Real Servants, by Rick Warren

I was doing my devotional this morning and this stung me when I came across it. We can always do better when it comes to serving!!

Real Servants Pay Attention
Wednesday November 18 2009
Posted by Rick Warren

Never tell your neighbors to wait until tomorrow if you can help them now. Proverbs 3:28 (TEV)

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Real servants pay attention to needs. Servants are always on the lookout for ways to help others. When they see a need, they seize the moment to meet it, just as the Bible commands us: “Whenever we have the opportunity, we have to do what is good for everyone, especially for the family of believers” (Galatians 6:10 GWT).

When God puts someone in need right in front of you, he is giving you the opportunity to grow in servanthood. Notice that God says the needs of your church family are to be given preference, not put at the bottom of your “things to do” list.

We miss many occasions for serving because we lack sensitivity and spontaneity. Great opportunities to serve never last long. They pass quickly, sometimes never to return again. You may only get one chance to serve that person, so take advantage of the moment.

“Never tell your neighbors to wait until tomorrow if you can help them now” (Proverbs 3:28 TEV).

John Wesley was an incredible servant of God. His motto was:

“Do all the good you can, by all the means you can, in all the ways you can, in all the places you can, at all the times you can, to all the people you can, as long as you ever can.”

That is greatness. You can begin by looking for small tasks that no one else wants to do. Do these little things as if they were great things, because God is watching.

Have a Seat!

What is it that we love to be able to say when a dinner guest arrives at our home? For me, it’s come on in and have a seat! Well, at least the first few times, we would like to not require any help from them in the kitchen! Typically, you want your guest to have a seat and feel welcome, right? I want them to relax and enjoy their time, and hopefully even look forward to coming again. This past Sunday, I was blessed to have a family over for lunch. When I was growing up, this was part of my life as we often found our way to break bread with other believers or family members on a regular basis. Nowadays, it is a rare thing for me to be able to cook on Sunday due to the fact that we are ministering out of town so often, but we had this past weekend off were all home! Immediately after church, I rushed to the kitchen!

When I start cooking, I immediately start thinking of who I can invite over! I love to have people around our table sharing food, telling stories, talking about God’s favor, laughing about our children, and just living life! It is especially fun when you are able to do it with people that share a mutual and genuine interest in each other! Conversations become more than just talk, and often turn into great times of encouragement and joy. Without going into detail regarding this particular Sunday, I will say we had great conversation, and a for real feast! We spent the afternoon with no agenda, just enjoying the company of friends, chillin with great coffee, pumpkin cheesecake, and the calming distant yells of our kids playing football outside. Life can be so good!

Before all of this feasting began yesterday, Trent and I sang for our home church since we were off this Sunday. We sang a song written by some friends of ours called “Heaven on Earth” that is really becoming popular. The chorus says, “Be seated in heavenly places, just like heaven on earth.” This morning I randomly opened my bible to Ephesians 2:6 “And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus.” In that moment, God’s word delivered message to me that could not get any more clear. We are called to have a seat. There is rest in Christ Jesus. According to scripture, when Christ died, we died, when He was resurrected, we were resurrected, and we are now seated with HIm in heavenly places. Naturally we are still on earth, but supernaturally we are seated with Him in heaven. The work of our salvation was finished at the cross and Jesus sat down.
If you haven’t entered into God’s rest, and if you are not trusting Him with the needs in your life, then you’re probably pacing the floor! You need to be seated in Christ. Be a guest at His table, share a good conversation with Him, give Him the most intimate areas of who you are. Release your anxiety to Him and He will work out every detail of your life in perfect timing. What good is it to worry? In the 7th and 8th verse, it tells us “He did all this that He might demonstrate through the ages to come the immeasurable riches of His FREE grace in kindness and goodness of heart toward us in Christ Jesus. For it is by free grace that you are saved through faith.”

Jesus Paid It All

I’m sitting in Panera studying the word for what lies ahead for me this week. I don’t know really why I come here to study because it’s not really any quieter here than at my own home! The difference I guess is that no one is calling my name! My mind is reeling in many directions but I just can’t get this hymn out of my head. Therefore, I’m pretty sure this is the Holy Spirit at work, forming a message inside of me.

Jesus paid it all,
All to Him I owe,
Sin had left a crimson stain,
He washed it white as snow.
Jesus Paid It All Hymn

That’s all I could remember from decades of singing this in church, (how sad I know) so I googled the verses and now I am speechless….
I hear the Savior say,
“Thy strength indeed is small;
Child of weakness, watch and pray,
Find in Me thine all in all.”

For nothing good have I
Whereby Thy grace to claim,
I’ll wash my garments white
In the blood of Calv’ry’s Lamb.

And now complete in Him
My robe His righteousness,
Close sheltered ’neath His side,
I am divinely blest.

Lord, now indeed I find
Thy power and Thine alone,
Can change the leper’s spots
And melt the heart of stone.

When from my dying bed
My ransomed soul shall rise,
“Jesus died my soul to save,”
Shall rend the vaulted skies

And when before the throne
I stand in Him complete,
I’ll lay my trophies down
All down at Jesus’ feet.

In 1865, ELvina Hall penned this words that have been sung for over a century! The one message that will never die, JESUS PAID IT ALL!!
This is the “good news”! What people need to hear today is a message that frees them from the guilt of sin!

Isaiah 1:18 (New Living Translation)
“Come now, let’s settle this,” says the Lord.
“Though your sins are like scarlet,
I will make them as white as snow.
Though they are red like crimson,
I will make them as white as wool.

When I’m Home, I’m Home!

I love Saturdays! And more than that, I love Saturdays during football season! A typical Saturday at the Cory’s is a real big southern breakfast, and this is sneak peak at our menu. Blueberry or chocolate chip pancakes, grits, bacon or sausage(turkey that is),eggs, and a BIG pot of coffee! I know that sounds like a good way to totally ruin all of the daily workouts we attempt to complete during the week, but that is just how we roll! Plus, my kids have just grown to expect that on days we’re home together, and not racing against the clock for church or school! Landon even likes to help cook as he is quite the little chef.

Today was a little less than that since Trent was traveling home from Houston, and were scheduled to be at Jaydon’s season opener at the t-ball field around 9 o’clock. From that point forward the race was on! Landon was being a hair model for my cousin, and Madison was set to cheer on the Port Orange Hawks football team at a 1pm game. Once we finally were delivered from the balmy humidity with a 22-0 win, we head home with a predetermined understanding that college football will rule the house the remainder of the day! LOL The boys usually glue themselves to the sofa with Trent for at least a few games and I LOVE IT! Mainly because I love them all being home. However, Jaydon and Landon are busy bodies and end up playing with friends at some point. But not Trent! If he’s home, you would think he has to send a report from each game to ESPN or something!

Another reason that I love for them to be occupied with football is that it gives me Freedom to float around and do what I like! Are there any women out there that can give me an Oh yeah on that one? Usually I will gather my favorite magazines, pull up my laptop, or paint my nails, and just be a presence in the room. Sometimes I just quietly slip out and make a run to a sale somewhere and they never even notice! My personal freedom!
The combination of the early start, kids activities, all day football, magazine reads, shopping, and a little personal girl time just makes the day feel a little extra longer! I hate how fast time seems to pass, and in some crazy way, it feels like I am getting a few of those hours back on Saturday!

My new phrase is, “when I’m home, I’m HOME!” I have reflected on the past 10 years since we had little Madison, and I realized that I had wasted too much precious time rushing to the next thing. Now, when I am gone to minister, it’s all about ministry, and when I’m home, I AM HOME! My kids have an understanding of this, and I have seen such a change in the atmosphere of our home. I had this random thought one day that our home should be a place where all of our five senses are engaged, and memories are created from those tangible experiences.

I want our home to have a memorable smell. This is where I usually get in trouble because I love the smell of chocolate chip cookies! I want my kids to take a deep breath when they walk in the door and be able to sense that mom is home! I remember as a teenager coming home from late practices, and immediately knowing what dad (or mom at times, haha) had cooked for us. There are times when I run into a scent in the craziest of random places, and it will take me back twenty years or more to a memory of home. Which now leads me to tasting, and all I’m gonna say about that is, there’s not going to be anything tasteless in my home! From food to to clothes, the Cory’s will have some taste! LOL I want our home to have a sense of touch that will remain. It’s apparent to me that when the smallest injury happens to my four year old, he just needs a hug and magically he’s better. Love is sometimes most realized when it is felt physically. Hugs, kisses, and sweet little hands and feet! Moving on to the sense of hearing, I want our home to have a sound. A sound that will make us all know that there is peace, no matter what we are up against, or how crazy tomorrow’s schedule may appear:) I am blessed to be involved in worship ministry, and I know and understand how worship brings peace. At any moment(which is a lot), Trent will fill our home with the sound of worship from the piano room. It may be in competition with 3 TV sets, dinner on the stove, and a phone conversation, but it creates a sound in our home that we will never forget. It’s amazing how you evolve as a woman in your thirties. Life has so much more meaning, and it’s my desire to make impressions that last. (well, the good ones…) That was long, but if you made it this far, perhaps it stirred the senses in your life. Live every day with purpose, and never forget to slow down and smell the roses while they are in bloom:)

Insight

All we need is a little more insight! This week my prayer time has been mainly questions and among those I’ve been asking for wisdom and insight. Shortly after praying one morning I came across a bit of this scripture on a status update of all places, and it stood out to me like it was highlighted. I dug up some more verses around it in hopes for an answer. One of my questions in prayer was “Am I trying to figure out too much when I should be trusting” in other words, “am I asking too many questions?!” I wanted to dissect on an area of my life, check my motives, my soul, and ask God “what was up, and what’s the hold up!” This scripture was an answer to my prayer.
Proverbs 2:2-11
2 Tune your ears to wisdom,
and concentrate on understanding.
3 Cry out for insight,
and ask for understanding.
4 Search for them as you would for silver;
seek them like hidden treasures.
5 Then you will understand what it means to fear the Lord,
and you will gain knowledge of God.
6 For the Lord grants wisdom!
From his mouth come knowledge and understanding.
7 He grants a treasure of common sense to the honest.
He is a shield to those who walk with integrity.
8 He guards the paths of the just
and protects those who are faithful to him.
9 Then you will understand what is right, just, and fair,
and you will find the right way to go.
10 For wisdom will enter your heart,
and knowledge will fill you with joy.
11 Wise choices will watch over you.
Understanding will keep you safe.
I don’t know of a time in my life that I have ever been so sure that God is in control! And saying that, I have never been at a place in my life of such uncertainty! I’m looking for God in the bushes if you know what I mean. I’m waiting on His promises to be manifested in my life. SO…the answer to one of my questions about asking questions, is clearly defined here in the scripture. Cry out and ask away, search for answers like it’s hidden treasure. That’s when you will gain understanding. Making decisions about the future requires insight from God, and sometimes, in the waiting, your being strengthened to carry the weight of the coming season. You can’t always be subject to man’s opinions, insight, or desires for your life because God has a road for you that is unique and all your own.
I still don’t have the answer to how this area in my life will play out, but what I do have is this scripture that God gave me, guaranteeing that He will guard my path and I will go the right way!

Just Saying….

I love having time to work on a project and de-stress. I was just working in my garage, which seems to be an on-going project in our household! I love it when I get to working around the house and no one is there to interrupt my thoughts. It makes me think that my grandparents are enjoying a long life because when they were young they would get out in the garden or walk down a slow paced road and de-stress. They were not distracted with cell phones or laptops and always able to be reached. They were able to resolve things in their hearts and move on with life. With the pace that Trent and I are on to keep our business moving, alot of times we don’t even complete sentences and move on like we are telepathic! Sometimes with us issues remain unresolved and brushed to the side like it’s for a rainy day. It can be a vicious cycle! Hope that’s not TMI, please don’t message me on how to take time out! I don’t have time to listen! HA…I’m kidding, partly!

While I was cleaning and reorganizing I had a thought that hit me hard. What if we turned our thoughts around on the people that are helping us attain our visions, and see what we are supposed to learn from them or how we could assist them in reaching their destiny. It’s so easy to be consumed with what “we” have going on and meeting deadlines, that the people helping us not just get overlooked, but we can assume that they are called on this earth to fulfill “our” purpose. THEN, when they no longer fill our purpose, we push them aside, looking for the next one to take their place. I call that a “disposable mentality”.
This is something directed straight at me! I’m guilty of overlooking things out of sheer “busyness”!
Another thing is, we ask God for these people in our lives and when it starts to cost us something, we complain.
Like God didn’t see it coming?! We can’t expect to have a rose path in this life! First we are called to serve and that is easy to forget! If I’m a leader, then I’m called to serve the people. I wish I would have had that right a long time ago. Somehow I got this mentality that since we were the leaders, we were supposed to be served. Yes I am admitting that! Somehow along the way we ministers got a “celebrity mentality” and aired it too.
Im just saying….
You know what I love about God? I love him because he makes me into His image more and more everyday. He pokes me when I’m off base and He pushes me in the right direction. He loves me that much to not let me just think I’m right all the time.

This is just a blog….not intended to be written perfectly, as Im in a hurry to get back into my garage and finish my job!

Rebirth Christian Center

Trent and I are singing with our team tonight at Rebirth
Christian Church in Orlando, Fl. I’m sitting here
in the green room hanging with my kids before we are called in. It’s getting kind of crazy in here keeping
them confined! They are quoting lines from Madea Goes
To Jail and it’s hysterical!
We are here to celebrate the church’s 3rd anniversary
and I’m loving the youthfulness of the people!
To me it’s just amazing how many
churches there are across America that
don’t get alot of recognition and they are
doing awesome things for the kingdom of God!
Well… here we go! Time for worship!

Alaska

Alaska was bea~U~tiful! I never imagined myself on an Alaskan cruise at this stage in my life but it was an invitation to celebrate Trents parents’ 40th anniversary. It was their pick obviously! We sailed without our children for 7 nights to Juneau, Skagway, Ketchikan, and to Victoria, British Colombia. Victoria was more my speed and I wouldn’t have minded hanging there a few days and other parts of Canada. The landscape, the culture, the sounds in the streets, the unique shopping, that was my happy place!

On our first day of sailing out of Seattle, it was a little chilly and I felt a big UH-OH about my packing job. I have been on several cruises and all of them have been to the Caribbean. It was difficult to get my mind around cold climates and wearing jackets on a ship.
Which was exactly how the first two days were sailing to Juneau! We literally ran from one side to the other when we were passing the open decks!
To my surprise, and thank God, once we ported there were blue skies and sunshine. In Juneau we zip lined through Tongass Rainforest. That was an exciting excursion that I’m looking forward to doing again. I have never seen trees so tall and from the top we zipped through many of them. After that we shopped though the town and had the best Halibut fish and chips. We stayed off the boat as long as we could after being so cooped up from the cold. I knew once we took off to our next destination that the temperature would drop again, and it did. As we sailed to Skagway next, we stayed the rest of the night indoors. One neat thing the ship offered was movies under the stars. They positioned all the lounge chairs under the outdoor movie screen and they passed out blankets. Still, I found it to be too cold for me, but it didn’t seem to bother the other hundreds of people out watching.

In Skagway, Trent and I rented bikes and took our own scenic tour through the town and to the Gold Rush Cemetery. The town looked like a set right out of an old western flick. It was filled with saloons right on a dirt road. This was, back in the day, a place where people passed through on their hunt for gold. In the cemetery found it interesting that most of the tombstones declared that people died there around the age of 38. We asked around and were told that Meningitis swept though there in the late 1800’s and killed them.
I love exploring and history so for me this was a fun day.
We hiked up a gorgeous waterfall and once we made it as high as we could I realized how clear and clean the air was there. Honestly, I could have stayed right there for hours just listening to the sound of the water. How could anyone take in such nature and believe in some big bang theory. There is a GOD!
The next couple days were awesome sailing. We lounged around outside under the snow capped mountains and got a pretty good tan! My favorite spot on the boat was an adult only area where you could lay on thick cushy lounge chairs and have full service from the wait staff. Let me just say, I’ve never been in an adult only section because all my life thus far I’ve been a kid and raising kids! It was a nice treat or “retreat”!
Ketchikan was our last stop in Alaska and the shortest one. It was another beautiful day of sunshine and I really didn’t want to do anything but catch some rays. But we got off the boat to say we did and shopped a little. Might I add that Alaska has 18 hours of daytime so we mostly lived on those hours. The sun rises at 4am so we were up early and up late! Now that I am home I am feeling it for sure!
We left there and sailed to the British Colombia. We stopped in Victoria and spent the evening taking in the city. Victoria is beautiful, and reminded me of London, one of my other favorite cities. I can’t wait to go back and visit there again and Vancouver! If I work on Trent a little more, I may be able to convince him to take me there for the Olympics 2010!
As for my kids, they were very well taken care of by Nana and Papa Jack, and wonderful aunts! I am a blessed woman!!

WHoHOo

Life has been so busy! I wish I had another way to say it because I feel like it’s what I’m always saying! I decided I would blog tonight before crashing. I really don’t feel like it but I need to get back into the rhythm of it. There are so many things happening day to day that I am missing out on celebrating really cool events because there is always another thing that has to be done! So, the past few weeks does seem a blur but there was a really awesome event that I was able to be a part of. Trent was invited to open up for Mary Mary at a BET/ COX communications concert in Macon, GA. We were privileged to sing to 7000 people and introduce to most of them a new sound of worship. It was an incredible night! We left there to visit a couple different churches over the weekend in Atlanta, made some time to visit with family and packed up for another road trip to Tampa. We were invited to sing at a Church of God Campmeeting which enabled us to catch up with some really great friends on our visit. Then we headed back to home just in time to do some shopping for the kids so that they could have ALL they needed and MORE for camp! I admit to going a bit overboard but my justification is that we have a really cool vacation coming up and they needed those matching quicksilver swimsuits;) Which leads me to a bit of humor, my little man Jay wouldn’t be denied a new swimsuit. He felt like he needed everything his big brother and sister were getting even though there was no camp for him! Such is life!
So, the big kids are off to camp and Jaydon really doesn’t know how to accept it. He just wanders around the house and is really needy. Even though he is missing them, we are really enjoying our time with him alone. We took him to a water park today and just followed him around till his heart was content. I love that little guy!
I have enjoyed my clean house but I am ready for my rugrats to come back home now.
Other than that, Life is GOOD!

Get a Little More Mary

I’m so guilty of being like Martha(in the bible). Honestly I had to stop several things I was doing just to sit down to write this. Although I feel like I’m in the greatest season of my life, it’s also busier and fuller. My kids are growing up so fast and it seems their activities are ever-increasing. Sometimes I feel like I’m juggling so much, that to take a little help(if it were offered) just creates more to juggle! Having to explain how and when, Moms, I know you know what I’m saying! It’s just easier to do it myself!
I’ve been wearing a lot more hats lately and the one thing I know to be true is, my strength comes from the Lord. My peace comes from the rest I take in Him. I was just reread the story on Mary and Martha, and while Mary was busy taking care of business, Mary was sitting at the feet of Jesus. Perhaps Martha thought that Jesus would be impressed with her skills of getting things done. I’m sure there are several reasons and I don’t know why she didn’t join in on their conversation, but apparently she was placing a greater demand on the work that had to be done. Even so much that she interrupted Jesus and asked why he was letting Mary escape her duties. Jesus told Martha she was worried about so many things but this one thing he would not take from Mary. We can get so caught up in the “works” of things and the preparations for ministry, worried about this or that, and we miss the moment we are preparing for-time in His presence. How many days have you worried about something instead of praying about it. How many times have to you put off time in His presence trying to get handle issues of life. The scripture says when we “wait” upon the Lord, He will renew our strength. We can’t tell the Lord to wait until we get our list of things done. We can’t wait until things work out and we feel like it. We simply wait upon Him and the strength that He gives will enable us to do what we need to do. It’s the whole “seek ye first” teaching. Building a relationship with Christ takes more than reading the word and putting it down, more than saying a list of needs and moving on to your next “chore”. It takes waiting on the Lord, meditating on His goodness, letting Him speak back to you. It’s easy to put that precious time off for any and everything else, but then your left with less peace, stressed out with doing things in your own strength, and possibly walking in condemnation because you didn’t make time!
My personal goal is that every morning, the Lord is the first person I speak to. I try to open myself to hear His voice in that quiet time. You don’t have to follow a set of religious rules, or pass through three dimensions to hear His voice. Not an audible voice, just a clear peace in your spirit that allows you to hear God’s subtle reminder that you are loved, and that He cares about your day. He cares about what your day holds. He cares about what is on your ever growing to-do list. It’s really simple, you just humble yourself and acknowledge Him. To humble yourself means to become less than. Just that alone is stating that He is greater and that we desire His authority over our lives.
There’s nothing wrong with being busy, in fact I think it helps us stay out of trouble! But we must be balanced.
One thing I thought about while meditating on this passage is, women weren’t even supposed to intermingle with men back then or receive from the Rabbi’s. Maybe that’s why Martha was all in a tizzy. It was socially unacceptable to do what Mary was doing. It’s the Martha in us(women) to feel the pressure of having a clean house all the time, all the laundry done and put away, meals hot on the table, having clean kids, being clean myself, being available to your husband, and of having lipstick on!
Jesus allowed Mary to cast off her weights, going against religious rules and what people expected of her. Don’t let expectations rob your time in His presence!