in the sun room on an extra tree we borrowed.  Sometime here, we might try something different, but it really works well for us, and without researching I haven’t seen anything else I like too much.

We have a calendar with service type acts inside… I just tried to think up enough service projects / themes for each day through December, and wrote them on bits of paper to stick in each pocket.  Simple things like “love on Dad” day, and “write a letter to the grandparents” day, and “take a box of food to the Food Bank” and tomorrow’s project, “drop a surprise meal off at someone’s house”… most are smaller things, not making extra meals, etc… but still.  So far its good…

Our church’s themes this year are the “Three Gifts”.  What? you say.. but there are four Sundays!!!  mmm…. its a surprise… you have to come on the last Sunday to find out what the fourth gift was!!   Just kidding, no church people read this.  Worship is the last one… So far, its been good.  We have celebrated Jesus as King (gold), this week is Jesus as priest (Frankinsence) and the third will be Jesus the suffering servant – or something like that (myrrh)… and they all bowed down and worshipped… a gift we too can give  Jesus.

Good night!  I must try to get a little song and order started for Sunday, since it is already late Friday night.  I’m not sure if I’m fortunate or not that my pastor does things last minute… we don’t really help each other out in the ‘last minute’ department!!

worship gathering

1 Corinthians… We set up the room with all the tables together and set it for a meal.  I made matzoh bread… one big… slab of it (you can’t really call it a loaf, can you?)  We started off with a few songs… focused on the greatness of God and the paradox of His love and wanting a love relationship with us.

God of Wonders

How He Loves

My Savior’s Love ( I stand amazed in the presence…)

Then MJ shared some on the historical relevance of the passage, and  how they would have shared communion together as a church body, the context of the passage, etc…

Then we broke bread and drank our juice.  (no wine.  you have to come to our house church for that )

And we ate our potluck.  It worked out great, because several people didn’t bring anything.  I brought 3 apples and cut them into wedges.  I know.  Creative!  So we shared all together the bounty God had provided…

Then we sang songs… people’s favorites, with whoever wanted to playing the instruments.  It was very relaxed.  It was great having the kids try out all the instruments and the microphones.  A little out of hand a few times, but in general it was good.  I do wish there had been more participation of the adult variety.  Either supporting and singing along with the kids and/or choosing songs or coming and playing an instrument.  Something besides having their own gab sessions.

BUT it was still a time of being together in unity.  And that was the point.

thoughts on home church tonight

What DOES it mean to love your neighbor as yourself?

• If I am hungry, I get myself something to eat.
• When I screw up, I forgive myself and give myself a chance to try again.
• When I’m tired, I feel grumpy and need more understanding and patience from others.
• When I”m cold, I get a blanket or a coat.
• When I’m lonely, I hang out with someone.
• When I’m bored, I find something to do.
• When I discover an area in my life that stinks, I pray that God helps me to change, and I hope for grace from others.
• When I get angry (fill in not-so-good attitude) for the hundredth time this month, I know I don’t like that part of myself, and I hope to not do it again… I recognize the desire of my heart for a beautiful spirit, and not only the foulness that comes out in the flesh.

What might it look like if I give that much to my kids?  To my husband?  To the neighbor?   To that family member?  To that member of Jesus’ body that I am a part of?

church stuff

We have had some great gatherings… the pastor is teaching through 1 Corinthians … and can you BELIEVE I am going to be GONE when they get to chapter 12.  Its just not fair!

A few Sundays ago, a couple in our church got married… since it was a Sunday, we were all there anyway (at the gardens where they had it) so we celebrated our standing as Christ’s bride with them at the end of their reception.  It was great.

Last week, we focused on love.  imagine that.  Christ set us free from the law… not for our own desires, but he set us free to LOVE others… I’ve been thinking a lot about that.  The paradox of law and love, freedom and serving, slave and daughter of the king, lowest of low slave (think galley of ship) and ambassador for Christ…

So, how might you and I ACT love to…

• that person in our church that irritates us or has wounded us…

• that neighbor who you don’t know, maybe a single mom, or an aging lady, or a latch-key kid… (I have a story!)…

• the random person you run into at the grocery store, is following you too close on the highway, you pass by on your walk.

So, with paper and pencils handed out, and encouragement to share with someone the things God brought to mind to help keep us accountable… our week of love begins.

the body of christ… family or foe.

doesn’t that sounds like I have something deep to say?  Sorry to disappoint!

Last night we had a great time of fellowship (good church word for chatting and catching up) and time exploring the Word, and worshiping.  God wasn’t done, but nothing else happened.  Isn’t that weird and disappointing?  I wonder when that happens if “we” should have handled it differently.  We split up into girls/guys to pray and ask for desperate and hungry hearts.  It was good.

But I don’t think that is all God had for us.  I wonder what we missed out on, and who God wanted to work in, and ask that he grant the opportunity again.  A kairos  moment missed.  ugh.

On the “family or foe” note:  We have been experiencing what it is like to love on the body of Christ, particularly the body that meets in our home each week.  The last couple months seem to have been FILLED with opportunities to love our body.   These ones would be lost in the back pew of any decent sized congregation… even in a small congregation if fellowship only consisted of “foyer fakeness”.  You know…  Sunday smiles.  Sunday greetings.  Sunday start time / end time / off- to- lunch -beat -the -rush time.  Forgotten because they don’t know how to ask, or don’t feel comfortable asking and they don’t receive the love and attention and family and TIME they need.

SO.  There you have it.  I have been on the receiving and the giving.  AND…

I like my body.  My family.

Home church for the homeless

Last night we had a homeless guy accept our invitation to join us for dinner.  He was a really nice guy.  Had some great stories.  He helped me out in the kitchen… he knows how to cook… maybe I could hire him on Tuesday nights!!

He brought food to share that he had been given over the course of the day… The kids were THRILLED because he brought some graham cracker scooby snacks ( he thought they were dog biscuits) and mini oreos (Thad wanted to know what he thought those ones were) And he brought my favorite Artisan bread!!

I hope he comes again.  And I hope he brings a friend.  And if the crowd keeps up like last night, I had best make sure I make a large amount of food!!