Fire Burning Love

My friend Gabe voiced his concerns about some of the larger Christian organizations of the nation drawing large crowds with uber-celebrity type people. Also, the idea that maybe too much time was being spent on being a good “leader”. This made me think of a worldly, success-based motivation behind the meetings. So I understood Gabe’s frustration. To view Gabe’s original post, click here. The following is my response:

Hmmm… Gabe Dear… me thinks that you are noticing the trend of many “Christian” organizations, churches included (sadly) that are taking the eyes off of the flame of the candle in an effort to reinvent the candle stick. What ‘style’ is the most attractive,” becomes more widely discussed than “do we need to trim the wick,” or “is the wind so turbulent as to endanger blowing out the flame?” Worse yet, in my opinion, is how we can get so caught up in the externals that we ‘douse the flame’ with an unloving or cynical attitude toward those that are different from ourselves.

Maybe we are not even striking the match, quenching the Spirit when we do not follow the Spirit’s leading to take the initiative and speak out or otherwise demonstrate God’s hand at work in the lives of others. It might be too uncomfortable or embarrassing for us to knock on a door or pose a question. What might they think of us? That sounds a bit like that old fire-extinguisher ‘Pride’ trying to get rid of the flame of Good News of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
“BURN ON,” I say! And how can I keep that flame burning brightly if I don’t keep it stoked with the Word of God! God’s Word is my delight… like honey…”YOUR WORD is a lamp to my feet And a light to my path,” Ps. 119:105, If I am to let my “light so shine before men” from a hilltop and not under a basket, I believe that I must daily keep in close communion with God.

As I draw closer to Him, THEN I will naturally have a testimony flow from that. “Seek ye first the Kingdom of God, THEN all these things will be added. . .”. What makes me a better ‘leader’ is that I train myself to be a better “follower.” It goes against our sinful, selfish nature, but, Jesus Himself spoke of the need for us to serve others. At the time He was saying it, He was washing His disciples feet. So who am I following? God or man? Now, THAT is the question.

All the fire references that have popped up in this comment are as a result of my having just re-listened to “Burning Down the House” by Talking Heads. I associate my passion of following God and being filled with the Holy Spirit with the visual image and analogy of fire. And that song popped into my head.

So I went and looked at the lyrics. Some of the words in that song speak to personal agenda getting in the way. . . is my house in order… am I trying to do things my own way with the latest and greatest techniques.. getting all worked up into a frenzy and then burning my own house down in an inferno. Thanks, but no thanks.

Give me the comfort of knowing that God’s fire is at the center of my home, bringing warmth and comfort to my family and friends, as well as any strangers who chose to partake in hospitality. As long as the fire is contained properly in the firebox beneath the mantle… as long as I adhere to what I know to be the correct way to handle and care for the fire, I have nothing to fear. By simply doing what I have learned to be correct I am able to be protected from the winter chill, AND rejoice in sharing that warmth with others. Link to Burning Down the House Lyrics by Talking Heads
Link to Burning Down the House Song

Yes, it is cold outside. But, we have been given a wonderful fire in our home. Would you like to come in and join us?

Question of the Week: What’s your mission?

A new friend of mine is inspiring me to blog more. She has challenged me with a question of the week to take place on Mondays. So here is the first one. “What is your mission?”

I am going to answer that for myself, sharing it with you on this blog, then ask you to either comment with your own answer or giving a link to the answer on your blog. This exercise should challenge our minds and our motivations, while allowing us to share our life experiences and lessons for the benefit of all.

For me, personally, my “Mission” is to become a more Godly woman while sharing the love of God with others. It is a mission of eternal importance. That translates into my NEW IDENTITY … I have an internet and missionary identity of Ellen5e.

That’s it “Ellen(five)’E'”. Ellen is my birth given name. The Five ‘E’s are what God has revealed to me as key to what I am to focus on while using my God-given talents of communication through art, music, photography, word and deed.

The Five E’s are:
1) EXALT God — worshiping, praising, proclaiming God’s goodness
2) EQUIP the Saints — study the Word, full armor of God, learn new skills & pass on what I learn
3) EDIFY the Body — help fulfill needs, build up and encourage
4) EXAMINE myself — strive to keep myself in line with God’s plan
5) EVANGELIZE the World — take the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the World.

So I use these five “E”s to gauge whether I am making the best use of my time. It’s sort of like a shortcut to help me remember what I believe are the goals of my earthly mission.

Well, that’s my “mission”. Now, would you be kind enough to share your mission with me? I’d really enjoy hearing what drives you forward.

That is your mission, should you choose to accept it! This message may self destruct in ten seconds… nine… eight ….

Big Pain with BAD drain

Monday we discovered that we have a BIG problem. Apparently our drain from the house to the street has collapsed. Right before Thanksgiving we had a problem with draining laundry water backing up into the tub of the bathroom across the house while also overflowing the toilet. AAH!

Thank God I happened to have just gone to the bathroom so I was there to get everything up off the floor and also put up a dam of towels to keep water from getting to the carpeted hallway. Still I spent all afternoon cleaning up and bleaching. YUCK!

My husband Steve, rented a power auger and used it in the drain cleanout and things were better… we thought. It happened again… water is not draining from tub, for a very long time. When we go and glance outside, the cleanout cap has water oozing out, which means the pipe has certainly been blocked downline.

Several homes in our 1960s neighborhood have the “gopher dirt line” running from their house toward the street showing that they too had to repair/replace drain pipe. Apparently clay drainage pipes and plus we have clay soil, so FAIL.

Right now, we are only flushing 2 times a day. Sponge bathing and Steve 1 minute shower. At least Steve is able to use toilet at work for solid waste, but I am worried when my time comes. Gonna have to use a 5-gallon bucket with lid as a chamber pot and then impose on a friendly neighbor. We need this fixed ASAP!!!!

Now here’s where the real pain comes in. Normally, a repair like this would cost $3,000 plus. Steve has decided that he will use a snake, determine approx area of collapse, then dig by hand. Bigger pain, FRIGID weather. Ground is freezing up as we are having hard freezes in teens at night and 20′s or 30′s in daytime. PLUS Steve has a very demanding work load at his job, so not time to take a day off. So it’s gonna be slow going. By the time he gets home in the evening he only has about an hour of semi-daylight with which to dig. Plus the snow is coming.

I have a bale of straw in the back to use for insulating my roses and strawberry patch. So I suggested to Steve that he fluff some of that up into some large plastic lawn bags to lay down on the soil to try to insulate temperature of soil a bit.

We’ve already located the gas and water lines and Steve’s looked at the utilities map at the City. So, a shovelful at a time, he will dig to the collapsed pipe area and expose it. THEN, he will bring in the contractor who will pull the permits and actually do the repair. Steve can then help do the back fill to save more money. So we will get the bill from the thousands to the hundreds. All of this is gonna take so long to do : (

Please pray for my dear husband, that he doesn’t hurt his back, shoulders or neck during the endeavor, as well as his overall health as it is so cold and he is under increased stress of the situations. Thank you!

I praise God that we still have water coming INTO the house, so we are not without water. We have electricity, heat, food and communications. Most importantly, we are blessed to have each other. it will be interesting to see how this all comes out.

A “NOVEL” IDEA: I thought it would be neat to have a “Tom Sawyer Painting Party”-kind of event. Friends and Christian brothers show up with shovels and “dig in”. I feel so unhelpful, because I really would be out there digging myself, but God has me in surgery recovery “oh-n0-you-don’t” mode. Lord knows this is a very difficult place for me to be.

This life truly is a wonderful journey and even these trials prove to be an opportunity to learn and grow in love and understanding. Thanks for reading this.
If you have any experiences or advise to share, I would very much like to hear from you.