Sunday, August 26, 2012

ECFE Songs, Fingerplays, and Recipes

Acorn Brown:
I'm a little acorn brown,
Lying on the cold, cold, ground,
Somebody came and stepped on me,
That is why I'm cracked you see,
I'm a nut
(knock head and click tongue)
I'm a nut
(knock head and click tongue)
I'm a nut, I'm a nut, I'm a nut!

Two Little Airplanes:
Two little airplanes sitting on a cloud,
One named quiet, the other named loud,
Fly away quiet. Fly away loud.
Come back quiet. Come back loud.

The Apple Tree:
Way up in the apple tree,
(point up high)
Two little apples smiled at me.
(index fingers at corners of smile)
I shook that tree as hard as I could,
(shake pretend tree)
Down came the apples,
(point finger up in the air, then point down)
Mmmm! They were good.
(rub tummy and smile)

Five Little Pumpkins:
Five little pumpkins were sitting on a gate.
The first one said, "My it's getting late."
The second one said, "There are witches in the air."
The third one said, "We don't care."
The fourth one said, "Let's run and run."
The fifth one said, "I'm ready for some fun."
OOOOOOOOO went the wind.
Out went the lights.
And the five little pumpkins rolled out of sight.

Five Green and Speckled Frogs:
Five green and speckled frogs, sitting on a speckled log,
eating the most delicious bugs.
Yum Yum! 
One jumped into the pool, where it was nice and cool...
now there are four green and speckled frogs.
Ribbit Ribbit!
(Repeat using four; three; two; one green speckled frog(s))

Grizzly Bear:
A grizzly bear, a grizzly bear, was sleeping in his cave,
A grizzly bear, a grizzly bear, was sleeping in his cave.
Please be very quiet, very, very quiet. For if you wake
him, if you shake him, he begins to roar!
R  O  A  R

Traffic Light Cookies:
(These cookies might be fun to try to help your child 
become more aware of traffic lights.)
Shape a roll of refrigerated sugar cookie dough into 
a rectangle. Chill the dough until firm. Cut slices 1/4
inch wide. Press a red, yellow, and green M&M into the 
dough so it resembles a traffic light. Bake according to
package directions.

Traffic Rhyme:
Red on top means stop
Green below means go
Yellow in the middle means wait
Even if you're late!

Homemade Stickers:
(All children love stickers. Here's an easy recipe for you to
make your own at home. Children can draw pictures or
cut them out of magazines or wrapping paper.)
Dissolve 1 tablespoon unflavored gelatin in 2 tablespoons of
very hot water. Brush the solution on the back of the designs 
or pictures. Let them dry; then simply lick the stickers. If
your child doesn't want to lick the stickers, use a sponge
moistened with water.

Glue Bottle Tip:
Do you get tired of glue caps getting plugged up? Simply
place clogged caps in a bowl of water and microwave
for about one minute. The glue will be much softer and
much easier to remove.

Detergent Scoops:
Don't throw out the scoops that come in detergent boxes. 
They can be used for many things. We love them for our
sensory tables at school. They work better than shovels
or spoons. They also can be used for sorting or counting
activities. Label each scoop with a picture or number.
Have your child pick up the appropriate items.

Counting Song:
Tune: Mary Had A Little Lamb
Lightly tap your foot one time,
foot one time, foot one time.
Lightly tap your foot one time,
Now let's count with two.
(Repeat changing numbers or use other body parts:
clap your hands, shake your leg, etc.)

Gray Squirrel:
Gray squirrel ran up the tree. He look all around.
"Oh dear," said little squirrel, "My lunch is on the 
ground." What did the squirrel see on the ground?
What kind of tree was it? 

**Content from ECFE District 279
 

Sunday, August 12, 2012

1 Year at Eagle Brook Church

  Last year at this time I felt like I had no control over my life and everything was spiraling downward. I felt like something was missing. I started analyzing my life trying to figure out what was missing and what I needed back in order to make my life better. I came up with many answers, but one idea was church. I hadn't gone to church on a regular basis since 8th grade. I went on holidays here and there throughout high school and college, but it was not a priority in my life. I started praying again and as the days past I felt this push to go to church the upcoming weekend. I tried to ignore it, but it became stronger and stronger. 
      I decided to go to Eagle Brook Church where I had gone 4- 5 times on holidays over the past few years. I asked my family to come but they were busy or did not want to. I didn't have any Christain friends, but I put the offer out there anyway and they declined. I kept using excuses about not wanting to go alone, but that voice inside of me did not go away. 
     Saturday came and I went to church. The worship service was outstanding and the message could not have been more relevant to my life. After the service I went to Information Central to ask about volunteering. The man working told me there was a volunteer meeting upstairs in ten minutes. He walked me around the campus and brought me upstairs to the meeting. I signed up to volunteer in Kid- O- Deo and couldn't have been more excited about it. 
     I have been at Eagle Brook for a year now. I believe God led me there and I am glad he did because going back to church changed my life. The Holy Spirit has been working through me this last year. I would have never talked so openly to nonbelievers about my faith, gone to church alone, or joined a small group. God is using me and he put me at Eagle Brook Church for a reason. I don't know what he has in store for me, but I am excited to find out. This has been the best year of my life; I have learned more about Jesus than I ever knew, I am closer to him than ever before, and I see him working in my life and how he is using me to work in others lives.

Yesterday's Facebook Status: "One year ago today I went to church for the first time in years. All it took was one service for me to call Eagle Brook Church "home." This year I attended every weekend, volunteered in Kid-O-Deo, and joined a small group. The best part is, I have loved every single minute of it!"

10 Favorite EBC Videos:
- EBC Lino Lakes iBAND http://vimeo.com/33978858
- Spring Break Weekend http://vimeo.com/38846985
- Don't Stop Believin' http://vimeo.com/29063125
- Born is the King (It's Christmas) http://vimeo.com/34258530
- Sync or Swim (Counterintuitve Series) http://vimeo.com/39424231
- Raising Amazing Kids Promo http://vimeo.com/36289826
- A Year in Review http://vimeo.com/28927776

10 Favorite Memories at EBC:
- Worship with my Small Group
- Global Leadership Summit
- What's the Difference Message Series
- Power Pack Backpack Drive
- Easter Service
- Volunteering in Kid- O- Deo (Large group/ Kid-O-Whampus!)
- Serving as a Baptism Volunteer
- Connect Groups
- Matt Berry singing Matt Kearney's songs during Worship
- Oshae and Mary interview- You can read their story here: http://www.fromdeathtolife.us/home.html

Here's to another terrific year at Eagle Brook Church!

Friday, August 10, 2012

My Morning Prayer- #WCGLS

My Morning Prayer was in our programs at Willow Creek Global Leadership Summit. I commit to praying this every morning for the next 30 days and I cannot wait to see how God works in my life!
 


Willow Creek Global Leadership Summit Day 2

What an amazing day! So much to take in and think about!! I was so overwhelmed yesterday, I couldn't sleep at night. However, I feel re- energized and like I could take on the World. I cannot wait for next year! Here is a list of quotes I took from the second day at the Global Leadership Summit.

John Ortberg:
- "The reason we must marvel at this man is because his work is not done yet"
- “What if the word associated with Christians during this election cycle was HUMILITY?”
- "God is a Father with an unquenchable love for every single person on the planet"
- “Life is not about comfort. It’s about saying “God give me another mountain.”
- "You should never work in ministry because you have to have a job."
- “2000 years later, we give our children names like 'Peter' 'Paul' & 'Mary' and we give our dogs names like 'Caesar' & 'Nero'”
- “Jesus started a movement that is still happening.”
- “To often we argue about Christianity rather than marvel at Jesus.”
- “Leaders need to expand their view of Jesus’s Kingdom impact.”
- “Jesus gave the world its most influential movement.”
- “Where before the church was there a movement that wished to include everyone?…It was His idea.”
- “Jesus changed how we think about history.”
- “Jesus expressed how we shape compassion.”
- “The Jesus movement shaped education.”
- “Education honors God and allows us to think God’s thoughts of us.”
- ”Jesus revolutionized the arts.”
- “The Jesus movement changed political theory.”
- “Jesus changed about how we think about human rights and dignity.”
- “Jesus has a way of refusing to stay submerged.”
- “Jesus uniquely taught to love your enemies.”
- “The discoverer of the role of forgiveness in human affairs was Jesus.”
- “The question is not who was this man? The question is who is this man?”
- “The reason we marvel at this man is His work is not done yet.”
- “Let love rebuild and unite us”
- “If you work in the arts, would you make them shine once more? Because the world needs that.”
- John Ortberg quotes Hannah Arendt "The discoverer of the role of forgiveness in the realm of human affairs was Jesus of Nazareth."
- "The response of early-persecuted Christians was not to dream of revenge or start a revolt but to love."
- Application Questions:
Do you spend more debating Christianity or marveling about Jesus?
Are you consistently and Biblically teaching about the life and ministry of Jesus?

William Ury:
- "Some conflicts are so difficult that they can only be healed by a story."
- "Give people basic human respect. It costs nothing and means everything to them."
- “Do I not destroy my enemy when I turn them into my friend?” Abe Lincoln via Bill Ury.
- Better alternative for better negotiation we must do “Less talk, more walk.”
- "One of the greatest powers we have in negotiation is the power NOT to react."
- "We are the biggest obstacle to successful negotiation."
- “With regards to conflict-a person can only argue for so long if nobody is fueling their fire.”
- The power not to react is the foundation of successful “getting to yes.”
- “During conflict you need to keep the big picture in mind, What are you trying to achieve?”
- “We R the biggest barriers 2 achieving our success. We need to go to a spiritual, mental & emotional balcony 2 get clarity.”
- “Separate the people from the problem.”
- “The goal of negotiating success is not eliminating conflict, it is to reach a decision that works for everyone.”
- “We must learn to be soft with people and hard on problems.”
- Negotiations- “The biggest barrier to achieving success is ourself, because we have a tendency to react.“
- "That's why God gave us two ears and one mouth. Listen twice as much as you talk."
- “The cheapest concession you can make in a negotiation is basic respect. It is free, and makes a huge difference.”
- “In a negotiation, to listen costs you nothing but means everything to the other person.”
- “We're trying to change the game to where we are metaphorically on the same side of the table and not enemies.
- “Negotiating? Go to the "balcony," a place of clarity w/ high-level perspective to keep the big picture/end goal in mind.”
- “Your values have to be things that you stick with—even if you aren't rewarded for them.”
- Mediation: 1. Focus on people, not problems. 2. Focus on interests, not positions. 3. Seek creative options. 4. Be fair.

- Six Critical Questions to Answer:
1. Why do we exist? (core purpose)
When you know what your reason for existing is than it informs decision making

2. How do we behave? (core values)
This must get down to the 1-3 truly critical values. Not aspirational values, or values you want to have, but actual company values. These are thing you're willing to lose customers over and get punished in the market for.

3. What do we actually do?
What do you really do at your core, not what you sell.

4. How do we succeed? (strategy)
Strategy should be accessible to everyone in the company. We can define strategy as the myriad of intentional decisions we make to separate us from our competitors. Boil strategy down to three things - three strategic anchors

5. What is most important in our organization right now? (rally cry)

6. Who must do what? (positional clarity)

- "The key foundation to successful negotiation is making sure you have clarity to what you really want to achieve."
- Here's a key question..."How could you possibly change someone's mind, if you don't know where that mind is?"
- It begins with awareness: "The single biggest obstacle to conflict is ourselves."

Bill Hybels:
- (On Jesus) “I don’t understand people who tell me they feel alone all the time. I’m never alone.”
- AGREE 110%!!! “I wouldn’t take a paycheck to get people involved in organized religion. But I’d work for free for the rest of my life to introduce people to Jesus.”
- “The human death rate is still hovering around 100%. Who and what are you living your precious time for?”
- "I'm not afraid of death, because I know the One who conquered it."
- “What dream needs to be born out of your journal?”
- "If we were to pull back all the layers of this thing we call leadership, at the core of it all is this thing called trust.”
- “The message of Christ has been given to the church; first to live it out and then to spread it to the whole world.”
- “The hope of the world is the local Church.”
- “I'm into something other than religion. I am into Jesus.” AMEN!
- "Jesus started a movement with His life and we are now the stewards of His movement."
- When I was young, someone asked, "What will you do with your life that will last forever? It wrecked me."
- "God, I'll keep doing THIS if you'll keep doing THAT." I know what THAT is. What's the THIS for my life?
- "Vision propels people forward who would otherwise be comfortable with the status quo."
- "Where there is no vision, what happens? People perish. They settle for a life of no purpose."
- “The greatest privilege on earth is when God taps you on the shoulder to build His Church!”
- “It's one thing to see a vision, it's another to be seized by a vision “
- How can someone say they love God but when He taps them on the shoulder say, “No thanks. I’m building my own thing”?
- "The Church will survive because of who it is that's actually building it, sustaining it, invigorating it: Jesus."
- "There are many who have been screwed by church and faith and by those who were in 'relationship' with Jesus Christ."
- "The church is the hope of the world! Not education business or government They're part but not like church!"
- “If the church is the hope of the world then EVERY ATTENDER matters because THEY are THE CHURCH!”
- “We must change the trajectory of hate-filled kids' lives by intersecting their life with love.”
- “Someone has to tell the kid w/the hate filled heart: There's a mind blowing love in Heaven with your name on it.”

Patrick Lencioni:
- "Trying to be all things to all people means you're nothing to no one."
- "To violate a core value is to ask you to sell your soul."
- "Your company: Ask yourself, Why do we exist?"
- "Core values should be behaviors you ALREADY have, not ones you WISH you had."
- "A core value is something you're willing to get punished for."
- "If your people can't do a good impression of you when you're not around you're not communicating enough!"
- "Minimum standards are different than core values."
- “Without humility there is no healthy organization.”
- “You must define the 3 anchors that you'd be willing to be punished for keeping. Make all decisions based on them.”
- "People need to be reminded not told."

Geoffrey Canada:
- "Significance is based in part on the depth of relationships. Trust is fragile."
- "I failed. I'm gonna try twice as hard. I'm still gonna be successful." How do you respond to failure?"
- "The way you build a more powerful organization is to demand a level of excellence from staff and hold everyone accountable to that."
- "Who do u need to intentionally thank 4 "saving your soul" as a young person? Who helped u on a better path? Thank them!"
- "It's easy to let some1 go when they're disagreeable. It's harder when they're passionate but not the right person."
- "Remember who you work for."
- "I failed, but I'm gonna come back twice as hard and I refuse to belittle my vision."That's powerful!
- “As a leader, it is much more difficult to admit failure when you are well known.”
- "We put a rover on Mars. We can do anything we set our mind to. There's no reason we can't also solve poverty & abuse."
- "When you fail, resist the temptation to scale back the vision. Try twice as hard!"
- "We can't allow one more generation to be on the pipeline from cradle to prison. Must be impatient with failure."
- "Actively think of how to REPLACE yourself when everything is on its way UP."
- "This younger generation is one of the most cause-minded, mission-oriented in our history EVER."
- "If u want to attract talent for succession you must be open about leaving & leave while things are good."
-"Never allow anyone to water-down your vision"
- "I want to leave when the organization is going up so the next person has a great first year." #legacy #succession
- "We are a moment in a path to victory."
- "If you have a child, there's no time in that child's life when you can't be a great parent"
- "The real test of faith is when you're dealing with something that only faith can take you through."
- "Know when your institution belongs to the young ppl now... Most ppl leave after they've expired!"
- “Christians want to celebrate and have a good time, but they're not prepared to do the tough stuff.”
- "As a leader, get your moral compass right. Otherwise, it will hurt a lot of people.”
- "It’s easy to have faith when everything is going great."
- “You know faith when you are going through something that hurts so bad that only faith can get you through it.”
- "Our real role models are the people we'll never know, who even in the darkest times just never gave up."
- "Hope is contagious, but so is despair."
-"Some people fight the good fight & never see progress in their lifetime. You are a moment on the path toward victory"

Rachael Turken:
- "God will continually catch you off guard."
- "Traveler there is no path the path is made by walking."

Mario Vega:
- "Leaders are qualified through their integrity of character."
- "Keeping failures secret is a mistake."
-"When values differ, life's road begins to pull people apart and only by accident do their paths cross."
- "Personality and talent, charisma and skill are not enough- Integrity of character is what is needed."
-"The morale failure of a leader will challenge the integrity of others as well."
-"Never give yourself permission to avoid doing what you know is right."
- On tough decisions: "We are not just responsible for our own actions, but also the influence we have over those we lead."
- "Integrity lost cannot be fully restored."
- "You can lose it all over just one moral mistake."
- "Preservation of your ego may be the destruction of your soul." Wow!
- “Never give yourself permission to avoid doing what is right.”
- “Sometimes we have to choose: will we be with God or will we be with man.”

Pranitha Timothy:
-"We are called to serve because this life belongs to God and God IS good."
- "My spouse and my kids are better off in the hands of God, not in my own." Now that's hard to swallow!
- "God gave me this voice - feeble and yet powerful in His hands."
- "Our pain constantly reminds us that we need God."
- "This life belongs to God, it is not my own."
- "God goes before us into the darkness to make straight our path so we can bring His light to the broken."
- "Being humble does not mean God won't require us to do something that requires great strength."
- "Take advantage of the moments and small opportunities applying every gift and ounce of skill entrusted." #fearnot
- "When we grieve death and all that could have been... we believe God is good, and it gives us hope."
- "Our lives belong to God. Strength doesn't come from willful determination but from He who is the source of all."
-"Being humble does not mean God will never ask us to do something that requires great strength."

Miscellaneous Quotes:
- "When selecting a life verse, be cautious about using OT Scriptures which reference Israel's unfaithfulness."
- (Craig Groeschel) "Respect is earned but HONOR is given. 1 Peter 2:17... Honor everyone."
- "The gift on you will destroy you if what is within is not strong enough to sustain you."
- "People need to be reminded more often than they need to be instructed." - Samuel Johnson
- "Gloriously or tragically, leaders lead from who they are on the inside." -Gary Haugen
- "Leaders lead out of who they are on the inside. This is why the God who made us is so eage to remake us on the inside."
- "God does his miracles of transformation through miraculously transformed people." -Gary Haugen
- Sometimes churches struggle to use core values because they think "Well she loves Jesus!"
- "Never stop looking forward and stay focused on Jesus and not merely the conflict at hand."
- "At the center of great leadership is HUMILITY combined with ambition." - Jim Collins
- Tony Morgan:"Have you thanked God recently for the privilege to lead something?"
- "The greatest asset leaders can give their organization is not their time. It is their ENERGY."
- "Honor publicly results in influence privately." (Craig Groeschel)
- "Organizational health is the single greatest competitive advantage in business."
- "Bad decisions made with good intentions are still bad decisions." (Jim Collins)
- "Jesus gave the world its most influential movement."
- "Bringing hope to the world requires courageous leaders."
- “Every young person has gifts & it's our job to help them find out what those gifts are-they will change our world.” (Marc Kielburger)
-"Fear is the thief of dreams.”
- "Just as we are what we eat physically, we are also what we consume spiritually." #SoulDetox (CraigGroeschel)
- “One of the greatest privileges is when Jesus taps YOU on the shoulder and asks you to be a part of what HE is doing in this world.”

Books to Read:
Who Is This Man? by John Ortberg
Advantage
Soul Detox by Craig Groeschel

Thursday, August 9, 2012

Willow Creek Global Leadership Summit

Today I attended the Willow Creek Global Leadership Summit for the very first time. Events like this get me so pumped up for the future and leading in the workplace. Below are the notes from day one. I am going to separate them by speaker.

Jim Collins:
- "Life is people and time with the people you love."
- "The only mistakes you can learn from are the ones you survive."
- "The signature of mediocrity is chronic inconsistency."
- "Are we responsible for out performance? Or do we perform based on what happens to us?"
- "Creativity is natural, discipline is not. The real skill is to marry creativity with discipline."
- "Your organization is not truly great if it can't be great without you."
- "The greatest danger isn't to fail. The greatest danger is to be successful without understanding why you are successful."
- "Greatness is not primarily a matter of what happens to you, but a matter of what you do."
- "In the end, it is impossible to have a great life unless it is a meaningful life. Live and lead in a way that when the end of you life comes, you will know that it mattered."
- "It is impossible to have a great life unless it's a meaningful life done with people you love."
- "Greatness is not a matter of circumstance, but rather it is a matter of choice and discipline."
- "It is what you do before you are in trouble that makes you strong when people most need you."
- "If we lose our values, we lose everything."

Condolezza Rice:
- "The true calling of leaders is not to accept the world for what it is, but rather for what it should be."
- "Frienship can be the place that let's you have difficult conversations."
- "Perhaps the greatest opportunity of leadership is helping people see their own leadership possibilities."
- "It is a privlege to struggle, and out of struggle comes victory."
- "Think of all those times when what seemed impossible became inevitable."
- "We as leaders can make the world not as it is, but as it should be."
- "Today's headlines and history's jusdgement are rarely the same."
- "It is a privilege to struggle. Struggle produces hope and hope doesn't disappoint. After Friday, there was Sunday."
- "No one wants to follow a sour puss!"
- As a leader, I must increase the opportunity for my followers to achieve greatness. Every life is worthy of the opportunity for greatness."
- "God is good... ALL the time."
- "There is a lot the government can do, but it cannot deliever compassion."

Bill Hybels:
- "If you want to see more trees, you have to plant more seeds."
- "Wrestle with words until they communicate your ideas in a way that captures the imagination, catalyzes action and lifts spirits."
- "A fundamental for leaders is to stay curious. We must insist on a series of non- stop experiments to keep people learning."
- "6x6 6 initiatives in 6 weeks. Focus, pray, and energize!"
- "Your primary resource is not your time it's your energy, and your ability to energize others."
- "Respect those of us who are trying to lead from a Christ- centered perspective."
- "Everyone wins when a leader gets better."
- "Where you invest your love, you invest your life."
- "The penalty of bad leadership: You're always stuck with the same problems. The reward of good leadership: You get to solve new ones."
- God didn't make you a leader to respong to stuff all day, but to move things forward."
- "As a leader, your whole organization takes its seed sowing cues from you."
- "I actually believe everyone's life would be better if God was at the center of it."
- "Leaders love to build teams... Primarily because we have no clue what we're doing most of the time."
- "If you want to see more trees- plant more seeds. Don't complain about few trees, plant more seed."

Miscellaneous Quotes:
- "Every life is worthy. Every life is capable of greatness." (Hybels?)
- "With God, 'Thank You' should always come before 'Please.'"
- "Click- Clack is the new AMEN!"
- "Leadership is a privilege."
- "God made you a leader to move stuff ahead. Stop prioritizing the tyranny of the urgent."
- "I guess I ought to get better too."
- "Christianity was meant for lovers, not experts." (Len Sweet)
- "Good intentions are never an excuse for incompetence." (Pete Drucker)
- "You are the most difficult person you will ever lead." (Hybels?)
- "If you really care about the people you lead, you have to humble yourself and learn from anyone who can help you get better."
- "When you communicate empathy you are able to create compassion."
- "If you ask what's in it for me? People who give to something bigger than themselves are happier. And happier people live longer."
- "Be the change you want to see."
- "You can have all the talent in the world, but if you're not humble people won't listen." (Kevin Olusola)
- "We can do no great things. We can do small things with great love." (Mother Teresa)
- "Sometimes some of the most effective ways to help people aren't the sexiest."
- "We have won the lottery of life, what we could do together is remarkable."
- "There are few things in life that elevate your happiness. One is contributing to a cause greater than yourself." (Sheryl Wudunn)
- "We are the generation that we have been waiting for. We just have to believe it."
- "Greatness is not a matter of circumstance. Greatness is a choice of what you do with the opportunities.

Sun Stand Still



I finished reading Steven Furtick's book, "Sun Stand Still" a few weeks ago. The book is about audacious faith. Below are a few quotes I wrote down:

- " If you're not daring to believe God for the impossible, you may be sleeping through some of the best parts of your Christian Life."
- "If the size of your vision for your life isn't intimidating to you, there's a good chance it is insulting to God."
- "If we have the audacity to ask, God has the ability to perform."
- "God gives people the exact experiences he wants them to have in order to shape the specific destiny he's designed for them."
- "When you examine the lives of people who are called to do great things for God, you'll notice 3 things:
They offer God a long list of excuses, God doesn't seem surprised, and God doesn't change his mind." 
- "I'm not raising two kids to survive the world. I am raising them to change it."
- "Extraordinary moves of God begin with ordinary acts of obedience."
- "Faith opens your eyes to see the potential to serve a God who is already at work on your behalf."
- "Audacity is believing that God's promise is bigger than any (my) perhaps."
- "It's not wrong to feel fear. It is wrong to let that fear have the last word in your life."
- "The level of you impact will be directly proportional to the price you are willing to pay."
- "If your problem is to big for you, it is just the right size for God."
- "The image that comes to mind when you think of God is the most important thing about you."
- "Build your confidence in his goodness and his greatness and He will do the impossible."
- "If your faith isn't rooted in God's promises, it's not scriptural faith. It is just wishful thinking."
- "You can't claim God's promises if you don't know God's promises."
- "God's grace is so audacious that he will use failure itself to show off just how capable He is."
- "Nothing you've ever done is so repulsive that God can't redeem your potential and love you through it."
- "The very sin you've been ignoring and minimizing may be the one that's limiting your ability to rise to greater heights in Christ."
- "Sometimes we get to see the miracle; other times we get to be the miracle."
- "Sometimes God lets the sun go down so that he can be our only light."
- "Most of the time, if you don't move, God wont move. That's just the way He designed faith to work."
- "People who walk in audacious faith don't stop and pray. Audacious faith teaches us to push and pray."
- "Vision begins when you hear the sound of God's voice speaking something to your heart. It's not an audible voice. It's more like an unshakable impression, an inner sense." (2 Cor. 5:7)

I had 13 pages of notes so this post was very brief and doesn't get into the book like it could, but I encourage you to check it out. You won't be let down!

Thursday, August 2, 2012

Room 101: Part 3

This is Pastor Steven's newest sermon. I watched online this morning and will definitely be downloading the podcast, I loved it!

Room 101: Fear's Greatest Hit


Bible Verses:
1 Samuel 17
Matthew 25: 24- 30 (1 Talent)
Daniel 3: 15- 18
 
Notes:
- The perfect love of God, turns fear out of doors
- FEARS SONG: What If (depressing, discouraging)
- Fear takes over when I give more weight to my what if's than to what God says and who he is.
- Fear is misplaced faith (have faith in the wrong thing)
- Fears never go away, but you learn how to wade past your what ifs
- Did you know you are only born with two fears? Fear of falling and the fear of loud noises. All other fears are acquired which means they can be unlearned. 
- You don't try to get "what ifs" to go away. You play it out to the very end and when you do that, you learn something about God's character and purpose for you that actually takes the initial fear you felt and converts it into stronger faith than you've ever had.
- PAINS SONG: That Would (be the hardest thing I ever went through)
- You don't need to wade into your what ifs casually and stay there anymore. Instead, He wants us to learn how to dive down to the bottom of our what if and find that at the bottom there us a God who would still be beneath it all even on the worst day of your life. 
   - My darkest day has a light
- PROMISE SONG: God Is
- We have the promises of who God is (sustainer, comforter, mender of broken hearts...)
- There's other stuff God wants to do in your life, but you never went down to the bottom and found out that God was there. That he would bring you back to the top stronger than you were before you ever went into your fear to begin with.
- God doesn't judge your life based on what you did. He judges it based on what you did in comparison to what he called you to do.
- If I let fear imprison me at some point, I missed an opportunity to be used by God.
- If you have the wrong view of the Master, you are going to do the wrong thing with what he gave you.
- The Devil always gets us to focu on what if i do what God is calling me to do and it fails, backfires, or it's hard or challenging or it's uncomfortable. But, you have to look at the flip side as well. 
- We always look at the cost of stepping out in faith, but when's the last time you calculated the cost of staying locked in fear?
- You are going to take this test of the next thing God calls you to do.
- You are hiding the instruction God gave you because it would cost you so much to step out. I'll suggest that it would be cost you much more if you don't.
- It's better to step out in faith and fail. In some of the failures that I've had that I really got familiar with the track called God is.
- A life of faith isn't staying at the surface never trusting God never pressing forawrd. It's actually diving so deep to what God has called you to do that you don't know if you'll ever get up for air in time. But, you get to the bottom and say God's still down there. You know what, he's still good down there, he's still loving. I have found him to be even more compassionate when I lost the thing I thought I couldn't live without. I found out he's still loving, still good, and still strong. 
- Put more faith in who God is than your what if.
- 1 author said, "Faith is believing in advance what will only make sense in reverse."
   - Play it backwards
- When I look at my own life, I realize the times when I felt the greatest fear, but stepped forward with God in faith, when I went down to the bottom of my own uncertainty, when I went down to the bottom of the even if scenarios- those were some og the times when God's faithfulness in my life resounded the most. That's some of the times when who he was came clear to me more than ever before. That's when his voice became so strong to me. You see, that's when you are going to hear him clearly so play it backwards.
- All that time there was a promise while you were stuck on what if.

Room 101

3 weeks ago Pastor Steven Furtick started a new message series titled, "Room 101." The series is about fear and has really hit home for me. I am debating switching my major to Ministry. I went the Education path because it was the logical thing to do. I have my doubts about if I can and should make this switch, but this series has really helped me move past my fears. 

Room 101: Forever Fearful, Never Scared

Link to the sermon: http://www.stevenfurtick.com/sermons/forever-fearful-never-scared/

Bible Verses:
1 John 4: 18 (AMP) "... full grown (complete, perfect) love TURNS FEAR OUT OF DOORS and expels every trace of terror!" 
Proverbs 1:7 "Command me to love and fear him."
Genesis 3: 10- 11 "The fear that you feel is usually the result of a lie that you have believed."
Revelation 1: 17- 18 DO NOT BE AFRAID. I am the 1st and last... 

Notes:
- The child of God never has to live in fear of what life brings his or her way.
- The only limit fear has potential to place on your life is what you allow fear to limit your life to based on your misunderstanding of God's love. 
- Fear the consequences of living a life apart from Him. 
- "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, the beginning of knowledge." 
- In Adam (our condition without Christ) we hide from God because in our sin we have everything to fear. But, in Christ we worship God because in his righteousness we have nothing to hide.
- Perfect love drives out fear.
- The fear of the Lord is different than being scared of God. When you're scared of God, you are scared of what he's going to do to you because of what you've done against him. When you realize that the love of God means that God already did to Jesus what he should have done to you because of what you did to him the fear of the Lord is no longer being scared of God. It is being terrified to ever be outside of his protection.
- Fear comes to stop somebody who God has called to do something before they ever get the opportunity to do it. Your fear isn't an indication that you won't do anything great for God, it's actually a sign that the enemy is threatened by you. If you ever get free of your fear, you'll set others free too.
- God's love comes in and says thank you very much fear, but you can't stand here anymore. God's love turns fear out of doors! Fear, you've gotta go. You can't stop this destiny from being fulfilled anymore. God's love is greater and stronger. Fear, you are about to be kicked out!

How to Hug a Vampire Part 3

Here's part two of Pastor Steven Furtick's series, "How to Hug a Vampire." This sermon is titled, "Suck Proof Soul." I absolutely loved this sermon and have pages of notes so I'll do my best to condense it!

How to Hug a Vampire Part 3- Suck Proof Soul


4 Truths that Allow Jesus to Change our Lives:
1. Nobody can take what you've already given away.
2. Never write anybody off, but always watch your balance sheet. 
3. Real love doesn't leak, it overflows.
4. Don't look for people to pay you back, claim your reward from the Lord.

Notes:
- You cannot have a suck proof life, but you can have a suck proof soul.
- Example of being a "sucker:"Kids! It's possible to love someone who sucks the life right out of you.
- Living in bitterness over something you lost- it was something God wanted you to surrender fromt he beginning
  - Jesus offered himself, nobody killed him. What seemed to be murder was a sacrifice. 
- If we'll be like Jesus we dont have to walk around with dead expectations, we'll bury our expectations of others in the ground. God will resurrect those expectations and give us more through his Spirit than any human being is capable of giving us- it's a Spiritual transition.
- You don't have to be riding shot gun to have control of your climate, you have rear control. You can choose to have peace in your heart even when you don't have peace in your home. Give God control!
- NOBODY can make YOU miserable!
- The peace you experience in your heart has very little to do with the imputes of others and everything to do with your relationship and intimacy with your heavenly Father.
- God could have and should have written me off, but he didn't. He is merciful!
- Have enough people in your life who irigate your life to offset the ones who drain your life or eventually, you're going to be dry. 
- If the withdrawls exceed deposits the overdraft is inevitable.
- We're guilty of giving the best of us to people who are not good ground. We're thinking everybody needs our love, but what they really need is God's love through us!
- He wants his love to overflow from your life because you are full of His promise. 
- More blessed than to recieve, but you have something to give and that only comes from God.
- You're serving the Lord, your inheritance comes from Him.
- Someone walks out of your life say, Lord you took them away I need you to give me somebody back because my reward comes from You. You've blessed me in so many ways. You fill me to overflowing. I don't need to depend on anybody else because he's my God, he's more than enough. He's more than enough for you today. More tan enough to meet your needs. More than enough to heal your life. More than enough to restore your soul, He's more than enough!

Bible Verses:
John 10: 17- 18
Acts 20: 33- 35
Matthew 13: 1-9
2 Timothy 4: 9-13
Matthew 14: 13- 24
John 13: 1-5

Future read: 5 Types of People by Mark Gordan

How to Hug a Vampire

Steven Furtick's church is in North Carolina so I'm not sure if I'll ever be able to watch him preach live, but I am grateful I can watch his messages online.

How to Hug a Vampire Part 1: We All Suck!


Notes I took out of the sermon:
- Loving the people who suck life out of you starts with realizing how much you suck too.
- It's impossible to help anyone else before embracing humility in yourself. 
- Put down the magnifying glass and pick up a mirror!
- Before you can really reach out to anybody else, you've got to define your own property lines. (Boundaries, Henry Cloud)
- You can give unconditional love without giving unrestricted access (Boundaries are Biblical)
- Can't help people who need help, can only help people who want help
  - Some people you can love long distance. Jesus needs to hug that person for you
- Certain things you can do for people and certain things you can't even though you love them and there's wisdom to help you do this. 
- *I can help you bury your burden but I CANNOT carry your load for you!
- It's not the load that breaks you down, it's how you carry it. 
- When withdrawls exceed deposits bankrupcy is inevitabe no matter how much you love them or God. There will come a time when you have nothing left to give. 
- Frustration is the gap between what I expect and what I experience.
- Lower expectations or be frustrated 24/7. Or, let God fill the gap between what you expect and what you experience and place expectation on the One who is able to wear it on His shoulders and bare it on His back, the One who died on the cross.

Bible Verses:
Romans 12: 9- 18
Romans 7: 21- 25
Romans 5:8
1 Timothy 1:15-16
Matthew 7: 1- 5
Boundaries are Biblical: Psalm 1:1, Proverbs 4:23, Matthew 16:18, Matthew 18: 15- 17, Titus 3:10 Galatians 6: 1-5

If you watch the sermon, leave a comment telling me what hit you the hardest.

God Bless!