Dilemma of desire

So, chapter 2 asks what we do when the past and fears make it hard to desire again.

I am so comforted by God's promise; no matter what life has done to our hearts, to our desires

Ezekiel 36: 26 "A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh. "

I am convinced that, as Peter quotes David saying, the secret to continuing to live in hope, is looking to God and recounting his past blessings in my life and in the lives of others around me.

Acts 2:25-27 ..."'I saw the Lord always before me. Because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken. Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also will live in hope, because you will not abandon me to the grave"...

If you dont have the a copy of the book/guidebook....

Feel free to download Chapter 2 and 3:

Chapter 2 Journey of Desire Searching for the Life We Have Only Dreamed Of

Chapter 2 Journey of Desire Guidebook and Journal

Chapter 3 Journey of Desire Searching for the Life We Have Only Dreamed Of

Chapter 3 Journey of Desire Guidebook and Journal

See you next week!

Now, here is some desire!

Ladies, thoroughly enjoyed your input and our discussion last night. Thank you for investing so much and being so engaged in this study-- I am confident all of our effort will bear much fruit!

I just wanted to share a glimpse into what David desired...

Psalm 63: 1-8

1 O God, you are my God, earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you, my body longs for you, in a dry and weary land where there is no water.
2 I have seen you in the sanctuary and beheld your power and your glory.
3 Because your love is better than life, my lips will glorify you.
4 I will praise you as long as I live, and in your name I will lift up my hands.
5 My soul will be satisfied as with the richest of foods; with singing lips my mouth will praise you.
6 On my bed I remember you; I think of you through the watches of the night.
7 Because you are my help, I sing in the shadow of your wings.
8 My soul clings to you; your right hand upholds me....

Look it up, David wrote this when he was in the Desert of Judah... I am challenged to have my thoughts align more with his...

I have found that this daily devotional is a great tool: http://www.268generation.com/thirsty/thirsty_journal_frameset.htm

Desire

Hey guys-

Well I finished the first chapter/journal study. It was pretty challenging for me to answer the questions. Did you guys learn anything new about yourself? Or something you knew about yourself but it was just now brought again to your attention?

I learned that I still have never gotten over the pain of my past. My father was an alcoholic, and and my homelife was pretty hard. My mother was always busy trying to meet all my father's needs, and my brother and I were left to teach ourselves about life and grow up on our own with no direction or love. I look back on my life not with nostalgia, but with resentment. I need to learn to let the past go. I wish I had had a family who had loved and nurtured me. At least I can take away something good from the exprience: I know the kind of parent I will never let myself become.

I also learned I have a lot of unrealized desires, many of which are Godly and pure, but I am scared they will never be realized (such as doing humanitarian work abroad, knowing God intimately, knowing MYSELF intimately, finding the peace that God has promised His children, etc).

I also learned that I am the kind of person who, if things are not right, I want to fix them right away and if I can't, I get very upset. I am a very proactive person, and it's hard for me just to be like well this is the way things are, do the best you can. I am unable to settle, I am always striving to make things better. For example, it's hard living in DC, I can't find a sense of community, it's loud, dirty (just like any other city), and I wish I could move to a small town out west. But I can't. I am here, and think that God brought me here for a reason, but it's hard to be like well God, you brought me here but I don't want to be here, please take me away! :) It's like, I want God to challenge me and I want to grow and be content no matter what my circumstances are, but my DESIRE to live elsewhere, to have a more meaningful job, to establish a small core group of friends, is ALWAYS there. So what do I do then?

Just some thoughts. :) I am looking forward to seeing everyone again tomorrow night!
Jennifer

Seats in a theater...

If you were at Union Station last Sunday, you noticed we had a little seating problem. There are great new snazzy seats in the Union theaters, but there are 75 fewer of them!

We knew we were going to lose some seats, but weren’t told it would be that many. Dozens of people were standing, and about 50 people were turned away from each service.

So– here’s what we are asking. For next week (and maybe the next couple weeks), please consider coming to our 7:07 Ebenezers service or 10:30 Ballston service.

The church is working very hard on a solution to this, and will be surveying the congregation this weekend to determine when/where to add a new service. But in the meantime, we would really appreciate any sacrifices you could make to attend one of these other services.

DEsiRE, dEsIrE, DeSiRe

Monday night was great; thank you all for participating and sharing so openly. We spent the night talking about different kinds of desire, what desire, passion and longing mean to us, what Godly desire is... and Justin Timberlake! For those who weren't able to make it (we missed you) and as a recap, I've posted some of the verses we discussed:

Psalm 103: 2, 5 "Praise the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits- who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's."

Luke 6:21 "Blessed are you who hunger now, for you will be satisfied"

Proverbs 13:12 "Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life."

Isaiah 26: 8 "Yes, Lord, walking in the way of your laws, we wait for you; your name and renown are the desire of our hearts"

Hebrews 12:3 "Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart."

James 1:14 "Each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed."

I think I left some verses out so if you remember your verse from Monday and want to share it here, post it as a comment.

It Was Great Meeting You All!

I just wanted to say I enjoyed meeting all of you last night. I am looking forward to getting to know you this semester, and growing in Christ-likeness.
Jennifer

NEVER MIND! BACK ON TRACK FOR THIS MONDAY

I apologize for flooding your mailboxes this weekend. It turns out I will be back for small group on Monday. If you are all still willing and able, let's go ahead and meet this week after all. Daphne's place, 7pm. Monday February 5, 2007. Call me on my cellphone with questions or concerns: (517) 214-6535. Bring your books on Monday evening if you have them... looking forward to meeting the new people and seeing old faces!

SMALL GROUP ON MONDAY CANCELLED

Unfortunately, Lisa and I have to cancel group this Monday. Lisa is out of town and I have to be in Baltimore for a family emergency. We are really sorry about this-- and have been looking forward to seeing you all again for so long... Please start reading chapter 1 in the book and do the first chapter in the guidebook, also. We'll pick it all up next Monday, February 12, 2007- same place, same time.

If your books have not been delivered to you yet, please contact Lisa or I during the week and hopefully we can get the extra photocopies of the chapter that we have to you.

Again, we apologize for the inconvenience... Have a wonderful week, all! Can't wait to see you!

-L&L

T-minus 7 days!

Oh I just can't wait... Group starts next MONDAY FEBRUARY 5, 2007 at 7pm at Daphne's place.

If you haven't ordered your books for this semester yet-- get on the ball! Go online and order yourself a copy of BOTH

1. The Journey of Desire :Searching for the Live We've Only Dreamed of

AND

2. The Journey of Desire Journal & Guidebook: An Expedition to Discover the Deepest Longings of Your Heart

You should be able to get both books, new and shipped to you, for less than $20. If you have problems or questions, please let us know.

BTW: Grab a copy of the Small Group Atlas at church this weekend and see how many times you spot Lisa and I! :)

See you all on Monday!

No Service at Union Station on Sunday

There is a flooding issue at Union Station, so there will be no service at Union Station this weekend. Union Station Sunday services are moved to Ebenezers.

Here is the schedule for this weekend:

Saturday Night
5:05 pm at Ebenezers
7:07 pm at Ebenezers

Sunday Morning
9:45 am at Ebenezers
11:15 am at Ebenezers

10:30 am at Ballston

Lanre and I will be going to Ebenezers Saturday 7:07 pm service.
Hope we'll see some of you there tomorrow!

God on Broadway

Looking for a fun activity on a cold Friday night?
Check out God on Broadway tonight at 8 pm at Ebenezers!





God on Broadway is a musical revue highlighting spiritual themes from popular Broadway shows.

Featuring songs from Fiddler on the Roof, The Lion King, Godspell, Hairspray, Carousel, The Secret Garden, Big River, and many more! For more information, contact ryanzempel@hotmail.com

Are you ready for this quote?

"It is not so true that 'prayer changes things' as that prayer changes us, and then we change things." - Oswald Chambers

"God Grew Tired of Us"

Last night I saw the movie "God Grew Tired of Us" at our headquarters here in our auditorium. NGS produced the film. It's about the "Lost Boys" of Sudan who had to flee Sudan due to civil war and how there are thousands of them with no parents or families just stuck in a refugee camp in Kenya. Some get chosen to come to the U.S. It followed the lives of 3 of the boy, Tom, Daniel, & Panther, into the U.S. It was really moving, eye opening, and fascinating. After the film two of the "lost boys" were available to meet at a reception. Anyway, it's going to be showing in DC starting this weekend. I recommend it.

I found myself experiencing a lot of different emotions... frustration at God for allowing that kind of thing to happen, feeling blessed to live here and yet frustrated by our country at the same time, inspired to learn more about and how to help, and excited to join NCC on an overseas mission trip this summer. =)

Check it out! I'll go see it again if anyone would like to go. It will make for a good discussion afterwards.


http://www.godgrewtiredofus.com/

I am not the same...

A recent article in Discipleship Journal proposes 10 questions we can ask to make sure we are still growing spiritually... Check the full article out

Interesting and a good reminder to take pulse.

1. Are you more thirsty for God than ever before?
2. Are you more and more loving?
3. Are you more sensitive to and aware of God than ever before?
4. Are you governed more and more by God's Word?
5. Are you concerned more and more with the physical and spiritual needs of others?
6. Are you more and more concerned with the Church and the Kingdom of God?
7. Are the disciplines of the Christian life more and more important to you?
8. Are you more and more aware of your sin?
9. Are you more and more willing to forgive others?
10. Are you thinking more and more of heaven and of being with the Lord Jesus?

What do you think?

Fun Pictures!

Ladies,

Hope you all had a great Christmas and New Year!

A quick update on our angel tree gift. Lanre, Jenny and I were able to deliver our gifts on December 16th. Unfortunately, the kids were not there, but we did see some of their pictures. Very cute kids!! The grandmother was very sweet and very thankful. It was great that we can be a blessing to them! Thank you to to all of you!

Also, here are some pictures of our gift to Pastor Mark. (complete with snow and Benaiah) He sent a huge thank you email to our group. He thoroughly enjoyed it!

My Desire for 2007

It's almost a new year and that generally means it's a good time to reflect and come up with some goals for the next year.

I had an interesting conversation with my sister-in-law over Christmas. We were discussing some of the friends in my life who are not Christians. She really challenged me to see them as eternal beings and souls that need to be saved.

Too often I let fear determine the destination of my conversations with these friends. For a moment there is an opportunity to share about my Jesus, my faith, my assurance, and I let fear steer my words towards an "easier" subject... or, I'll water down my words like, "I'll pray for you". Not that prayer is a bad thing (clearly!)...but I think sometimes I over use the phrase and skim over the words that should be said.

I just look back on this year and wonder how many times God may have been watching me saying "Okay, Kristen, here's a good opportunity to talk about My love..." and I drop the ball. Even when it is so clear that a friend needs His love so very badly, I selfishly keep my mouth shut.

Maybe my 2007 goal should be as PM says, to not be afraid to look like a fool! If I truly care so deeply about these friends in my life, I should be more concerned about where they are going when this life is over. Hell is real and the suffering is eternal.

I'm looking forward to having you girls continue to challenge me in my walk with Christ and I ask you to help keep me accountable in this area.

Happy New Year!

Fun Praise

I have a fun praise that I want to share with everyone!
I bought a co-worker a copy of In a Pit and gave it to her yesterday. She is someone who I just love and has been in my prayers for awhile now.

She called me up today and asked if we could eat lunch together. As it turns out, she read the first chapter of the book last night and had a TON of questions about NCC. She then asked if she could come to church with me sometime.

WOW! What a fantastic tool to open up lines of communication!

I heart NCC.

:)

Anyone psyched for our next journey?

I CAN'T WAIT UNTIL NEXT SEMESTER STARTS!

I know, I know-- this semester has not even officially ended yet. Clearly, I know this... but STILL! I am sooooooooo excited about "The Journey of Desire" !!!!

"Is desire holy?... the word 'desire' has lost its currency... Our problem is not that we desire too much, but that we desire too little... In the quiet moments of the day we sense a nagging within, a discontent, a hunger for something else. But because we have not solved the riddle of our existence, we assume that something is wrong-- not with life, but with us... Many Christians live with a nagging awareness that if they feel their hunger deeply it will undo them... But to live life fully-- to live life as God meant for us to live-- demands a full recovery of our heart..."

Oh, ladies, I can't wait!

Come on baby light my fire

Does anyone else need a fire lit under their butt?... sometimes I wonder how long a "season" will be.