janiemehaffey

ANOTHER Traveling Friend

So as if it wasn't exciting enough to have local Pursuit peeps
e-journaling their 28-day journey through Matthew, now a Team Pursuit partner from up north has decided to travel along.

Check out Jose's blog. Jose is one of the biggest cheerleaders for The Pursuit.

Jose, it's fun to have you road-tripping with us. You better have brought the snacks ... and not that juice stuff!

The Ultimate Rest Stop

Yesterday, my friends, Linda, Liz, Liz's son Sam, and I got together to make soaps and bath salts for
The Pursuit's Relay for Life theme. It was a messy project but a lot of fun.

If you're planning to be at Pembroke Pines Relay for Life this weekend, be sure to stop by The Pursuit's "Ultimate Rest Stop." For a small donation to the Cancer Society, you can get a massage, hand scrub, foot soak and take home some yummy smelling soaps and salts to pamper yourself at home. :)

Matthew Day Four

Matthew 4:22 -

and immediately they left the boat and their father and followed Him.

What popped out to me from this verse?
James and John "immediately left." Verse 20 says that Peter and Andrew left "at once." What was it about Jesus that motivated these guys to all of a sudden leave everything ... career, family, home ... and follow Him?

What does that have to do with me?
Last night at Community Group, we talked about times in our lives when we have had to make quick decisions. At the time I could only think about my decision to buy something during my last shopping experience. (The rest of our group is a bunch of heroes ... all of their quick decisions had to do with life or death.)

While the decision to move to Miami wasn't a quick one (more like a 6 month process), it was not a hard decision to make. For me, in the times when I simply make myself available to God, He has been so good to show me clearly what next steps He wants me to take ... He opens doors/closes doors, provides peace and confirmation, surrounds me with Christ-followers who support the decision ... but even with all that, it's hard to explain why it was so instinctive to follow Him down here.

Despite the fact that I'm a writer by profession, it is impossible for me to put into words what it is about Jesus that compels me to follow Him. I love the fact that His charisma, His attraction, is far beyond human understanding.

My prayer:
God, thank you for Jesus. Thank you for asking me to follow Him. Thank you for breaking down the barriers that prevented me from doing so. Continue to fill my heart with a passionate (yet unexplainable) desire to immediately follow Him.

My New Assistant

I just came back from running an errand. While I was away, Matt said he all of a sudden heard the song "Dancing Queen" coming from my laptop in the other room. When he went to investigate, this is what we found.

It seems that Peezer was trying to take care of some work for me while I was away. And she needed Abba to inspire her.

Traveling Friends thru Matthew

When I logged into my Bloglines today (the place where I catch up on all the blogs I read), a smile wrapped around my ears when I saw that two of our Pursuit members have decided to journal about the 28-Day Challenge on their own blogs.

Eric Hafner (Eric is a worship leader who has been a Pursuit core leader since it all began.)

Liz Rios (Liz is a dynamic leader in world-wide ministry and a brand new member of The Pursuit.)

These are big-brained and fun people. Check them out. You'll want to read and learn from what God is speaking into their lives.

Matthew: Day Three

Matthew 3:11/12 (MSG):

The real action comes next: The main character in this drama—compared to him I'm a mere stagehand—will ignite ... a fire within you ... changing you from the inside out.

What popped out to me from this verse?:
Sometimes I like to read the Message version of the Bible because scenes like this really play out like drama. I love that John the Baptist refers to himself as a "stagehand." Although he's a pretty kookie guy (dresses weird, acts weird, eats weird stuff), his earnest desire is that all his oddities point directly to Jesus. He wants no attention on himself ... he wants to be a spotlight pointing to Christ.

What does that have to do with me?
I'm a self confessed odd duck. I do weird stuff and eat weird stuff (yes, I like liver and onions). But in all that, I want everything about me to point to Jesus.

My prayer:
God, please open my eyes to areas of my life where I'm trying to get attention. In those areas, help me to want attention only from You. Take anything that causes people to take notice of me and either a) convict me to get rid of them; or b) turn them into things that only point to and glorify You.

In Pursuit of a Cure

This has been an amazing year for my family. We've watched my dad go from being diagnosed with lung cancer in September to now being in full remission. I love how God uses the big brains of doctors and researchers to find treatments that cure this disease ... and I want to see more people cured.

That's why I'm "Relaying for Life" with the American Cancer Society this Friday and Saturday!

Please help me support this important cause by making a donation. It's fast and easy to make a secure, tax-deductible donation online. If you would prefer, you can send your contribution to the mailing address listed below.

Whatever you can give will help - it all adds up!

I greatly appreciate your support and prayers for my dad.

P.S. To send a donation, make all checks payable to: American Cancer Society
RFL of Pembroke Pines, 3407 NW 9th Avenue Suite 100
Ft. Lauderdale, Florida 33309

Matthew: Day Two

Matthew 2:15 - And so was fulfilled what the Lord had said through the prophet: "Out of Egypt I called my son."

What popped out to me from this verse?:
God designed Jesus' story from the very beginning. He had every detail planned out. God's Son was to be called out of Egypt ... but how was that going to happen if this story begins in Bethlehem?

Enter Herod.
He's an egotistical creep who believes just enough to know Jesus is a threat. The infant massacre he ordered came straight out of his fear and pride. He's just no good.

But God is the expert at taking junk and using it for good. I LOVE how God used the person who fought the most against Jesus becoming "king" to fulfill prophecy that ultimately places Jesus' on His throne. Now that's good writing.

What does that have to do with me?
God uses junk. Junk from my life and bad decisions; junk from other peoples' lives and bad decisions. He uses it all ... and redeems it to His glory.

My prayer
God, in the midst of the junk, show me how great you are. Turn my impatience into anticipation, so I can be on the edge of my seat in the midst of dealing with difficult situations or creepy people. Amen.

Matthew: Day One

Matthew 1:1 - "The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham."

What popped out to me from this verse?:
The bloodline that led to Jesus is filled with ordinary and extraordinary people. Some are legendary and started entire nations (Abraham), while others (Zadok) are this "roll-call" blip on the screen. Either way, God used their lives ... their stories ... to tell the greatest story of all: His story of bringing people back home to Him.

So what does that have to do with me?
If left to write my own story, it would be an incredibly boring "after-school-special." Nothing about it would grab your attention or compel you to watch.

BUT, with God penning the story, life becomes a tale of epic proportion. Under His authorship, life is an adventurous nail-biting block-buster that exceeds any film Oscar could ever honor. And, because I'm his adopted daughter - now of the bloodline of Christ - instead of eating popcorn and watching it happen, He allows me to get in on the action.

Sometimes, though, it gets pretty intense, and I have to close my eyes.

My prayer:
God, thank You for challenging me not to settle for a comfortable, predictable life. Thank you for showing me that a life of real fulfillment is one that is exciting, unpredictable and sometimes really hard. Give me peace and strength to endure the tough parts; give me an unsettled stirring when things get too easy. Amen.

P.S. And, God, please never put it on Matt's heart to name one of our children "Zadok."

Around the book of Matthew in 28 Days

There are certain things The Pursuit believes, and we want the whole world to know it. Over the next 5 weeks, we're taking a close look at those beliefs, starting with the fact that the Bible is God's guide for navigating our way toward a fulfilling life.

To make sure we're living out this belief, Matt challenged us to take a 28-day journey through the book of Matthew. Beginning tomorrow (Monday), he wants us to read one chapter of Matthew a day, then:

1. Write a verse that stood out to us. 2. Write a few observations about that verse. 3. Write what God might be telling us through that verse. 4. Write a prayer to God asking for additional insights.

I love the timing because day 28 will end on Easter. We'll be reading about Jesus' resurrection on the very day we'll be celebrating it!

So, for the next 28 days, in addition to other random blogs from my brain, I'll use this little corner of the webosphere to share what God is teaching me along the journey.