Coffee Talk with Christie

so, i am not keeping up with this blog every day as i had hoped... beda beda... i know. late nights and not so early mornings have been the norm lately. i must do better.

this morning i read a chapter out of a book by t. f. tenney - the book is called, "some things i wish i could forget." it is a very interesting book, and it is easy to read. each chapter presents a completely different topic with many thought provoking tidbits.

today i read a chapter on the church and the church board. i learned about deacons this morning. instead of being granted all the power in the church, they should be first servants to the congregation. the congregation should help in making decisions, the deacons should serve the congregation and the pastor in making those decisions realities. interesting thought, being a servant first before anything else... i mean, i know that this is how it is supposed to be, but hearing it from bro. tenney, brought it to light again in me today.

bro. tenney also mentioned at the close of this chapter that Jesus' greatest weapon was a towel. he served others by washing their feet.

i recently read an article by http://www.wiredchurches.com/ - i love this site, by the way... the article that i read talks about how we must invest before we invite - speaking of promoting growth within your church.

i think Jesus did it right. he served people, (invested in them) then invited them to follow him.

i hope i lead with a servants heart and with actions that show my humility in ministry. i want to invest in the lives of others, so that when i am ready/God is ready for me to invite, they will come.

we just got back from maryland late last night. we had a great time.

i am so blessed to have such a wonderful family.

on sunday we went to bvwc soon to be the journey. we heard a marvelous message from pastor mark about being persecuted for Christ. this morning, as i read the Bible, i found this verse, "yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution."

pastor tim rutledge, at our ywts a few saturday's ago, mentioned that if we say we are a friend of God, we need to be prepared to suffer... most of Jesus' disciples were tortured before they died or murdered. we sing the song, "i am a friend of God", but are we really willing to suffer for His name's sake?

just a thought that i have had floating through my mind for a few weeks... i hope i am truly a friend of God and willing to do whatever He asks of me.

i really meant to write these past few days but just never got around to it... i know, beda beda.. (slovac for bad bad)

breaking news: a HUGE congratulations to sam and jonathan on their first new little (or not so little) baby boy, weighing in at a little over 10 pounds!

i am so happy for you guys!!!

this is for little ethan:

jeremiah 1:5 says, "Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee..."

psalm 139:14 says, "I will praise thee; for I am fearfully [and] wonderfully made: marvellous [are] thy works; and [that] my soul knoweth right well."

all the best to you and your family!

love,
dan and christie

so, i woke up this morning thinking of my mom and dad and how grateful i am for them.

after my alarm went off a gazillion times, i woke up, clicked the snooze button (for five more minutes of blissful rest), and began praying for my dad and my mom...no joke, like every single time my alarm went off, i would awake and begin praying... then fall back asleep again... i know that's horrible... but it's the thought that counts, God honors that!

i was very persistent! between 7am until, dare I say, my husband called in the later hours of the morning, i did this...

i need to call my parents today, i miss them so much.

we are going up north this weekend for memorial day, i am very thankful for this!

matthew 19:19 says, "Honour thy father and [thy] mother:..."

i give honor to my mom and dad today and always... i am so thankful for the many sacrifices they have made for me to live the life that i live and that i love living... they showed me the truth as a youngin' (as my mom would say), and they have led me in it all of my life. the Bible says, train up a child in the way they should go and when they are old they will not depart from it. i am a testimony of this.

i cannot say enough about my parents, they have always believed in me, and that has meant the world! i certainly could never be where i am today, with the confidence that i have today, without their godly influence in my life.

i ask God everyday to keep His hand of protection upon them and to bless them in every area of their lives, physical health, finances, wisdom, patience, etc., etc., etc. =)

thanks God, for knowing exactly what i needed - before i was even born.

you have given to me the best parents on the planet!

i took time to write two different posts on friday, but both got deleted... so i am attempting to make up for those in this morning's post.

as i began studying the bible this morning, ii timothy stood out to me - there is so much in the first four chapters to digest, needless to say, i have alot on my mind at the moment.

if i must choose one topic, (and i must for the sake of time) i will go with ii timothy 4:5 - "but watch thou in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, make full proof of thy ministry."

the nlt(new living translation) says it this way, "but you should keep a clear mind in every situation. do not be afraid of suffering for the Lord. work at bringing others to Christ. complete the ministry God has given you."

the translation of the word work is business, employment, that which any one is occupied, that which one undertakes to do, enterprise, undertaking any product whatever, any thing accomplished by hand, art, industry, or mind.

evangelist is translated as a bringer of good tidings, the name given to the NT heralds of salvation through Christ who are not apostles.

make full proof is translated as: to cause a thing to be shown to the full, to be persuaded, fully convinced or assured, to fill one with any thought, conviction, or inclination, to carry through to the end, accomplish.

ministry is translated as of those who by the command of God proclaim and promote religion among men, those who help meet need by either collecting or distributing of charities, the service of those who prepare and present food, of the office of prophets, evangelists, elders, etc.

i feel myself getting into the habit of leaving my blogs open-ended - i think i do this so that you can come to your own conclusions based on what i have found in my studies.

***

i pray that you feel instructed today, by the scriptures and encouraged to find something that you can do for God realizing that no matter how great or small, it is a ministry. (if it is done unto the Lord)

i recently gave to a girl, that i have begun mentoring, a pack of cards. she is unable to work, she cannot go to school and she cannot drive, but she can write. =) she may not be the best at it, but she can do it.

i gave to her addresses, stamps, envelopes and cards. i expressed to her that writing a note of encouragement, alone, is such a great ministry to those who need a boost in their daily walk. i know this sounds small to some, but to this girl, who is trapped at home all day, because of a physical handicap, this is going to become one of her ministries.

next on our list is volunteering at the local children's hospital. we have our first meeting this thursday. we are so excited about working together, ministering together, telling others about Jesus Christ, the hope of life and the reason for living.

happy birthday to christie leigh burchfield-stephens, happy birthday to christie leigh burchfield- stephens, happy birthday dear christie, happy birthday to you! IT IS THE BIG 30! =)

christie has been and is still the only one of my friends that (i think) really understands me.

when i am feeling wonky about something, i give christie a call. she almost always answers but without a doubt, she always explains the situation as she sees it, even if it makes me feel like i messed up. i really love having a friend like that. she is completely honest with me, as she speaks words of wisdom and advice in love. really, you could not ask for a better friend.

we have had so many memories together - from playing dress up in my mom's house robes years ago, to messing up each others hair then sitting in awe as if it were the most beautiful hairstyle ever invented (without laughing)...

...from sliding across the doorway at my parents home waving while we pulled each other across by the ankles, to diving under the bed because Augustine (someone in mexico) was trying to give us his stinky sweaty jersey under our hotel room door, but we thought he was coming in the outside window! hilarious memories!

i remember when i first met christie, i did not like her at all, because...i know, how childish, well, i was only like twelve - because she spelled her name just like mine. that's it, i did not like her because she spelled her name just like i spell my name.

after i gave her a chance, and i guess she gave me a chance too, we really became the bestest of friends, long story short, christie married my brother, several years ago, so she also took my maiden name =) ah ha! my legacy lives on! =)

i had no intention this morning of writing my entire blog about christie, no offence, but this is my coffee time with God - so let's move on...

okay, one more thing, christie, i wish you the happiest thirtieth birthday ever and i love you dearly.

moving along...

each morning i enjoy reading a few quotes, short stories, a scripture and my email, (in no particular order) all of these items are found on my new google page, which, by the way, i absolutely adore! (thanks danno) if you have not created a google homepage, you must.

while i was reading this morning, i found the following article, it is from "reuters, oddly enough":

"MADRID (Reuters) - A Spanish bank repossessed a house and put it up for auction complete with the mummified body of the former owner who had missed her mortgage payments, newspaper El Pais reported on Wednesday.

The corpse, preserved by salty air in the seaside town of Roses after an apparent death by natural causes, was discovered by Jorge Giro, who entered the house for the first time on Saturday after buying it at the auction, El Pais said.

The dead woman, described by neighbors as having been in poor health and often absent visiting relatives in Madrid, had stopped paying her mortgage six years ago.

The unnamed bank which eventually repossessed the home never bothered to look inside before selling it."

this story made me think of that phrase"what's in your wallet?" (some credit card company that tells us that if we have their card in our wallet, all of the monsters will go away... (okay, so i hope i did not just make that up... i think i remember seeing a commercial where monsters were coming after this guy and the guy pulled out his capital one card, and all of the monsters went running...) please, correct me if i am wrong...

my thought was, what's in your wallet?, then, what's in your house?

dan preached (not all that long ago) an awesome message, called, "lost in the house" and it highlights the woman who lost a coin. he tells of how she swept her house until she found it. the foundation on which this message was constructed is that many of us "go" to church, but many of us are not really being "plugged in" to the church or any ministry. we are in the house, but are we lost?

are there dead corpses in your house? has a dream or vision that God has given you died recently? (or in the past six years, since you stopped paying your mortgage, or stopped giving your time to God, working toward having a more personal relationship with Him?)

i encourage you today to look deep inside and ask God to help you clean out the dead parts of your heart. ask Him to make something even more beautiful out of your life, than you could ever imagine.

Psalm 139:23 - Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts:

This morning I am going to do a quick study on Psalm 37:4

"Delight thyself also in the Lord and He shall give thee the desires of thine heart."

Delight in this verse is translated as being soft or dainty, to be glad about, to be in the dainty habit of, to make merry over. (sounds kind of funny, huh?)

The Lord is Jehovah, "the Existing One".

We understand "give".

Desires is tranlated as the petitions or requests of thine heart.

Heart is translated as the inner man, mind, will, understanding, inclination, resolution, determination.

Now we can read this scripture like this...Be glad about/make a habit of being glad about the Existing One and He will give us the petitions or requests of our inner most being.

Sounds easy enough to me... =)

the early bird NAYC registration is due today! you only pay $30 (per person) if you register before 11:59pm. go to http://www.northamericanyouthcongress.com/ to get registered!

dan and i just registered and are very excited to be a part of this unbelievably awesome event!

**

when i awoke, all i could think was, i need to help dan get on his way by making him a cup of freshly ground, freshly brewed snickerdandy coffee and an extremely crispy thomas english muffin on which I would cake strawberry cream cheese.

feeling like it was the crack of dawn, at 7:30am, mind you, i pulled myself from our soft, warm covers, thinking, it is way too early for anyone to be out of bed, i hope dan is grateful for all that i am doing for him...

...just being honest...

then i remembered a scripture i read not all that long ago that said, those that seek me early shall find me.

okay, so God totally knows that i am not a morning person, so why would He say, if we seek Him early we will find Him? (i'm just bold enough to believe that God really DOES care that i, christie ponjican, am not a morning person and that i would have a really hard time staying awake long enough to make one complete sentence in prayer before drinking three cups of coffee) I guess the question is how early is early? =)

so, here's the scripture... proverbs 8:17 - I love them that love me; and those that seek me early shall find me.

trying to justify not getting up at the crack of dawn, i decided to study what early really means here. maybe it means in advance of our problem... seek God each day, before a problem even arises?

according to http://www.blueletter.com/ and it's translation of this phrase, "and those that seek me early" is translated as, "to break, to break forth as light, as the dawn, to break into, to pry in, hence to seek"

oh! what a relief, you do not have to seek God early in the morning. instead, according to this verse, the phrase "we are to seek Him early" means, seek Him with the same fervency as the sun when it is shining brightly through the blinds of your bedroom window... it seems to break in.

the thought of the lady with the issue of blood comes to mind, she stopped at nothing to be healed, "enough is enough!" she said, "i must touch the hem of His garment." she was a seeker, and as God always seems to do, He kept His Word. those that seek me, shall find me.

thanks, God, for being so real to me today, and for understanding that i really enjoy sleeping in sometimes. i am so glad You're cool with that. You do not require more of me than i can give. i know, God, that the Bible tells us not to love sleep, and the sound of, "go to the ant thou sluggard!" rings in my ears weekly, you're working on keeping me balanced, and i am so thankful.

as for serving my husband each morning, i am working on doing that with a smile on my face.

i am really thankful for dan, he is one of a kind and truly the best there is!

The scripture in Acts 3 was in my mind all day on Saturday.

Acts 3:11 says, "And as the lame man which was healed held Peter and John..."

To go back a few verses, we find the following: "Then Peter said, Silver and gold have I none; but such as I have give I thee: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk. And he took him by the right hand, and lifted [him] up: and immediately his feet and ankle bones received strength. And he leaping up stood, and walked, and entered with them into the temple, walking, and leaping, and praising God. And all the people saw him walking and praising God: And they knew that it was he which sat for alms at the Beautiful gate of the temple: and they were filled with wonder and amazement at that which had happened unto him."

As if this story isn't powerful enough as it was written, I wanted to dive in a little deeper and focus more on the 11th verse.

We know that Peter and John were being used of God to speak faith into this lame guy's life... and healing.

After the healing what did the guy do? The Bible says that he was leaping and walking and standing and praising God, and going into the temple with them. How exciting! What an awesome testimony! Right?

When studing this text, verse 11 really stood out to me because it says that the lame guy that was healed, HELD Peter and John...

Held is translated as, "to hold fast, i.e. not discard or let go, to take hold of, take, seize, to continue to hold, to retain, etc." (according to www.blueletter.com)

This takes me to first time guests at our local churches... they walk in, they receive something so incredible from God, then walk out of our service, having no one to hold onto, someone that could perhaps help their experience become greater than one healing.

Mentoring comes to mind.

You and I can both agree that once you have what seems to be a miracle, a touch from God in your own life, you tend to, after a few days, settle back into the here and now, and the issues of your day to day begin to take over, once more.

What if we had someone to hold onto (I know we have God!, but someone that you can pick up the phone and contact, to help you keep your miracle alive in your life? Someone (physically) tangible.)

I believe that God sends people into our lives to minister to, and those that will minister to us - I encourage you today, do not be too busy to let someone "hold" you - you may be steadying them in their walk with God - especially if they have just received an amazing answer to prayer or if they were touched by God's presence for the very first time recently.

Steady them, hold them, encourage them along the way... they need you, they need me.

On Friday morning at 1 am, we received a phone call from Dan's Dad - who told us that Dan's Mom had a heart attack.

We took a moment to really touch God - asking Him to answer our prayers for Mama's safety and better health fast.

In times like these, you feel helpless and like your next breath depends on you hearing something from God that will help you believe that everything will be okay.

After praying, we began searching the earliest/cheapest flights to NJ from NC.

Then, we decided to drive up, because there was no way we were going to be able to sleep.

We quickly threw a few essential pieces into a back pack and headed out the door.

God always gives me a scripture at times like these - this time He led me to Psalm 119:17 - it says, "Deal bountifully with thy servant, [that] I may live, and keep thy word." I began praying over and over again, "Mama is your servant, deal boutifully with her and let her live."

Faith began to rise within me - I knew everything was going to be alright.

Thanks, God, for always showing up - right on time. You really do answer our prayers!

Spiritual Foundation

I Timothy 6:19 - says, "Laying up in store for themselves a good foundation against the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life."

This short study goes along with what I studied yesterday, in Psalm 40 - David wrote about God lifting his feet out of the miry clay and establishing his feet on the rock.

In Isaiah 28:26, we see that Zion is built on the foundation of a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation:

In Matthew 7:24 we read that a wise man builds his house upon a rock.

In I Corinthians 3:11 we see that Jesus Christ is the foundation.

2 Timothy 2:19 says that the foundation of God stands sure, having this seal, "The Lord knoweth them that are His."

I want to build a stronger foundation for myself in the Word of God every day during my coffee time with God. =)

I want the foundation or beginning of my day to be in His Word, gathering strength, becoming more sure of who I am in Jesus each new day.

If I build my life upon Jesus, I can be sure that in time to come, when I need Him most, He will say,"I know you, you are mine, I will take care of you, because you have built wisely." (2 Timothy 2:19)

Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: Matthew 7:7

And I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.
Luke 11:9

After studying the above verses in my God time today, I am intrigued by the translation that http://www.blueletter.com/ offers for the word seek.

Seek translated is – to look in order to find, to find out by thinking, meditating, reasoning and enquiring, to aim for, to require, to demand, to crave, to demand something from someone.

These verses are so easy for me to quote, and no doubt, they are tremendously inspiring and encouraging. To be real with you, however, I find it a little difficult sometimes to truly depend on scriptures like these during my daily walk with God.

I am learning each day to truly SEEK God, as He has told us to seek Him in His Word – seek, by meditating, enquiring, craving, desiring Him more than anything else – and we will find Him and know Him more.

Another scripture comes to mind, Psalm 42:1 - As the hart (deer) panteth (to long for, to be untamed) after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God.

And another…Matthew 5:6 - Blessed [are] they which do hunger (to crave ardently to seek with eager desire) and thirst (to eagerly long for those things by which the soul is refreshed, supported, strengthened) after righteousness: for they shall be filled (satisfied).

Thanks, God for the reminder today, that as long as I keep my end of the deal, you will keep yours.

Speaking of Seek…..

Matthew 6:33 comes to mind…

But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.

The word, seek, is translated here the same way as it was in yesterday's study: to demand, to require something of someone…

What are we to seek? This verse says that we are to seek, crave, long for more than anything, the kingdom of God.

What is the kingdom of God? Is this an actual place for which we should seek? I want to be clear on this – I want to be seeking after the right thing… kingdom of God translated is "the power or reign of God in our lives".

We are to crave the act of God taking over and reigning in our lives, okay, that makes sense…

Reading on, this scripture also says, we are to seek or crave His righteousness…righteousness translated is the state of him who is as he ought to be, integrity, virtue, purity of life, rightness, correctness of thinking feeling, and acting.

So, I have learned from this verse so far, that if I crave God's power and authority in my life, and crave His virtue, His purity, His perfection, His rightness, THEN all of these things will be added unto me – well, what are ALL OF THESE THINGS?

As I am writing this I am studying for myself – and am in awe of God showing me through His Word and my trusty http://www.blueletter.com/ that "all of these things" are exactly what we have been reading thus far – all of these things are His righteousness, His power, His authority, His freedom to reign over our hearts and minds, and in our lives.

Okay, so today's thought is a little simpler than I thought it would be… I thought "All of these things" was related in some way to the desires of our hearts as found in Psalms. The scripture says, Delight thyself also in the Lord and He shall give thee the desires of thy heart. (Psalm 37:4)

God's Word is so relevant – and easy to understand – I know I tend to make things more difficult sometimes… I am thankful today that God has shown me His love and has uncovered a greater truth to me, that if I seek Him, He will let me find Him. =)

I will compare Matthew 6:33 with Psalm 37:4 in another study – I hope you have learned something today – I know I have. =)

This is Christie's first post. She just woke up so she doesn't feel like thinking so I am just writing this so there is something on here!