Pot or a Pipeline?

OK, so I know I talked a long time ago about how much faster times flies as you get older...well, for time to be going this fast I must be a million years old. I can't believe that it is almost July, which means Mark and I will be making our 1 year wedding anniversary soon. I can't believe the summer of 2011 is almost over.  I can't believe I am 29 now - since my birthday last week. And I can't believe how much has been accomplished in the last few months.

God continues to amaze me at the rate He can do things, and how He can bring them about through the willing hearts of His people.

This past week we took Lee University to serve the community of Nueva Florida. We packed up the team and took off on the 3.5 hour drive - my co-pilot was Sam Williams. I hadn't had much time to talk with him since he had returned from his first year of college, so it was a great time to hear what was going on in his world.

We ended up on the subject of 1st Corinthians chapter 13 talking about the body of Christ and the definition of Love. He told me how those verses were challenging him to love better, love others like God loves us. It was really cool to see him growing in Christ and digging into the Word. Then he began telling me about a conversation he had with the Lord about a year ago, and it was so similar to what God had been speaking to me at that time as well.

I am not sure if I have already written about this on the blog - it may have just been a journal entry, but I think it is cool enough to share twice.

The question is, are you a pot or a pipeline?

For a long time there has been a great analogy taken from scripture that we are earthen vessels put here to carry "treasure" or God's Word to humanity. The word picture works for so many different circumstances, but I think the most common one is this: if you aren't spending time with God your pot is empty, and you don't have anything to offer to others. If you are full of the Spirit, you will have plenty in your pot to pour out as an offering to God by serving, ministering, and working for the Kingdom. You can even go so far as to say that if you hoard all of the blessings that God is pouring into you you, by not generously sharing whatever it is, that your pot will become stagnant, full of mosquito larvae, and it won't be any good to anyone.

What Sam and I both feel the Lord is trying to tell us, is that we need to step it up. There is a sense of urgency He is trying to covey by challenging us to turn our pots into pipelines. What do pipes do? They connect things, they bring a resource from where it is stored in point A to a place where it is needed at point B. What happens if you cut the bottom out of your pot? Everything will fall out, right? You have the potential to lose everything you have stored up. BUT what if you are simultaneously connected to the Lord in a way that you are constantly bursting at the seams? Your pipe stays full - you are being ministered too at the same rate that you are ministering to others.

The challenging part of that is it takes intentional connection with the Lord and with the people you are ministering too. Not to mention you can't be stingy with your time, talents or treasure because you will create a backup - a clog, and no telling how long that will take to repair. But I think the pros outweigh the cons. You are either full or empty, hot or cold - there is no lukewarm position. You know immediately when you need time with the Father because you feel the emptiness, the drop in pressure, the decrease in your output.

So ask yourself, are you a pot or a pipeline? You may not like the answer you get, in that case bring it to the Lord and ask for help. Or you may finally understand why God has been urging you on, challenging you to step it up. Time is of the essence!

It is all for His glory, all for the glory of the Lamb!

Full of Joy

We have had an incredible week here at the Jungle Hospital, with a combo medical team from HPC and Big Lake Heights COG. It was so great having Dr. Cheri here again, and I only let her go home since her daughter is coming to spend the summer with us.

The week went very smoothly...supernaturally smoothly. We have done a lot of medical brigades, and not all of them have gone as planned. Not all of the teams have been unified (let alone two different teams coming together in heart and mind). We got to witness a special miracle this week...God bringing people together.

You know that He is going to do amazing things in the last days. And I believe He is doing those things. These 2 churches were from different parts of the country, from different denominations, serving different groups of people, but they came together here in Honduras, to serve our people - the ones we believe are God's favorites - the least of these, the orphan, and the widow, the sick and the forgotten.

My heart overflows as I think about what happened last week. How our HHG team played their parts, and made the whole thing come together. Sometimes our part seems small...but that is when we have to remember that this isn't about us. It is about Him and how He can multiply some thing so small and make it effect countless people for eternity.

From reception to pharmacy, from the consult room to the construction sites, our team pulled their weight and more.I am so proud of HHG, HPC and Big Lake Heights COG. It brings joy to my heart to know that God is in the unity business, and I pray that He continues to blow our socks off. Let 2011 be the year of miracles - small ones, big ones, practical ones, and wow ones.

Father open our eyes to see your hand at work.

I Keep Reminding Myself

There are so many things I have to keep reminding myself about life. You think you'll be able to learn a lesson, file it away in the "Already Got It" file and be done with it...but life really isn't like that. Sometimes, you keep revisiting that file folder, and right now...it is open on my desk.

I feel like it's review week for "things I thought I already learned" test; the exam is next week and I am cramming! I was never a big fan of the Final Exam.

The good thing is, that I am surrounded by people who give me grace, and might I add, I am taking double helpings of that at the moment.

So here is are 5 things I Thought I Already Learned but Get to Learn All Over Again:

1. Be sweet - This one sounds simple, but it's not. There have been a few days this week where I felt like I was trapped in an episode of Ally McBeal, where she imagines that she sucker punches her coworkers in the face, but in reality she says "Sure, I'll take care of that for you," in an icky-sweet voice. So I don't want to be Sweet-n-Low sweet, I want to be 100% real sugar sweet. Louisiana Iced Tea sweet. 
2. Over communicating is a good thing - it is better to say the same thing 1,000 times and have everyone on the same page, than it is to say it something twice and have it blow up in your face later.  
3. Everyone is NOT out to get you (self explanatory).
4. Sarcasm is the exact opposite of Duct Tape - it doesn't fix anything!
5. Planning is important, but the ability to "whing it without loosing it" is just as important. 

As funny as these things are, they are an important part of living together and working together. I love my job and the people I get to do it with. I am so grateful that they give me grace when I need it, and that they aren't afraid to give me a swift kick to the backside when I need that too.