Sunday

This Sunday was amazing to me. I haven't physically been to church in about 2 months. My job as a nurse requires me to work every weekend. Working every weekend provides me the flexibility to be home all week with my children like when I was a stay at home mom. It works for us at this stage of life.

I love my church. I like how I walk in and see smiling faces that welcome me home. I like how people come in with all of their brokenness and problems and there are welcoming faces, it's comfortable to be there. You don't feel self conscious. The labels you wear don't matter there.

We're doing a four week study right now on the one-chapter books of the New Testament. Yesterday we studied Philemon. I've glazed over this book before, once or twice, but never realized what an awesome message there was in it. We are not defined by our human labels...

LABELS: wife, daughter, artist, nurse, extrovert, impulsive, unpredictable, funny, divorced, mother, stubborn, short, angry, Italian, organized, loud, silly, bitchy, moody, selfish, happy...... the list goes on.

BUT... "In Christ you are better than your human label" those are the words that my Pastor spoke yesterday. Those words made my heart leap. It felt good to hear them, to hear someone speak them out loud.

LABELS FROM GOD: bought, pardoned, free, saved, beautiful, loved....

WHAT LABELS WILL YOU WEAR?

WHO DEFINES YOU?

(Thanks PCC for doing what you do!)

More on Philemon, check out this post on Brian's blog.

Home

Got to thinking about something this morning..... I feel like I've gone home when I go to church. I have felt this feeling for a while. I think I first felt this feeling when I started helping out at PCC (Powhatan Community Church).

I was invited to a Production Meeting by my friend Beth, at 7am one Tuesday morning at The County Seat (that's a local restaurant near my house). I got there not expecting to see so many people. All of these people dedicated to what God is doing through PCC. That first week I sat and listened, tried to take it all in, tried to understand what was going on, and how I could possibly fit into the madness. You see, when you get about 15 or so creative people together with multiple cups of coffee each, you get madness...in a crazy kind of way! Imagine an idea being shouted out, and then someone would add something else to it, and the ball would get rolling until it was......SQUASHED! Then we were back to where we started. But this creative table is a safe one, no idea is a bad idea, so it really opens up the door for a lot of creative brainstorming. And by the end of our hour and a half together, we have planned our service.

So, I found my place, I accidently fell into the "Set Design" leadership roll. It happen without me even knowing it. I had an idea about some rocks for a service and the next thing I know I was making these rocks and showing up on Sunday to set them up.

That was the beginning of rapid growth, molding, chiseling, refining and change for me.

That Sunday changed me. I had sat in those seats in the auditorium for 3 years or so, I had laughed and cried and re-discovered what it meant to really worship a loving God. It was all good, but I was unsettled, and I felt the nudge...

God was saying "Go on, it's ok, this time won't be like last time. This time you're actually to the end of yourself my precious child. This time your doing it for ME. Listen to what I say, I've got you, you don't have to worry about this"

That Sunday was the beginning of "home" for me. I feel like I am at home when I go to church. And when I say church I don't mean the building, I mean the people in it. The people I serve next to, the people I worship with, and the God I serve.

So, this first Sunday in our new building was so special to me. As I stood there on stage looking around, I realized this was one step closer to my real home. And as I raised my hands and my voice with my brothers and sisters, I realized that this is what heaven is gonna be like, and these are the people I get to spend eternity with, singing and worshiping God, everyday!! WOW!! No wonder it feels like home!

Powhatan Community Church...... what you do MATTERS!

A Community

This is what I call community. Several months ago I became in charge of "Set Design" at my church (Powhatan Community Church). How, you may ask, does a Nurse/Artist become in charge of "Set Design"?? I ask the same thing. I have NO "Set Design" experience, but that's the incredible thing about God. When you open yourself up to what His will is for your life, he just might show you. And in the mean time bring some incredible people into your life.

After spending over 3 years sitting in my seat, I finally got up again. I wanted to use my creativity somehow for God's kingdom. He led me to The Production Team and a bunch of awesome people that I now call friends. The creativity we bring to the table is amazing. I love how we spar each others ideas, and our creativity builds as we each say "what if we.... ". And the comfort level and trust we have to really express ourselves. I love that we're all so different and we can laugh at ourselves and when we have a crazy idea we all make this hand motion we call "The Squash".

Thank you, Production Team, for letting this new girl come in and find her place.

So, I sat on the floor of this warehouse last Saturday with 5 other creative people. For a while, I created the set mainly on my own. Sometimes I had help from other members of our Production Team, and for that I am so grateful! I tried so hard to develop my own team of "Set Designers", but it just wasn't happening, so I stopped trying.

So, on Saturday, as we cut and sanded and painted and made the set, I realized that I don't need a team.

What I have is a community.

These five people are also trying to find their way. We all shared our desires to use our art to reach the lost and the hurting, to show people Jesus, to be more like him and less like the people of this world. As I sat there I realized that God is doing something incredible for his Kingdom, and I can't wait to see what he plans to do next!

Won't you come along for the ride?

Why YOU Should Go To My Church...hear me out on this one.

Well, I could give you a list of things that make my church better than others, but most of those reasons would be very subjective.

I first want to share a quote:
"All too often what passes for Christianity is not true Christianity at all. It is an impostor. And the sad thing is that most people don't know the difference."J. David Hoke

What comes to mind when you hear these words?
How do they make you feel?

Church,

Religion,
Christianity,
Born Again,
Saved,
Jesus,
God,
Baptist,
Catholic,
Sunday School,
Lutheran,
Prayer,
Ritual,
..... you get the picture.

My church takes you away from stereotypes.
Come as you are.
God meets you there.
If you're not sure about God, it's ok, no one will force you to do anything you don't feel comfortable doing.
If you have questions, we're here to guide you to your answer.
If you're seeking to fulfill an emptiness, you just might find it.
If you want to remain anonymous and just take it all in, that's ok too. Many of us have been in your shoes.
If you have baggage and don't think anyone could possibly understand...come, you just might be surprised.
Been to church before?
Had a bad experience? It's not like that here.
Like great music? Ours is great and always something new.
Like creativity, drama, art, dance? We do that.
Want to hear someone talk about a topic that's relevant to your life? You'll get that too.


It's REAL here,

REAL people,
facing REAL issues,
in a REAL way.

So this is my invitation to you....

Come as you are.... no dress code, no fake smiles, no pretenses.
Powhatan Community Church
meeting at Powhatan High School on Judes Ferry Rd.
Services at 9:30am and 11am

See you there?????