So proud of the Monkey King Louie and the Elephant that performed the Jungle Book Jr. this weekend! They put in two weeks and 80 hours of hard work to get this play together and they did an amazing job!
This has been a great weekend of witnessing family and friends share their God blessed talents. This morning I had the privilege of visiting a high school friend’s church located the next town over from where I live! He and I both have been living in the Kingwood/Humble area and he has been Pastor of St. Luke Missionary Baptist Church for nine years and yet we never knew we were both in this close proximity till I attended my high school reunion a few weekends ago. Rev. Timothy Sloan (I knew him simply as Tim back in the day) is an anointed man of God. Before I left to attend one of their three Sunday services I prayed that God would speak to me in the message that Pastor Sloan would deliver. Knowing that I get the increased blessing of attending Mass this evening I asked God to overflow with His message and grace today.
God is so faithful. I was apprehensive to attend St. Luke’s simply due to the fact I would definitely be the minority and even though that is no issue with me ( I do love to dance and sing my praise! 😉 ) no one likes to be the ‘odd ball’. There was no need to fear, however, when Tim’s wife Sonya plucked me from my seat and hugged me as if she’d known me all her life taking me by the hand and took me to a seat by her. The choir was in full force praise and we were up on our feet, clapping, singing and I was offering my own personal praise for a small taste of what I’ve been missing at the Steubenville conferences here at home. Visitors were welcomed and I got to see my friend after 20 years for the first time and he has not changed in appearance one bit, lucky man. Then the youth came into the room and their angelic voices filled the room with praise. The Ministry of Expressions (a group of teen mime’s) did a performance to a song I’d never heard but the beauty of the words were magnified in their wordless performance of Christ being REVEALED through each one of us, it was a sight to be seen. Then we had the Proclamation of God’s Word from Exodus 17:5-6:
The LORD answered Moses, “Go over there in front of the people, along with
some of the elders of Israel, holding in your hand, as you go, the staff with
which you struck the river.6 I will be standing there in front of you on the rock in Horeb. Strike the
rock, and the water will flow from it for the people to drink.” This Moses did,
in the presence of the elders of Israel.7
Pastor Sloan proceeded to deliver the message of Transition.
There are three steps to transition (I’ll paraphrase with my highlighted notes): ending – neutral zone – new beginning.
It is in the neutral zone we find the challenge because often we are too afraid to let go of the past and what was comfortable in order to move forward. (Remember, I’m giving you what I got out of what He was saying…he was much more fervent and spot on than I can give justice through my notes. But two minutes into his message and I was seeing God’s face in front of mine and I could hear Him say LISTEN.)
Pastor Sloan said sometimes we get so caught up in the small drama’s of the neutral zone we put more of our focus on them than getting on with what God intends for us to do in the new beginning. ‘Don’t make the small things bigger drama’s.’ He went on to talk about the excuses we place on everyone and everything else around us that keeps us from moving forward. ‘If he wouldn’t have done this, or if she wouldn’t have said that, or if they wouldn’t have treated me this way, etc etc’ If it’s always someone else, he says, then the only common denominator is YOU!’
He went on to say that it might not be the drama’s but the constraint of what used to be. It is hard to let go of the past and the comfort zone in order to launch ourselves into the future. But GOD WILL SEND PEOPLE TO SUPPORT YOU. I needed to hear this promise today. I am in that neutral zone feeling as if I can see where I need to be in that ‘new beginning’ but ‘wistful’ to let go of what was comfortable in my past. However, I do know it is time and I do believe God has said ‘it is time to move forward’ and there is a great amount of excitement to see what He has in store in the ‘new beginning’ but the vulnerability has had me paralyzed.
So with the Gospel reading and the Pastor’s message God is telling me “I have given you your ‘staff’ (in essence you have seen the power in where I’ve brought you thus far) now pick it up and show it to the people I WILL BE STANDING THERE IN FRONT OF YOU where ever you go.” As Pastor Timothy Sloan said in closing, “God is already where you need Him.”
Amen my friend. 🙂
Blessings
Shannon