Manhattan Mission Project

How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can they preach unless they are sent? Romans 10:14-15

These are the words that blew through the air today as we gathered in the field at the Round Barn Farm for the Installation of the new Mission Pastor for Manhattan, IL, Dan Hudson. The service was held outdoors. . . no walls, no buildings, just people who had prayed for two years, people who were welcoming him, people who were releasing him, people who had seen a glimpse of God's vision and trusted.

Today I was honored to be a part of the worship to send him into a new mission field. It was thrilling, moving, scary, and full of hope. Planting a new church and starting from literally nothing is a calling that few take, but is so incredibly necessary. So as excited as I was for Dan's new ministry, I was even more moved at the reminder that we are all called into this ministry everyday. We all carry this ministry with us wherever we go. We carry with us the power of the Holy Spirit and that is a power that changes lives for eternity. What an honor, what a privilege, what a call.

There is no need to ask the question "What on earth am I here for? What is my purpose?" It is clear . . . . to be sent. We are sent here to declare His glory wherever we are and in all that we do. There is no greater calling.

So teachers. . . declare his glory; CEO's. . .declare His glory;

Fire Fighters. . .declare His glory; Secretaries. . .declare His glory; Janitors. . . declare His glory; Pastors. . . declare His glory; Coaches. . . declare His glory;

Stay at Home Mom's & Dad's. . . declare His glory;

Musicians. . . declare His glory; Investors. . . declare His glory; landscapers. . .declare His glory; Students. . . declare His glory;

Flight Attendants. . .declare His glory;

Garbage collectors. . .declare His glory;

EVERYONE. . . Declare His Glory!

Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, "Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?" And I said, "Here am I. Send me!" Isaiah 6:8

Rain Jumping

My Mission today was to get the house clean for the weekend, that way I could have a relaxing few days not worrying about dust bunnies. I was doing great and then all of the sudden I heard the first few drops of rain. Instantly, my summer couch potato (my daughter) popped up and said "Mom, lets go jump on the trampoline in the rain." My initial thought was to say "No, I need to keep working" or "That's not very safe". But, instead. . . . . . .

I said "OK, let's go."

Immediately we ran outside and jumped. We jumped, laughed, slid around and had a great time. It was enough excitement to gain the attention of a visitor in the neighbors yard to tell us how much fun it looked like we were having. I think he secretly wanted to slip around on the trampoline too. I believe trampolines have a way of pulling the kid out of us. How can you be serious when your flying through the air, how can you think about all the things on the "to-do" list when the laughter and smiles of your daughter melt that all away?

The rain continued to grow stronger and then the lighting came, which was our cue to head inside. But, it was the best 7 minutes of my day and I'm so glad I didn't let it pass by. As my kids get older these moments become fewer and fewer. I don't want to miss a single opportunity.

Don't let the rain pass you by. Go have fun. . . . . . .

jump, dance, skip and a laugh in the rain.

Four things you can't recover:

The stone........after the throw. The word........after it's said.

The occasion.........after it's missed. The time.........after it's gone.

Follow Up

I got to spend the day with an awesome friend who was able to give me her honest opinion when I asked her if she had read my blog about the concert and if it made any sense to her. She very kindly shared with me some of the confusion she had in reading it which explains to me why some may have misinterpreted what I was trying to convey. So in a nut shell (a big one), here goes.

The concert was absolutely awesome, God is great and it was such an honor and a blessing to be able to share the music and be ministered to. I can't wait to do it all again. Coming off of a night like that can sometimes leave one emotionally and physically tired and there is a bit of a down that follows.

God's greatness and mercy is so many times too much for me to even comprehend and I am so completely humbled by the fact that He loves us so. It is humbling to know that He uses people like us to do his work.

So, instead of taking the last post down, I choose to hopefully clarify that I am in an awesome place of praise, amazed by Him, grateful for His mercy and humbled by His love.

God is so good and He walks with us through the ups and downs of this crazy roller coaster life.

God's peace!

A Concert of Worship

I was hoping to write about what a fantastic concert I had the other night, how wonderful the music was, how amazing the two other musicians that I worked with are and what a blessing it was to have all those people come out and support us and worship with us, because it was all of that and more. But, I find myself here today leveled out emotionally after a roller coaster weekend and just about capable of communicating my heart.

I come to this day, Monday, with a full heart in awe of what God has done, is doing and has yet to do in and through His people. I come off of this weekend filled with the joy and wonder, the hunger and thirst, the fear and love of this amazing God. Even though I was singing in the concert, I came out of the the evening having been ministered to in such an awesome way. Nathan's music, his heart for the Lord and His testimony has the ability to tap into the deepest part of people's hearts and remind me of God's word, His promises and the fact that there is nothing that I can do to earn his love. His love is so great, so deep, so vast beyond all measure and I am amazed that He loves me so.

It is that amazement, that awe, that wonderful knowledge that was felt so deep in my heart that sent this bi-polar servant of the Lord into a plummeting tailspin. It was out of that same grand amazement of His love for me that reminded me that I am so unworthy of it all, so deeply unworthy of His grace and mercy. To the same great extent of His love, so goes the same great extent of my failures and unworthiness.

I guess, only my husband can truly explain what this looks like in me. He is the one who witnesses the irrational thought process, the sadness, the tears, the fear and self unworthiness. I praise God that I have a husband that recognizes when I am under spiritual attack and calls it for what it is and then prays over me, loves me and walks along side me. I love that when we call on His name, He answers. I love that when things are dark, we can go to Him and He will rescue us. I love that my husband can sing to me the words that I sing to others as a prayer to the Lord. I love the fact that when I can't quite get myself to even want to, that the Lord commands my soul to worship Him. I love the fact that I have a husband who reminds me of it all, when I am too blinded by depression to see it.

So here I am today, after going on a three day roller coaster ride, back in a place of praise, worship and admiration of our great God. YES! It was an amazing concert and I can't wait to do it all again. God is so amazing, He thinks I amazing, He thinks we are all amazing as we are covered by the blood of Jesus. I know that I don't deserve it, but His grace and mercy just abound and there's no stopping it. I praise him for it.

"There is nothing I can do

There is nothing that I can do

To earn Your love, it's a gift from Your Son, nothing"

-Nathan Fisher-

It's What the Lord Has Done In Me

Last night I had the awesome opportunity to sing one of my original songs at the NID Convention. This convention is held every three years and is a call to all Lutheran Pastors, called teachers and lay representatives of all the Lutheran Churches in Northern Illinois. A little intimidating, yes. . . .Thrilling, yes. . . .Humbling-INDEED!

Honestly, nerves did not hit me until yesterday, the day at hand. During sound check and warming up, my nerves were fine. The service came and we worshipped. I sang my heart out in preparation for what God would have me do. I sang my heart out in honor of Him, to worship Him and worship Him hard. He is so worthy of all that I have in my heart, in my mind and all my strength and so I give it to Him, all of it!

Then came time for me to sing. I walked up to the stage confidently with my Pastor and his daughter. I took my place. I stood there and listened to the gentle strum of the guitar and to the reading of the 23rd Psalm. I was comforted by the words that she read so sweetly. While I stood there listening, I could also hear and feel the not so gentle pounding of my heart, ba-bum. . . Ba-Bum. . . BA-BUM! I wasn't sure if anyone else could hear it. It was so loud. They got me. . . my nerves were at full throttle. "God, this is for You" my heart said. "May the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be pleasing to you. . . . . " my spirit continued to pray.

My mouth opened and out came the song that I had written so long ago. Out came words of comfort smoothly and effortlessly. Out came God's spirit through His word. "Lord open my lips and my mouth shall declare Your praise!" God is faithful. For His purposes, He is faithful.

I can't even remember how many people came up to me after and shook my hand, told me how they were moved by the song, told me thank you. So many, too many. Too many to think that I had anything to do with it. That is His spirit. So while I stood there thanking people back for their kind words, feeling the glow of knowing that I did a fine, fine job. I couldn't help but be overcome with a great sense of humility.

Under the same umbrella of praise, I felt a great sense of unworthiness. I am humbled by the mere fact that God would place me, Mia, in front of all those people to minister to them. Me, little 'ol me. I will not dismiss the fact that God has blessed me to do His bidding. I accept the gifts He has given. I will not hide them instead, I will use them to glorify His Name and tell of His mighty works. But still, I am amazed and humbled that He chose to use me.

So today, a day after an amazing evening, I walk with my head hanging a little lower, not in shame, but simply resting in the shadow of his glory that shines so bright. I hang my head a little lower today not because I'm sad, but because I am so thankful for what the Lord has done in me. My head hangs low because I am so humbled by a God that loves me so much and died for me while I was still a sinner and so undeserving. I walk today with my head a little lower, my heart much fuller and my eyes fixed on Him.

Thank you Lord for entrusting me with this awesome message.

My Father's Abundance

Matthew 7:11-The Message
"Don't bargain with God. Be direct. Ask for what you need. This isn't a cat-and-mouse, hide-and-seek game we're in. If your child asks for bread, do you trick him with sawdust? If he asks for fish, do you scare him with a live snake on his plate? As bad as you are, you wouldn't think of such a thing. You're at least decent to your own children. So don't you think the God who conceived you in love will be even better?

I learned a lesson the other day, on April 22 to be exact, a lesson that completely humbled and awed me. I learned it through the extreme generosity of others to me. I learned that people are willing to give far more than I would have ever asked for. I learned that pride so many times holds me back from even asking and admitting I need help. I learned again about a Father's love for his children.

Through this experience, I was struck at how many times I have gone before my heavenly Father in the same way, too held back by pride to ask for what I really want or need. I am so often to proud to ask him for it all, instead I try to figure most of it out myself and then ask Him to just fill in the parts that I can't figure out. Then, when I do come to him for help He doesn't fill in the missing parts, He does it all. He covers it all, more than I could have ever imagined and He does it freely, willingly and eagerly.

All the time that I spend in what I think to be waiting is more often, Him waiting on me to understand, to remember how He operates, to remember how He does things, to remember His usual way of dealing with men.

Oh Lord, is this how you do things?

Thanks be to God for who He is. It is not about what he has done, although He has done marvelous things. It is just about Who He is and He is Amazing! Thank You, Lord!

2 Samuel 7:18-19

Then King David went in and sat before the LORD, and he said:
"Who am I, O Sovereign LORD, and what is my family, that you have brought me this far? And as if this were not enough in your sight, O Sovereign LORD, you have also spoken about the future of the house of your servant. Is this your usual way of dealing with man, O Sovereign LORD ?

Worship In Spirit and Truth

Back from Easter worship and I return home, filled, amazed, touched, and reassured of God's love for me and just how far He will go to save a wretch like me. Today Jesus called me by name and again said, "Mia, I forgive you".

The Easter service at Family of Christ, CO would, I guess, technically be described as a blended service. There was liturgy, hymns (old and a new original), and contemporary praise music. But I did not come out of this service able to tell where the division was. It was pure worship from beginning to end. Whether it was a hymn being sung or liturgy being chanted it was all done with the passion that Christ calls us to worship Him in. When the congregation sang, they sang with all their hearts. When the pastor preached , he preached in confidence and truth. When the choir sang, they lifted up beautiful harmonies and when the praise team lead they raised His banner of Victory high.
It was amazing worship, It was an amazing day.

Saviour, He can move the mountains.
My God is Mighty to save, He is Mighty to save.
Forever, (He's the) Author of salvation
He rose and conquered the grave, Jesus conquered the grave.

Zephaniah 3:17