You have Permission. By Tim Schrader

You have permission.

You have permission to try new things.

You have permission to explore new ideas.

You have permission to stretch your thinking.

You have permission to make mistakes.

You have permission to fail.

You have permission to do what others said wasn’t possible, or to at least to try and prove them wrong.

You have permission to push the boundaries.

You have permission to think outside of the box. Heck, blow up the box.

You have permission to color outside of the lines.

You have permission to not settle for second best.

Why?

Because God has gifted you.

Because God has qualified you.

Because God has already given you everything you already need.

Because God has called you.

Because God has chosen you.

Because if you don’t no one else will.

Because the world desperately needs what God has put inside of you.

Because the world won’t be the same without the unique contributions you have to offer.

Because if you don’t try and fail you’ll never learn.

Because if you don’t learn you won’t grow.

Because you don’t need to wait for permission to live out what God has called you to do.

You have permission to start that project.

You have permission to write that blog post.

You have permission to create that video.

You have permission to paint on that canvas.

You have permission to create something awe-inspiring.

You have permission to be honest and let people see your scars because they will point to your Healer.

You have permission to help the world catch a glimpse of God’s wonder.

You have permission to take your brokenness and let God make something beautiful from it.

You have permission to do the impossible because with God all things are possible.

If it’s something worth doing why haven’t you started yet?

You have permission.

http://www.timschraeder.com/2011/08/30/you-have-permission/

TIM SCHRAEDER

Tim Schraeder - who has written 515 posts on TimSchraeder.com.

Tim Schraeder is passionately committed to helping churches effectively communicate the message of the Gospel in a way that’s relevant to our ever-changing culture. He’s served churches as a communications director for over a decade, most recently serving on staff at Park Community Church. Today, he serves the Church as a part of the team at Church Solutions Group and as the co-director of the Center for Church Communication. He’s the creator and general editor of Outspoken: Conversations on Church Communication, a field guide for church communication leaders. Tim lives in downtown Chicago where he can be found in any neighborhood coffeeshop that has a good wifi signal. 

The Presence of God @ the Grill

I have been a Worship Leader for the past 13 years.  I love my calling!  In that time, I rarely have had multiple weekends where I have been off the stage or not working on the weekend. I figured out there was a 4 year period where I was on the stage 202 weekends. Can you say "Burnout"?  At the beginning of this year I decided (after a 12 month period of establishing and building teams at my new church) I would be off the stage one week a month. Knowing this would put pressure on our teams we prepared for the move for several months prior. This was a practice made possible and encouraged by the Elders and Senior Pastor of the Church. It has been a gift to my soul. My capacity as a leader has increased. Sensitivity to God's voice has increased. My team is growing under the healthy added pressure and opportunities.

 This summer from the beginning of July through the end of August, I was off four times for vacation and a mission trip. The first three weeks I took in a row. I loved the time off, but to be transparent, the old "baptist duty guilt" I grew up with kicked in at times trying to rob me of my needed rest. I know, I know...I need counseling. The real tough one was this past week. I had only been back two weeks and my monthly week off rolled around. My temptation was to give in and do it anyway. But I didn't. So yesterday I spent the day with family and friends in and around the pool. We cooked burgers and listened to country music. About half way through the day as I was watching the ground chuck sizzling on the grill, God showed up in a special way in my soul. I could hear Him speaking louder than I have in a long time. It was all I could do to hold back the tears.  Today has been a normal day in the office; Budgets, two 2 hour creative meetings, task lists, emails, and phone calls, 3 adhoc hallway meetings.  But I was more present and more importantly I sensed more of God's Presence. 

Does God have a Big Ego?

I have heard it said that worship is all about God. 

But why does God want us to worship Him? 

One answer might be...

"Because He tells us to"

       Which leads to another question? 

           "So why would God want us to worship Him?"

    "Does he have a big ego?"

         "Does he need it?"

              "Is He insecure?"

"If God is Omnipotent, full of glory, completely and utterly sustained by his own being and essence, certainly worthy, why does he need or want more glory from us?

I believe the answer to that question is rooted deeply in the question, 

"Who are we and what is our purpose for being here?"  While God is clearly to be the focus of our adoration, there is clearly a plan behind placing that purpose within the heart of humanity. The Bible tells us that in the beginning human existence itself was all about God. God's glory, to some degree, was expressed and even shared by God with his image bearing creation. 

Is there anything that brings the Creator more glory than seeing His most prized creation reflecting his glory, his essence, his character, his nature. When I see my children living out the values and character that I instilled in them, it is nothing less than glorious. 

The Bible paints a clear picture that restoring God's image within humanity is central to the movement of the restoration of all things made possible through the death and resurrection of Jesus. Jesus even says that he has shared his glory with his followers that they might experience the same union that he and his Father share. 

That they may reflect his image and likeness once again. 

Can you hear the Word, that was in the beginning? 

The Word that SPOKE us into existence to live and love and carry the image and essence of the Triune God. 

He wants us to rediscover our purpose.

He has not given up on us.

God so loves the world....he longs for his glory to be restored within us. 

Listen to Paul in 2 Cor  3:16-18

     

     But when one turns to the Lord, the veil is removed. Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where 

     the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the 

     glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory 

     to another.

THIS IS THE REASON FOR WORSHIP!

As we gaze upon and admire God's Glory, His Character, His Nature, His Attributes,

God restores his image in us.

So worship IS all about God that He might in turn share his glory with us. Wow Humbling! 

Northbrook Christmas Stage 2010

A Cartoon By My Son Reese!

                 There has to be a metaphor in here!

The NorthPoint Story - Amazing!

Sparrows, Leaves and Kicking a Ball

So things have been a little crazy around the Stelow house. School is in full swing and we have our own little version of chaotic project management. Then there is all these projects at work. Then there are the bills and the expectations people have for me, dwarfed only by the ones I have for myself… I  really could continue for another paragraph or two, but you get the picture. Life gets filled with so many things to do that I can forget to stop and enjoy those things that make life worth living. Yesterday I made myself stop. I took a half an hour and just sat in an old rickety swing we have in our yard. I tried not to think about stuff and just enjoy the beauty of the day. It was tough at first but soon the sparrows and rustling fall leaves had my attention and began to share their counsel. Then I grabbed an old flat volleyball, that had seen its better days, and yelled over to my two youngest boys, “hey I bet you can’t steal this ball away from me”. Like a couple of Labrador Retrievers chasing a stick, those boys sprung into action and for the next 45 minutes I went to “kicking a ball” therapy.  I think God smiles when we kick the ball and swing on old rickety swings. Because it brings depth to our heart of thankfulness and reminds us that life is suppose to be about life. My heart to worship God is released when my spirit is in alignment with His. For me, sometimes that alignment comes from hearing a sermon or worship song and other times it comes from sparrows, leaves and kicking a ball.

Great Stuff by Francis Chan

On the Shelf

Growing up we had a closet in our garage filled with things like old paint cans and tools and pretty much anything my mom and dad would use to fix and beautify our home. I loved getting into that closet when I was a kid. I remember one day on one of my explorations, I found an old package of flowers seeds that were tucked away inside some antique flower pots. I ran in and showed them to my mom begging her to let me plant them. When she saw the package of seeds she said. “Wow, I bought these seeds a long time ago. I guess we can still plant them. and see what happens” So we cleared out a little place in our front yard flower bed and within a few weeks we had about 30 new beautiful flowers gracing our front walk way.

Sometimes my life is like that old closet. I have life giving seeds with the potential for beautiful things sitting on the shelves of my life, yet I am often satisfied with simple feelings of empathy (intellectual identification with). I hear about injustice, tears fill my eyes and I say “That’s not right, something should be done,” and more often than not, those thoughts sit on the shelf of my heart like unused seeds. I want my life to be about the beauty and restorative flow of God’s goodness. Lately, I am asking God to help me reorient my life for goodness. I am asking how much TV service do I really need? How many cups of ice tea do I buy at Panera? How cool or warm do I really need it to be in our house? Could I take that money and sponsor a child or help build a home or a well or help rescue someone in slavery? How many evenings a month could I lead my family into a life of purpose and compassion, helping others? God is in the business of making beautiful things out of the dust and we get to join him in these selfless acts of love.

Isaiah 58:6-10 NLT

“…this is the kind of fasting I want:

Free those who are wrongly imprisoned;

lighten the burden of those who work for you.

Let the oppressed go free, and remove the chains that bind people.

Share your food with the hungry, and give shelter to the homeless.

Give clothes to those who need them, and do not hide from relatives who need your help.

“Then your salvation will come like the dawn, and your wounds will quickly heal.

Your godliness will lead you forward, and the glory of the Lord will protect you from behind.

Then when you call, the Lord will answer.

‘Yes, I am here,’ he will quickly reply.

“Remove the heavy yoke of oppression.

Stop pointing your finger and spreading vicious rumors!

Feed the hungry, and help those in trouble.

Then your light will shine out from the darkness,

and the darkness around you will be as bright as noon.”

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Little Act of Love

If you have ever been in my office you will notice some special little gifts my children leave for me. Among the empty candy wrappers, random drawings and other signs of munchkin life. They often write me little notes. They write them on the dry erase board. They leave post-it notes every where. Sometimes they find a way to leave them on my computer screen. Sometimes they say " I love you Daddy" Sometimes they say "Good Morning Daddy".   Sometime they remind me to bring them home a treat.

I love those notes! They make my day! They make me smile. Those little, sweet, yummy acts of love make me want to get home as fast as I can to be with my little rugrats!

Why they do they mean so much?

Is it the words they use?

Is it the proper spelling or how neatly or eloquently they wrote the note?

No. It's Because they didn't have to, but they did!

The fact that they made the effort, that they were thinking about me at all makes my heart warm.

I wonder if God likes getting those little acts of love from his kids just like I enjoy getting them from mine.

Sometimes I think I make  prayer and worship so "religious sounding" and so serious that I forget how much he just loves hearing from me.

It's so easy to miss the simplicity of prayer and love and worship.

As I write these words I sense him reminding me that he is my Papa and that He just likes hearing from me.

He doesn't have to be that way, He just is!

"...you have received the spirit of God’s adopted children by which we call out, “Abba! Father!”" Romans 8:15

Innocent Prayers from Northbrook Church on Vimeo.