Permission to Speak Freely Tour

Tickets for this event are now available to order online!
Here’s a sneak peek video, then look for the ticket link further down in the post.

Permission to Speak Freely Tour Spot from Jim Chaffee on Vimeo.

Now that you’ve had preview, click this link below to order your tickets!
http://www.itickets.com/events/251411.html
Cost is $10 in advance and $16 at the door.

Can’t wait to see you there!

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Book Review: O Me of Little Faith

O Me of Little Faith: True Confessions of a Spiritual Weakling
By Jason Boyett

“I am a Christian. I have been a Christian for most of my life. But there are times – a growing number of times, to be honest – when I’m not entirely sure I believe in God.” So begins Jason Boyett’s poignant spiritual memoir in which he honestly confronts the challenges to his faith; the things the raise doubt within his soul.

Ultimately, a Christian faith is grounded on one assertion: there is a God. Throughout history different theologians have postulated theories in an effort to prove God. Boyett briefly acknowledges these theories, but also acknowledges that each theory has its own flaws. The conclusion Boyett reaches is that the existence or non-existence of God is improvable.

There are many Christians for whom the provability of God is not a stumbling block for their faith; they simply believe God exists. Boyett does not claim to be in this group. Boyett wrestles with the concern that his faith may ultimately be grounded in nothing. How does one remain a Christian with such doubt? Is it worthwhile to remain a Christian with such doubt? Boyett addresses these questions.

O Me of Little Faith never promises to give answers on how to resolve the doubts a Christian may face. What this memoir does is speak a word of hope into the hearts of those living a life of doubting faith.

The ultimate conclusion of Boyett’s book is that doubt does not necessarily conflict with faith. In fact, doubt is often used by God to build up the faith of a doubter. Boyett believes that it can be a healthy thing to cling with one hand to your doubt, and with one hand to your faith; and so be led into God’s presence. There may not be an ultimate resolution (to this book, to our lives, to our faith, or to our doubts); but, it also may be okay to live a life that is never fully resolved.

If you struggle with doubt, read this book. If you do not understand why a Christian would doubt, then there are probably better uses of your time.

Book Description from Zondervan

O Me of Little Faith is a brutally honest, frequently hilarious look at the struggles of a self-confessed spiritual weakling. Jason Boyett invites you to ask the hard questions and remain hopeful as he examines how you doubt, why you doubt, and what (if anything) should be done about it.

Description:
In O Me of Little Faith, author Jason Boyett brings you a transparent and personal account of his own of struggles with doubts and unbelief in living out his faith. With humor and frankness, Boyett uses personal anecdotes and a fresh look at Scripture to explore the realities of pursuing Christ through a field of doubt.

After three decades of knowing God, understanding Christianity, and living a Christian life, Boyett has come to the place where he can voice the tough questions and travel the road of uncertainty with blinders off, candor on.

The message along the way is one of encouragement: Relax. Rely on the grace of a merciful God, a kind father who realizes that his finite creatures must have doubts, should have questions, and will have trouble making sense of an infinite Creator. Ultimately, Boyett concludes that doubt and faith are not polar opposites, but actually work together, existing side-by-side.

Uplifting, entertaining, hopeful, O Me of Little Faith will strike a chord with you and any Christian who’s dealing with the uncertainties of living life in pursuit of a God who occasionally seems to disappear.

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Book review: Stuff Christians Like

Stuff Christians Like
By Jonathan Acuff

Stuff Christians Like is a direct rip off of the blog Stuff White People Like; author John Acuff openly admits it. In fact, it’s part of the joke: one of the things Christians like is to plunder secular ideas and “Christianize” them. Stuff Christians Like is a tongue-in-cheek look at the silly things contemporary American Christian culture does.

Acuff got his start as an advertising writer. In his spare time he started the blog www.stuffchristianslike.net. This blog posted daily satirical comments on Christian and church behavior. The blog and the book are both incredibly funny and occasionally the satirical criticism causes you to rethink some of our strange behavior.

Among my favorite entries were: the casserole of hope, missionary dating, disguising gossip as prayer, drinking coffee in church, feeding kids their body weight in goldfish crackers, the metro-sexual worship leader, the seven people you meet in a prayer circle, fearing that God will send you to Africa if you give him your entire life, raising our hands in worship, saying “I’ll pray for you”…and then not, and complaining about “not being fed” by your church.

The short entries make this a great coffee-table book. The witty humor allows us Christians to laugh at our incongruities and maybe learn to be a little less weird.

Not everyone appreciates satire, so give the blog a try first. If you find the blog entertaining, then the book will not disappoint.

Book Description from Zondervan

Using the same humor and honesty that galvanized more than a million online readers from more than 200 countries, blogger Jonathan Acuff brings his insightful take on Christianity to the book world with Stuff Christians Like. From prayer shot blocks to Metro worship leaders, no stone is left unturned in this hilarious look at faith.

Description:
Sometimes, we fall in love on mission trips even though we know we’ll break up when we get back. Sometimes, you have to shot block a friend’s prayer because she’s asking God to bless an obviously bad dating relationship. Sometimes, you think, “I wish I had a t-shirt that said ‘I direct deposit my tithe’ so people wouldn’t judge me.”

Sometimes, the stuff that comes with faith is funny.

This is that stuff.

Jonathan Acuff’s Stuff Christians Like is your field guide to all things Christian. In it you’ll learn the culinary magic of the crock-pot. Think you’ve got a Metro worship leader—Use Acuff’s checklist. Want to avoid a prayer handholding faux pas? Acuff has you covered.

Like a satirical grenade, Acuff brings us the humor and honesty that galvanized more than a million online readers from more than 200 countries in a new portable version. Welcome to the funny side of faith.

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When God says “Its okay”.

So my blog has been kind of quiet lately and I’m just now getting back to posting again.

I never intend to do it this way, but it happens that when I’m not feeling well from my bipolar 2, then my blog & twitter goes quiet. It is easier to update twitter because there are things I can share from others. But it’s so very difficult to write a blog post when my brain isn’t working right. I have a heck of a time trying to explain this. But I read someone else’s blog post that had a good description of her struggle.

This is from a post by Marlena Graves on the Her*meneutics blog:

My freshman year, I spiraled into a clinical depression triggered by an off-campus move. That semester, my lack of finances required moving from the dorms into an apartment across the street from the university. There, I lived rent-free with a generous elderly woman. Yet I felt like an outsider looking in as daily I’d peer out the window at students walking to and fro.

Although I lived in a cloud of mental confusion, somehow I managed to attend classes and chapel. For over a year, I daily fought back a stream of tears that threatened to publicly out me. I thought I was crazy; my only relief was sleep. So I slept a lot. And I loathed myself. Even though I prayed and read Scripture daily, I felt numb, isolated, and alienated — damned. It felt as if God had fled. Although surrounded by several thousand professing Christians, I was too ashamed and embarrassed to tell others except a counselor and superficially a few others. For the most part, no one seemed to notice. I contemplated suicide.

Because of the fervent prayers and encouraging phone calls of my younger siblings, Kenny and Michelle, I clung to life. Day by day they ministered God’s grace. And, thanks be to God, I started the climb out of the lowest rungs of hell late in my sophomore year.

My struggles have not yet reached the depths of suicide and I’m very thankful for that. The part of her story that most resonated with me was living “in a cloud of mental confusion” and “somehow managed” while feeling “numb, isolated, and alienated”.

I feel that way on both ends of the swings that come from bipolar. Unfortunately when I’m too high mentally, that respite of sleep is difficult to come by. When I’m too high, I just keep working and doing, often its cleaning or useless research online that seems useful at the time. Even though I am longing to curl up under a blanket and hide from the world, I just can’t seem to connect all the steps in my head.

When I am too low mentally, I get barraged by an onslaught of negative thoughts. “I’m not smart enough” or “I’ll never get that right” or “That was a dumb thing to do”. Its painful & frustrating because I know better than to believe these thoughts, but I can’t seem to get rid of them.

No matter how my life is going, I still find myself asking questions like “Why can’t I figure out what God is calling me to do?!?” If I’m not feeling well in one way or the other, this question can become filled with overwhelming doubt & fear. Honestly, even on a good day that question can be haunting.

But I think the answer I’ve come up with, comes from Elijah the prophet.

He had just come from this huge God-thing on Mount Carmel in 1 Kings 18. Elijah’s faith and obedience had proven his God mighty. And now in chapter 19 Jezebel decides she’s upset with Elijah & his god for killing all the prophets of Baal, so she intends to kill Elijah as revenge.

Elijah escapes the immediate reach of Jezebel but ends up headed out to the wilderness. Out alone there, he becomes so miserable that he asks to die. (Seem like a quick turnaround to anyone else? A great spiritual victory slips quickly into a deep depression.)

The next part is my favorite: Elijah cries out to God to end his life and God took Elijah back to the basic essentials of life.

He came to a broom tree, sat down under it and prayed that he might die. “I have had enough, Lord,” he said. “Take my life; I am no better than my ancestors.”
5 Then he lay down under the tree and fell asleep.
All at once an angel touched him and said, “Get up and eat.”
6 He looked around, and there by his head was a cake of bread baked over hot coals, and a jar of water. He ate and drank and then lay down again.

God was not oblivious to the hurt and pain that Elijah was struggling through. God did not deny Elijah the sleep he was craving to hide from the world.

God simply reached down with the touch of an angel and met Elijah where he was at. The first steps to feeling better were his rest, then food and drink. God even allowed Elijah to rest some more before he began to pull Elijah back toward Himself.

7 The angel of the Lord came back a second time and touched him and said, “Get up and eat, for the journey is too much for you.”8 So he got up and ate and drank. Strengthened by that food, he traveled forty days and forty nights until he reached Horeb, the mountain of God.

This passage is encouraging to me because of God’s example. His presence never left Elijah, but Elijah became weary, discouraged and depressed even in God’s presence.

And God said, “That’s okay”.

He said, Have something to eat and drink. Rest a little. Now that you have been strengthened its time to move on again.

I like that sometimes its okay with God if I can’t think straight or if I can’t mentally accomplish a task. I like that its okay if I stop and rest for a bit, as long as I get up again and keep going where God asks me to go.

Because when I just have to stop, I never want to stop. I always want to keep moving toward God and where He is. But sometimes, this disease I struggle with makes it near impossible to keep on keeping on.

But God said, That’s okay.

So I rest, get back to the simple things, and start on my journey again.

~ Jen

{scriptures from NIV version, 1 Kings chapters 18-19}

Jen Clendineng is a stay-at-home mom & wife who finds joy in being creative. She grew up & still lives in Fairfield with her husband Matt and their three kids. Her personal blog is at www . fishbowlmama . com where you can follow all the randomness of being a wife & mom called into ministry with her husband.

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Book Review: A Million Miles in a Thousand Years

By Donald Miller

In A Million Miles in a Thousand Years writer Donald Miller explores what it is that makes up a good story and then applies these insights to his life.

While looking to become a better writer, and working on a screenplay for a movie, Miller goes with a friend to a Robert McKee writing seminar. After 36 hours of lecture Miller asks his friend what a story actually is and his friend replies, “a character who wants something and overcomes conflict to get it.” Miller uses this basic framework as he continues his writing; but, then wonders if this same framework can be used to explore his life. Miller asks the question “am I living a good story?” The rest of the memoir focuses on Miller defining his character, what he wants, and learning to embrace the inevitable conflict so it can be overcome.

A Million Miles in a Thousand Years forces its reader to explore their own life and ask some basic questions: what kind of story am I living? What changes need to be made so I can be living a good story? How can I move my story toward and through conflict? How does God interact with our story? What are the stories we are writing our loved ones into?

Ultimately, Miller writes, “a story is based on what people think is important, so when we live a story, we are telling people around us what we think is important.”

Miller’s writing style is pleasant and affable; kind of like sitting on a porch and listening to a friend. His self-aware and self-deprecating nature keeps the book from becoming too narcissistic (a danger for any memoir). The writing may have benefited had it gone through another round of tightening, but the free-flowing nature of the narrative is part of the charm of the book.

There are stories and ideas in A Million Miles in a Thousand Years that will capture anyone’s attention and imagination. This is the perfect book to read if you are searching for something, but need a little push to fully know what that something is.

This quick read would be beneficial to any creative person, and is a book I imagine I will come back to for a second read in the next nine to fifteen months.

What is my character? What do I want? What are my obstacles? Is my life telling a good story?

Book Description from Thomas Nelson

Full of beautiful, heart-wrenching, and hilarious stories, A Million Miles in a Thousand Years details one man’s opportunity to edit his life as if he were a character in a movie.

Years after writing a best-selling memoir, Donald Miller went into a funk and spent months sleeping in and avoiding his publisher. One story had ended, and Don was unsure how to start another.

But he gets rescued by two movie producers who want to make a movie based on his memoir. When they start fictionalizing Don’s life for film–changing a meandering memoir into a structured narrative–the real-life Don starts a journey to edit his actual life into a better story. A Million Miles in a Thousand Years details that journey and challenges readers to reconsider what they strive for in life. It shows how to get a second chance at life the first time around.

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Book Review: Radical

Radical: Taking Back Your Faith From the American Dream
By David Platt
This book was provided for review by the WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group.

David Platt is a pastor with a passion to spread the Good News of Jesus to the entire world. Platt asserts that Jesus is someone worth losing everything for; however, the willingness to lose everything for Jesus often flies in the face of the American Dream. The American Dream is predicated on moving from uncertainty to certainty, from need to plenty, from want to wealth. Giving up everything for Jesus is the opposite. Platt writes, “Ultimately, Jesus was calling [his disciples] to abandon themselves. They were leaving certainty for uncertainty, safety for danger, self-preservation for self-denunciation.” Rather than giving up all we have to follow Jesus, Platt sees modern Americans forming Jesus into their own image so they can maintain their desired lifestyle.

To combat the desire to morph Jesus into the American Dream, Platt sets out a challenge which he calls “The Radical Experiment”. The radical experiment challenges Christians to take one year and 1) pray for the entire world, 2) read through the entire Bible, 3) sacrifice your money for a specific purpose, 4) spend two percent of your time in another context, 5) commit your life to a multiplying community.

Radical is an amazing book that I cannot recommend highly enough. I found to be encouraging, invigorating, and challenging. My hope is that you will read this book, take it seriously, and commit to Platt’s Radical Experiment for one year. It will change your life.

Christians who are not staunch Calvinists may have issues with chapter seven. In this chapter, Platt sets out to explain why it is necessary, within a Calvinist theology, to share Christ with all the world. He does a good job of working through this from a Calvinist construct. However, as a non-Calvinist reading this passage, I found the arguments unnecessary. Fortunately, an Armenian, such as myself, can skim this chapter and not lose the power of the rest of the book.

The only other criticism of the book is directed more at Platt’s editor. Platt repeatedly uses the phrase “begs the question” improperly. This may be more of a personal pet peeve, but it was such a common occurrence that I did find it distracting.

Go out and buy this book, read it, and then put it into practice.

Book Desciription from WaterBrook Multnomah

WHAT IS JESUS WORTH TO YOU?

It’s easy for American Christians to forget how Jesus said his followers would actually live, what their new lifestyle would actually look like. They would, he said, leave behind security, money, convenience, even family for him. They would abandon everything for the gospel. They would take up their crosses daily…

BUT WHO DO YOU KNOW WHO LIVES LIKE THAT? DO YOU?

In Radical, David Platt challenges you to consider with an open heart how we have manipulated the gospel to fit our cultural preferences. He shows what Jesus actually said about being his disciple–then invites you to believe and obey what you have heard. And he tells the dramatic story of what is happening as a “successful” suburban church decides to get serious about the gospel according to Jesus.

Finally, he urges you to join in The Radical Experiment –a one-year journey in authentic discipleship that will transform how you live in a world that desperately needs the Good News Jesus came to bring.

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Book Review: Obstacles Welcome

Obstacles Welcome
By Ralph de la Vega
This book was provided for review by Thomas Nelson Publishers.

There is no simple three step program that will guarantee success; but, at the same time, blind hope is seldom a pathway to success. Success takes planning, hard work, flexibility, and is different for every person and situation. For this reason there has been a glut of leadership books put on the market in the last few decades. In Obstacles Welcome, Ralph de la Vega recognizes and suggests a framework that can be used to guide a leader to plan for success.

Ralph de la Vega is the President & CEO of AT&T Mobility and Consumer Markets. He began life as a Cuban national and, at a young age, was sent by his parents to the United States. De la Vega made the trip on his own and spent much of his childhood with relatives in Florida. Some of the most illuminating and motivating passages of Obstacles Welcome are the stories of de la Vega’s life as an immigrant, as a student, as an engineer, and as a businessman. A straight biography of de la Vega’s life would be a fascinating read and I hope that this book is someday written.

For de la Vega the first steps for success are to “Dream Big” and “Believe in Yourself”; without these factors success will not be achieved. However, de la Vega points out that merely Dreaming Big is not a plan for success. The Big Dream and self belief must be supported by four pillars: you must plan for success, take risks, recognize opportunities, and overcome the inevitable obstacles. It is this last pillar from which comes the name Obstacles Welcome. One of de la Vega’s key points is that obstacles are the game changers that will allow success. In fact, without the obstacle success may not be achievable.

The four pillars of success must be grounded in six principles in order to stay upright. These principles are teamwork, attitude, integrity, vision, credibility, and excellence.

None of the ideas presented in Obstacles Welcome are new or groundbreaking, but de la Vega does present them in a compelling manner and within an integrated framework. The framework is an excellent starting point for anyone looking to formulate a plan for their organization.

The only negative comment I have regarding Obstacles Welcome is that it often felt scattered. Part of that is the nature of the subject; as previously stated, there is no three step program that will guarantee success. However, the book felt like it could have benefited from more time in the outlining phase. The stories from de la Vega’s life were also too spread out. As someone not familiar with his life it was often difficult to remember some of the experiences he had previously written about then referred to later on.

Overall, Obstacles Welcome is a fine read and would be beneficial for someone new to leadership looking to develop a strategic plan for their organization.

Book Description from Thomas Nelson

Ralph de la Vega, president and CEO of AT&T Mobility and Consumer Markets, shares the lessons learned in business and in life along the journey from Cuba to Corporate America.

Ralph de la Vega arrived in the United States from Cuba in 1962. He was alone. He was scared. He was 10. Separated from his parents by Cuban authorities just moments before they were to board a plane to Miami, de la Vega was baptized early—and abruptly—in the waters of adversity. But while the boy would never have chosen such circumstance, it’s the man who can look back and say he would not have changed it.

In Obstacles Welcome, de la Vega recounts his journey as a young Cuban immigrant to president and Chief Executive Officer of AT&T Mobility and Consumer Markets. De la Vega takes readers behind the scenes of the Internet revolution and chronicles the incredible obstacles intrinsic to successfully merging the largest wireless operations in U.S. history—those of Cingular Wireless and AT&T Wireless.

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Called to worship

Exodus 31:1-11

Then the Lord said to Moses, “See, I have chosen Bezalel…and I have filled him with the Spirit of God, with skill, ability and knowledge in all kinds of crafts—to make artistic designs for work in gold, silver and bronze, to cut and set stones, to work in wood, and to engage in all kinds of craftsmanship. Moreover, I have appointed Oholiab…to help him. Also I have given skill to all the craftsmen to make everything I have commanded you: the Tent of Meeting, the ark of the Testimony with the atonement cover on it, and all the other furnishings of the tent—the table and its articles, the pure gold lampstand and all its accessories, the altar of incense, the altar of burnt offering and all its utensils, the basin with its stand—and also the woven garments, both the sacred garments for Aaron the priest and the garments for his sons when they serve as priests, and the anointing oil and fragrant incense for the Holy Place. They are to make them just as I commanded you.”

I found this scripture from Renee Johnson’s devotional today. Her post is here: Artsy Fartsy

God picked this particular man, Bezalel, and has filled him with the Holy Spirit. This blessing from God has brought out his artistic skills, ability and knowledge in all kinds of crafts to enabled him to make artistic designs in different mediums with beautiful craftsmanship. But God did not just pick Bezalel; God also appointed and enabled additional craftsmen to be assistants.

In your life you may be appointed to be the guy/girl in charge. If that’s you, use your gifts to pursue what the Spirit is calling you to do; but, don’t spend your time on something that is a job for your assistant. He/she has been chosen to be the assistant and if you try to take over their ministry, you’re denying them the opportunity to use their gifts.

Whatever your passion is, God has picked you, filled you with the Holy Spirit, and given you the skills and abilities to pursue your passion. But, sometimes it may be that you are appointed to be an assistant. It is just as important for you to allow the Holy Spirit to guide everything you do as an assistant.

I know that God picks each of us for something; but it seems like my thing keeps changing. Some of that is due to the different seasons I have experienced in my life. Regardless, these changes have, at times, caused me to doubt my purpose in life and whether or not I’m actually following God’s calling.

There are lots of things in my life to distract me (I have three kids, for goodness sake!); but, one thing that seems to be particularly debilitating for me is doubt, self-doubt specifically. Every once in a while something will happen and I’ll let one tiny little thought creep in. The thought that says “Are you really sure this is what God wants you to do?” Pretty soon that one thought multiplies and, before I realize it, the thoughts start filtering in to my mind like concert attendees: “You’re not really very good at this”, “Is that really what you’re supposed to be doing?” or “Why would God want you to do that?”.

I get so exhausted from fighting these thoughts that I seldom have any energy left to do what God has asked me to do in the first place.

I need to force myself to step back and remember that when you’re doing what God has called you to do, with the skills, ability and knowledge God has given you; then you are worshiping the Creator God. And isn’t that the point of our lives anyway? To worship the God who gave us the abilities in the first place?

I know I would rather be worshiping God than anything else.

To do that, I have to fight against the doubt that creeps in and continue to follow the Holy Spirit in every part of my day. I have to reject those thoughts of “You’re not good at anything, you’ll only be a mommy” or “This is so impractical? Why am I doing this?” or even “How can I worship God, I only have time to change diapers and clean?”

I need to reject my distractions and let the Scriptures speak the hope and promise of God’s calling into my life:

Everyday, the Lord says: “See, I have chosen _________…and I have filled him/her with the Spirit of God, with skill, ability and knowledge in all kinds of ___________ — to make ____________________ for work in ____________________, and to engage in all kinds of craftsmanship.”

If you don’t know your calling yet, its okay. Mine is being revealed a little at a time. Fill in the blanks with what you do know and worship God that way. As you worship, pray for God to expand your perspective; for God to show you a greater calling.

After you pray, allow the Holy Spirit to fill you and continue to worship with your skills, ability and knowledge.

God has called you.

~Jen

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Sunday worship in two acts

Sunday morning I had the opportunity to go preach at a new church. Grace Community Friends Church is a store front church on the square of Mt. Pleasant. Grace has been an active church for many years and I know several people who attend. I was, however, pleasantly surprised by the simplicity of the service. There were no fancy lights, no PowerPoint presentations, we sang a cappella hymns and choruses, and then I preached a pretty straightforward message from Numbers 32. Afterward I chatted with a number of people and my kids got a plate of brownies.

I was humbled by the simplistic authenticity of the people at Grace.

No one I met at Grace was putting on a show, or pretending to be something they were not. They were a group of people humbly coming together to worship God. One of my favorite moments was when one of the kids asked to sing “Father I Adore You” and one adult whispered to another, “that’s his favorite song.”

Earlier in the week, I had committed to help with a project, sponsored primarily by Living Stones Fellowship, at the Jefferson County fairgrounds on Sunday afternoon. They were working with Kids Against Hunger (http://www.kidsagainsthungeria.com) to prepare and package food to ship around the world in an effort to fight the affects of starvation. So I spent an hour at a machine sealing bags of rice, soy and flavoring. I didn’t say much while I worked; but, the act of working and listening to the joy of those working around me was a tremendous experience of worship. I would encourage any church or ministry in southeast Iowa to look into partnering with the Kids Against Hunger ministry. It is an incredible missions oriented project in our own backyard.

I have to be honest; I was not looking forward to going to the fairgrounds. It was a Sunday afternoon, I’m always a little worn out after preaching, and I would much rather have taken a nap or worked on a few projects in the quiet cool of my home. But had I stayed home, I would have missed out on a powerful and refreshing afternoon of worship.

Worship can sneak up on you when you least expect it.

Go and worship,
Matt

Matthew Clendineng is the Executive Director of The Worship Center. He lives in Fairfield with his wife Jen and their three children. To schedule Matt to speak to your church or organization, please contact him at matt @ clendineng . com .

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I start as a blank screen

This is worship.
This is my mouse path for an hour that I spent in Photoshop working on flyers & mailings for The Worship Center while listening to the David Crowder*Band on iTunes.
This is worship.
This is me fully engrossed in creating something using the gifts God gave me.
This is a representation of my commitment to follow the vision God has given us.
This is worship.
This started as a plain white screen.
Every time I moved the mouse, it made a line.
Every time I clicked the mouse, it made a dot. The more clicks, the bigger the dot.
Every time I stopped moving my mouse, it drew a circle around my resting point.
This is a simple capture of my creative process. Nothing fancy, nothing ornate, but a simple path tracing of my actions and behaviors.
This is me fully engrossed in creating, using the gifts God has given me.
This is worship.

I love the seemingly random dots and scribbles and circles on the plain white background. It reminds me of when I was little in Sunday school and how I was taught that Jesus died to wash us clean – as white as snow. When they were teaching me that Jesus died to make us clean, it’s really that they were trying to explain that I am a new creature. I am fresh, white, pure, and unadulterated. I believe that every time decide to follow the Spirit’s leading, I become like a blank white screen. Whether that’s my first acceptance of Christ, or 22 years later when I commit to following wherever God leads.

I feel as though I have just been given a new white screen and I am doing my best to follow where God is taking us. Every time I take a step in His direction, I leave something behind – a line on my screen. Every time I act as the Holy Spirit instructs me, I leave something behind – a dot, a click. Every time I have the patience to pause and wait, I leave something behind – a circle, an area of rest.

The longer I chase my God, the harder I pray for what I leave behind. As I strive to be like Christ every day, I can only pray that others will see my lines, dots, & circles. Not as scribbling, but as a sold-out, all-encompassing desire to follow God wherever He takes me. Not just because its fun and never because it’s easy, but because I am committed to creating something God-birthed on the blank screen of my life.

This blank screen is my passion.

It is my life.

It is where I worship.

~Jen

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