WOW!!!

WOW!!! I don’t know what else to say! I have just witnessed the most amazing Baptism service ever!

When the service started today, there was a “reserved” section for the people that had planned to be baptized today. A handful of people were sitting in that section. But after our Pastor finished his sermon, people were coming out of the woodwork to be baptized! I had never seen anything like it. People fully clothed in their “church clothes” being baptized. They didn’t plan on being baptized…didn’t bring t-shirts and shorts or towels…they just got out of their seats and decided to get baptized.

And the amount of people! Oh my goodness! There were two baptismals, and the lines of people wrapped around the auditorium (the auditorium seats about 1500). There was never a gap waiting for a person to be baptized at either one of the baptismals…at times there were two people being baptized together! When it was time for the service to end (because there was another service in 30 minutes), people were still being baptized.

Also, this wasn’t your ordinary baptism atmosphere. The music was loud and it was a huge celebration…a PARTY is how our Pastor put it! It truly brought tears to my eyes to see these people being baptized and the entire church celebrating with them. The young, the old, the single, the married, children, teenagers…everyone was represented. And let me tell you, it was a huge PARTY! Talk about excitement, enthusiasm and people cheering and clapping. It was absolutely incredible! In all my years of attending church, I have never experienced anything like I experienced today. Amazing – I truly cannot find the words to express what was happening at our church.

And…the biggest blessing of all was seeing my children, Levi and Aislynn, baptized today. We are praising God and having our own special celebration! There is an amazing comfort knowing that all of my children are followers of Christ and that their security will forever be in Jesus! Thank you Lord for blessing my children with the amazing gift of eternal life!

A Glimpse Into Depression

I know...I know...I'm freaked out too...2 blogs in one month!

I know people who don't suffer from depression have a hard time relating to those of us who do...because...let's face it...it's just something that can't be understood until you experience it. A person will NEVER understand the desperation of depression until they have lived it.

Our Pastor has preached two really good sermons regarding depression (one is the testimony of his wife). I thought it might be helpful and give some insight to others. Here are the links:

http://www.flatironschurch.com/listen/09.24.06/flvplayer.php

http://www.flatironschurch.com/messages/life_interrupted/02.28.09/index.html

Dinner at the Fisher Household

Dinner at the Fisher household is definitely a unique experience. There is a lot of controlled chaos. There is a lot of noise. Most importantly, there is a lot of laughter. Instead of trying to explain what a typical dinner hour looks like, I thought that I would just bring you into it. Pull up a chair and join us for dinner.

Keri: Who would like a baked potato tonight?

Fisher Children (singing in unison, with no prompting of course):

“If you like to talk to tomatoes…If a squash can make you smile…If you like to waltz with potatoes…Up and down the produce aisle...Have we got a show for you! VeggieTales, VeggieTales, VeggieTales, VeggieTales"

{No…I’m not making this up!}

I finish serving the meal and sit down to join my family.

Levi says the brief but meaningful prayer. Amen!

Immediately the kids begin to argue over who gets to do “High/Low” for the night. We finally decide that it is Austin’s turn and he begins with a British accent.

"Mother, what was your high for the day?”

“I got all of the laundry done!”

Austin, continuing in the British accent, “And what was your low?”

“I really didn’t have one”

All the kids: “Nope…nope Mom…you have to have a low. It’s the lowest point of your day.”

“Ok…I had to do the laundry.”

Austin: “Aislynn, what was your high for the day”

Aislynn: “I got a lollipop in Spanish.”

The boys immediately break out in song:

“Lollipop lollipop. Oh lolli lolli lolli. Lollipop *POP*

(Yes, they actually stuck their fingers in their mouth and made the “popping” sound.)

Mike and I burst out laughing and look at each other “where the heck did that come from?!”

Austin continues around the table and stays in character the whole time. (Oh, by the way, even though you are a guest here this evening, it doesn’t let you off the hook…so get ready to answer!)

Once Austin finishes with everyone around the table, he becomes quiet. This is our cue…someone at the table has to ask Austin what his high and low were.

Aislynn: “Austin what was your high today?”

Austin psyches everyone up and begins making motions in the air with his arms:

“Suspense…suspense…suspense…”

He keeps at it for so long we all finally shout “Austin!

After “High/Low” the chaos begins. We are reminding each child not to interrupt and that there is a certain decibel level that our ears can handle. The funny thing is that they are not being obnoxious or unruly…they are just truly excited to share their day, thoughts, ideas, etc. with us.

What? What is this? An actual brief moment of silence?? I jump at the chance and say:

“Have I mentioned how overwhelming my life is right now?”

Michael (not missing a beat):

“You think your life is bad? Think of the hobo down the street. Obama wants him to take his cardboard box, rip it into pieces, and share it with the other hobos.”

We are all laughing…even Aislynn, who doesn’t understand a lick about politics, but still thinks it’s funny. I am impressed that my 15 year old has a good understanding of the philosophy of our current president.

I look over at Michael. He is twitching. I stare at him for a moment and then the rest of the family stops what they are doing and stare as well.

“Michael WHAT are you doing?”

“I’m having a seizure, but it’s ok…I’m controlling it.”

We ALL bust a gut and laugh for a good five minutes or so. I laugh so hard that I’m about to fall out of my chair.

(Sidenote: Do you know who the Animaniacs are? If you don’t, you need to listen to this clip to have a good understanding of what is coming next (you don’t need to watch the whole thing…just get an idea..although the funniest quotes are at the end of the clip.)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UsBq_K1WLsE

So…as we continue to eat our meal, all of a sudden Michael begins talking with a perfect “Animaniacs” voice.

"Helloo. My name is Mr. Fisher and I’m a stack of wheat. I’m not wearing any pants.”

My kids burst out laughing and Mike and I look at each because we have no idea what Michael is talking about or why our children think that this little episode is so darn hilarious! Apparently we are missing out on something.

But…we can’t help but find Michael’s impersonation hysterical and join in the laughter.

(By the way, this complete randomness is very normal at our home.)

No. I have not made any of this up. This is a typical dinnertime at the Fisher household. I don’t think I could make up this stuff if I wanted to. There is a limit to my imagination. Luckily for me though, there is NO limit to my children’s imagination.

I can honestly say that dinner with my family is such a joy. I truly mean that. My kids have such a sense of humor that they always make me laugh. One thing is for sure…it is rare that we have a dinner hour that we are not laughing and enjoying each other’s company. I think that God understands how important having fun and laughter are to me, so He gave me this extra special blessing in my life. There are times that my heart grows sorrowful when I think about my children being gone and on with lives of their own. My heart sinks a bit. Those thoughts are fleeting though as I remind myself how important it is to enjoy the here and now…because before I know it, those days will be gone. I can’t help but smile from ear to ear right now…already excited about tomorrow night’s dinner. If your ever in the area, stop by and join us. You’re always welcome!

P.S. Tonight I was serenaded by Levi – “We All Live in a Yellow Submarine”

No...I Don't Want to Read "The Shack"...But I'm Glad I Did!

God continues to work in my life in only ways that God can; but, that isn’t what I want to write about right now - maybe later.

We attend Flatirons Community Church, which I think over 8,000 people attend, so meeting people can be quite the feat sometimes. God introduced me to an incredible lady, Nan, whom I met for the first time today. Through circumstances that only God could accomplish, I was sharing my burdens and she recommended that I read the book The Shack by Wm. Paul Young.

This was not the first that I had heard of this book. My husband had read it during our trip to Oklahoma, and to tell the truth, I only listened with half an ear and much skepticism. My thoughts went something like this:

· another fad ‘Christian’ book that everyone will become fanatical about
· the theologians amongst us will rip it apart and tell us all why this book should not be read by ‘Christians’
· Every ‘justification’ will be given as to why this is not a ‘Biblically based’ book, blah, blah, blah (I will mention that there are some solid Biblical truths written in this book.)

Frankly, I have neither the time nor the energy to engage in all the hub-bub and read a book that later I’m told that I shouldn’t have “bought into”. Besides, I have enough reading to do as it is with going to college! (By the way Ms. Shari, the book marks you gave me for Christmas are incredible! I absolutely LOVE them!!)

Anyways, I believe that God truly did a divine intervention in my life today, and what better reason to read a book that I wasn’t too hip about to begin with.

One of the main reasons I think the theologians will have such a great time with this book is because it definitely was written to appeal to every major religion out there. Oh, but wait…isn’t that what God wants? Doesn’t He want His love to appeal to every person on this planet? (Remember, that we are not talking about “truth” here, but of God’s love.)

Keep in the fore-front of your mind that this is a FICTION book, (meaning that it is not true (I mostly put that in there for me because I ALWAYS have a brain block remembering if fiction is true or not true.)) - that in itself should keep people from analyzing it (although as I mentioned earlier, there is definitely some Biblical truth written in this book.) Secondly, it certainly does not hurt to have a good foundation in your theology before reading this book, and lastly, if you have any questions what-so-ever be prepared to talk to a person who can answer those questions for you based upon the truth of the Bible. I would absolutely LOVE to help you answer some of those questions. (I say “some” because I myself am NOT a theologian, but I do have a good understanding of the truth in God’s Word.) If I can’t answer your question I know a tremendously knowledgeable and wise man who I can refer you to (Jeremy, if you are reading this, I may be sending some people your way!)

Ok with all of the muckity-muck out of the way, I would like to share with you what this book did for me.

I’m going to digress a moment, so bear with me. As those of you who are close to me already know, I have been struggling immensely with my relationship with God for the past several years. I really do not attempt to hide this from anyone, because being a “pretend” “Christian” is one of my biggest pet peeves. I adamantly refuse to portray the “perfect Christian”, especially when I am struggling so much myself. Do I love God? You bet. Do I believe the Bible to be true? You bet. Do I think I have it all figured out and that makes me better than the average person? ABSOLUTELY NOT! In fact, I think I’m more messed up now than I have ever been, which I ultimately know is God doing His wonderful work to make me be all that He originally intended me to be (thank you God…but it really, really hurts at times…) My relationship with Him is a continuing work until the day I walk through the Pearly Gates (I’m working on it God…I promise...but You already knew that didn’t You?) Oh, and let me mention that my relationship with my Father is separate from the salvation that He has so lovingly granted me - I will always believe that Jesus died on the cross for me and that He is exactly who the Bible says He is, and most importantly that the ONLY way that I will have salvation is through Him and Him alone.)

Ok…so someone had loaned my husband a copy of The Shack and it was still at our home, so I dived into it when we arrived home from church. I started reading around 2pm and did not stop until I had finished the book around 9pm tonight.

I am not about to divulge the plot, the characters or anything else about this book, as I believe that everyone will receive their own impression once they read it, and I feel it is pretty safe to say that it will interpret differently for every person who reads it.

What I do want to share is what this book did for me personally. It was able to meet me in a place that I desperately needed to be met and give me a message of God’s love that I desperately needed to hear. I really did not realize how much I needed to hear what this book revealed to me until I had dove into it. This book is a resounding cymbal of God’s love for His children. It was a gentle reminder of who God is and what He should be in my life. It was an amazing reminder to me that even being the “screw-up” that I ultimately am, that God still loves and cares for me and STILL wants me to seek and engage in a relationship with Him. You truly will not understand how impactful this book is until you read it.

Should you read it with discernment? Definitely. However, if you can bring yourself to a place that you can embrace the emotion and love that God has for His children, which the author does such a wonderful job of doing, you will be truly blessed. Amongst all of this, is a heart-wrenching story that will have the tears flowing and your heart aching. I also particularly enjoyed what God had to say about the modern-day church. I believe it is a concept that is found in only a small portion of today’s churches….Ahhh if only all churches (the body of Christ) could be like the ones Jesus explains in the book.

This book will definitely leave you with an overwhelming sense of God’s love for His children and definitely have you thinking through the experiences in your own life and how they have impacted your view of who God is to you currently. No, this book did not solve all of my issues and all of a sudden make my life “peachy-keen”; however, this book gave me something that I needed so much to hear at this time of my journey. A nice reminder of why I am here to begin with and what God desires from me (which, by the way, is much simpler than most of us understand.)

I encourage everyone to read this book – “Christian” or not. I would love to hear your feedback and questions regarding this book, especially from those who do not consider themselves “Christians”…oh, and for those of you who are already shying away because of the fear that this is a “holy-roller”, “come to Jesus” book - I can assure you it IS NOT! In fact, I believe that you will find it to be quite the opposite.

May God bless you as He has blessed me through this book - I needed those reminders God, and I needed the encouragement to strengthen my relationship with You.

For more information regarding The Shack, please visit http://theshackbook.com/