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12.22.13 My Tribute to Tinsley and Betty Ann Penick

   This is the tribute that I shared with my parents on behalf of my brother, Gene, and me. My parents, Gene and I were overwhelmed by the outpouring of love shown by many of our family and friends during such a busy time of year. This celebration was a significant highlight for 2013, and I am sharing it with you along with some pictures:  

Gene, Tinsley, Betty Ann, and Lee Ann

Gene, Tinsley, Betty Ann, and Lee Ann

   You and I are here because we all love, respect, and adore Tinsley and Betty Ann. I want to tell you a bit of our story so you will understand why Gene and I felt it was important to celebrate them on their 40th wedding anniversary.  

   Do you remember what it felt like to be ten years old? If you have a short memory, then think about your own kids when they were that age! Imagine becoming a single parent with two children to support, nine and ten years old. Not only would you be concerned with clothing and feeding them, but how would you provide security for them after their world had been turned upside down? My Mother is a special woman, who found inner strength to persevere through unchartered waters. Even while she was working through her own pain, she never let it show. She was our rock when the home was broken. She provided security and stability for us while she was regrouping financially and emotionally.  

Mother.Tinsley Listening Smiling

   Gene and I deeply love, respect and admire Mother because she successfully modeled that you can begin again. Looking back, as Gene and I discussed our past, we wondered, how was she able to accomplish this? Mother made three significant decisions to begin again.  

   1) She began again by drawing on her faith in God. She never lost faith that her perfect Father in heaven would take care of us. As far as I’m concerned, this was her most significant decision. She made sure we were at church so that we could continue to grow in our relationship to God. As children we learned that God is always faithful even in the hardest of times. This one decision showed us that “family” was not just a genogram with names and descendants listed. We discovered an extended family through our local church. Some of our fondest memories during a difficult chapter in life were our fellowship times at church. By God’s grace, we experienced God’s loving arms around us through the many believers who loved and supported us.

   2) Mother began again by drawing on the resources available to her. She had a BBA in Accounting along with a teaching certificate, so her second major decision was to work outside the home. Mother worked as a bookkeeper in the early 1970’s. This was before mobile banking! Ledgers were still kept by hand. Quickbooks was not even on the horizon.  When business owners needed their profit and loss statement calculated, or they needed help with payroll taxes, they would bring their bank statements to their accountant.  

   3) Mother began again by choosing to love again. One day, Tinsley Penick, owner of the Austin Country Club Golf Shop, brought his bank statements to his accountant’s office, where he happened to notice a pretty young lady named Betty Ann who was the bookkeeper. As Mother put it, “it was very romantic” being courted in an accounting office. A few sparks started to fly between them, and before long they were dating. 

   Their courtship was tested early, however. Tinsley and Mother were out on a drive one day, and Mother noticed that the needle on the fuel gauge was pointing squarely on “E” for empty. Mother suggested that he should stop and gas up, but Tinsley said, “Don’t worry about it. We’ll be fine.” Until they ran out of gas. Tinsley didn’t appreciate Mother telling him what to do, and Mother didn’t appreciate that they were stranded. “Would you like to get out of the car and go with me to get gas, or do you want to stay there,” Tinsley offered. “Neither!” Mother responded. And that’s just how they’ve always rolled in their relationship!! 

Mother Enjoying Herself

   Imagine this handsome young golf pro, who has fallen in love with a beautiful woman with two kids from a previous marriage, now ages 12 and 13. In today’s culture, many men dating women with kids would look at Gene and me as a drawback to getting married. But that was not the case with Tinsley. Tinsley unconditionally loved us, and on December 22, 1973, Tinsley and Mother committed before God to love one another until “death do us part.”  

   It didn’t take long to figure out that what Tinsley and Mother had in common was a great sense of humor. Tinsley and Betty Ann are just funny people. I think everyone of you in this room would attest to that. They make us laugh! Tinsley is like his father. He has the amazing dry wit about him, while Mother is quick-witted. When you get the two of them together, it is just a great time.  

   I also learned that he liked doing things as a family, and he didn’t hesitate to include us in the things that were of interest to him. Our family will never forget the time Tinsley wanted a diversion from the busy life of a golf pro. He decided it would be fun to make some extra money selling honey. He announced to our family that Matthew Community Elementary School was offering a course on beekeeping. Tinsley thought it would be a fun family affair if all of us went to this evening course once a week to study beekeeping. We hit a snag early on. Gene and I lasted only one evening. At 12 and 13 years old, we had less than ZERO interest in learning about beekeeping, so now the family venture was down to Mother and Tinsley. 

   After four weeks of study, Tinsley became the proud owner of a beekeeping certificate. He couldn’t wait to start making more money by selling mesquite honey. He acquired four hives to start his beekeeping career. But the bees needed to live somewhere. To get the best mesquite honey, you needed to place the hives where the mesquite was. So Tinsley landed on Lytton Springs, TX, near Lockhart, which was about a 50-minute drive from Austin. He loaded up his truck with the hives, and deposited them in Lytton Springs. That was a good start for someone who was beginning his beekeeping career. Since Tinsley was the only one by now with a passion for bees, and since the hives were out of town, this beekeeping venture was out of sight, out of mind for the rest of the family.

Tinsley quickly learned that being a full-time golf pro limited his travel time to Lytton Springs to check on his bees. So, unbeknownst to us, he made the decision to bring the hives to our house and set them up under our deck without telling Mother. 

   Our deck was our favorite place in the house with incredible views of the surrounding landscape. The deck went from the kitchen area, which was one side of the house, and wrapped around to the master bedroom, which was the other side of the house. It was built on pillars, so there was open space under the deck. From this perch, we could see above the tree tops, and out to the 360 highway and watch the sun set. It was a great place to hang out.  

   Two years went by and seemingly out of nowhere, of all things, we started to run into issues with bees. Mother and I would step out onto the deck, and bees were everywhere. She kept asking Tinsley, our certified beekeeper, “Where are these bees coming from? I’ve never seen anything like it.” Tinsley didn’t have much to offer. In the meantime our ability to enjoy the deck kept diminishing.  

   One day Mother had a maintenance man come to the house to work on a project that required him to go below the deck. There he discovered four hives and a swarm of bees. He promptly informed my Mother of the situation, and according to Tinsley, she went ballistic. She called Tinsley at the golf shop and said, “You have one hour to get these bee hives out from under the deck!!!”  

   Do you know how hard it is round up bees?! Tinsley put on his special white beekeeping jumpsuit that protected him from being stung. And then he retrieved his smoker. Apparently, when you create smoke around a bee hive, the bees think there is a forest fire, so they all go huddle in the hive. Tinsley was able to gather the bees. With a help of a friend, Tinsley loaded up his truck and transported four hives back to Lockhart and just left them there. That’s when his beekeeping career ended. His smoker became contraband in our house. 

Tinsley Laughing

   Tinsley, to his credit, did not give up on doing things as a family. During the early years of his marriage to my mother, Tinsley shared his passion for golf with us, but I was the only who gravitated to it at the time. Some of you may not know that during the summers when I was a teenager, I worked in his golf shop at the Austin Country Club. Not only did I get to spend time with Tinsley at his workplace, but he made sure that I had the opportunity to learn how to play golf. Before that, I was your typical kid who thought golf was boring to watch on TV. But as soon as Tinsley put a club in my hand, I formed a brand new opinion about golf. I got hooked, and I have loved it ever since – thanks to Tinsley who introduced me to golf and his father, Papa Harvey. 

   There are so many other things I could share, but Tinsley, I have loved you from the moment I met you. You are such a sweet-spirited man, easy to be around, and fun to talk to. I can’t think of one time when I’ve felt guarded around you. I can say anything that’s on my heart, and you listen without judging. If there is a model to be made for stepfathers, YOU are it. Thank you for always being there for Mother, for Gene, and for me. 

Mother.Tinsley

   Gene and I feel blessed beyond measure that the good Lord brought the bookkeeper and the beekeeper together. Mother and Tinsley, we love you, we adore you, and we think the world of you. On behalf of Gene and me and your family and friends, congratulations on 40 years of marriage! May the good Lord continue to bless you. We look forward to celebrating you again in another ten years.

Gene and Mother both clapping

Love,

Lee Ann and Gene

 

 

12.7.13 I Forgot My Password

   I feel sorry for our seniors. Many of them experience stress trying to adapt to today’s fast-changing world of technology. As they get older and more forgetful, their minds don’t think like Steve Jobs! As technology advances, they get increasingly left behind. They find the latest technologies more complex and confusing as they age. Think about it. For every technology we utilize, we have a username and password. Mobile devices now come with passcode locks that have to be remembered. Our parents don’t need more passwords to remember. They need simplicity more than they need security. We can assist our aging parents to stay connected to their families by reducing the technology stresses they face.

Helping with new computer

Photo Courtesy@IStockphoto.com/Ridofranz

 

   I started this process with Dad. A year ago he had no problem using his cellphone. When it rang, he could see who the call was coming from and choose to answer it. If the call rolled into voicemail, he knew his password to retrieve the message. If he wanted to make an outgoing call, he knew how to navigate his contact list, see the stored phone number, press it, and make the call. That has changed. He no longer remembers how to use his cellphone. The flip phone that was once familiar to him looks strange. Because his memory has declined, he can’t perform any of the basic phone skills I’ve enumerated. We cannot call him to stay in touch anymore.  

   I helped Dad stay connected to his family by switching to simpler, more familiar type of phone. My cellphone provider offered a cheap plan with a Wi-Fi hotspot resembling a modem. I went to Fry’s and bought a single portable handset that sits in a cradle to keep it charged. All I had to do was plug the phone jack of the handset into the Wi-Fi modem, and he was in business. Dad appreciated the simplicity of it. He has known for years how to use a handset, so when it rings, all he has to remember is to press, “talk,” and he is connected to us. In addition, this solution required no passwords. I didn’t attempt to set up his voicemail box because he would never think to check for messages, nor would he remember his passcode to access them.  

   A second way to reduce technology stress for our parents involves becoming their human “back-up” system. In the past, I tracked my Dad’s username and passwords. When he couldn’t access a website because he couldn’t remember his password, he would call me and tell me. I could provide his password within a minute. Now I’ve become the full back-up system for both my parents. If their memory lapses momentarily, they can call me, and I have their passwords ready for them. If they forget how to navigate a certain area of their iPad, I can talk them through the steps by looking at my own. This works the majority of the time by phone, but it is not full-proof. They love their iPad, so I am going to put together all of their key usernames and passwords and put them on one sheet of paper that fits the inside frame of their iPad cover. Once they lift the cover, they will see all the passwords they need. 

   Another way we can reduce technology stress for our parents is to leverage free training workshops offered by Apple Inc. I want to do this as a family. It will be a fun way to make a memory with my parents and learn more about our iPads. In Austin, they offer free one-hour classes at their stores. I think the more they master the iPad features, the less stress they will experience using them. I can send my parents links to free iPad video tutorials that they can watch at their convenience.  

   Our parents deserve as much help as we can to reduce the stress of technology. Part of honoring our parents is to help them stay as independent as possible and as proficient as possible with the technology tools on hand. I anticipate that as they age, the more simplified the technology needs to be. No matter what, we need to prepare to keep them connected to us. If your parents are like mine, they don’t want to feel like they are “bothering” us, but I think it is our privilege to serve them. As their children, they are looking to us to help them, even though they may not be asking for help out loud. Let’s be there for them. They need to hear from us and know that they have not been forgotten. 

   Let’s commit to ask our parents often, “How can I help today? Are there any computer issues that I can help you resolve?” The Lord will honor those who honor their parents. He gives us a promise in Eph 6:2-3, “Honor your father and mother – which is the first commandment with a promise – “that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth.”

 

   Are there other ways you can think of to reduce the stress of technology for our parents? Our community of readers would love to hear them.

 

Blessings,

Lee Ann

11.24.13 Can We Change God’s Mind?

   If God’s purpose or will for your life can’t be thwarted, why pray? It’s a fair question, one you may have asked yourself.  

   In a recent women’s Sunday School class, we were studying Acts 3 in which Peter healed a beggar who had been lame for over forty years. While we were processing this chapter, a hand shot up. 

   “If God already has a plan for your life, why pray?” asked one of my devoted women. She told the class that her friend’s husband had been stricken with a serious illness. She, along with many other family and friends, were praying for his healing. “But if God is going to do what He plans to do anyway, why pray if we can’t change His mind?” In other words, if our pleas for healing are filtered through God’s will, why not adopt a fatalistic view about life? Why not accept that outcomes are out of our control? 

   All eyes in the classroom were now fixed on me, which is what typically happens when the hard questions come! I offered what I thought was an adequate answer.

   “We pray to build an intimate relationship with God and to show our dependence on Him.” Their faces dropped. My answer clearly did not satisfy them.

   Many of these ladies know the Bible well, including the one who asked the question.

   “Yes, I know that…” she said. I could hear the frustration and resignation in her voice. Looking around the room, I could see in some of the faces that I might as well have fed them castor oil.  

   Do you identify with their reaction? I do. As I headed home after class, I found myself asking, “Why is developing a deeper walk with God a dissatisfying answer?” When I got honest with myself, it wasn’t the answer I would have wanted to hear either, even though I believe my answer to be true. What kind of relationship do we have with God if there’s not the same kind of “give and take” we experience in our earthly relationships? Over the next few days, I struggled to reconcile the tensions around the purpose of prayer. 

   On the surface, I could see how God’s Word might appear to communicate conflicting messages. On the one hand, I thought of several passages from Scripture that lead me to believe we can change God’s mind. Jesus clearly communicates that believers with faith can move a mountain. He said in Matt 17:21, “Nothing will be impossible for you.” We can express our faith through prayer. In John 14:12-14, Jesus tells us that we will do “even greater things” because He will go to the Father as we ask for things in His name and will do it. James 5:16 says, “The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.” And Jesus says in Matt 18:19, “Again, I tell you that if two of you agree about anything you ask for, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven.” I believe wholeheartedly that there is power in prayer and that I can change the world because of it.  

   On the other hand, the Bible speaks clearly about God’s will. Jesus taught His disciples to pray, “Our Father in heaven, hallowed by your name. Your kingdom come your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” (Matt 6:9-10) His will has already been pre-established in heaven. So when we pray, our hearts need to be re-calibrated daily with God’s Will. In Isa 14:26-27 we read, “This is the plan determined for the whole world; this is the hand stretched out over all nations. For the Lord Almighty has purposed, and who can thwart Him?” Isa 46:10-11 says, “I say: My purpose will stand, and I will do all that I please. What I have said, that will I bring about; what I have planned, that will I do.” Prov 16:9 says, “The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord determines his steps.”  

   I have always believed in the power of prayer. I believe that when I go to my Father and pray for someone’s healing, for example, I can change God’s mind such that He will grant my request, especially when I’m praying in agreement with other believers. The belief that I can change His mind is not unfounded. Exodus 32 is an account in which God told Moses He intended to destroy the Israelites. Moses interceded for them by asking God not to destroy them, and God honored Moses’s request. It appeared Moses changed God’s mind.  

   2 Kings 20:1-11 records a story of Hezekiah, a king who became ill and was at the point of death. The Lord sent His prophet Isaiah to tell Hezekiah to “get his house in order because you’re going to die.” Hezekiah appealed to the Lord. “Remember how I have walked before you faithfully and with wholehearted devotion and have done what is good in your eyes.” The Lord heard his prayer and told Hezekiah, “I will heal you. I will add fifteen years to your life.”  

   There is also the parable of the persistent widow in Luke 18:1-8. Jesus used this parable to illustrate that we should always pray and not give up. The widow appeared continually before a judge with a plea for justice against her adversary. But the judge had no regard for God or people. The judge kept refusing for some time until she started wearing him out! He was tired of being bothered by her, so to keep her from re-appearing in his courtroom, he granted her plea. Her persistence caused the judge to change his mind. 

   As I was working through this tension between the power of prayer and God’s will, it occurred to me to view prayer from a different vantage point. Have you thought about why Jesus spent so much time in prayer with our Father? After all, Jesus was God in human flesh. Why do you think Jesus often removed Himself from the crowds or His disciples to be alone with God? He obviously had the power to change anything He wanted to and demonstrated this often. Jesus gives us some clues. Jesus is speaking to His disciples in John 14:10. “The words I say to you are not just my own. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing His work.” Jesus repeats this idea while praying to His Father in John 17:8, “For I gave them (the disciples) the words you gave me and they accepted them.” I picture Jesus praying daily to seek His Father’s will. He desired to be fully yielded to His Father in all that He said and did during His earthly ministry.  

   God’s Word teaches us to do the same. We need to seek the will of God daily through prayer. Romans 12:2 says, “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” Jesus was in the Garden of Gethsemane praying continually to His Father. “He was overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death” (Matt 26:38) before facing His crucifixion. Jesus knew all along that the plan was for Him to die on the cross as the sacrificial lamb for all mankind. Yet He still prayed. “My Father, if you are willing, may this cup be taken from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.”  

   In Christian circles we typically focus on the last part of Jesus’s request: “yet not my will, but yours be done.” As I re-read this passage, I understood this verse from a whole new vantage point! The phrase, “if you are willing,” jumped out at me, giving this verse an interesting nuance. 

   Jesus prayed hoping God would change His mind, which brings me comfort. If Jesus thought He could change God’s mind, then there’s hope for all of us! But He also modeled that given a choice between what He wanted and what His Father wanted, Jesus wanted God’s will to be done. Let me ask you another question. Where would we be if God had changed His mind when Jesus asked to bypass the cross? We would still be living in spiritual darkness destined to be separated from God for eternity. Can you imagine that?! It is sobering and humbling to know that our Father declined Jesus’s request in favor of redeeming us. God knows when and when not to change His mind.  

   Since God’s purposes can’t be thwarted, it appears that our prayers will always be answered in the context of His will for each of us. He knows before we ask Him what is in our best interest. This is why Jeremiah 29:11 is my life verse: “For I know the plans that I have for you. They are plans to profit you and not to harm you, but to give you a hope and a future.” No matter what He allows to happen in my life, I trust that it ultimately profits me and positively impacts His Kingdom. No matter what I ask of God, I know I can trust Him completely to answer my prayers knowing what is in my best interest. My hope and my future have already been predetermined, and He knows when to grant requests or not. He’s got my back at all times. 

   I don’t know whether we change God’s mind through prayer. I can say that I have seen powerful results come from fervent and persistent prayers, which leads me to believe we can. But I will never know on this side of heaven if the results were already willed by God before I put my prayer requests before Him. That doesn’t discourage me. I am going to keep praying as if I can change His mind. No matter what, I am growing closer to God through prayer, which is the real blessing. 

   In the end, God wants us to seek Him and His will daily. He wants us to be in complete unity with Him. We can’t help but learn and love the heart of God as we spend more time with Him through prayer. As I was trying to figure out how to conclude my post, I serendipitously came across this Facebook post by Donald Miller, the Christian author: “What if your future was not whatever you wanted it to be and not whatever Jesus wanted it to be, but whatever you and Jesus wanted it to be?”  

   I was struck by this statement. I believe it melts away the debate over whether we can change the mind of God through prayer. It moves us away from a power struggle with God to have our own way and leads us into the presence of God to know Him more. For the more we spend time with Him in prayer, the more we will want what He wants. We will love Him so deeply that whatever is important to Him will be important to us. It wouldn’t occur to us to attempt to change His mind. We would experience complete unity, which is what Jesus prayed for us in John 17:23. 

   Now that tastes like honey, not castor oil. 

 

   I would love to hear your thoughts or reactions. Do you believe you can change God’s mind? 

 

Blessings,

Lee Ann

10.26.13 No Deposit, Big Return

   Don’t ask me why I get stuck on stats. I just do.  The stat that bugs me the most: how many people profess their faith in Jesus, but do not profess Him through their checkbook. Statistics show that approximately 20% of church members support 80% of the church budget. That’s just wrong. That means 80% of professing believers either don’t tithe or they tithe less than ten percent, rationalizing that they are giving in other ways. Yet God has called us to bring the “whole tithe into the storehouse,” which is the church (Mal 3:10). Instead of railing about it, which never solves anything, I have a possible solution. In fact, those of you who tithe faithfully are integral to it. First, some background to help you understand my approach. 

   In December of 1995 I moved from Iola, Kansas, to Hutchinson to establish a counseling ministry through Westbrook Baptist Church, and to join their staff as a part time Minister of Missions and Outreach. I needed introductions to the community pastors in order to get referrals and build my practice, which I knew would take time. I lived on a part time salary while the Lord slowly began to send clients my way. My parents were sweet during this transition, regularly checking up on me. I occasionally expressed that finances were tight, but I never asked for money. After all, I trusted the Lord to provide it. 

   One day I went to get my mail, and I noticed an envelope from my parents. When I opened it, I discovered a $10,000 check with a post-it note. “Please deposit this if or when you need it,” it read. “Love, Mother.”  All I could do was sit on the couch and cry. I was so overwhelmed by my parents’ generosity. I stashed the check in a kitchen drawer for safekeeping. 

   Have you heard the true story of children in an orphanage, who couldn’t go to sleep at night because they were afraid of waking up and not having food to eat? The orphans were well fed at dinner, but they went to bed anxious that there would be no food the next day. The caregivers figured out that if they put a piece of bread in each child’s hand when they tucked them into bed, they slept soundly. By the next morning, not one child had eaten their bread. The anxiety was eliminated knowing that if they got hungry, they had bread in their possession. They slept well! 

   I know how they felt. I slept soundly knowing there was a $10,000 check in the drawer that I could deposit at any time.  

   As my counseling practice grew in Hutchinson, so did my income. And as my income grew, the need to deposit my parents’ check waned. I never used it, but I also never forgot the love and generosity my parents modeled. Years later I was able to pay it forward. 

   A dear friend, a devout Christian who had gone through a divorce, was struggling with her finances as a newly single mother. She asked me if I would help her with her budget. I did so gladly. When we were putting together the spreadsheet, I noticed she wasn’t consistently tithing. Sometimes she didn’t give at all, and at other times she gave some, but not at ten percent, which is considered the minimum tithe. When I gingerly asked about this, she fought back tears because she knew she wasn’t giving her ten percent to the Lord. But she desired to be faithful to Him and to place her trust in the Lord for her finances. She wanted to begin again with a full tithe regardless of how tight her finances were. 

   The budget spreadsheet I built for her had a formula to multiply gross salary by ten percent. Since some Christians tithe on their take home amount, I decided to explain why I believed she should tithe on gross. I explained to my friend that when a company hires her for an agreed upon salary with benefits, they are simply taking part of her gross salary to pay for her health insurance, group life insurance, retirement funding, etc. I then  shared a hypothetical scenario. What if an employer decided that they didn’t want the administrative headache of paying the insurance bills for their employees each month? They would pass the task to her and give her the address where she can send the check. They would still pay her the gross salary, but then she would be responsible for paying her own premiums, or funding her own retirement nest egg. So whether the company is paying her insurance bills for her or whether she is doing it herself, it is still coming from her gross salary. She understood this explanation, and embraced my suggestion to tithe off of her gross salary. 

   I took one more step with her. Since she shared her income with me, I knew what her tithe check should be. I wrote a check payable to her for one month’s tithe and asked her to leave it in her wallet. I told her she had my blessing to deposit the check if she ever ran short of cash due to her decision to tithe ten percent on her gross salary.  

   Can you predict the outcome? I bet you can. My friend faithfully began tithing ten percent on gross. It was always the first “thank you” note she wrote when she was paid, and she never had a deficit in her budget going forward. God continued to bless her. 

   I heard from my friend about a year later. 

   “Guess what I found in my wallet?” she asked. 

   “Let’s see. I bet there’s a check with lots of whiskers on it!” I suggested playfully. 

   “Yep,” she laughed. “Do you want me to shred it?”  

   “Yes, please,” I said, and I asked her what she learned from the experience. 

   She told me that it was scary at first to tithe from gross, but she learned that God honored her trust in Him. I told her that writing a check for her to put in the wallet was easy for me because I knew the Lord wouldn’t fail her. I never felt the risk of her depositing the check. The Lord honors those who step in obedience with Him and show trust in Him.  

   So here is a possible solution that I think churches and/or small groups should consider to increase tithing. I think there are believers like my dear friend who are sitting in a pew or in a small group who desire to tithe, but need someone to mentor them and encourage them. Some may feel shame or embarrassment and need to know they are not alone. People genuinely worry that if they tithe ten percent that they will run out of money to pay their bills or debts. What if you as a small group member offered to help someone in your group succeed at tithing? Maybe your gift is helping others build a budget. Maybe you are the person who would love to write the check to have stored in a wallet. If we are standing on God’s word, I can’t see how any check would be deposited! In the meantime, followers of Christ would be growing in their giving, and more importantly, growing in their trust in God to provide for them.  

   This solution combines modeling generosity, demonstrating trust in the Lord, and mentoring others to help believers grow spiritually through giving. When believers start tithing with the safety net of a check in their wallet, they receive the gift of sleep at night while learning to trust God more. It’s like learning to ride a bike. Our parents put training wheels on the bike to help us get comfortable with riding before they let us ride on two wheels. If we intentionally mentored others in the area of giving, I think the stats on tithing would start to improve.  

   What do you think? Does this idea have merit? How would you tweak it?

 

Blessings,

Lee Ann

10.6.13 Are You Ready to Feel Closer to God Through Reading the Bible?

   You are a professing Christian or maybe you are curious about Jesus, but you don’t read the bible on a regular basis. You feel intimidated by it. You get discouraged because you don’t understand what it means. So you quit. You rely on pastors and teachers to help you understand what the bible says. You want to read the bible independently and draw closer to God without relying on others. I want to help you achieve that through my new ministry, Bible Without Borders. 

Photo Courtesy ©IStockphoto.com/SorenP

Photo Courtesy ©IStockphoto.com/SorenP

   This ministry will meet via the Internet in the comfort of our homes. It will be informal and interactive. I am offering this ministry to ANYONE, believer or nonbeliever, who desires to draw close to God and gain more confidence reading the bible independently. I want to equip you with a range of skills and resources to grow your relationship to God. Anyone living anywhere in the USA can participate, hence “without borders.”  

   Our work together will be based on the following premises. Even if you opt not to join us, they will serve you in your relationship to God: 

1) We will give ourselves permission to not understand everything we read. The Holy Spirit will guide us into all truth (John 16:13). That means we trust the Holy Spirit to reveal what He wants us to understand in a given passage according to where we are in our spiritual journey. Isn’t that liberating?! We can read the bible with confidence because the Holy Spirit is our teacher leading us into God’s truth. The Holy Spirit has a customized plan of “revelations” for each us based on what we need to hear and understand. What He will choose to reveal to you may be different than what He reveals to another. 

2) Before reading any passage, we will pray, asking God to reveal Himself to us. He promises that “those who seek me will find me” (Jer 29:13; Prov 8:17). God is not trying to be elusive. He honors those who want a closer relationship with Him. Through prayer and dependency on the Holy Spirit to guide us, we can have a more intimate relationship with God. Isn’t it comforting that we don’t have to have a seminary degree to read the bible and have a strong relationship with God?  

3) We will continually remind ourselves that we are on a spiritual journey, which happens one step at a time. We all want to get to our next destination quickly, but the journey with God is a process. Embrace the baby steps and enjoy the ride. We will learn to celebrate every time the Spirit reveals a truth to us and thank God for it.  

   I will offer this ministry twice a month to begin. Below are the start dates, the web link, and the number to participate in this ministry: 

DATES:

Technology Trial Date: Oct 29th.

This will be a technology test only to work out glitches, Java updates, etc, for all participants. This should be no more than a 20-30 minute meeting. I will stay as long as needed to help everyone out.

Official Launch date:  Nov 5th

Scheduled Class Dates:  Nov 19th, Dec 3rd 

Time:  6:00pm – 6:45pm CST

866#:  866-537-1633, Passcode: 6787 892#

Link: https://www.conferenceplus.com/confcenter/meeting_center/default.aspx?100687&jnhst=N&o=UfDnDTJPytEuVt   You may need to copy and paste this into your browser. This link will not function on iPads or iPhones. 

   If you want to participate in this ministry, click the link above at 6:00pm CST on Oct 29th AND call into the 866# with the passcode. You will see a request for your name, email address, and company. You need to input a valid email address, which none of us can see, and your name. If you want anonymity as a participant, you may create a pseudo name! You may sign in as Fred Flintstone, or Betty Boop if you want. All participants will see the names on the screen. There is a box to type in your “company,” but ignore it and click, “Join,” at the bottom right hand corner of your screen. I anticipate some of you may run into some technology issues, which we will solve on Oct 29th.  

   It is my heart’s desire to disciple those who want to grow in their relationship to God. It doesn’t matter how long you’ve been a believer, or if you’re not a believer. Come learn and grow with others who share the same goal. Mark your calendars for Oct 29th at 6pm CST. I hope to see you soon!

     Do you know anyone who has voiced feeling inadequate to read the Bible who could benefit from this ministry? Would you please share this post with them to invite them to join us?

 

Blessings,                                                                                                               Lee Ann