Update #55

“But I say to you, that every idle word, whatever men may speak, they shall give an account of it in Judgment Day. For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.” Matthew 12:36-7

Societies, sororities, fraternities, fraternal orders, Masons, and some religious orders have one thing in common…oaths. This makes me nervous – especially if the oath taker declares to be a Christian.

In the US, fall is typically the time of initiation - start of a new school year and joining of various societies and orders. Commitments are made and oaths of “I shall…/ I shall not…” are uttered; songs of allegiances are learned and secret password, handshakes and rituals are passed on.

What does God say about this…these oaths, songs of allegiance and signs of secret society? Basically, He doesn’t like it.

> God says not to take oaths – Matthew 5:34-37
> God says not to hide things but to conduct yourself in the light or He will expose it – Matthew 10:27, Mark 4:22, Luke 8:17, Luke 12:2-3, John 7:4

I have friends who have been sorority/fraternity members that tell me “Oh, it was just symbolic – it doesn’t really mean anything” – um, yes it does. See the verse above, it says “WHATEVER men may speak”…the words you stated, the songs you sang, stand for something – it isn’t just symbolic. Words have weight, they have meaning, and they have significance.

Words are everywhere – the ones that count are the ones we communicate. According to Matthew 12 we will be judged by them - all of them. What have you uttered in secret, in public, absentmindedly, conscious or unconsciously? God says that we are accountable for what we say.

As we come toward the end of the autumn season, the season of initiation, if you have joined, committed to, sworn to uphold a new position – review the words. You will be held to them. They aren’t symbolic, they aren’t “just words,” and they were taken note of by someone who has a longer memory than you do.

Updates:
Living – at my relative’s house until God puts me in different accommodation.
Car – I have a great mechanic…if anyone (in Bay Area, California) wants one they can trust give Lad Fowler a call – 650.969.5559
Samson – my aunt remarks that he is the ‘loudest’ cat she has ever met…he, um, ‘talks’ rather loudly trying to convince her, and everyone else, to let him outside
Work – The first two ventures of the season are finished and the consultants are on their way home. Rebs leaves Thursday for Indonesia; Kim, and the Johnsons, are off to India shortly after that.
Relationships – making new friends. I went to a birthday party over the weekend and met a girl who loves to swing dance – we are going on Saturday. I haven’t been since I moved down here! I am praying my ankle holds up!
Computer – better – thanks for praying - it hasn’t ‘sung’ or ‘chirped’ all week (the mouse was a bit zany, but hey, that is ‘normal’ now)!

Requests:
Housing – I am with my Aunt, Uncle, and cousin for the time being but, when the new rēp headquarters are determined, I need to a cat friendly space close to the office.
Holidays - I am staying in California for Thanksgiving and heading to Washington for Christmas – please pray for safe travel and good time with family and friends
Work – For LEMON Leadership bookings, safe travel for the teams going out and that I will be divinely inspired how to improve remote training next time around.
Relationships - deepening of present ones, start of new ones and that God will be present
Financing - Eventually my position will be salaried but at first I need to raise ~$3000 a month cover expenses. If you are interested in contributing, please see ‘Contribute’ at http://www.repurposing.biz/ on the left of the page, or visit http://www.denaandrews.blogspot.com/ and read the footer for additional info.

Blessings to you,

Dena

P.S. Beware you Northern California peoples – my ankle barometer says it is going to rain – so get out your umbrella!

Update #54

“Hope deferred makes the heart sick…” Proverbs 13:12

Downtown Los Altos, CA at dusk

I have a friend who is mad at God. Well, honestly, she isn’t just mad; she’s bitter, angry and resentful too. Have you ever felt this way? I have.

It was about five years ago and I had just ended an engagement. The part I was so mad about is that I felt I had ‘done it right’; I had followed the correct path for ‘marital bliss’ only to be rewarded with a shattered emotions, ripped up heart, and stomped on soul.

During this time I distinctly remember standing at the nurse’s station in one of the facilities I used to work for and hearing the residents in Wednesday afternoon church service – they were singing. I remember a black inky feeling washing over me - cold and dark. “I want nothing to do with THAT God – the one who makes promises and then doesn’t fulfill them. He isn’t the lover of my soul.”

Whoa. The vehemence of the thought shocked me. Was I actually anti-God? The following week I barred my soul to my accountability partner and she committed to pray for me. I did the same for the friend who shared her anger with me.

Since my friend and my recent conversation I have been really thinking about how this happens to people. How do those who are close to God, love him, obey him, praise him – turn into cold, dark, angry, bitter, resentful individuals? It is like the pendulum of a clock that has swung from one side of its case to the other…light to dark, joy to anger, free to bitter.

I can only speak for myself – but I feel it is a case of unfulfilled longings and expectations. I wanted to be married; I wanted a husband, a family, a home, a partner. I felt that I had followed the recipe for success…he was a Christian, a church-goer, came from a strong family, my parents liked him, my friends and their husbands liked him, we had a lot in common…

A verse in Proverbs says “hope deferred makes the heart sick.” I had put my hope into something that wasn’t eternal, into something that didn’t last forever. I had put it into a man, into a marriage. I had idolized an ideal (marriage), a status (married), a relationship (spouse) and when the thing I ‘worshiped’ was ripped from my life I was left with a gaping hole…and felt devastated, hurt, and alone. And I blamed God for this.

Now, with hindsight being 20/20, I see that it wasn’t God at all – it was me and my mis-focus. I took my eyes off God and got entranced with the trappings of marriage. In a way, God saved me; he was protecting me – not denying me. I can see this now, but if you had mentioned it to me 5 years ago I would not have believed you.
This leads to the question, what are your idols? We all have them - it is just a matter of how much realignment power they have. Are your eyes riveted on God or do they roam and refocus on something else?

Updates:
Living – at my relative’s house until God puts me in different accommodation.
Car – She sips gas…which is a nice switch from the ‘gulpers’ I have been previously driving!
Samson – aka ‘bullet’ is getting really good at shooting out the door every time it is opened. I think something in the fall air is calling to him…
Work – Rebs and I are going to a seminar on Tuesday and most of the absent office mates will be returning early to mid next week. The office will be ‘full’ again!
Computer – it is ‘chirping’ – don’t know why – it is just sings to me occasionally. I think it has something to do with the mouse…

Requests:
Housing – I am with my Aunt, Uncle, and cousin for the time being but, when the new rēp headquarters are determined, I need to a cat friendly space close to the office.
Holidays - I am staying in California for Thanksgiving and heading to Washington for Christmas – please pray for safe travel and good time with family and friends
Work – For more LEMON Leadership bookings, for safe travel for the teams going out and that I will be divinely inspired how to improve remote training next time around.
Relationships - deepening of present ones, start of new ones and that God will be present
Financing - Eventually my position will be salaried but at first I need to raise ~$3000 a month cover expenses. If you are interested in contributing, please see ‘Contribute’ at http://www.repurposing.biz/ on the left of the page, or visit http://www.denaandrews.blogspot.com/ and read the footer for additional info.

Blessings to you,

Dena

P.S. Congrats to Craig and Diana on their new ‘babies’ – the pictures of Piccadilly and Quixote are adorable!

Update #53

“…and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” Acts 1:8b

Sausalito Bay, California (from the Edwards' deck)

I was shocked last weekend. As I stood in our booth and chatted with those who were perusing the 138 different ministries I heard over and over – “I’m not a minister, I just work.” Ha! Wrong! Sound veto buzzer here…

I chatted with so many people who long to be in ‘full-time missions’ but currently work as a…Reporter, Engineer, Medical Assistant, Programmer, Housewife, Grocery Clerk, Sales person, Administrator, Trash Collector…I have news for you...you ARE a full-time minister!

The word missionary is usually tied to those who go off to some far flung place on the earth to deliver the hope of Jesus…or to those who choose to live without material possessions and raise a meager existence for themselves through the generosity of others. Let me give you a new definition…a missionary is anyone who has had their soul redeemed, rectified, re-installed by Christ. If you call yourself a Christian, a Christ-follower, believer in Christ, you ARE a ‘full-time’ missionary.

Jesus, in Acts 1:8 said that we would be his witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and to the ends of the earth...re-stated in Dena-lingo: We will be missionaries in our home towns, states/provinces, neighboring areas/lands and then the world. Notice this, three of the four locations are nearby – only one is distant.

So, you haven’t been called to Africa, to China, to points far and wide…great! Witness at home! So, you work…are you doing business God’s way? Do you know how to do business God’s way? If you don’t, I suggest you learn – it is your way of reaching the unreached in today’s society. Initial church attendance is usually via several repeated invitations but the unreached will visit the dry cleaners, dentist, grocery store, bookseller, pharmacy, fixture shop, financial advisor on a frequent basis – how are you affecting your customers, clientele, employees, vendors, suppliers for Christ?

We are ALL ministers / missionaries. We all have a sphere of influence. We all have those who watch and see what we do. You are spreading Christ to those around you whether you want to or not.

Updates:
Living – at my relative’s house until God puts me in different accommodation.
Car – She went to the ‘doctor’ and didn’t have a heater core problem – just a faulty fitting radiator cap! A $15 vs. $1000 fix! Whoo Hoo! Thanks for praying!
Samson – slept with my cousin over the weekend since I was in Seattle – he hasn’t snuggled with me since I returned – he is still miffed at me ‘abandoning’ him.
Work – Missions Fest: Seattle was a success – but were Rebecca and I tired! Our return plane was delayed over 3 hours due to the infamous Seattle fog! The office continues to get quieter and quieter…and most of the staff abroad is ill! One couple is having visa problems – the American Embassy is barring re-entry!

Requests:
Housing – I am with my Aunt, Uncle, and cousin for the time being but, when the new rēp headquarters are determined, I need to a cat friendly space close to the office.
Car – That it will run and run and run and run without issue
Work – For more LEMON Leadership bookings, for safe travel for the teams going out and that I will be divinely inspired how to improve remote training next time around.
Relationships - deepening of present ones, start of new ones and that God will be present
Financing - Eventually my position will be salaried but at first I need to raise ~$3000 a month cover expenses. If you are interested in contributing, please see ‘Contribute’ at http://www.repurposing.biz/ on the left of the page, or visit http://www.denaandrews.blogspot.com/ and read the footer for additional info.

Thanks for your support!

Dena

P.S. Great to see all of you up in Seattle last weekend – Jenn, Kevin, Mark, Heidi, Rog & Kathy, Deb, Jill, Terri, Nicole, Wayne, Loretta, Ryan – thanks for coming by the booth!

Update #52

“He has made clear to you, O man, what is good; and what is desired from you by the Lord; only doing what is right, and loving mercy, and walking without pride before your God.” Micah 6:8

Cornelian Bay, Lake Tahoe, California

A friend of mine is in a relationship where a long standing expectation has caused a lot of hurt. I know she is not alone. A lot of us have an ideal, an expectation of others (communicated or non)– and when it doesn’t happen we are often hurt and/or angry.

After asking God about this, I have started to have the opinion that having expectations of anyone other than ourselves is pride. Pride in that you are ‘worth’ something of someone else. That who you are, what you have or haven’t done puts you at a level to expect, to require, to insist on a characteristic, a trait, an attribute, a feature in someone else.

When I really thought about it, I realized the expectation is really a reflection of the person who has it. They feel that they ‘need’ it…that it will ‘complete’ them somehow.

For example, a friend of mine shared with me that until a few years ago she only dated gorgeous men. This was because she felt being on the arm of an attractive guy said something about her to the world. She, who was insecure, needed the man’s outward appearance to reaffirm who she was.

We all have expectations…but what is our basis for them? I expected to be married by 28 and have a few kids by 36 – but honestly, this was out of my need for security and to fit the mold of American society. It is ‘uncomfortable’ to be my age and single in today’s culture.

We all have expectations…what we require out of ourselves, what we want out of life. What are yours and why are they there? Honestly. More importantly, what are God’s expectations of you? I asked that question and Micah 6:8 popped into my head…“do what is right,…love mercy,…and walk without pride before your God.”

Why do we have to augment to the simple by adding things to it?

Updates:
Living – at my relative’s house until God puts me in different accommodation.
Car – She has been insured and is going to the ‘doctor’ on Monday to fix her cracked heater core…she should be drivable by the end of next week!
Samson – is busy guarding ‘his territory’ – he had a puffed up, hissing, tooth barred face to face with another neighborhood cat last night. The more entertaining episode was with a gopher popping up and down out of its hole – the gopher popped up and Sam jumped back, the gopher disappeared and Sam’s head went into the hole! So funny!
Work – I am coming up to Seattle for Missions Fest http://www.missionsfestseattle.org/about-us/ at Overlake Christian Church this weekend (10/12-14)– come check out rēp’s booth!
Computer – no weirdness lately! Thanks for the prayer!

Requests:
Housing – I am with my Aunt, Uncle, and cousin for the time being but, when the new rēp headquarters are determined, I need to a cat friendly space close to the office.
Car – That I the necessary repairs won’t be too expensive
Work – For more LEMON Leadership bookings, for safe travel for the teams going out and that I will be divinely inspired how to improve remote training next time around.
Relationships - deepening of present ones, start of new ones and that God will be present
Financing - Eventually my position will be salaried but at first I need to raise ~$3000 a month cover expenses. If you are interested in contributing, please see ‘Contribute’ at http://www.repurposing.biz/ on the left of the page, or visit http://www.denaandrews.blogspot.com/ and read the footer for additional info.

See you Seattleites this weekend!

Dena

P.S. Ryan Webster – See ya in Seattle baby!
P.P.S. Congrats to Mike Menin and Kerry on their engagement!

Update 51

“… for the joy of the LORD is your strength.” Nehemiah 8:10d

North Lake Tahoe from above Incline Village

On Friday night I went to an event in San Francisco and rode CalTrain home. Two of my friends were with me and we had a deep discussion on how it is difficult to contest ‘experiential’ religious conversions.

Several questions were posed on how to tell if it is the ‘real deal.’ Did the experience change them? Were they changed on the inside? Was the change for the better? Was it a permanent and lasting change?

I sat their thinking as the scenery sped past at 55 mph. What changed in me when I found Christ? What was it that I wouldn’t give up that was tangible and replicating? What did I have that others around me didn’t?

Joy. I have joy.

I have joy when the sky is black, when the world has turned its back and more dark clouds are rolling in. I have joy when the impossible is a constant confrontation and it seems silly to possess it. I have joy that bubbles and boils over and affects those around me. I have joy that seeps into and changes souls. I have joy that looks adversity in the face and laughs at the ‘challenge’ God is going to pull me through…and I am actually excited to see how He is going to do it. I have a child-like joy that is constant and overflowing.

I heard a saying once – ‘Happiness is from Happenings, Joy is from Jesus.’ I think this is so true. Happenings come and go – get the diploma, warrant the award, receive the recognition, make the money, pull off the desired position, the desired prestige, the desired power, only to have the happiness, like the tide, come and then go away again.

The happening was impactful, meaningful and life-changing but the happiness associated with it didn’t last. To have something continue on it needs an eternal foundation, a timeless quality that is never-ending and perpetual.

The only thing I know that has all these qualities is God. He is eternal, timeless, never-ending and perpetual – and full of joy. Want ceaseless joy? Simple - get Jesus.

One of God’s indelible signatures is joy – has he written on your life?

Updates:
Living – at my relative’s house until God puts me in different accommodation.
Car – I have the car – affectionately known as the “White Limo” by her past owner. I need to have some minor repairs done and then she will be ready to go! Thank you for all your prayer around this issue. And a special thanks to my benefactress!
Samson – is at home with Afton (my cousin) while my aunt, uncle and I went off to Tahoe for an extended weekend. He has been ‘slipping’ outside more and more, but the good thing is that he comes in when he is called (yes, he comes to his name when HE wants to!) – Thank goodness Afton and I sound a lot alike!
Work – We booked our first LEMON Leadership conference for November 2nd! Thanks for praying. The office is really quite with most people out on the road. Lyn and Davey are leaving this Sunday for South Africa.
Computer – better. Prayer? or maybe it likes the cooler weather!

Requests:
Housing – I am with my Aunt, Uncle, and cousin for the time being but, when the new rēp headquarters are determined, I need to a cat friendly space close to the office.
Car – That I can get the necessary repairs completed and the insurance coverage settled.
Work – For more LEMON Leadership bookings, for safe travel for the teams going out and that I will be divinely inspired how to improve remote training next time around.
Family – my mom had eye surgery that is recovering slowly, my sister is contemplating ear surgery again, and my aunt has had an ongoing throat thing for 5 plus months…
Financing - Eventually my position will be salaried but at first I need to raise ~$3000 a month cover expenses. If you are interested in contributing, please see ‘Contribute’ at http://www.repurposing.biz/ on the left of the page, or visit http://www.denaandrews.blogspot.com/ and read the footer for additional info.

Thanks for reading this – and for your support,

Dena