I never saw the movie… and I know only a little about the history… but it seems 300 is a good number for accomplishing great things… And on Sunday for the first time in Chandler’s history we had 300 in worship.
“…at counting time she said I left out sixteen. Who needs sixteen?!” – Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day
Yesterday I found myself working with Ivy on her numbers. She can count very high, but never counts fifteen. So I decided on my off day I would fix this problem… ah confidence… So we began to work. There were struggles so I decided to offer an amazing carrot – dinner at Chick-fil-a. This was BIG incentive for Ivy and soon enough she was counting perfectly to fifteen! I am pretty good – except when I asked her to count to twenty, now she was dropping out sixteen… This is where we left things, after much work and tears for Chick-fil-a, I made a frozen pizza. Where did these numbers go? Neither myself nor Ivy could ever figure it out.
“At school Mrs Dickens liked Paul’s picture of a sail boat better than my picture of the invisible castle.” – Alexander
It is funny how wrapped up we get in numbers. Certainly Ivy will need to count to twenty and beyond eventually. But I am sure when the time comes for Ivy to get her driver’s license she will no longer want to skip sixteen! Now it does not really matter. At least not beyond silly parent competitions where we stack our children side by side ~ and I can always win the whose child “sings louder” contest! HA! In the end I can say it has nothing to do with me – gracious my teaching skills only create tears!!! (Doesn’t this make you want to come to Bible Study).
In the church we lay out numbers as markers of success. Numbers are nice and tangible; they are easy to measure. So Sunday was HUGE success -at least on paper. BUT the Kingdom of God is turning the world upside down. The tangible is no longer reality. In the Kingdom we are after invisible castles. Goals that can not be measured because they are hearts overflowing with the love of Christ. Lives moving forward by the Spirits commands!
I say this can not be measured, but when you encounter them you know. And this is kind of church we want to build. One not based on numbers on paper, but on the Spirit’s outpouring.
And 300 may be just the place to start. No, not the number on Sunday, but on the Spirit that would propel a group to stand against the odds. And in His strength we will achieve great things!
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“I desperately hope she keeps that confidence, that verve, that fearlessness. I believe that stuff can change the world.” ~ Joe Posnanski on his youngest daughter
My 300 blog says something about me. I am very self reflective and never satisfied. Hence, I talk about the uselessness of numbers right when a big number was achieved. Of course what I write is true, but at the same time I can be a real joy thief…. to be candid, I do not worry about stealing your joy. Anyone reading this is prepared for the chaos that is Sean. But I do worry about someone who likes to drop numbers. She is a brilliant and happy person – a trait I do not want her to lose. The world is a dark and uncaring place, so I want her to be tough – to be prepared. But at the same time I do not want to be the one undercuts her joy. It would break my heart to not hear her sing at the top of the lungs, just for fear that it might not be perfect… Why am I writing this? Just as a simple request for prayer. I need your prayers, but even more my girls need your prayers. That they may survive their father (or husband)!!!
PLUNGE47 