Update #58

“... For whatever a man sows, that he also will reap.” Galatians 6:7

Golden Gate Bridge from Chrissy Field

Today’s world is geared toward quick, immediate, instant gratification of needs and desires. If our computer is on the lingering side, a commercial is lengthy, or a line is too long we become impatient (can’t they call another cashier?). I don’t think impatience is the problem – what we do with it is.

Yelling at fellow drivers because they merge too slowly, muttering under your breath that the lady in front of you could have left half her brood at home, glaring at the trainee teller for making another mistake and then smiling tersely as she apologizes for the umpteenth time, sighing loudly when someone is rambling on and on and on, hurrying past others bumping and nudging them out of your way…

A challenge to you this holiday season: Sow what you want to reap. Galatians 5 says that the fruit of the Spirit (God) is manifest in all of us…but it is up to us to CHOOSE to sow it into the world.

• Sow love – reap affection.
• Sow joy – reap cheerfulness.
• Sow peace – reap contentment.
• Sow patience – reap relaxation.
• Sow goodness – reap virtue.
• Sow kindness – reap compassion.
• Sow gentleness – reap humility.
• Sow faithfulness – reap righteousness.
• Sow self-control – reap willpower.

What are you sowing into the world around you, into those you live with, work with, see every day at the gym? What kind of impression do you leave? Are they affected by a bigger presence (God), or are they glad to see you go?

In this time of giving and receiving think about sowing and reaping - one is for the season, the other, eternity.

Updates:
Living – at my relative’s house until God puts me in different accommodation.
Samson – thank you for all your kind words and condolences – my cousin painted some rocks for his grave that read “SAM the HAPPY” – I think she is very accurate in her description.
Work – all the staff is “home” – except two stuck in Canada due to visa issues. We are heavy into recruiting for the next training season…are you interested in doing business as mission abroad? It will definitely impact your life, may even change it.
Holidays – Thanksgiving was a relaxed affair at my relatives…I stuffed my first turkey with stuffing made from scratch, and ate way too much…have I mentioned my aunts gravy is close to divine?
Relationships – much to my mothers dismay, there are no “serious” men in my life – but I am having a great time forging female friendships!

Requests:
Housing – I am with my Aunt, Uncle, and cousin for the time being but, when the new rēp headquarters are determined, I need a place close to the office.
Holidays - I head to Washington the 22nd for Christmas – please pray for safe travel and good time with family and friends.
Work – For LEMON Leadership bookings; that I will be divinely inspired how to improve remote training next time around; and for next years planning meetings.
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 my income. 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.

Happy first of December,

Dena

PS: Got financial issues? The sow/reap thing applies there too. What have you sown…not tithed, sown? If you sow generosity you reap generously.

Update #57

“Trust in the LORD. Have faith, do not despair. Trust in the LORD.” Psalm 27:4

I had a dream this week, and in the dream I was at a singles mixer party. The party was loud, music blaring, everyone talking to be heard over the din, glassware clinking, doors opening and closing, greetings called, high fives exchanged (guys), drinks poured, and food being eaten. It was an upscale apartment with a gorgeous view of the California Valley, the Bay, and all the lights of the city. The people were well dressed and the décor of the room was in camel and ivory with expensive dark wood trimmings. It was a beautiful scene.

But there was something wrong….the guys were on one side of the room and the girls were on the other - no one was crossing the room to talk.

“Ok God, what is going on here?” I asked. Bam! My eyes and ears were opened. The room was segregated out of fear. Fear that they may be rejected. Fear that they may make a mistake. Fear that they may be wasting their time on “the wrong person.” Fear that they may have their flaws found out. Fear that they may be perceived wrong. Fear was keeping them rooted in place and they couldn’t move.

To make it worse, pride justified their petrifaction. In the dream I was standing in the middle and I could hear the thoughts of those around me judging the others across the room. “They aren’t, they have, they don’t have…so I won’t, I can’t.”

As I stood there I got mad. I got really, really mad. They didn’t even know the people across the room and they were dismissing them purely on appearance. They were deciding what was best for them instead of letting God do it.

Then the dream stopped and morphed into something else less vivid. My waking thought was – “Ok – what was the message there?” Two things came immediately to my mind:

1. Trusting God – Fear of the unknown held the people in my dream captive. And I think this happens a lot in other circumstances as well. Instead of asking God what He wants and then risking in obedience we stay safely on the sidelines and don’t join the game. This can be applied to jobs, buying houses, cars, investing money, donating money (hold onto it instead of giving it away…because what if it isn’t right?), etc.

2. Judgment – God doesn’t like us to do it (Matthew 7:1, Luke 6:37) – when we judge on appearance we don’t see the heart. This not only applies to people but to situations as well. When we jump to conclusions as to what we saw or heard without finding out more we judge the situation from our own finite perspective…and are usually wrong.

My parting questions are: Where in your life are you living in fear – so much so it is keeping you from “crossing the room,” and where is judgment clouding your vision - holding you back from realizing the true heart of a situation?

Updates:
Living – at my relative’s house until God puts me in different accommodation.
Car – for the first time was filled to capacity…yep 6 people…and we weren’t squished!
Samson – “the Ramer”, “my big-boy”, “my little man”, “the Q-Tip King”, “Bubee”, “Tammy”, “Bubers”, died unexpectedly on Friday and is now, I believe, is in heaven chasing bugs, stalking flowers, and running freely without his harness to hinder him. That said, I have never felt grief like this before and I desperately miss him.
Work – Half of the staff is back from their (ad)ventures. The other half is either stuck in South Africa due to visa issues, or building houses in India with our community track branch of operation (http://www.equipfoundation.org/)
Relationships – I am in awe how the word spread about Sammy’s death…my phone has been ringing off the hook, and emails pouring into my inbox…thank you for your thoughtfulness.

Requests:
Housing – I am with my Aunt, Uncle, and cousin for the time being but, when the new rēp headquarters are determined, I need a place 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, that I will be divinely inspired how to improve remote training next time around, and for the consultants to ‘find their place’ once they’ve returned stateside.
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.

Happy Thanksgiving to those in the US,

Dena

PS: How’s Jill’s post-Hawaii tan? Anyone seen her?

Update #56

“…may your Kingdom come; may your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” Matthew 6:10

Looking out my office window

How many times have you prayed/recited/been lead through the Lord’s Prayer? I think I am somewhere beyond counting. I grew up in a church where it was recited every week. I say recited because even as a child the words would come out of my mouth and I wasn’t really paying attention to what I was saying.

What brought this up is I was listening to a sermon on CD the other day and “on earth as it is in heaven” jumped out at me. I started thinking about it - what does it really mean? I’d said it thousands of times, but hadn’t really ever stopped to think about it.

What is heaven? As a child I was taught that it was “God’s house” and that it is where people go when they die. As I got older I learned that heaven has entrance requirements (you have to accept Jesus’ death for your sins, and He as your Lord), and what you do on earth affects your heavenly reward.

At this point in my pondering I had to stop and fill Blanche’s tank (yes, the Bonneville was named) and, I think, because gas is $3.52 a gallon I started to contemplate heavens currency. What does God value?

The Bible says He values obedience (1 Sam 15:22). He values it more than sacrifice of time, money, family, possessions, rights, wills, jobs, desires…but what drives obedience? What is the impetus behind it?

After considering it, I think faith is the true force behind obedience (see update #21). So, if faith is God’s currency, does that mean the greater your faith the richer you are? If we continue on that same bent, is our heavenly reward contingent on our earthly faith actions?

I wonder what the heavenly reward of those mentioned in Hebrews 11 were. More so, what are mine? Is my faith of the type that generates reward? Am I producing heavenly currency? Are you?

What blocks your faith from flowing? What gets in the way of “storing up treasure in heaven”? What does your heavenly account look like? How can you make heaven come down to earth more often by using the currency of faith?

Updates:
Living – at my relative’s house until God puts me in different accommodation.
Car – “Blanche” is running great! The radiator cap was the problem, not the heater core! Thank you God!
Samson – is upset that the rainy season has come to California…he hates getting wet but still wants to be outside!
Work – The office is quite – everyone is out on ventures – or recovering from them in South Africa.
Relationships – I went dancing on Saturday – so fun! I learned of a weekly dance closer to my aunt’s house on Tuesday nights…it is a Lindy Hop Haven! I haven’t danced like this since 2000! Naug, you HAVE to come down!

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