We will remember...

9/11... a date, just like any other.  But now it no longer is just a date.  It now evokes intense emotion. We have all been affected by it, everything that we do has been changed because of September 11, 2001.  I remember that day.  I was a junior in high school, sitting in study hall.  We heard the announcement over the loud speaker that something was going on but it was very uncertain as to what exactly.  We turned on the news and were watching as the second plane hit the towers and we all realized it was more than just an accident.  Then we watched as the towers collapsed.  We were all shocked and dismayed, uncertain what to think and how to feel.  As the day went on, the shock continued to grow as the details came out.  We learned about the Pentagon, and then realized that some of us knew people that worked at the Pentagon and who hadn't been heard from.
We have all remembered where we were, and what we were doing and how we felt when reality sunk in about that day.  That's not really what I want to discuss.  Our reaction as a nation after September 11 was natural.  "We will rebuild, they will not break our spirit, we will come back stronger."  Unfortunately, this was not the reaction that we needed to have.  This event was designed to bring us as a nation to our knees before a benevolent and merciful but just Heavenly Father.  But our response was one of self sufficiency.  We stated over and over again by our actions that we don't need God, even while saying "God bless America".  We felt compelled to prove that we could overcome our enemy, without realizing that our sins were the only enemy we needed to overcome and we couldn't do that alone.
Today, as I was walking to work I passed by a memorial service(there are some pictures below).  It was a service to remember the people that lived in the city of Elizabeth that were killed in the attack.  The entire police force and fire department of the city were there, as well as different members of the city government.  I stayed for about 15 minutes, and it was very nice.  There were many words of remembrance, and there was even a 21 gun salute.  As someone spoke about the people that were lost, yet again there were words of we will be strong we will remember.  As he spoke tears began to stream down my face.  I wasn't the only one crying this morning, but I think my reasons were different.  I was crying not because of my loss, but because of the words that were spoken.
I understand that it's different up here, and that the people here in Elizabeth and others in this area have felt the loss of September 11th in a way that I could never imagine.  This doesn't change where we are headed as a nation.  We have been given opportunity after opportunity to change our ways, to turn back to the God this nation was founded on.  Many people like to teach false history and change the truth, but the truth remains the same, we were a nation founded by people who loved God and even though they may have had their issues, I believe they were men of God.  George Washington even stated in his inaugural address "Since we ought to be no less persuaded that the propitious smiles of Heaven, can never be expected on a nation that disregards the eternal rules of order and right, which Heaven itself has ordained".  Basically he said that we have to know that God's smile would not remain on a nation that turned from His laws and ways.  
We are that nation.  We have turned from God and his ways.  Back in the 60s we told our children it wasn't okay to pray in school, in the 70's we decided to start sacrificing our children on the altar of our convenience and way of life, and to limit the risk of being wordy, I will skip the subsequent decades and skip to a few months ago, when we as a nation decided that same sex marriage was acceptable.  The thing is, it's not just the world that had decided to turn from God's ways. The CHURCH, the body of Christ as decided to turn from His ways.  It seems like every day I am hearing of a new instance of a church leader or institution stating that God's Word is untrue, or at the very least that we don't have to live by it.  And this is the truly heartbreaking thing for me.  We can expect the world to live by their own rules, but we as the church should be living by the ways of the Lord. My heart breaks when I think of how far we have fallen from the Truth.  
But there is good news, because God's Word says "if my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sins and heal their land."  God is saying that our whole nation doesn't need to change, but we as the body of Christ needs to turn back to Him, and God will handle the nation.  But the warning also is there, if we do not humble ourselves, we will be humbled.
This is my prayer this 14th year anniversary of September 11, 2001:  That God will move on His people's hearts.  That the people of God will rise up, kneel down, and turn back to the Truth.  We have for too long joined in with the world around us and lived our lives as if the Word of God didn't matter or didn't apply to our lives. 

As always feel free to contact me: crucibleandcrown@gmail.com

BBQ, Baptisms and Babysitting

Every now and then, something so incredible comes along and amazes me.  StreetLight Mission (and the people that are a part of it) has been one of those things for me. It's so easy to get caught up in what it/they/God are teaching me that I forget to look at the amazingly fun times that we have together.
A few weeks ago, we went to a house with a pool, and had a BBQ.  We as a church are a family.  The good, the bad and the ugly.  Is it easy? No.  We are all humans and we all have our issues, and sometimes, maybe a lot of times, we are trying to work our issues out, and that means that we rub our rough edges against each other.  But regardless we are family and we had a lot of fun at this BBQ. Everyone brought food, which is ALWAYS a great thing, because we have a variety of amazing cooks at the church.
In the midst of the fun, the food, the swimming, the pastors did a teaching on baptism, and we had a number of people that gave their hearts to the Lord.  It was such a beautiful sight sitting on the side of the pool and watching people praying and asking Jesus to be the Lord and Savior of their life.  Then to follow up, there were somewhere between 10 and 15 people who were baptized.  I can't explain in words the feeling that over came me as I looked around at the people that have become family.  As God has showed me, we are a team.  We are meant to work together in this crazy life, in this crazy world, and in this crazy city to make a difference.  I have seen some of the same people that have come to the Mission for help get the help they need, and then turn around and go back out to the street to bring others in.
Probably one of the most amazing and fun things I get to be a part of is babysitting.  Last weekend, I took an 11 year old girl, who is the foster child of some dear friends of mine.  She and I went to the Jersey Shore.  It was my first time to the Jersey Shore, and both of our first times at Seaside Heights. We took some old tyme photos, played some games, rode some rides, well she rode some rides, I videoed, and to top the experience off, we had Italian ice and french fries for dinner.  They were probably the best french fries I've ever had.  We joked, we laughed, and we learned.
There are these moments when I realize just how much that God is using me.  And I don't say that in pride.  I am humbled at how that God has taken this broken, screwed up woman and placed me in the perfect place to touch people's lives.  And the great thing is I get to have fun doing it!  I believe God wants this for each of us.  Life is hard, life can be sad, but life is beautiful.  With all its ups and downs, its laughter and tears, its positives and negatives, it's beautiful.  I have been accused of being able to find beauty in anything, and I can't deny that to be true.
I will leave  you with this thought/question and I would love to hear your responses either here, on Facebook, or to my email crucibleandcrown@gmail.com:  How is God using you and what beauty can you find in your daily lives?