i just wrote this in an email to deborah donaldson – my lead treehouse volunteer in the children’s ministry at our white house campus. “it is such a blessing to know that the details are being minded with someone that sees through “eternal-picture” lenses.”

that got me thinking. am i keeping on my eternal-picture glasses each day?

when i am writing a script – am i thinking eternally?

when i am choosing a song or figuring out how to get slides up or projectors to work – am i thinking eternally?

when i am talking to anyone… at anytime… about anything… am i wearing the right lenses? am i thinking about the eternal impact, or lack thereof, that i am making, or not making?

you see… the coolest thing about doing things for a church, or a ministry is that there is an automatic default in place that should gear everything toward eternal value… however, when i take off the “treehouse” hat – when i’m just hanging out with my kids, or meeting new people, or shopping at target… do i have an eternal focus? am i aware that everything i do or say has the potential to turn people to or turn people away from the one true God.

i will contend that God will do his will. He will do what he so desires. the real question is whether or not I will be part of it, allow myself to be used for his glory. am i making choices that are worthy of the one who Saved me from myself?

what about you? do you have an eternal-focused lens in place which guides your steps and choices? do you consider what you are doing and whether you are turning people to Him or away from Him? please do. please allow yourself to look through eternal lenses so that you are available to be part of the story to Christ for those you encounter.

recently i was involved in a string of comments on a facebook picture from my first youth group. as i’ve been reveling in the memories that are coming to the surface, and my heart is remembering the joy and love of God that I experience when i reflect on this time… i realized i forgot to say thank you.

i realized that i have never truly, adequately, accurately thanked my first youth minister for the tremendous impact he had on my life. in so many ways i never really thought of before. (EVEN IF YOU DON’T KNOW HIM… STICK WITH ME, I THINK YOU MIGHT LEARN FROM MY MISTAKES … )

Bill Cole. He had wild hair, a ready laugh and a truly jesus-spirit. he welcomed people into his family, into his heart and into his home. He started a ministry called S.A.L.T. (Sharing Abundant Life with Teens). The wednesday nights of my early youth years are ones i will never forget. from the totally disgusting peanut butter/armpit game… to the laughter inducing If You Love me Honey, Smile…. co-ed disciple now… (ha, i cant believe that happened… i have a teenager and there is no freaking way)…

but here is the thing. the main thing that i remember is the family that we became. so many people, so many lives were set on course. Many have gone into ministry, built families, continue to be connected in local churches. Even more have remembered the love they felt from Bill Cole… at S.A.L.T. and with other friends from FBC Pompano. This was a special time, with friendships that have stood the test of time, and require one remembered inside joke to take you right back there to that paneled room with the shag carpet.

bill cole… you poured into us and accepted us. you expected us to love Jesus. you expected more of us… and we loved Jesus. we loved being at church. we loved each other. and we loved you. how odd that i dont think i’ve ever told you that…  (friends… who has impacted you eternally that you have never said ‘i love you’ too?)

and for that matter… those friends from that time of life, from that youth group… you still matter to me, you still have an impact with the memories that your names conjure up. i remember alot of laughing. and crying. i love that chatting about our memories has spurred us on to want more of each other. to reunite because of our great love for each other.

(friends… who do you need to organize a reunion with? time is short… people need to know they matter to you).

Bill Cole. in conclusion… though this doesnt even completely touch it all… i want to thank you for creating an environment for me and my beloved friends where we could learn the truth and love of Christ and it could bind us together because we learned it together. Your mark is everywhere… and for eternity.

i love you. and thank you.

read what he has to say: http://bcole127.blogspot.com/

follow his tweets: https://twitter.com/#!/bcole39

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=6ntDYjS0Y3w#!

aimee brown

most of anyone that would read this blog, probably

kristen galuppi sisk

has heard of the 5 love languages. if you haven’t… it’s high time, friends.

my main love language (thing that makes me feel loved, so the thing i’m also most likely to give naturally) is quality time.

i have had several friends in the past year to understand this about me … and show me that they have translated this into actions.

today was a perfect example. i was going to meet my friend aimee brown for lunch. i had sent a message that said if we met at church i would have more time because we would have “in the car travel time”. but she had errands to run… so we were going to meet at the restaurant @saxdeli – the best!!.

that was the plan, until she called and said she would be picking me up and we would go from there. once we hit lunch she was telling a story about how she told someone about her birthday and that it meant so much to her that kristen (sisk) and i spent her birthday with pedicures and lunch… it was the time that meant so much. i said… is that why you picked me up today? (of course, she said yes, that was why)… it’s all about time – because that happens to be each of our love language. i reminded her of a time that she and kristen rode with me to another event instead of driving seperate cars to save time… for the same reason.

see… when i feel like someone is just trying to hurry up and get what they need or want from me, but ready to bolt as soon as they get it… it registers with me. it’s understandable, but it’s just how i interpret things internally. i value time. often, when i need to send a request type email i will sign off with “thank you for any time you spent on this, robyn” because i appreciate people’s time. alot.

i’m blessed today… by people that have taken time. there are so many, and i’m grateful. today i’m celebrating aimee and kristen… my accountability partners… and reveling in their willingness to speak to me in my love language.

you see… with love languages, its interesting because we tend to give the one we need, we don’t always give the one the other person needs. take some time today to evaluate the ones you love and figure out what they need from you … to make them feel loved. it’s not enough to just do the thing that means love to you. make sense?

Here they are:

physical touch, quality time, gifts, acts of service, words of affirmation.

think about the one you crave and one you give… and you will know what yours is…. then consider the people around you… what do they give? that’s probably theirs.

today i went to the visitation… after a very tragic death.

i said several things to try to comfort my friend, who is mourning the loss of her beloved friend. then i said, “people are going to say stupid things. it’s a fact. decide ahead of time to forgive them …”

which got me thinking… why don’t we do that all of the time? why don’t we walk into each day with the plan to forgive everything. if we set our hearts on forgiveness and kindness, we don’t waste time with insecurity and defensiveness. we just celebrate and share love.

i want to plan to forgive stupidity ahead of time.

 this weekend we opened a new building at long hollow… actually it opened wednesday. but this was the big weekend. as such, we took turns praying throughout the 24 hours following the opening this morning. i had a shift at 10am yesterday. as i was walking around praying, journaling, writing… i started taking pictures and realized a theme. God revealed something to me, clear as day…

It’s not the two 1.000 person worship centers (one for high schoolers, one for middle schoolers. it’s not the slushie machines. it’s not the games, the “PIT”, the hangout rooms… all of this is spectacular, but what struck me was the design of the building and the choices made all over the place.

one thing that you may or may not notice is that that all of the furnishings, decorations, elements, are made using raw materials, lots of sustainables, lots of leather, metal and wood.

all natural materials. these words came to me – AUTHENTIC. RAW. GENUINE. – and kinda wrecked me… because THAT is what our student ministry is about.

AUTHENTICITY – loving kids as they are. showing them an authentic faith. exposing them to God in real ways RAW ways. getting down to the bare facts of their lives. helping them through loving them in their original state. taking something rustic and real and making it beautiful through the love of Christ, by GENUINEly loving their socks off.

The metal on the tables is rusted and imperfect – like us, yet it serves a perfect function… giving students a place to come together, read, study, share, fellowship. the metal is like the nails that crucified our Christ.

the wood in the spool tables and some chairs, benches are rough hewn, showing the creativity of our Creator, as no piece is exactly alike. the unfabricated wood is God’s design, at it’s core and without man’s alteration. the wood is like the cross.

the leather is straight from God’s creatures. It is different in design, on every piece. The strength coupled with the flexibility of this natural material is perfect to withstand the inevitable beating of the natural lives of teenagers. it will be sat on, slept on, wept on, jumped on… and as leather always does, it will get more beautiful with age-as it does it’s job and absorbs the stories of those who experience it’s resilience. leather sandals would have shod our Lord’s feet as he spread the good news of the gospel.

FYI: Kudos to designers Holly Bieber and Kim Flatt. This is one highly pinnable place!

i have a friendship that has been dormant, hibernating if you will, for quite a while.

though we’ve had each others numbers, connected on facebook and i tweet openly and often, in an effort to be highly accessible to anyone that might be wanting to connect.

it wasnt until the magic of a website that celebrates art, creation, and ultimately the Creator that we reconnected. i dont mean to beat a dead horse – but i’m talking again about pinterest. not because i’m trying to pimp it or get you to participate… but because that’s where it happened.

my friend and i tiptoed back toward each other… through comments on each others pins. while meandering through her virtual collection i was reminded of all of the ways i used to love her for her mind, ideas, perceptions, style and sense of awe in the creator. so i told her so. after several back and forth photo comments… i sent her a text.

we spent a good hour texting back and forth and in the meantime realized why we think it was pinterest that allowed this to happen. pinterest is about joy, and celebrating the Creator with all of the endless things he has put in this world for us to marvel over.

this is another thing i missed about her. spiritual revelations uncovered in unintentional conversation… pointing to, leading to, ending with, the God of the Universe.

art is healing and precious and speaks louder than words at times. as a writer that can frustrate me, at times, but this time it was the combination of art and words that caused a healing to begin… so grateful.

what do you need to see or experience to remind you of someone you have let time take away? go find it. it’s lovely to be reconnected.

notice that it took an action on our part. commenting. making an effort. reaching out. don’t cheat yourself out of something wonderful because of your unwillingness to say something you need to say.

God's kindness to Jackson. He allowed us to know Ben, who is teaching her to play a song that he wrote... and that is God's kindness to Ben.

so… if you are looking for a paint high, you should come by our building. we are in the process of moving.

to the other side of the building. and the smell is intense. i have opened the windows and turned on the fan…

and you know what – IT’S GORGEOUS OUTSIDE.

How I love God’s kindness in this. If it were rainy, snowy, stormy today… I would not be able to open up and get the fresh air.

Do you look for God’s kindness? In the seemingly small things? Do you make a conscious effort to see his love notes to you all over your day? Have you learned how to interpret the things that happen in your day, as acts of kindness and love to you?

consider this:

what if every time you folded a pair of jeans with grassstained knees, and placed them in the dresser in your childs room… they saw it as an affirmation of your love for them.

what if each meal lovingly prepared (or picked up from a drive thru) for the nourishment of your constantly hungry teenagers was viewed as a testament to your concern for their well being?

what if… (fill in the blank with an obvious example of something we do every day being translated and understood as a token of love or appreciation)…

YOU WOULD LOVE IT. I know I would. I would love it if my family and friends knew and acknowledge the things I do for them as evidence of my love for them.

THEREFORE…. shouldn’t I be sure to tell God that I see today’s weather as a kindness to me, I see the fact that I get to move into a freshly painted room as evidence that he loves me and cares for my wants and desires as well as my needs…

What have you missed until now, that you would consider God’s Kindness to you?

I even think the invention of Pinterest, in many ways, is God’s kindness to me… it allows me to organize some new ideas in my brain and spurs my creativity…. yum.