It is in the process of being worshiped that God communicates His presence to men. ~C.S. Lewis
I had written this blog post out and was just about to press the "Publish" button when...poof! Yeah, it just disappeared. I have a very sensitive touch pad on my laptop so this happens sometimes, but I usually can recover all my work. Not this time. Anyway, I found it quite ironic considering my subject so I decided to write it in as my introduction. I usually think the framing of the first draft is better than an entire rewrite, but perhaps not this time, and knowing myself as I do, this would be the only way I would rewrite the entire thing and so I get to put this belief of all things have purpose into practice as did a friend of mine just two days ago.
Not all things are pleasant in this life, nor did God ever promise they would be since the moment of the first disobedience when Adam and Eve were sent out from Eden, however there is purpose. I was talking on the phone to a friend, the mother of my daughter's friend in the neighborhood, to have my daughter come home for evening chores and dinner. I was telling her about the Seder meal and that my husband mentioned getting the Princess her own praise and worship flags for her upcoming birthday—Wow! I was thinking my friend might not even know about this practice, but instead she told me that she had some flags that she would love to give the Princess as their calling for the past several years has been to be highly service-entrenched in the children's ministry at a church which does not use this form of worship.
Not finding them where she thought they should be, she continued to look as we wound down the conversation. She did not find the flags, but she did find something else: a leaking hot water heater. We ended the call abruptly so that she could turn off the water and call her husband. She called me back to say that the leak was a bad one that would have caused considerable flooding in a short time, but it must have started just minutes before she discovered it. Her husband was stopping on the way home to get the needed replacement hose and she had already cleaned up the water. She wanted to say thank you to God and me, as she rarely goes in the basement and would not have if she had not been looking for the flags, which she might have given away some time ago. She often says that she does not believe in coincidences and believes God has a purpose in everything.
Back to the worship flags, I am still amazed my husband even suggested getting the Princess her own flags! I am pretty expressive, creative, and open to a freer form of worship, but I half expected my husband would want to run out the door and never return when we visited Charismatic and Pentecostal churches...and there is a difference between the two, I just learned recently. My husband and I were both raised in traditional, cessationist denominations; he was Lutheran and I was Baptist. I used to think there were major differences between those two, but now...not so much.
Even though I feel led to the charismatic worship, I don't think either one of us is entirely comfortable with it. The Princess obviously is! However, I think we need this time to acclimate ourselves. The Lord is wise as I think we would be tempted to fall back to a traditional church service because it is familiar, even though I do not think we would truly be comfortable there now either. This is a time of change for us and that became very apparent to me Tuesday morning when my husband sent this email message to me:
My eyes teared as I read these words: My worship has been unleashed.
I was there 22 years ago when my husband finally accepted the Lord as his Savior and I was there at his baptism to publicize his decision. I saw him change so much in the following six months and continually grow in his faith all these years. At times, he has surpassed me when I have been poor in spirit. Still, I would not have dared to dream that my husband would ever write something like this. It came out of that short time that I was struggling between being obedient to my Lord and pleasing the congregation as praise and worship leader. If only the whole church had recognized this blessing that has so changed my husband...and me also. I know what God wanted for all the church, but even if only one embraced His message, it was worth the trial. It had purpose. That is the God I serve!
Not all things are pleasant in this life, nor did God ever promise they would be since the moment of the first disobedience when Adam and Eve were sent out from Eden, however there is purpose. I was talking on the phone to a friend, the mother of my daughter's friend in the neighborhood, to have my daughter come home for evening chores and dinner. I was telling her about the Seder meal and that my husband mentioned getting the Princess her own praise and worship flags for her upcoming birthday—Wow! I was thinking my friend might not even know about this practice, but instead she told me that she had some flags that she would love to give the Princess as their calling for the past several years has been to be highly service-entrenched in the children's ministry at a church which does not use this form of worship.
Not finding them where she thought they should be, she continued to look as we wound down the conversation. She did not find the flags, but she did find something else: a leaking hot water heater. We ended the call abruptly so that she could turn off the water and call her husband. She called me back to say that the leak was a bad one that would have caused considerable flooding in a short time, but it must have started just minutes before she discovered it. Her husband was stopping on the way home to get the needed replacement hose and she had already cleaned up the water. She wanted to say thank you to God and me, as she rarely goes in the basement and would not have if she had not been looking for the flags, which she might have given away some time ago. She often says that she does not believe in coincidences and believes God has a purpose in everything.
Back to the worship flags, I am still amazed my husband even suggested getting the Princess her own flags! I am pretty expressive, creative, and open to a freer form of worship, but I half expected my husband would want to run out the door and never return when we visited Charismatic and Pentecostal churches...and there is a difference between the two, I just learned recently. My husband and I were both raised in traditional, cessationist denominations; he was Lutheran and I was Baptist. I used to think there were major differences between those two, but now...not so much.
Even though I feel led to the charismatic worship, I don't think either one of us is entirely comfortable with it. The Princess obviously is! However, I think we need this time to acclimate ourselves. The Lord is wise as I think we would be tempted to fall back to a traditional church service because it is familiar, even though I do not think we would truly be comfortable there now either. This is a time of change for us and that became very apparent to me Tuesday morning when my husband sent this email message to me:
I was praying this morning and was reminded how blessed I am to have a wife with heart for God. I was trying to encourage people at the Nazarene church but when you took over worship you truly took it up a notch.
Thank you, for lifting my spirit. My worship has been unleashed. Even if it was only you and I laying it out each Sunday, it was worth the pain and struggle. You will be rewarded for faithfulness.
Love always
My eyes teared as I read these words: My worship has been unleashed.
I was there 22 years ago when my husband finally accepted the Lord as his Savior and I was there at his baptism to publicize his decision. I saw him change so much in the following six months and continually grow in his faith all these years. At times, he has surpassed me when I have been poor in spirit. Still, I would not have dared to dream that my husband would ever write something like this. It came out of that short time that I was struggling between being obedient to my Lord and pleasing the congregation as praise and worship leader. If only the whole church had recognized this blessing that has so changed my husband...and me also. I know what God wanted for all the church, but even if only one embraced His message, it was worth the trial. It had purpose. That is the God I serve!
~ My Lord, how my heart ached in desire that our former church would have had its worship unleashed! Thank you for this one. Thank you for preparing us to hear and be lead by Your Spirit as we have not been before. Thank you that all things through You has purpose, even this blog. ~
