welcome to the hike!

Working out the call!

I currently living in Millersburg or as God whispered in me ear four years ago in PA, "the land of my Fathers!" MILLERS - burg! OK! The best way to describe my life of late, is simply "Pastor-at-Large" I live "outside the box" of our usual expectation of life, family, employment and even culture. I live, breathe, and weave around a four county area as a local missionary and have learned of so many supportive faith communities. I meet people who contact me where they are in their 'hike 'o life."

The hats I wear are that of Life Coach, Writer, Speaker, Retreat Facilitator, Pastoral Supply, Prayer Counselor and well, whatever God calls on me to do (I actually get paid to do all of these things, which is awesome, unless you are helping me with my books!) I also work to "tent-make my mission work" as a church secretary for a sweet fellowship pastored by one of my favorite seminary prof's.

So what do I want to be when I grow up? Stay tuned! The goals are big and staying solvent month by month is a huge victory, but as I see my own heart and others hearts change and grow in my daily walk, I realize, I am not working for treasures on earth....I have direct deposit above. Guess that's a pretty sweet ride! Lacing up my hiking boots...on the hike o' life!























Thursday, March 10, 2011

It’s the heart…

But even there, if you seek GOD, your God, you'll be able to find him if you're serious, looking for him with your whole heart and soul. When troubles come and all these awful things happen to you, in future days you will come back to GOD, your God, and listen obediently to what he says. GOD, your God, is above all a compassionate God. In the end he will not abandon you, he won't bring you to ruin, he won't forget the covenant with your ancestors which he swore to them. Deuteronomy 4: 29-31 The Message


Yesterday I closed the Ash Wednesday reflections by reminding myself that God wants us to rend our HEARTS to HIM – I think we often put thing on the outward, thinking it will look good to others but in the end it just causes us to get more lost.

This Journey that we are on though, I hope that the outward sacrifices bring to each of us to INWARD TRANSFORMATION…

For Jesus, faith is meant to be a matter of the heart.

At the very earliest origins of Lent, it was a period of time spent teaching those who wanted to join the church preparing them to be baptized on Easter morning. Functionally, today, it's a season where we “check our spiritual pulse”. I personally, even as I considered what I was going to this year, was checking myself for legalistic tendencies. (For the record, I did not attend an Ash Wednesday service yesterday and checking my spiritual pulse, it was the right choice for me this year. I can’t remember the last time I missed one!) But in this crazy year for this preacher girl, God put me in some very specific places to minister yesterday and I trust HIM.

Some of us, and some of our fellow church-goers will take on a spiritual discipline or two. Some will give up chocolate. Some will give up soda. Some will take on something they don't usually do.

Whatever we do though, we have to make sure that it's a matter of the heart. Not a weight-loss technique, not a way to beat ourselves up, and not something to impress those who ultimately are watching us.

Because we have to remember the ONE who counts does not just see what we do, but why and how we do. I have always found such meaning in the Deuteronomy passage above for not only does it refer to God caring most about our hearts, but it then affirms His grace and perseverance with us HE LOVES US.

Whatever we do with our Lent, let us make it about bringing our heart more in-line with the Kingdom of God. As we saw early on in the Sermon on the Mount, let us try on 'purity of heart,' so that we 'may see God.' Let us try on poverty of spirit, hungering and thirsting for righteousness, and peacemaking. Let us pray, let us fast, let us make our needed repenting.

And let us analyze our spiritual echo-cardiograms.
So that our hearts are beating in sync with the one who calls us.

LORD, IT IS YOU WHO CALLS US, HELP US TO DRAW NEAR and SEEK YOU WITH OUR WHOLE HEART. AMEN

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