captive imagination

yesterday i visited a satelite branch of willow creek. normally, i'm not a huge "satelite" kind of person, but i really enjoy some of the aspects of willow creek, so i thought i'd check it out. well, needless to say, the sermon was one of those that likes to sit with you for a while. ever notice how sometimes when you leave church a little piece of the message just followed you right out the door? well, this is exactly what happened to me yesterday.
Damien Whitehead has been doing a series on the Church. this week's sermon was called "believe." i wasn't sure quite what to expect from it. i mean, i've heard several sermons about how the Church should be living and responding. yet, this one was so incredibly unique.
he began by sharing a story about his daughter. one night he was awoken by his little girls screams coming from the other room. and being the devoted father he is, Damien rushed in there to see what was wrong. there she was, sitting up in bed, crying. he asks if she had a bad dream. "yeah," she replies. he then asks her what the dream was about. and quite unexpectedly, she says, "elmo." wow. elmo? Damien thinks to himself that he was not quite expecting this one. he walks away confounded that his 4 year old daughter has just had a nightmare about elmo. granted, we all might think it's strange to imagine such a cute cuddly animal from Sesame Street acting out in a "monster-like" way. however, this was not what baffled him. he was taken aback by the fact that his daughter's imagination had been taken captive by the world. when she laid down at night and dreamed dreams, the best her subconscious could do was to conjure up a picture from the media, something that had been fabricated and absorbed.
you can probably guess where this is going... this is incredibly applicable to us as a Church today. our imaginations have been taken captive by the world. if you ask people in your local congregation what things they might hope for in life, they will probably respond with "health, financial stability, a nice home, a loving family, etc." ask the same question to anyone else you might run into on the street and you're more than likely to get a similar reply. "money, security, relationships, etc." our dreams are no different than those of the world.
what does this mean for us? joel told us that in the last days, God will pour out His Spirit on all people. "sons and daughters will prophesy...old men will dream dreams...young men will see visions." (2:28) where have our dreams gone? since when have we settled for what the world has to offer us? isn't God so much greater than that? will we be so easily satisfied?
i walked away challenged to let God radically move...to pray His kingdom come on earth, no matter what that might look like...or what that might cost me. my dreams must shift. no longer can i hope for a productive job, a future spouse, a nice community. i must hope for a life filled with the overflow of God's grace, a passionate awakening of His Spirit, and a mighty movement of His power...to loose the chains of the broken, to bring healing to the wounded, and set the captives free.
what dreams do you dream? we serve a God who is able to do "exceedingly abundantly more than we ask or imagine." don't let your life be defined by the parameters of this culture or the standards of this world. be willing to dream bigger dreams...to imagine the impossible...because we serve a God who is just that BIG.

Being a "big girl" with my own office now, I have decided that it needed a few extra decorations. (My only wall decor was a map of DuPage county and surrounding areas as well as a picture of a little girl praying...not quite along the lines of "chic.") So, I painted this little pic to make it a little more "homey." The verse is Isaiah 61:3--"to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning and a garment of praise instead of the spirit of despair."

This is my theme for my clients. They come in with some pretty tough circumstances and are faced with very trying decisions. I pray that God is able to take their difficult situation and make it into something beautiful. And I would love to see some of them come to Him through the process.

oh the wonderful world of personality profiles...

one of the tasks during the interview process for my new job was to take the DISC test. for those of you who are unaware of this test, it's a personality profile test similar to myers-briggs or other tests. the scores are placed within four categories--D for dominance, I for influence, S for steadiness, and C for conscientiousness. although these words sum up a thought for each section, they don't quite fully explain the depth of what the scores reflect. basically, to sum it up in the words of Cara Bain, "D's" are type-A, driven, take-charge people. "I's" are the "feelers"--emotional, optimistic, and influential. the "S's" are relationship-oriented. they are stable and don't go well with change. the "C's" are those who are detail-oriented, organized, and facts-focused. they are the anal ones of the group.
well, i will give you guys one guess to figure out which type i am....drum roll please.....
not so surprisingly, it's a "C." i scored 11 in C and tied with 6 in D and S. my poor I category only had a 1. :(
today at staff meeting, my "big boss" as i call her (my boss's boss...the executive director) had us all write down our top DISC score and split up according to scores. D's were in one corner of the room, I's in another, etc. well, i looked i looked around the room then to the people in my corner and realized that i really am a true "C." "just the facts ma'am," would be our mantra. as our group discussed, we decided that the best way to communicate with us is through a direct approach with information (vs emotions). and what we have to offer is organization and attention to detail. we will be the product control. as much as that sounds boring and mundane, i came to claim it this afternoon. i know that i have other aspects to offer a team, however, i am grateful for the gifts i was given in this area. it was interesting to see all the different personalities that each person brings to the team and the way that they all fit together. the D's need the C's to keep them in check. the C's need the S's to help them focus on relationships. and we all need the I's to keep us thinking positively. i love how God designed us that way, forcing us into dependence upon each other.
so i guess at the end of the day i felt proud of scoring a "C"...and in true C fashion, that's a rare occasion.

going and doing

this week my new place of employment paid for all of us to attend willow creek's leadership summit. this is a global leadership conference spanning the country as well as several other countries world wide. this year's conference had 120,000 attendees. it was crazy to be a part of something that was on such a huge scale.
well, overall the conference was amazing. i would highly recommend it for anyone in any place of leadership--whether it be coaching your local tee-ball team or working for a well known corporation. there was something there for everyone.
personally, i took a lot away from this conference. i was forced to look at my life and ask, "what am i doing for the kingdom of God?" i was challenged to be a part of helping the fight against poverty and to reach out to those in need in my local community. i was asked to really "see" those who work alongside of me and the clients that i may come in contact with--to hear their stories and take time to understand where they are coming from. i was given a command to help the body of Christ to become the bride she was meant to be--pure and unified, loving and self-sacrificing, bold and gracious. overall, i was left with a sense that i'm not quite there yet. i haven't arrived and that's a good thing. there are areas of improvement both within my leadership development as well as who i am as a person. God is in the process of molding me and shaping me....and thankfully He's not done with me yet!

today i set before you...

today i had a really cool experience. it was one of those moments that made me realize the purpose behind what i'm doing . i have been training for my new job and trying to learn the ropes. (i work at a non-profit christian pregancy center for those of you who don't know.) this is a slooooow process with a lot of information to take in. however, today i was given a more hands-on task with the opportunity to observe a client session. a young lady had called the pregnancy crisis hotline last night with a lot of things going on in her life. she is young and faced with a pregnancy she didn't really want. she had an appointment scheduled for an abortion this morning, but agreed to come in to the pregnancy center for consultation. today she came in and had a pregancy test and ultrasound. overnight something had started to change within her. she wasn't so sure about her decision anymore and thought abortion was not for her. she realized that she wanted to keep the baby despite lack of support or difficult situations she might face. it was incredible to watch this transformation---the one that takes place from death to life. tonight i was reminded of the verse in jeremiah 21:8 "see i'm setting before you the way of life and the way of death." this was one of those such days. one second the choice was death and another moment later the choice was life. i was so grateful to have been an observer to this experience and to be reminded of the importance of a moment--one decision, one person's availability, one listening ear. one small thing can make one huge impact.

wheaton observations part 1

some thoughts about wheaton part one.

1. people are surprisingly nice. i expected the "rude northern" attitude, but i've encountered quite the opposite. the normal everyday wheaton citizen will hold the door open for you when you walk out of the store rather than allow it to slap you in the face. it's not quite up to par with southern hospitality, but it's not what i expected from the north either.

2. the weather is crazy here. we actually sat outside today when we went to lunch. the temps were in the 70s all day. not quite the sultry august i'm used to.

3. i can't ignore one of the main aspects of illinois...no, it's not chicago style pizza or the cubs. it's the ACCENT. the nasal, in your face, accent that can't be ignored. i know i will eventually get used to it, but right now i miss being surrounded by drawls and southern slang. i will just have to listen to some country music every now and again to get my fix. :)

well, these are just a few of my initial thoughts. i'll update the list as time goes on.