“Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls.” – Jeremiah 6:16
I’m reading a book on liturgy right now. Not sure what I’ll find. I like the “rest for your soul” concept. I’m at a cross roads in worship.
I find myself hungry and tired. If I’d remembered in time, I would have made this my memory verse this month. Maybe I’ll save it for next month. For now I like the direction it gives.
I apologize for my lack of posting, I’ve actually been sick. Still am. However. I did want to jump online and give you some highlights from church for the last few weeks. I hope you enjoy the pictures.
This is our crew from the Murder Mystery Night at my house. Planning nights like this are actually, very easy. All I did was go to MurderMystery.com and order a mystery package. Very simple. I cooked the main dish and everyone brought a side dish or drink to share and we had a blast.
This isn’t the best photo, but is is me performing at an outdoor festival this fall called “Taking Jesus to the Streets.” in Manford OK. This was the first year they had a stand up comic. They have four different bands who play and I told jokes between set ups. Load of fun. And they asked me to come back next year. I always like that.
Looking for a cure for “Terminal Seriousness?” — try hiring a Christian Comic for your next outreach event. Pictured here are Michele VanDusen, Dan McGowan, and myself. The three of us performed almost two hours of clean, family friendly comedy for the folks at Our Savior Lutheran Church in Tulsa OK. This proved to be a wonderful outreach event. Tickets were only $5 a piece to cover expenses and we had 80 people show up. 1/3 of them had never been to our church before. Comedy nights are a great outreach.
We intentionally chose to host this event at Our Savior rather than Ablaze for a myriad of reasons, and you know, I think it turned out great. So well in fact that our board of evangelism wants to host more events like this.
Yeah God!
And that is us in a nutshell right now. Ablaze Church is still chugging along while we wait for the survey results. We worshipped over 50 people again last week and that is a good sign. Whether or not we keep Ablaze as a stand-alone mission start or a satellite has yet to be determined. In time, we’ll know. For now, we serve.
I was talking with a friend of mine recently and you know, we serve an amazing God. This blog has taken many turns while I find my voice, and my place in His kingdom. I’ve always been a servant, it is the where I serve that has changed and grown. I’ve traveled from humorist, to bible teacher, to missionary of sorts, to comedy. My love for God and his word has not changed. I still first and formost want to be a Bible Teacher, in His plan though and not my own. He hasn’t closed that door, but I do know that there are things I still need to learn, work through, and overcome. Each direction is a place where he let’s me grow up into his next role. I just don’t know that that is yet.
I love to teach, and can relate to small groups without a problem. I struggle with larger crowds and the minute you put a microphone in my face, I become an introvert. Learning stand up, has taken that fear away. It’s amazing to me to see God’s hand in all of this. He opened those doors, I didn’t. It is God who allows favor, not man. Will he keep me here? I don’t know. But I do know that He is smiling and that I make him laugh. And that is a good thing.
If you are new to my blog, I should warn you, I’m a little strange. Fear is a major stronghold in my life and so I made a decision several years ago to find that one thing that scares me most and to keep doing it until I’m not afraid anymore. This is that one thing right now.
Until next time. Trusting in him.
Deana
ps… I forgot to sign on and give my memory verse to Beth’s blog this week — so I don’t have a new verse. I’m keeping with last time’s verse… which is a good thing, because I haven’t memorized it yet. 😉
“I’m tired of hearing how our mission start isn’t growing because of space. Space isn’t the problem, it’s the people running it. If we had people who knew what they were doing running our mission start this wouldn’t be an issue.”
I hate voter’s meetings. Don’t get me wrong, I think they are important. I just don’ t like participating in them. My least favorite part is the people who feel the need to verbally disapprove of everything they are not running themselves. They are the arm chair quarterbacks on ministry: quick to call the plays and criticize the outcome but slow to get out of their chair and get their hands dirty.
It took everything I had to not jump up and shout “That’s a lie! Our church plant IS growing. We have more kids than we have room for. We’ve outgrown our space and need something more permanent, so how can you say something like that?”
Oh, I had all kinds of words in reaction to theirs, but I’m afraid very few of them are appropriate.
The fact that no one else believes them and most everyone supports our little mission start did not matter to me. All that mattered at that precise moment was this person’s words. And I got angry.
I am not a very loving person in the face of comments like the one posted above. I am one of the people they don’t approve of and I have to fight the impulse to not fight fire with fire. At times like that I have to remember to stay calm and pray. I’m a hot tempered redhead who feels the unrelenting need to defend myself at all times. I’m getting better and staying quiet, but my heart hasn’t matched God’s yet and I have to will myself to keep my mouth closed.
Which brings me to the second part of my new memory verse.
“Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
This isn’t my battle to fight, it’s God’s. By remembering that it’s His fight, we can be gentle with others. We can keep Jesus present in our mind, thoughts, heart, and prayers. We don’t have to be anxious. We do need to pray and HIS peace will be ours.
This particular couple speaks out against everyone in church, not just us. They’ve chased away more ministry leaders/volunteers than I can count. They hate change and they won’t leave. I’ve heard it said that the hurt leave, but the mad stay. That is very true.
It’s warfare, in more ways than one. They are Christian, and they are hurting. Remembering that helps me to not take them personally.
So.. we have two steps now in this dance I’m learning.
1. Praise God in all things.
2. Stay calm and PRAY.
What battles are you fighting today that would be better turned over to God? Can you praise him in it? Can you stay calm and pray? Can you feel His peace when you let go?
“Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.”
I asked a very trusted friend how she deals with bullies and this is what she gave me. A memory verse. I’ll be honest, I was a little perplexed. I was looking for something that would put my “problem” in it’s proper place.
In other words, I wanted to convince my problem that I was right and she was wrong, and make her go away and well… I learned that I am my problem and other people’s actions and opinions are God’s problem.
I cannot control others, but I can control my response. My assignment for today is to praise God and rejoice in Him.
I’m taking a break on my thoughts of bullies for an important message. I hope you watch this video. Pastor Pete Wilson from Crosspoint church interviews sex therapist Betty Tyndall and author Randy Elrod about Sex, Lies, and Religion. I’ll admit, I am blown away.
I’m still gathering my thoughts on bullies and will write more about it soon, I promise. For now, I leave you with this. Please let me know your thoughts – whether positive or seemingly negative. I want to know. Thanks.
It is in the quiet of morning, that God sings to my heart a love song so strong and pure that nothing can stand against it and beauty finds rest.–Deana O’Hara
Thanks to Hilary Blair for this one. If you’ve ever wondered how the femmes in the magazines can look so great, you need to watch this. No wonder our perception of beauty is distorted. Watch the video that’s still causing a stir all over the world. Length:1:23
Alison, Chonda Pierce, and her National Turbos in Nashville
I quit ministry once, did you know that? Well I did. I joined the Christian Writers Guild and went to work in a church to pay for my classes. Within 12 months, I buried ten of my closest friends, lost the only school my kids had ever known (Bankruptcy), and my birth father showed up on my door step – homeless, jobless, and penniless. To call me pressed would be an understatement.
There were also relational conflicts with the people who were still living, and I’d reached my limit. So I packed up my little bag of sorrows, handed my hopes and dreams back to God and essentially told him, he could keep them. I was done.
I didn’t quit God, per se’ , I just quit ministry. It wasn’t worth it, the church wasn’t worth it, people weren’t worth it, and little old me just wanted to curl up in a hole somewhere and die. Not only was I throwing a pity party, I had hats, streamers, favors, and cake. Lots and lots of cake. – which would explain the 50 pounds I gained.
No one warned me about spiritual warfare. I wasn’t equipped. The truth is though, while I may have turned in my resignation to God – He didn’t resign on me. My gracious and wonderful heavenly father, poured out his Spirit into my wounded soul and blessed me with a rather unusual gift.
I had gone to Women of Faith just a few short months before bailing on ministry and while I was there, I had seen Chonda Pierce for the first time. I laughed until I cried. I was so impressed with what I saw that I signed some form of some kind saying “Sure, if Chonda comes to my town, I’d love to help.”
I don’t remember doing that. But lo – a few measly months later, I get an email from Chonda’s best friend Alison asking for help. Ali wanted to know if I would be a Lead Turbo for Tulsa as Chonda and Kenn Kington were coming to the Brady Theater that Spring.
Turbos are men and women who help coordinate volunteers at these comedy concerts as well as work with the promoters to get the word out to area churches about Chonda’s concerts. It’s a lot of work and it is so worth it.
I reminded God that I had quit ministry and He gently reminded me that I had signed up for this and should probably keep this commitment. Just this one then we’ll talk. So I did.
I coordinated volunteers, brought my bible study ladies to the show, worked with Bob at Trinity Communications, met Chonda and Kenn, shook in my boots, and promptly ran away. I was a mess. I couldn’t believe that God would allow me to do something like that. Why was he blessing me in the middle of a temper tantrum? Maybe he knew something I didn’t.
I’ve been volunteering as a Turbo now for almost six years or so. I don’t run away any more and I’ve made the most amazing turbo sister friends in the world. I’ve learned how to love and how to live again. Not because of Chonda, but through her and through God’s grace.
I didn’t know her story when I agreed to do this and now that I do, I wouldn’t stop. She is just too funny, too precious, and loves God in ways I can only imagine.
So… Turbo action here – The picture above is of a few of her national leads, myself included, in Nashville Tennessee in February 2009. We decided among ourselves to surprise Chonda and go to her video taping of This Ain’t Prettyville and help anyway we could. The taping was a pure blast as was finally meeting other turbos face to face.
Here is where you come in – CMT has chosen to pick up Chonda’s new video and air it as a Comedy Special. We need your help.
CHONDA WANTS YOU!!! To Laugh and To Vote
by watching her CMT Special “This Ain’t Prettyville”
America’s funniest female comedienne Chonda Pierce on CMT!!!
We need your TV tuned in to CMT for Chonda Pierce, This Ain’t Prettyville, CMT – September 15th!
7pm Central
8pm Eastern
8pm Pacific on cable
5pm Pacific on dish
This is your chance to impact network TV. By simply tuning in, you are casting a vote through the ratings system for great family laugh-filled entertainment – which we all need more of. Let’s do it!
I’m looking for something profound to write, and I got nadda. I’m in the middle of learning how to let go of my oldest son, and I’ve discovered there is no easy solution. This is my child and I suddenly find myself swimming in a sea of what if’s and needless fears. That is not an easy path. Nor is it a path in which I am alone in. Mother’s all over the world struggle with letting go of their children when they want wings. They get wings, and we grow stronger as well. It’s all part of life.
God’s promises are true. The only way that I can let go of my son is to remember that he isn’t mine to hang on to. He belongs to God. So with every visit, every phone call, every email, I say a silent prayer and give him back to the one who created him to begin with.
That doesn’t mean I don’t care. I do care. That doesn’t mean I haven’t cried. I do. Even still, I also have to trust that God cares for him far more than I will ever be able.
I love listening to the college stories. I love hearing about the new things he’s learning – Broadcast Journalism. And I love seeing the changes that are already taking place.
My child is becoming a man. If I don’t let go, I’ll miss this new creation that God is molding. I’ll miss the beauty of life. I don’t want to miss that.
Chonda Pierce sang a song when her oldest left for college called “Hold on Tighter”. My boys were still in middle school the first time I heard it and I remember thinking what a pretty song. I cry when I listen to it today. I get it now. The solution in letting go of my child’s hand is to grab onto the hand of God. –” You just hold on tighter to a hand that stronger.” This parent is learning how to become a child again and hold on to my Daddy’s hand while he takes care of my son.
Some things are just so stunningly beautiful that my soul cries out in joy. I find myself moved in such away that to leave the moment unnoticed or unspoken feels like deceit and I have to say something before it’s lost. I am open to beauty right now, because I’m intentionally looking for it whether it is in poetry, art, nature, or people.
I read dozens of blogs a week. I don’t read all of them every day, but I do visit when I can. Some speak to my heart words of comfort, truth and beauty, some speak wisdom, others speak cruelty and I don’t listen to them anymore. My heart is far more vulnerable than I give it credit so I’m learning to protect it.
My heart hungers for beauty, truth, and love. I’ve been so caught up in the trappings of everyday, that I’d forgotten to feed it. My heart is playful, joyful, giving, and strong. There are also broken places that are mending and I need to remember the gentle hand of God while he tends to those inner beats.
Our Sunday Morning Women’s Class is studying the book Captivating. I am the facilitator and I’ve struggled with it. Not because it’s a bad study – quite the contrary. I’m struggling with it, because it is so humbling and requires me to stretch and remember.
For two months, we’ve studied beauty and I’ve purposefully sought her face in my surroundings, in my travels, in my backyard, and in the mirror. Beauty is not as elusive and one would think. God has a beauty to unveil in his universe, in our lives, and in us. I’d lost sight of that, and need to retrain my eyes.
I’ve been spending my time lately reading poetry, drinking new wine (literally and figuratively), and being still until I couldn’t sit still anymore – my spirit has been rewarded with a new sense of peace and I love it.
“A woman at rest communicates that all is well in the world.” – Staci Eldridge
Deana O'Hara - Speaker, Comedian, Writer 