Winter Jam Volunteers Needed!!!

Ok crazy people - WINTER JAM 2012 will be in Knoxville FRIDAY MARCH 16th at Thompson Boling Arena and I need 85 VOLUNTEERS to help make it happen!!!
If you are at least 16 years of age or older, can be at Thompson Boling Arena from 4PM until well after the concert is over on FRIDAY MARCH 16th, and can be on your feet A LOT email me at winterjamvol@yahoo.com with your name, age, and phone number (assigments could be merch tables, ushers, doors, etc - assignments will NOT be made until night of show).
You will get in for free, and because of the round open design of the arena will still get to see much of the show (and hear it all of course), and most importantly will get the experience of being a part of one of the most exciting concerts this year!
DO NOT REPLY HERE - only by email at winterjamvol@yahoo.com

In What Town Am I Found...

Acts 14: 8-10 "In Lystra there sat a man who was lame. He had been that way from birth and had never walked. He listened to Paul as he was speaking. Paul looked directly at him, saw that he had faith to be healed and called out, “Stand up on your feet!” At that, the man jumped up and began to walk.
I've been thinking about the stark contrast between this town/these verses and the town /verses before where others heard Paul and Barnabus preach truth... many believed, but then there those who in their stubbornness, paranoia, and jealousy felt the need to stir up others into behaviors they may not have performed otherwise.
Acts 14:1-2 "At Iconium, Paul and Barnabas went as usual into the Jewish synagogue. There they spoke so effectively that a great number of Jews and Greeks believed. But the Jews who refused to believe stirred up the other Gentiles and poisoned their minds against the brothers."
I have been both of these examples in my life. I have believed, and I have been the cause of others unbelief and at the very least not led them any closer by my words and actions.
But what I long to be more often is the lame man of Lystra. Where after only a short time around me and upon a closer look there would be no doubt of my faith and willingness to get up and walk - even into the fire.

He's a Marine!!!!

Around 7:40am yesterday, Nov 16th 2011, my son Recruit David Cunningham having finished The Crucible and 13 weeeks of Boot Camp on Parris Island SC became a United States Marine. Ooh Rah!
As he entered back onto the base after 54 grueling straight hours of being tested to his physical and mental limits with little food and sleep, exhausted, drained, blistered and hungry with an ear infection, he and Alpha Company and his own Platoon 1090 gathered around a replica of the Iwo Jima Marine Memorial. Then my son was handed his Eagle Globe and Anchor pin from his DI, able to finally sing the Marine Corp Hymn and proudly claim the title of United States Marine!

I so wish I could have seen it - but I am also glad for him that he had that private moment with the platoon he has grown to love and work with as one, and with his DI's who have pushed him, stretched him, and taught him. What a special experience and incredible memories they must all have together.

Now after counting months and weeks that he has been gone I count days and hours until I see his face, hug him hard, and kiss his cheeks on Family Day and Graduation Day for the first time since August 29th - that day he hugged me one last time and climbed into a van that would take him away to a sand flea infested place that would change forever who he was.

Proud? I cant even begin to say how proud I am of him. I really thought the tears had run dry but each time I think of him marching back onto that Parade Deck of Parris Island Marine Corp Recruit Depot and how he must have felt to realize at last that the 13 week test was over, the tears began to flow again. And as I think of the relief and fulfillment, pride and thankfulness he must have felt as that EGA pin was placed in his hand, the tears flow even faster.
Yesterday the blonde headed little boy who used to bring me dandelions in a dixie cup became Pvt David Cunningham - a United States Marine... Semper Fi!

God thank you for showing my son a clear path, for calling him to it, for setting him on it, for his heart of service you have given him, for watching over him, keeping him, equipping him, bringing him through this test of honor and character - I once again hand my son, Marine Pvt David Cunningham over to you for your plans for his life, thank you for the gift and priviledge of having him in mine, and for the unique blessing of becoming a very proud Marine Mom... Amen!

Joyful on the Journey
Marisa

The Crucible

It has begun.
At 2am this morning my son Rct David Cunningham stepped off with Platoon 1090, "The Nasty 90", on The Crucible, to become food deprived, sleep deprived, and to be put through a battery of mental and physical challenges for 54 straight hours to determine at the end whether or not he becomes a United States Marine.

I can't imagine the unique combination of excitement and nerves he must be feeling. I still can't believe the little pudgy blong headed child I remember with the infectious laugh is the same young man that stood before me on August 29th 2011 at the Knoxville Military Entrance Processing Center pledging to serve and fight for his country, then climbed in a van to leave for 13 grueling weeks of boot camp.

The time has come for the last thing that stands betwen my son and that Eagle Globe and Anchor pin.

I have my porch light on, a candle in the window, and am praying for him to finish strong. Will you join me?

Pray that when he becomes so tired that his muscles shake with exhaustion that he will seek and receive a supernatural strength to go on.
Pray that when he is so hungry his hands tremble and his stomach aches that the Word of God will come to him, steady him, and feed his soul.
Pray that when he is losing focus from lack of sleep that a sharpness of mind will flood in as he thinks about how many brave men and women have gone before him and endured.
Pray that as his feet and back become so soar he feels he can't stand or walk that he will remember his God carries Him and has called and equipped him for this task.
And pray that if feelings of possible defeat creep in that God will bring to David's mind all of us who love him, that he will feel our prayers and thoughts for him, and that he will be renewed and refreshed to reach the end with pride and become A United States Marine.

Thank you for loving me and my family!
Marisa

Can God Speak Through Angry Birds?

Yes, Angry Birds.
It’s been around for some time now but I admit to still playing it when I need either mindless distraction or to think very specifically on something. It really is amazing how one thing can offer both. But lots of things are like that for me. It’s all about my intention. Walking is another example. I can just zone out. I can sing and worship God. I can analyze something to death with each step. I can create my shopping list. Or I can carry on a conversation about deep and meaningful things.

And in ALL things God can decide if he wants to speak, right? He is God after all.
Well, the other day He used a quick game of Angry Birds to speak volumes to me.
Well, it was supposed to have been a quick game :)
But there I was though after about 20 minutes (instead of the intended 5) still flinging cannonball birds and penguin bombs at those dang fancy caged Rio Birds, breathing heavy, a small drop of sweat actually forming between my shoulder blades as I sat hunched over my Droid X, when God tapped me on the shoulder and asked me this question...
"What if you purposefully aimed Me at things that were being held captive?"
Of course I Scooby Doo'd God with a "hhuurrhh???"
I clearly heard Him then ask me "How many more bars would be broken on the cages that imprison the captive if you so carefully aimed My Word, My Compassion, My Love, My Patience, My Wisdom, and My Son at them? If you my child worked half as hard contemplating my Word, considering MY timing, MY path, how to approach the one in need with what I teaching you and want to teach you, if you did that with the same consideration as you do this game, then just think what could be happening for my Glory all around you!"

Don't get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with Angry Birds - I for one am all for a little release - and when those pigs grunt and laugh and taunt me, I'm taking as many out as possible, laughing maniacally while doing it too!
It was just a reminder for me that there is a lesson in everything, and also that there is a chance that anything could become an obsession (now don’t confuse this with healthy obsessions, such as my healthy obsession for Mac Powell of Third Day), and that seemingly harmless things can sometimes pull us and distract us unnecessarily.
What I began noticing though with newly opened eyes though was the precision, the intense concentration, the planning, the time, and the emotion with which I played this Angry Birds Game... I mean I am IN THIS THING, aware of the affect it can have on my heart beat, my breathing, how hard I am concentrating, how my heart leaps when I clear a scene with all pigs dead and three stars earned!
So I begin to imagine if I put that much effort forth how much more satisfying it would be to see freedom in Christ occur more often!

This past Sunday Scott told a story of a baby circus elephant that grew up since birth chained to a wooden 6 inch stake driven into the ground. And how as he got older and bigger he never quite realized he could simply pull away from what held him captive and be free - all because he was trained to think he was a captive.

Satan does that to us. We do that to ourselves. Satan does that to our friends.
What if I put all the same Angry Birds effort into digging into Gods Word, learning who Christ really is, what the Holy Spirit truly can do, and believe that I do truly have a God who is "able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us" Ephesians 3:20

But did you catch "according to his power that is at work within us"?

The power that I have because of Christ shed blood and sacrifice, and His Holy Spirit living in me is beyond my comprehension, beyond my understanding, and if I'm being honest - sometimes beyond my belief.
We decide how much of that power works in us - He doesn’t. It’s already there when you become a child of God... when you become a co-heir of Christ to the reward of Heaven its given to us. How much is at work depends on how much of ourselves we are willing to give up, give over. And that means trusting Him enough to give Him anything that holds you back, holds you down, and holds you captive

So as we get closer to the new year, when the holidays get us thinking about what changes we want to make in our lives, how we want to impact our world more, how we would like to be able to grab more of that "abundant life" that Jesus came to give us, I think it’s time we consider making a choice to be all in, to be intentional with our time, our energy, and that we become purposeful and intentional with passion. Be purposeful with how much of Him we want, how much of Him we share, how much more we should aim to go deeper and invest in the lives of others, to finally pull up our own 6 inch stake, and help someone else dislodge theirs.

Its time we fling the biggest weapon we have - and let Him truly set us all free!

Joyfully on the Journey,
Marisa

A Church By Any Other Name...

I know I can be a bit naive occasionally, I realize that sometimes I can have a pie in the sky way of looking at things, that I can see the world through so called rose colored glasses, but sometimes I am honestly perplexed by a those of us who categorize ourselves as Christ followers, born again believers, and Christians. Yes, that means I am sometimes disappointed in myself too.

Most recently my confusion has been over some comments being directed towards "Church at the Joe" (Monday night services beginning Nov 7th at the Cotton Eyed Joe).
What began as a vision by one man quickly caught fire. Feeling it was God led, the churches leadership and Pastor that are hosting it moved forward with God opening doors only He could.
"Church at the Joe" is an offering designed for the unchurched and dechurched, for people who may not feel comfortable trying a traditional church first but who are in need. It's for those seeking and needing more from this life that it can ever offer without Christ. It's for some even already purposefully seeking God and a relationship with Christ, for some who may have had a bad experience with 'the church', and for those who have a deep personal relationship with Christ but maybe don't feel like they fit in where they have visited before.

So, with so much need I'm somewhat baffled right now about a few recent comments shared by some folks that are a part of the very category mentioned in the first paragraph of this post...

*You can't have church in a bar - Jesus wouldn't dare go in a bar if He was here"
Really? What Jesus did they read about in their bible? I read about the one that went wherever He could minister to those that needed Him. And Church at the Joe is held on a night that is normally closed where no alcohol is being served. I don't get the problem.
Maybe then the issue is that 'sinners' are there normally. Why is it that we so easily forget that Christ met, had fellowship, and shared His Fathers Love in the homes and places of business of sinners. Or in other words - those despised by the Pharisees.
And don't we all sit next to sinners each day that we gather together in our comfortable chairs and pews each week, including the seat in which my own rear end resides? Maybe its just me, just my seat.

*"It's a disgrace to have a church in a building that houses a bar"
I was under the impression that the church is alive, made up of people led by those who love and follow Christ and what He is about, people willing to meet folks in need where they are. I think of the church as those who don't stand back in a comfort and wait on 'them' to come to 'us' to find 'Him'... that the church reaches out, serves, and goes, just like Christ did when He put on flesh and walked this very earth.

*The only people that go to Cotten Eyed Joe for anything just want to get drunk and hook up"
Some people just go to dance and have a good time with friends, they don't drink at all. Some of them need Jesus. And the ones that find life so difficult that they constantly turn to a substance to numb the pain or forget the day, shouldn't they have every chance to be set free with the love of Christ?
And by the way, here's a real humdinger - some people like to dance that actually know Jesus very well :)

*That's not a real church"
Oh, so a church can only be in a building with a sign out front that designates it as such. And here I was thinking that anywhere people gathered where Gods love and the Gospel of Christ is shared, and people are loved on, becomes Holy Ground.

*The Ten Commandments clearly tells us 'Sunday' is the day we worship"
Hmmm... I've yet to find a version of the bible that says that myself.
I won't even mention that most of us at least occasionally eat, gas up, shop, and get other needs met at places on Sundays that require others to work. And because of that very reason some may get to come to Church at the Joe. Oh wait, I guess I did mention it :)


Please understand that I am not trying to start a debate, a fight, in fact I am sooooo not even looking for comments. I'm simply having a hard time today with how narrow the focus, how trapped and captive by tradition, and how uncomfortable at change that we "christians" can still sometimes be.

And believe me when I say I sometimes have to battle my own hang ups as I step outside my self created box of service - I do.

And please hear me when I say that I don't think that 'anything goes' in the name of the Gospel, not at all. But what I am saying is I really had hoped that we were closer than we had been to not being our own worst enemy when it comes to sharing the message of unconditional love of Christ and fulfilling the last words He gave us while He walked among us...

Matthew 28:18-20 "Jesus came and told his disciples, “I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth. Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.
Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

They have no idea how long this offering will exist - it could be very short lived, or it could grow to see thousands enter through the doors. But you see, it doesn't matter in the grand scheme of things if its God's design and desire. All that is required is faithfulness on their part to follow where He leads to reach those who desparately need Him.

So, I guess finally I have to wonder why it's okay, radically commendable, and even 'Holy' to follow God to reach into the harshest places of degradation in a third world country in the name of offering Eternal Salvation, but we have issues finding the worthiness of reaching out with love to those in our own community and inviting them to meet a Savior, just because the 4 walls within which we do it doesn't look like where most of us spend time worshipping each week?

And if we feel that way what does that say about our heart as we stand inside our comfortable traditional churches, lifting up songs of praise all the while asking God to give us His heart, to use us, and to show us His Glory?

http://www.churchatthejoe.org/
https://www.facebook.com/ChurchAtTheJoe

Which Candy Am I?

Halloween is over and the race for some to get those candy mark downs are on!
And just a few days ago I saw the familiar media stories surface that do each year - what our favorite candy we buy this time of year says about our personality. Kinda fun, but supposedly because Snickers and Reeses Cups are a couple of mine, I am some strange enigma of both being a "crowd-pleaser who makes friends in every situation" and "someone who tends to be creative, private and sometimes misunderstood".
I already sometimes have enough trouble figuring out who I am on any given day without some scientist or marketing intern telling me what my sweet tooth means when it rears its ugly head!

But God did use the news story to remind me of two things.

#1 That it's all of us thrown in the big bag of life together with all our differences that makes Life sweet:
1 Cor. 12: 4-6 There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working, but in all of them and in everyone it is the same God at work.
That when the bag is opened each type of candy that is contained within will sweeten the life of someone different. And without the differences in us think of how one dimensional our effect would be on one another for His Glory - each of us has a specific purpose!

#2 That I myself am a assorted bag of candy:
James 1:17-20 All generous giving and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or the slightest hint of change. By his sovereign plan he gave us birth through the message of truth, that we would be a kind of firstfruits of all he created.
All that He has equipped me with at any given time, the different aspects of me, all the sides of my personality, the changes as I grow older, the sides of me that different people bring out - its all a part of how He wants me to serve. Every day I am someone slightly different than the day before so I can relate to someone new, or at least someone familiar in a whole new way!

Psalm 139:14 "I will praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; marvelous are your works, and my soul knows very well."

I am to revel in my differences, in who He has made me to be!

2 Corinthians 9:8, "And God is able to make all (not just some) grace abound toward you; that you always having all sufficiency in all things may abound to every good work."

Whoever I am to wake up each day and be, He has equipped me for it. All I need to do is be faithful to arise and ask Him to help me unwrap who that is and celebrate the sweetness and wonder of it all!

Marisa

I'm Weak!

I am weak and I love it! There's so much joy to be found in the truth that I CAN'T will or make things happen. I need help. I need others. I need Jesus.

I find myself in the middle of several journeys right now. During the last few weeks one of my journeys has increased and become very very intense as I try to find and do the right things for my 82 year old Mom and her health and her well being. It's a long fought battle that really has been years in the making. But over the past 5 years it has increasingly intensified into a daily prayer for guidance, timing, wisdom, and really for a miracle. Maybe you know the kind of journey I'm talking about... the kind that's stressful, worrisome, that leaves you fearful, and that can seem to suck the wind from your sails. The kind that can wreck you, and that if goes emotionally unchecked rules your life. The kind that until you finally get the break you've needed, you didn't even fully understand just how never ending the underlying tension of it all was. When just a glimpse of the light at the end of the tunnel is enough for you to realize that a little further down the road you will learn more about yourself and what the journey has done in your life than you can ever imagine.

BUT there are common threads in the hard journeys if you look for them with expectation that will offer you peace, comfort, and are actually beyond beautiful.
Remember the simple song most of us first learned as a child...
"Jesus loves me! This I know,
For the Bible tells me so.
Little ones to Him belong;
They are weak, but He is strong."

2 Corinthians 12:9
But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

The thread of my weakness, the thread of my need, and oh the power of the strongest thread of all - the scarlet thread of Jesus! The scarlet thread that wraps around me, is interlaced in and through every fiber of my being, that is laid out sacrifically before me to follow as I walk every journey. It's woven into all the threads that make up the tapestry of my life.

"Jesus loves me! This I know,
For the Bible tells me so.
Little ones to Him belong;
They are weak, but He is strong."

I am His child. I am His little one. My weakness IS the perfect platform for Him to work miracles in my life and reveal Himself to the world around me... Oh yes, He loves me.

So I'll shout from the rooftops, on the mountain tops and in the valleys... 'I AM WEAK AND IN NEED OF A SAVIOR LIKE JESUS'!

Joyful on the Journey,
Marisa

Taken Captive

I don't know about you but sometimes I notice occasionally I can slip into a pattern as I begin my weekend. I can tend to let my guard down so to speak. It's time to unload the weight of the week after all, right? To forget the aggravations I may have had, to relax, have fun, unwind. But what I find is when I do without the conscious acknowledgement that my guard is down, by the time I get to church on Sunday the voices that I have allowed to defeat me in the past began trying to pull up a chair.

They can begin to woo me in a sense, telling me that I deserve a break, to forget about who or what needs my attention. Sometimes they try to create doubt, suggesting that I really didn't accomplish anything of value this week because I didn't get everything checked off my list, that I didn't measure up. Maybe because I lost my temper several times the voice may begin to wage war telling me that I really haven't gained as much ground as I thought on that, that I took two steps back instead. Oh, and this one definitely, that here I am at the end of another week without the answers I so desperately want, so maybe God is through with me in this area of my life.

And yes, sometimes a weekday here and there can be completely filled with those thoughts if I'm not careful too.

But God's Word in 2 Corinthians 10:5 tells us that as His "we demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ."

This tells me that everything that goes against what my God really thinks of me should be taken captive and locked away in the pit with the enemy where it belongs.

Because “The thief comes only to steal, and kill and destroy. I have come that they may have life and have it to the fullest.” John 10:10

What the enemy says about me is not truth. I choose today God's voice of truth!

Psalm 139:14 says that “I am fearfully and wonderfully made."
Psalm 17 says that "I am the apple of His eye."
Deuteronomy 7:6 says that I am "His treasured possession."
Ephesians 2:10 even says that "I am Gods masterpiece".

And what He thinks of me, and sees in me is this: I am what His plan for me is, I am what He created me to be even if I haven't attained it... "He who began the good work within us, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns. " Philippians 1:6

If I take those thoughts that are untrue captive here's what really happens... I more importantly allow GOD to take me captive, I let HIM take my heart captive. And I do so want to be taken captive and swept away in love by my King every day!

"Finally, brothers and sisters,
whatever is true, whatever is noble,
whatever is right,
whatever is pure, whatever is lovely,
whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things." Phillippians 4:8






Marisa

Missing You

I miss my son. And I miss my Dad
I am stuck in the house this week, sick with a bad upper respiratory infection, and I'm missing my son, Recruit David Cunningham who has about 5 weeks to go in Marine Bootcamp in Parris Island SC.
And I miss my Daddy, who passed away on April 1 2005.
It's so funny. I'm sick, and there is so much going on in my world right now, and next to my husband Todd, these are the two people I most want to talk with.
But not just about my "stuff", I so want to know what new things my son is discovering about Himself, what God is doing within him right now, and to hug him to me and hold him. I wish I could ask my Dad what I should do about some of the decisions about my mom, about what he would do if it was him in this season of waiting I am in, to get his Godly advice, and oh how I miss his great hugs.

What I have discovered the past few days? I've learned all over again I can talk to them, in my heart, and through my Heavenly Father. I can tell HIM how I feel about them both. I can ask him to continue to do a great work in my sons life, and to show me how to be a better mom to David. And I can ask God to bring to my mind the good advice my Dad gave me in years past, and to remember decisions I saw my Dad make in my lifetime, both good and bad, and to help me learn from them.

O my people, trust in him at all times. Pour out your heart to him, for God is our refuge. Psalm 62:8

The past few days may have brought fever, congestion, nausea, lots of snot (TMI?), a sore chest and throat from coughing and more... but its also brought me some sweet quiet time to pray, talk with God and about the ones I love and miss so much, and to remember :)

Marisa