A wise grandmother and a simple faith

A friend of mine officiated the funeral of his grandmother this past weekend. I went to support him in his time of loss, but also to support him as he preached his first funeral. He did a great job... and I think he honored her life well.

As good a job as my friend did, the two most impacting parts of the funeral were those where her words were shared, instead of his.

Her great-grandaughter read a letter she got from "MiMi" when she was baptized. The letter congratulated the great-grandaughter on her decision to follow Christ, encouraged her a little bit, and then listed out some important things to know as a new believer: "love God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength; love your neighbor as yourself; the Lord's prayer is found in Matthew 6; my favorite scripture passage is Psalm 23; the Love chapter is 1 Corinthians 13; Jesus' sermon on the Mount is found in Matthew 4; and the Ten Commandments are found in Exodus 20." That about sums the Bible up in my opinion - the greatest commands, a basic format for prayer, a description of God's love for us, an understanding of human love, Jesus' most direct teachings on life, and God's most direct teachings on life. Simple biblical faith.

After this letter was read, and a few very respectful comments were made, my friend said, "I knew this day would happen at some point in time, so last year I sat down with MiMi and asked her a question in preparation for this day: 'MiMi, if you could gather all your friends and family together one last time, what would you say to them?' Her response was simple, 'For years, I've told them about God and his love for them. I've told them about Jesus and his sacrifice. So, I would gather them together and just tell them those things again.'" That is a life well-lived. Simple biblical faith... and a desire for others to have the same simple biblical faith in their lives.

Well done, Jeff, with the funeral. Well done, MiMi, with your life.

Learning to speak "American"

I was at Walmart on Friday and had one of those really funny moments that just made me laugh. I am not a big fan of the self-service checkout stations because it really does take as long as if there were that many regular registers open, but it can lead to some very funny situations, so I guess they're not that bad.

As I was ringing up my items, a couple approached the station behind me and proceeded to ring up their items. I think the woman was just one of those people that likes to complain because it gives her something to talk about... so when she approached the screen and saw the first question on the screen, she decided to say something to her husband... unfortunately she said it loud enough for me to hear.

WOMAN: "I hate these stupid things..."

MAN: "huh?"

WOMAN: "...these machines. I hate when they ask me what language I want to choose..."

MAN: "oh"

WOMAN: "I mean this is America... of course I want to ring my stuff up in American... not Spanish."

Wouldn't it be great if we all spoke American? But, of course, in our part of the country many different languages are spoken: Spanish, Korean, English... and, apparently, even "American". Different languages can be confusing and sometimes it can be hard to carry on conversations with people when don't fully understand each other.

That's actually a lesson we ought to carry into other parts of our lives, too. In Romans, God identifies how difficult it is for someone to begin a relationship with him when they haven't heard about him and his Son. And, God goes on to say that people won't hear about him unless someone tells them. Doesn't it seem logical that "we" might be the "someones" God was talking about? You run in different circles of people than I run with (different friends, different companies, different neighborhoods, etc.). There are people in my circles of influence that need to hear about God, and I want to have discussions with these people about spiritual things... and my friends may not understand what you have to say because they don't know you very well. There are also people in your circles of influence that need to hear about God, and I hope you want to have discussions with those people about spiritual things... and your friends may not understand what I have to say because they don't know me very well. So, each of us are responsible for starting our own discussions in our own circles of influence. As we start these discussions, people will hear about God and his Son... and as people hear, they can begin their relationships with Christ.

Just think for a moment how this community will change when all of us are starting discussions about spiritual things in our own circles of influence.

So turn off your computer now and go meet some of your friends and talk... and know that you are having an incredible impact on the Kingdom of God... whether you speak Spanish, or Korean, or English... or even "American".

The "mexican menu" was a coincidence, not a Freudian slip

Last night, I got the chance to hang out with eight of the coolest people in the world... my wife Amy, David, Amanda, Jason, Kristen, Gabe, Kortney, and Kelly. There are three others - Jeff and Felicia had some illness running around their house and Jeremy was working - so they couldn't make it.

We hung out for about 15 minutes while the food finished cooking and while people arrived. We talked about work, and our families, and our kids, and life in general. We fixed our plates full of some incredible mexican food (including some "Salsa Casera") and we laughed a lot about Sunday and Book22. Then, we moved into the living room, watched a 15-minute clip of Andy Stanley on being "salt of the earth", and we talked about what God was teaching us and how he could use us to impact our friends and co-workers and families and neighbors and even people in other parts of the world. After that, people slowly began to filter home and we straightened the house a little bit and went to bed. It was a great evening with our community group.

If you're not building relationships with people through a small group or in your neighborhood or in the community, you are missing out. Life is a journey that is much too hard to travel through it alone. Go ahead... invite another family into your home for dinner, or host a community group, or play a game of kickball with the families on your street... do something to meet new people and build relationships with them... you'll be amazed at what God will do through it.

And, no, the mexican menu was not a Freudian slip from Sunday's message... just a coincidence.

What a Sunday it was?!?

We laughed... we talked... we laughed some more... and it was great. Thanks to the band and the setup team and the childcare team and Nathan/Katelyn with the teenagers and to the many, many, many volunteers that created an incredible environment on Sunday. We had a lot of first time guests at Church At The Grove and we have had a bunch of great comments about their experiences... opportunities they had to explore faith at their own pace... and that is what we go for.

By the way, if you were in the 11:15am Gathering, don't worry... I will start this Sunday by answering the three questions and I will tell you the salsa story... sorry we didn't get to it this past week.

I took too long, but I think we had fun

The Bible records a story where the Apostle Paul is teaching at a house during the evening. He talks so long that a boy that was sitting in the window falls asleep, tips out of the window and falls to his death. (Don't worry, the boy is brought back to life at the end of the story). After looking at the clock near the end of each service, I realized that I had done the same thing (minus actually killing anybody). As we talked and read and laughed together this morning, the time flew by way too quickly...it was my fault...sorry!

I enjoy being with you guys each Sunday morning at CATG. I enjoy talking about all that God is teaching each of us. I enjoy hearing your stories and telling you mine. I enjoy "sharpening" each other in our walks with Christ.

You know, the Disciples spent about three years following Christ together. They invested morning, noon, and night to following Jesus and I'll bet they had some pretty interesting experiences and conversations with each other along the way. They started out by following this Rabbi around and they became "disciples" in the process. What an incredible journey they had together.

Thanks for being in this process with me. It's great to become "disciples" with you, as we journey through life.

And Speaking of Lunch

Speaking of lunch... if you want a free one, go to www.freechickenandcoke.com and register with Chick-fil-A. You've got to give them your name, email, and home address, but they will send you a coupon for a free chicken sandwich and a free drink. Only 1,000,000 coupons will be sent, so you might want to register soon.

You Might Be Rich

You might be rich... and not even know it. During lunch today, take about 5 minutes and go to www.missingmoney.com. Type in your last name (don't worry about your first name, unless your last name is VERY common) and press search. You may be the proud owner of a $6.18 refund because you paid too much on a power bill at the house you lived at 8 years ago. Or, a distant third-cousin, twice-removed may have made a fortune by inventing a possum trap and left you with part of a $4 million dollar estate. Maybe you opened a savings account with the $27.92 you made off a lemonade stand when you were five years old... forgot about it... and now (with interest) it has grown enough for a college fund. Who knows?

I look on the site from time to time just to see if I might "strike it rich." I didn't find anything this morning for me, but I did find some money for my cousin and my aunt... maybe a little, maybe a lot... I'm about to email them. And, before I did, I just thought you'd like to know.