I am spending this week in Tegucigalpa, Honduras with a team from Cross Point. We partner with an awesome organization in Honduras called Mission Lazarus whose mission is to be “a holistic ministry that focuses on basic primary education, skill development, health education and treatment, agricultural development, and preaching and teaching the Word of God.” We’ll be conducting a medical, dental and eye clinic in the village of Duyure and delivering food to remote areas of the countryside.

As internet connection is spotty at best, things will be pretty quiet here on my blog this week. Our team would definitely appreciate your prayers as we try to live out Christ’s love and be His hands and feet to the precious people here in Honduras!

It’s been awhile since I’ve been able to do a Fabulous Friday post.   Here’s what’s going on…

• Made banana bread this morning and let Mick lick the beaters.  He officially has a fetish for bananas now.
• It was perfectly overcast for my 5 mile run this morning
• I wrote this post this week at Gifted for Leadership.  Any of you who know me and read it will exclaim that I don’t follow my own advice.  I know… I’m working on it.   By the way, isn’t GFL‘s new look great?
• Finalized my plans to attend the She Speaks Conference.  I had the privilege of meeting Lysa at Catalyst Dallas… amazing lady!
• Getting ready to tackle some home improvements this weekend.  Bring on the power tools!
• I haven’t played tennis in months… I miss it.
• Prepping for next weekend’s retreat with the girls from Stretch.  I can’t wait to get to know these ladies better!
• Thinking about seeing the movie “Midnight in Paris” tonight.  Has anyone seen it?

What are you looking forward to this weekend?

Oh, and by the way… I’m thinking of freshening up the list of blogs in my Google reader.  What must-read blogs do you suggest?

Fridays are seriously my favorite day of the week.  I work from home on Fridays and my introvert thrives on this alone time!  An entire day that I can get lost in reading, writing, emails and project planning.  I also usually throw in a long run to give me some space for thinking and dreaming.  A day to myself is seriously heaven.

Anyone else relate to that?

So anyway, here are a couple of things that I wanted to share with you all today:

1) The Cultivate Her team and I are working on some brilliant plans for 2011 and if you are a woman in ministry and/or leadership, we’d love to get your feedback.  Would you mind taking a quick second and responding to this poll?

2) I’ve got a giveaway for you all this week!

Thanks to my friends at INO Records I’m giving away 5 copies of the The Afters new album Light Up the Sky.

Here’s how to enter to win:

Leave a comment telling me what you like, dislike or think could be improved or expanded on my new blog.  (I hope you noticed the redesign!!  Big thanks to Kyle Reed!) Feel free to give design advice, but I’m most interested in what kind of content you would like to see.

Happy Fabulous Friday!

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received one or more of the products or services mentioned above for free in the hope that I would mention it on my blog. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Yesterday we continued our series “People of the Second Chance” and Justin spoke about the elder brother in the story from Luke 15.  I knew this one was going to get me because I have a tendency to be more like the elder brother rather than the prodigal son.  Prepare to say “ouch” a few times.  This was a good one!

The Elder Brother by Justin Davis

Collision of radical grace and bureacratic religion.

Luke 15:1-2, 25-32

Elder brothers equate religious activity with spiritual transformation.

We wrestle with the tension of: Doing things for God vs. Knowing God personally

The Elder Brother Syndrome:

Elder brothers live with a sense of obligation.  “I have to.”

You are doing all these things and you feel no closer to God.  God doesn’t want your dutiful obedience, He wants you to follow Him out of a loving response to who He is.

Elder brothers have an attitude of entitlement.  “You owe me.”

When you serve out of obligation, you begin to assume the attitude that God owes you.

Entitlement says “why them and not me?”

When you live with a sense of entitlement you begin to crave a relationship with God for what He can do for you rather than for who He is.

Elder brothers feel superior by being judgmental.  “I’m better than you”

We tend to be the most judgmental of other people for the sins that we personally struggle with the most.

The goal of the judgmental heart isn’t to reflect the heart of the Father, it’s to look better than others.

Elder brothers harbor unresolved resentment.  “You’re unforgivable”

The Antidote for the Elder Brother Syndrome is brokenness.

Brokenness is relying on God’s grace and living in that feeling every day.

Prodigals realize their need for grace and receive it.

Elder brothers have forgotten their need for grace and second chances.

************************

Do you see yourself in the Elder brother?

Which do you struggle with more:

• A sense of obligation?
• An attitude of entitlement?
• Being judgmental?
• Unresolved resentment?

In ONE word…

How do you feel about the new healthcare bill.

I’m excited to announce the winners of my little giveaway this week!

Thanks to my friend Rachel over at INO Records, these five fabulous folks win a copy of Sara Groves’ new CD “Fireflies and Songs”:

GritandGlory

Jessi

Linnae

Kori

Amart62

Hope you guys enjoy!

**Please email your mailing address to me at jenni@crosspoint.tv.

It’s been a long time since we’ve given anything away around here… too long!

So today, for anyone who leaves a comment you’ll be entered to win 1 of 5 copies of:

Sara Groves‘ newest album “Fireflies & Songs”

I’ve been living with this album for a couple of weeks now and it just keeps getting better.  I love those kind of albums where the more time you spend with them, the more layers you uncover and the more deeply you appreciate them.  That’s what I love about Sara’s artistry.

So leave a comment, tell me what album you are currently living with and loving… and I’ll enter you into the drawing to win a copy of “Fireflies & Songs”.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received one or more of the products or services mentioned above for free in the hope that I would mention it on my blog. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Pursuing Financial Wisdom by Pete Wilson

People who don’t have wisdom usually don’t know they don’t have it.

Proverbs…

• Reminds us that sin is stupid.
• Gives us a vision of the good life.

3 Questions to Ponder About Your Money:

1) Do you see your money as a tool to bless others?

Proverbs 14:31

Proverbs 11:24-25

1 Chronicles 29:10-16

Are we honoring God with everything we’ve been blessed with?

Proverbs 3:9

2) Do you find your identity in your money?

Proverbs 10:7

We are playing dress up with our money.  We’re buying stuff we don’t need to get stuff we don’t have to impress people we don’t even like.

Proverbs 22:7

Proverbs 25:28

By not exercising control, you’re giving control to the enemy.  You are becoming a slave.

Being in debt affects your ability to give.

“You can’t give to people in need because you bought stuff you don’t need.”  Andy Stanley

3) Do you find your safety in your money?

Proverbs 18:10-11

We can be responsible with our money and still define our safety by our money rather than by God.

How much is enough?

“Enough will never be enough unless you determine how much is enough.”  Mark Batterson

Rather than your life being about how much money you can make, make it about how much money you can give?

Set giving goals rather than getting goals.

Proverbs 10:3

Our money issues always come back to trust issues.

These questions will reveal who or what you actually trust in your life.

Which question do you wrestle with the most?

I’ll go first… for me it’s #3.  I tend to find safety in having money.  I’m really taking Pete’s challenge to heart to determine how much is enough and to set giving goals rather than getting goals.

Ok, your turn!

C H I C A G O!

Something about that skyline just makes me smile.  I love big cities.  The energy, congestion, never-rest intensity and culture of big cities inspires me.

But big cities also overwhelm me… the sheer number of searching souls, the people you pass by on the street corners, the eccentric individual on the subway, the single mom juggling two jobs and three children, the student waiting tables and scraping by to get through college, the young professional trying to have it all, the business man driving in at the crack of dawn and arriving home after the kids are in bed… the rat race and the hustle & bustle quickly becomes overwhelming.

Lost, searching souls desperate for HOPE…

That’s why I’m so excited about Soul City Church.

My friends Jarrett & Jeanne Stevens are taking a massive leap of faith to launch Soul City Church in Chicago Spring 2010.  I’m a huge fan of the theory that “new churches reach new people” and I really believe that Jarrett & Jeanne are responding to God’s calling on their life to create a community that will reach this city in a powerful way.

So here’s the deal…

We can help!  A step of faith of this magnitude requires a lot.  A lot of time, a lot of leadership, a lot of resources, a lot of prayer.  Jarrett & Jeanne are amazing leaders and I know that they are investing all of these “a lots” in a big way.

But I would like to ask you guys to consider how you can help.

The Soul City team have launched the campaign “Year End Is Our Start” and they are raising the resources to help launch Soul City.  We’ve been asked to specifically help contribute to the Creative Workspace for their team.

The need for that project is $6,000.

Will you consider being a part of this?

I rarely ask and I wouldn’t ask if I didn’t completely believe in this vision.

Pop on over to YEARENDSTART.COM to be a part!

You can also hear more from Jarrett & Jeanne here:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IIU-dsGfJJ8&feature=player_embedded[/youtube]

Follow the Soul City Story at:

SoulCityChurch.com

SoulCityBlog.com

I have a recurring dream…

I dream that I am crossing the English Channel on a crazy stunt-filled, adrenaline jolting, Ninja warrior-type obstacle course.  Yeah, I’m flying through the air with the greatest of ease.

It’s always pretty funny when I wake up, but in the dream it’s the most intense, nerve-racking thing I’ve experienced.

Why I’m not crossing by boat?  I have no idea.  Why the English channel?  Not sure except that I love England so that has to have something to do with it.  This dream is incredibly vivid and the obstacle course is always exactly the same.

In fact, when I was a kid my recurring dream was me crossing the Wisconsin River on a gigantic set of monkey bars.  Apparently my choice in bodies of water has improved and I’ve become a little more adventurous in my stunting.

Oh, and by the way… I always make it across

So, for some random fun, what’s your craziest recurring dream?