Routine

Everyday I (Sherann) do the same thing.  I wake up at 7:15am, get ready, go to the office around 8:30am, I set-up my computer (1 mac and 1 pc), I go downstairs to get a cup of joe (in my Sun-Maid cup), check my plant to make sure it's not dead, check the messages on my phone, check my emails, and start another day.  Is it routine? Yes.  Having a routine is not a bad thing, but quite often, our daily routine may affect our joy, and also our attitude towards others. 
A couple days ago,  I decided  to change my morning routine by spending my mornings with the Lord.  You see, I block off time in the evenings to specifically pray, read the Word, and catch up on other important ministry books.  It's what you would call my "down" time.  I absolutely enjoy MY time with the Lord and I like to conclude my evenings with Him.  It's "our time."  But, I also wanted to break my morning routine and wake up earlier to be in His Word.  Start my day off with Him.    So, I attempted to do it yesterday... and guess what? I slept through my alarm. Come on, I'm not the only one who "accidentally" hit the snooze button!  Anyway, last night I asked the Lord to wake me up early enough to spend some time with Him.  And guess what? I was wide awake at 6:45am and spent some time in His Word/prayer.  At this point, you may be wondering why I am writing this... well, because I came into the office refreshed!  I may still have to check my emails, answer my messages, etc., but my attitude was so different.  I am reminded of Psalms 92.1-4 which states,
      "It is good to give thanks to the Lord, to sing
       praises to your name, O Most High; to declare
       your steadfast love in the morning, and your
       faithfulness by night, to the music of the flute
       and the harp, to the melody of the lyre.  For
       you, O LORD, have made me glad by your
       work; at the works of your hands I sing for
       joy."

Please don't misunderstand me.  We are not required to spend time with the Lord only in the mornings. And it certainly does not mean that He only responds to us at a certain time of day.  But, what I am saying is that by fixing and giving my attention to Him, it has not only changed my attitude but also my understanding that He is God and I am not.  I will still continue to spend my evenings with Him, but I will also wake up having  my focus on Him, rather than on me.
How do you start off your mornings?

Breaking Up is Hard to Do

“They say that breaking up is hard to do.  Now I know, I know that it’s true.”  Thank you, Neil Sedaka, for those words.  They are so true.  But, unlike Neil, I’m not talking about breaking up with your boyfriend or girlfriend.  I’m talking about when God breaks us down, which is difficult, but often necessary for growth.  Breaking down our walls that keep us from doing … whatever it is we’re truly supposed to be doing.  Breaking down the stereotypes and expectations of the world.  Breaking away from what’s comfortable.  Daring to be vulnerable.  Allowing ourselves to be dependent.  It’s hard.

I (Aimee) was unemployed for the better part of four months this summer.  One miscalculation on my part—a forgotten bill—caused my bank account to go into the negative.  The unemployment office denied my claim for assistance.  I made the phone calls to my credit cards explaining my inability to pay my bills.  I was able to get a few months leeway for most of them; but not all.  My school loans will begin to be due soon, as I graduated almost six months ago.  I already have a hardship waiver for most of it, but I will still have to take care of the rest as they become active.

God has certainly been breaking me down.  He has been reminding me that I cannot trust in my credit cards; my trust must be fully in Him.  He has been developing my patience (which is sadly underdeveloped) in my job search.  An education does not guarantee you a job; especially in this economy.  My trust must be fully in Him. 

Along with all of this, God has also been building up my faith.  My credit score is beginning to suffer from my difficulties paying my bills.  But, no one has come to repossess my car.  I have a home and I have food.  (Please note that I am not suggesting ruining your credit score on purpose to demonstrate your faith in God’s provision; that’s like playing in traffic and expecting God to protect you.)  God is simply reminding me about what is truly important in life. 

I had the opportunity recently to go to a conference in northern California at Jenness Park, organized by the California Southern Baptist Convention.  Carlos Whittaker (www.ragamuffinsoul.com), son of the CSBC CEO (which Dr. Whittaker likes to say stands for “chief encouraging officer”), took time out of his busy schedule to come and speak to us on Saturday.  He also gave us a small concert that evening.  He shared a song off of his album Ragamuffin Soul, called ‘We Will Worship You.’  The chorus of the song goes like this:

Save us from these comforts

Break us of our need for the familiar

Spare us any joy that’s not of you

And we will worship you

And we will worship you.

It was like he was speaking to my current situation.  This is exactly what God has been doing in my life lately.  God will take care of all of my needs; my wants are a different matter.  But, if I can let go of my desires and focus on His desires, I will have true happiness.

Have you ever had such break downs in your own life?  Were you able to see how God was working through it all as it was going on?  I don’t think that I saw it at first.  But the Lord, the Creator of the universe, has brought me to my knees before Him.  And I pray that He will keep me here for as long as it takes for it all to sink in, and that He will quickly bring me back here if I ever dare to forget.

See You At The Pole '10

"We wanna be filled, be filled with Your glory"
Bullard High School, Fresno, CA

Chino High School, Chino, CA

Pictures submitted by Nathan Cherney, Youth Director at Park Christian Fellowship, Chino

 

what's your story?

Does anyone have a mirror?

Christianity in real life? 

What does Christianity look like in real life? 

Well, it’s messy and imperfect, because we’re messy and imperfect.  We have good days and bad days; meaning we have days where we do a good job of reflecting Christ and we have days where we dismally fail.  On top of that, we have a world that doesn't want to acknowledge Jesus and wants us to ignore Him also.  The world doesn't care if we reflect Him.  In fact, the world would usually prefer if we didn't even try, because the world has different priorities and different definitions of what's good and bad.  That makes it even harder at times to truly reflect Christ to the rest of the world in our everyday lives.  That’s what Christianity looks like in real life. 

But the good news is the Good News of Jesus Christ.  He makes it so that we can have more good days than bad.  It’s in trying to be like Him—trying to reflect Him—and in allowing Him to work through our lives that we do any good.  The truth is, we can’t do it without Him.  It's all Him.  He works in and through us.  And thank God for that!  Without Jesus, and without His sacrifice for us, we would be lost and miserable, searching for what the world says we need.

Being human, we all still mess up now and then, and that’s why encouraging one another is so important.  When we’re having one of those (hopefully) rare bad days, we can receive encouragement from someone and we can turn our day around.  Sharing what God is doing in our lives and what God has done through us to help others  is praise to God and encouragement to one another.

What encouragement do you have to offer? 

What’s your story?

The 411

Hi there!  Welcome to Christianity In Real Life!
You may be wondering, what is this blog about and how does it benefit me as a person?  Let me start from the beginning.  What is that famous line found in fairy tale books? Oh yes, once upon a time...  Eehh, since this is not a fairy tale, let me explain how we got started.

My name is Sherann and I am a missionary for the California Southern Baptist Convention.  I work with students up and down the state of California teaching  and equipping students on how to share their faith.  It has been such a joy to see and hear how the Lord has been doing so many great things in and through their lives.  But the truth is... I've heard so many stories from so many people that I was literally on story overload! I've been challenged by my boss to somehow get the stories of God's redemptive work to the people.  More importantly, I believe that the stories of God's redemptive work aren't clean and proper.  In other words, our stories are messy, broken, raw, and even difficult.  Life is never easy; especially the Christian life!
Many months passed since I had that conversation with my boss, but all it took was one hot day in the month of August that literally ignited a passionate pursuit in me to get the stories OUT.  And of course, I had to share it with my friend Aimee (whom you will meet later) who is a very gifted writer and storyteller.  But you know what?  This blog isn't about me.  And it's not about Aimee.  This blog is about YOU.  I believe that our journey is not about what happens at the end, but rather, how we walk through the process.  So, will you join us in our journey?  Will you join us in getting the stories out?  Because the truth is... you are not alone.