Archive for May, 2008
Big BBQ Tomorrow!
Just a quick plug for the Mesa Area BBQ tomorrow at the EVBC Commons. It all starts at 12:20, after the usual post-10:30-service crowd has its chance to get its lattes. Here are some reasons why you should make it a point to be there:
1. All the meat has been donated by Town & Country foods – exceptional quality and variety, including chicken, seafood and beef. In other words, GREAT eats!
2. Prizes and giveaways! We have a number of special baskets we’ll be raffling off, no purchase necessary! So, you may go home with some goodies!
3. We’ve specifically asked for people new to the Mesa Area to be there, so we can more formally welcome them to EVBC. So, you might think you don’t need to go, but they need to meet you, and get to know as many from the Area as possible. So, your attendance is truly an act of service.
4. Ellen Marrs, the Mesa Area Administrator, has gone to great lengths to make this event spectacular. Those of you who missed the Truck Rally last month have heard all the stories about how great it was — don’t make the same mistake again! Make it a point to be a part of this one…
5. We’ll be collecting “Adopt a Bathroom” baskets for the East Mesa House of Refuge. This is a terrific service project being taken on by our Mesa Home Groups, and the fruit of their labors will make for an impressive stack of baskets in the Commons. You won’t want to miss that, either!
6. You’ve gotta eat anyway, so what better place to grab lunch than the Commons? (And, the price is right! We’re just asking each family to chip in a few bucks to help defray the minimal costs we have.) Even if you’re going to church in the afternoon or evening, come have lunch, then spend a few hours lingering, or shopping someplace nearby.
7. There’s nothing like fellowship in Christ. Food, fun, prizes, yes…but something grand happens when people filled with the Spirit gather together in Jesus’ name. That alone should make this a can’t-miss event!
See you tomorrow? I sure hope so…
God’s best to you all, Bill
Ella Files, Volume II
(First of all, I apologize about the delay in getting Volume II of the Ella Files up on the blog…it’s been two weeks since the last entry. For those of you who really love fresh blog material, please join the Men of Mesa this month at 4thseed.wordpress.com for a daily entry all during May that will take us through the book of Acts.)
NEWS: Don’t miss the all-Mesa area BBQ in the Commons next Sunday, May 18th! For details, click “Mesa eBulletin” on your right!
The discipler is in.
The response to the first of the Ella Files was very positive, so let’s dive right into the next of the Principles of Discipleship, as Modeled by Ella:
Principle 2: Never Be Ashamed to Demand Your Master’s Attention!
I face a challenge every morning. I really, really enjoy my alone time. I make my gouda-cheese bagel and coffee, grab my Bible and latest book, and sit on the front porch as the sun rises, the fountain gurgling, the birds chirping…a bit of Eden in East Mesa.
But now, I have to be sneaky. Ella, who is not a particularly sound sleeper, is always lying in the crate just outside the kitchen window. If she hears me, the fridge, the coffee maker, the sink, or an opening door of any kind, she’s up, and ready to go! She desperately wants to greet me, be with me, play with me, you name it! So, the ritual begins…nose to the glass, paws to the glass, a few whimpers, a crescendo to the yips, and worst of all, the puppy-dog stare that communicates that she’ll be the saddest of all of God’s creations if I fail to usher her into my world.
So, I succumb. Rather than a peaceful quiet time, I’m now offering a few pats, yelling at her to stay in the yard, guilt-tripped into throwing her tennis ball, pushing her away from my cheese, getting my ankles licked, etc. All this time, I’m looking at her thinking “why can’t she just lie there on the ground next to me, and enjoy a moment of spiritual reflection?”
‘Cause that’s what I would do. ‘Cause that’s what I do.
Then, I see the imaginary bubble appearing over Ella’s head, which has her saying… “And that’s why your such a miserable fuddy-duddy, and why your time with God is so listless and uninspiring. Why don’t you go to God every day like I (try to) go to you?!?
“Why don’t you, when you first wake up, and see the glimpses of God’s glory at the beginning of the day, immediately seek out your Father? Don’t you want His eye contact? Don’t you want His stroke? Don’t you want His provision? Don’t you want to have fun with Him? If so, why don’t you go to Him, unabashed, and relentlessly demand everything of Him you can get … like I do to you?”
She’s right, of course. Too often, I think God is like me … that my tugging on His celestial sleeve will be a burden to Him. So, rather than seek a wild, reckless relationship with Him, I settle for a lowest-common-denominator version: a few verses, a few paragraphs, a few token prayers.
And finally this. Funny thing … even though Ella can “ruin my quiet time”, would I really want her to act any other way than the way she does? Do I really want her to ignore me in the morning, or to not exhibit a huge desire for contact? Of course not. So too with the Lord, I’m convinced. Unlike me, God never grows weary of the passion of his children, and is always ready to love us up, play with us, and be the best doggone master a person could wish for.
So, tomorrow morning, let’s get our tennis balls, and jump up into the lap of the master.
God’s best to us all, Bill
