Monthly Archives: June 2012

Cherrio Christians

By shellyhuey | Uncategorized , Victory Update

I watched a friend place her baby in a highchair the other day.

She unstrapped her baby from her stroller, picked her baby up, and gently placed her into the highchair NEXT TO US. Once the baby was strapped in, she knew what to EXPECT and started to POUND on the highchair tray with ANTICIPATION. She knew she was going to be FED good things. My friend opened a small container of Cherrios. She placed a tiny handful onto the highchair tray and the little baby squealed with delight.

Her baby knew EXACTLY what to do. She eagerly placed her finger and thumb around one Cherrio and put it in her mouth and began to chew it. Drooling and messy but what an achievement, she was feeding herself. Unembarrassed, we both CLAPPED and CHEERED her on. When that Cherrio was gone, she then picked up another Cherrio. She DEVOURED each morsel like it was a gift. She reminded me how to RELISH each bite, of even a simple Cherrio.

She only started to whine when the Cherrios were all gone. Her mom knew what amount of Cherrios to give her. She patiently opened the container multiple times, delivering the same amount. She didn’t criticize the baby for not eating enough. She didn’t belittle the baby because she was making a mess. She didn’t pour out the whole container onto her tray. The baby would have been OVERWHELMED.

I love churches that are FILLED with “baby” Christians. People that come from all walks of life that have heard the good news of Jesus Christ. And their lives have been transformed, turned around, born again. So…They come to church EXPECTING to be FED good things. They come to church with hearts POUNDING with ANTICIPATION. They EAGERLY look at the Cheerio sized Scriptures given by the Pastor.

They DEVOUR each morsel like it’s a gift.
Drooling and messy lives, but they are learning to feed themselves.
Gently placed NEXT TO US ”mature”, “churchgoers”, “seasoned believers”.

Forgive us Father for expecting baby Christians to do things they are not ready for.
Forgive us for believing baby Christians need to learn mature things fast, using our special workbooks, courses, seminars and sermon series.
And we are disappointed when they don’t.
Forgive us for not wanting to listen to baby Christians whine.
Forgive us for condemning baby Christians for their messy lives.
Forgive us for looking down on the fact that baby Christians get OVERWHELMED if a entire container of heartache falls onto their tray called life.
Forgive us for not cheering on baby Christians and RELISH each step of their progress, And celebrate it with them. Cheering and clapping for them. Unembarrassed.

Thank you Jesus for Pastors who openly celebrate baby Christian growth. And let them testify in front of others of what God has done in their lives.
Thank you Jesus for Pastors who carefully deliver bite sized morsels of truth.
Thank you Jesus for Pastors who are so in tuned with the Holy Spirit, that they know EXACTLY what their people need to be FED.
Thank you Jesus for Pastors who patiently open Gods word multiple times and know exactly what AMOUNT to feed their people.
Thank You Jesus for Pastors who are not afraid to have their churches FILLED with messy, whiny, overwhelmed babies.

And for those of us that are “mature”…
We need to unstrap ourselves from our comfortable strollers
We need to allow the Holy Spirit to pick US up, outta that stroller that we have been gliding along in.
We need to climb up into His highchair and strap on the Power that God has given us
And ask Him to stick some baby Christians in front of our face.
Not just so we can teach them,
So THEY can teach US…
And we will squeal with delight. Once again.

PRAY FOR: July 10th Night of Praise and Prayer @ Our House
27853 Conestoga Dr. Rolling Hills Estates, (7-8:30pm)

PRAY FOR: Craig is calling potential donors to the campaign. If people give, the Republican party in Sacramento will match the contributions dollar for dollar. This race is targeted statewide and being watched by many. If Craig doesn’t win, then the Democrats will be able to pass all legislation without a Republican voice/vote. The people in California will no longer be able to vote on tax increases, they will just be passed. You will see things being taxed more than ever. You will also see regulations increase. You will also see parental rights being taken away. You will see agendas that are anti biblical being pushed onto an unsuspecting population. Ideological war has already entrenched itself in our state, and God fearing people have been marginalized. We need to reverse that trend. So please pray for financial resources to pour into this campaign.

PRAY FOR: Pastors here to encourage Christians to share their testimony.

Backyard Fire

By shellyhuey | Uncategorized , Victory Update

I first learned to BBQ on my own when I was a sophomore in college. I bought a little BBQ for twenty bucks that used charcoal. We lived in an apartment, so that BBQ got stuck outside on the back porch. My favorite part was DOUSING the charcoal with lighter fluid. My roommates knew I was about ready to BBQ when they would hear me yell, “you gotta come see this!” They would come bursting out of their rooms in anticipation of instantaneous combustion. I would throw a match on the fully covered briquettes and within seconds the entire BBQ was ENGULFED in flames. I Loved It! It was my own little CONTAINED display of power.

Once the flames subsided, my roommates thought it was hilarious to squirt more lighter fluid into the BBQ. This caused powerful and noticable eruptions of NEW fire. We were awed. Every time. It never got old. Thank God we had the COMMON SENSE to have the BBQ isolated in the middle of a cement patio. Safe. So figured out. Where nothing else would catch fire.

Today our BBQ is pretty hardcore compared to the one in my college days. It’s bigger, looks cooler, and has a bigger capacity for food. Plus it has features that make cooking SO EASY. It has a CONTINUAL SOURCE of fuel, a huge propane tank is ATTACHED to it. It also has electronic ignition, so QUICK and FAST. I can control the heat and the settings. But like my college days, I keep that BBQ outside, on the back porch.

We the Church have become like my BBQ today.
We the Church get to control the amount of heat on us.
We the Church get to control the settings of where we go and what we do.
We the Church sometimes pride ourselves in planting churches but stay isolated. Safe.

Maybe We the Church think that we are pretty hardcore after all. We have the big Churches, We have the cool venues, We have the cool technology, We have a bigger capacity for people. In fact, in our culture, most Churches have features that make following Jesus look SO EASY…so figured out. And the Holy Spirit gets stuck on the back porch of our lives. We are content with little CONTAINED displays of His power…only to be displayed in church, on Sundays.

When Jesus walked the earth, people yelled “you gotta come see this”.
When Jesus walked the earth, people burst out of their rooms in Anticipation of Instantaneous miracles.

Everywhere HE went. There were Powerful and noticeable eruptions of His healing fire. There were Powerful and noticeable eruptions of His deliverance. People were awed. Every time.

Oh Holy Spirit break through our COMMON SENSE.
Help us to see that You want to DOUSE us with a fresh NEW wind, fresh NEW fire.
Help us to see that You’re a CONTINUAL SOURCE of fuel and You are ATTACHED to our very being.
Help us to see that You are able to ignite us, QUICKLY and FAST.

Take us off the back porch. SET us where You want us. Turn the heat up. Take all the glory.

When this happens our culture will see that the Church is UNCONTAINED. Every day. Everywhere. ENGULFED in love for each other, the community, and the lost. And that never gets old.

PRAISE: Thanks Be to Our Almighty God for Victory on Tuesdays Primary Election!!! We are so humbled and blessed to be used by God in this way. We are grateful to the mighty prayer warriors like YOU.

COME CELEBRATE WITH US:
Join Craig and I as we rejoice over Gods grace shown to us. We will be having a NIGHT OF PRAISE and PRAYER Celebrating Our Great God

Who: You and your friends
Where: Our back porch! 27853 Conestoga Dr. Rolling Hills Estates
When: Tuesday, July 10, 2012 (7pm-8:30pm)

PRAY FOR: We have lots of upcoming strategy sessions and staff planning. We need direction and vision and resources. We are up against a well funded opponent that has incredible financial support coming from unions, special interest groups and lobbyists.

PRAY FOR: Shelly as she is battling health issues. She was recently diagnosed with lupus. Specifically she needs strength, focus and energy.

PRAY FOR: God to continue to be glorified in this campaign. We want to be able to rally local pastors, churches and Christians and encourage thousands of Christians to vote their values in November.