Power of a Moment

This week as I was reflecting on the recent changes in our life, the new paths we have made, people we have met...it struck me that each moment now must be intentional...we are in a battle for souls. I turned on my iTunes and this was the song that played by Chris Rice:

 

The Power of a Moment

 

What am I gonna be when I grow up?

How am I gonna make my mark in history?

And what are they gonna write about me when I'm gone?

These are the questions that shape the way I think about what matters
 

But I have no guarantee of my next heartbeat

And my world's too big to make a name for myself

And what if no one wants to read about me when I'm gone?

Seems to me that right now's the only moment that matters

You know the number of my days

So come paint Your pictures on the canvas in my head

And come write Your wisdom on my heart

And teach me the power of a moment

The power of a moment, the power of a moment, yeah

In Your kingdom where the least is greatest

Weak are given strength and fools confound the wise

And forever brushes up against a moment's time

Leaving impressions and drawing me into what really matters

You know the number of my days

So come paint Your pictures on the canvas in my head

And come write Your wisdom on my heart

And teach me the power of a moment

The power of a moment, the power of a moment, yeah

I get so distracted by my bigger schemes

Show me the importance of the simple things

Like a word, a seed, a thorn, a nail and a cup of cold water

You know the number of my days

So come paint Your pictures on the canvas in my head

And come write Your wisdom on my heart

And teach me the power of a momentThe power of a moment, the power of moment

You know the number of my days

So come paint Your pictures on the canvas in my head

And come write Your wisdom on my heart

And teach me the power of a moment

The power of a moment, the power of

The power of, the power of a moment, yeah


Psalm 90:12 "So teach us to number our days, That we may gain a heart of wisdom."

A Week in the Life of a Neighborhood Ambassador

Living in a Challenge House brings with it the title of Neighborhood Ambassador.

According to the 1828 Noah Webster dictionary an ambassador or as they spell it embassador is:

embassador EMBAS'SADOR, n. 1. A minister of the highest rank employed by one prince or state, at the court of another, to manage the public concerns of his own prince or state, and representing the power and dignity of his sovereign. Embassadors are ordinary, when they reside permanently at a foreign court; or extraordinary, when they are sent on a special occasion. They are also called ministers. Envoys are ministers employed on special occasions, and are of less dignity. 2. In ludicrous language, a messenger.

So, I guess it is fitting title,  considering we reside permanently in our neighborhood and try to manage and minister to concerns of our neighborhood...just ordinary people.
Many have asked what it is like to live as a neighborhood ambassador, this is a glimpse  of one week in our house:

Friday night

• Neighborhood ambassador monthly meeting at another Challenge House - fellowship, devotional, food, and fun.

Saturday

• Meetings at church to meet our prospective pastor
• Attend a friend's birthday party
• Game time at our house with friends.
• Visit from neighborhood friend

Sunday

• Teach 1st grade Sunday School
• Attend church service
• Lunch with friends
• Naps
• Church again - our church voted in the new pastor...great day for our church.

Monday

• Homeschooling day
• Workday for Ellen
• Men's accountability at Challenge House 1
• Visit from our neighborhood friend

Tuesday

• Homeschooling day
• Workday for Ellen
• Ellen, along with Brad from Challenge House 3, and Toni Riley a Challenge House volunteer attend the weekly Rotary Club meeting to talk about Challenge House! It is always a blessing to share our ministry with others!
• Tutoring for Holiday Elementary the house is filled with students and volunteers...students work on their spelling words, math, and reading time.
• Visit from neighborhood friend
• Ellen has a game night at a friends house

Wednesday

• Homeschooling day
• Workday for Ellen
• Wednesday night church

Thursday

• Homeschooling day
• Workday for Ellen
• I (Ellen) go to the grocery and to pick up dinner, the weather is gorgeous in January, so as I enter the neighborhood, I hears a man and woman on the phone trying to get help...they have ran out of gas, no money, trying to walk home. I pick them up and drops groceries and food at home, then drive them to where to pick some things up and back to the neighborhood.
• Friend from the neighborhood comes by and is struggling in Geometry, pull out a laptop and review some Khan academy videos and go over his Geometry with him - what a delight to see him working through the problems and showing confidence in his work!

Friday

• Homeschooling day
• Workday for Ellen
• Visit from a neighborhood friend - he turned in his Geometry homework! Loved hearing him tell about his teachers reaction when he turned in his work today!
• Game night with family and friends

As you can see we live a pretty regular life, but it is sprinkled with lots of blessings of time fellowship and service with friends and neighbors. We are not any more busy than we were at our old home, just a different busy.

A Very Important Lesson

As school returns to session the sounds of the school bus returning the children home for the day echo outside my window. As I listen they remind me of a lesson taught to me by a very wise lady...

...two ladies and a small office, left little in regards to privacy; phone calls by either person, although not intentionally, were heard by both. For months I sat next to Ms. Dorris and listened everyday, just like clockwork the phone would ring and after saying hello, she would ask the same question...everyday...

 

"Did You Make Wise Choices Today?"
 

You see, Ms. Dorris had two daughters and everyday they would walk home from school. On the way home they would call their mother to check in and have a "safety-line" until they were snug within their home. Everyday, I listened to the same question and then after about 6 months it was as if I heard her say the question for the first time:

"Did You Make Wise Choices Today?"

 

It struck me, she did not ask... Did you behave today? Were you good at school today? Then I reflected on what I ask my kids when I am away from them...do I ask about their choices or do I ask about actions in a way that implies that their behavior is controlled by a toss up good/bad, behaving/misbehaving?

Then I began to reflect on my personal life...unachieved goals, times I lacked self-control...do I attribute my actions and the results to choices or to whim?

Life is full of choices everyday, they begin as soon as we begin to wake up...

• The alarm clock sounds - hit snooze/get up - what are the risks/consequences
• It's time for breakfast - sugary donut/bacon and eggs - what are the risks/consequences
• The work day begins - am I joyful/am I disgruntled - what are the risks/consequences

Throughout the day we go through this process of cause and effect, risk and consequence, almost subconsciously...to the point we no longer stop to think through these actions as choices. Our choices, or should we say whims, continue to pile up as we move through the day...

 

....here is the clincher, whether we decide to stop and think through our choices or just act with no thought on a whim...the consequences do not change. We can blame it on a behavior, circumstance, or all kinds of external influences, but the fact remains...if we hit snooze, ate a sugary donut, show up to work disgruntled and then receive a corrective action...the consequence is not washed away by the excuse of a whim or loss of attention.

Perhaps I am quite slow to learn this lesson so late in life, but since that day, the question Ms. Dorris taught me to stop and consider is never far from my mind:

"Did You Make Wise Choices Today?"

 

So how do you go through life - choices or whims? Would looking at your moments in life as choices to be made change your perspective on your responsibility and role in what happens?

Proverbs 18:21
Words kill, words give life; they’re either poison or fruit—you choose.
 

Proverbs 16:16
Get wisdom—it’s worth more than money; choose insight over income every time.

Joshua 24:15
And if it seems evil to you to serve the LORD, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve,

Job 34:4
Let us choose justice for ourselves; Let us know among ourselves what is good.

Proverbs 12:26
The righteous should choose his friends carefully, For the way of the wicked leads them astray.