Monday, September 27, 2010

A Pencil's Lesson

I had to share this great, simple message with you today. A friend emailed this to me recently, and it is definitely worth sharing:

A PENCIL MAKER TOLD THE PENCIL 5 IMPORTANT LESSONS JUST BEFORE PUTTING IT IN THE BOX :

  1. Everything you do will always leave a mark.
  2. You can always correct the mistakes you make.
  3. The important thing is inside of you.
  4. In life, you will undergo painful sharpenings, which will only make you better.
  5. To be the best pencil, you must allow yourself to be held and guided by the hand that holds you.

You...a tool in the Master's hand! Enjoy your blessed day,

Krista Dunk, http://www.kbwomen.com/

Friday, September 24, 2010

Do You Know Your Everyday Calling?

Want to discover your God-given gifts? Want to stop wasting time, mental energy and effort on things you're not sure is God's will for your life? Do you enjoy your role on Sundays serving at church, but then remain unsatisfied with Monday - Saturday? Believe me...I've been there...But I did not stay there!

Just 1 week left to register for the October 2nd, 3-hour workshop in Lacey, WA, called The "Your Everyday Calling Workshop."

In this workshop, Krista Dunk will take participants through a series of exercises, assessments, group work, and questions to help each participant begin to seek God for His plan for their lives. Registration is just $34. For the cost of a pair of shoes, the information gained will be priceless...
Just a few spots left to be filled - sign up today at http://www.youreverydaycalling.com/!

Hope to see you there...

Thursday, September 23, 2010


Love Me Where You're At - By Pastor Francis Frangipane (En EspaƱol)

I have discovered that, as we seek the Lord, our most difficult periods can be transformed into wonderful breakthroughs into God's love. For me, one such season occurred during the years 1979 to1981. The association of churches with which I was aligned had fallen under spiritual deception. Not only were its core doctrines increasingly seeded with New Age influences, but immorality crept in, and key leaders began leaving their wives for other women. I could no longer remain silent. As a result, in 1979 I left my congregation in Detroit, Michigan, where I had served as pastor, and traveled to the organization's regional headquarters in Iowa. I came to plead for repentance. However, after meeting with the senior leaders, I was asked to leave the group.

So here we were – we had left our church, we had no money, and we had four little children; we couldn't even afford basic housing. Desperate for anything, we finally found an old farmhouse in rural Washington, Iowa. The home was over a hundred years old, but it actually looked much older. After negotiating with the landlord, we were given a year of free rent provided I did basic repairs to the house, such as cleaning and painting.

Even so, the house needed more than I could provide. The furnace did not work well, so we installed a wood burner stove in the kitchen. That first winter, it turned out, was one of the coldest in Iowa's history. Frost formed on the inside walls, spreading a foot or two around each window; wind chills dropped to 60 below, and even colder on several occasions.

To keep warm each night, the whole family cuddled tightly on one large mattress on the dining room floor, about 18 feet from the wood burner in the kitchen. A fan behind the stove nudged warm air in our direction. My nightly project, of course, was to build enough heat in the stove to keep us warm until morning.
While I worked the fire, I also would pray and seek God. The wood burner became a kind of altar to me, for each night as I prayed, I offered to God my unfulfilled dreams and the pain of my spiritual isolation. Yes, I knew the Lord was aware of our situation. Though we had virtually nothing, He showed Himself to us in dozens of little ways. I just didn't know what He wanted of me.

As the seasons came and went, another child was born, and then we fostered a young girl from Vietnam, giving us six children. Still, as the family grew, the little area around the wood burner became a hallowed place to me. Even in the summer, I would sit on the chair next to the stove and pray and worship.

I would like to say I found the joy of the Lord during this time, but in truth, though I gradually adjusted to my situation, I felt an abiding misery in my soul. Our deep poverty was an issue (I barely made $6,000 a year), but more than that, I felt like I had missed the Lord. My continual prayer was, "Lord, what do You want of me?"

Three years of seeking God passed, and I still carried an emptiness inside. What was God's will for me? I had started a couple Bible studies and spoken a few times in churches, but I so identified with being a pastor that, until I was engaged again in full-time ministry, I feared I had lost touch with God's call on my life.

In spite of this inner emptiness concerning ministry, I actually was growing spiritually, especially in areas that were previously untilled. I went through the Gospels, hungry to study and obey the words of Christ. Previously, I had unconsciously defined a successful ministry as something born of my performance. During this time, however, the Lord reduced me to simply being a disciple of Jesus Christ.

Indeed, a number of things I thought were biblical I discovered were really just religious traditions. The Lord desired that I take inventory of my heart and examine those few truths for which I would be willing to die. He said the truths for which I would die, for these I should live.

Frankly, things like the timing of the rapture or nuances about worship style or spiritual gifts dropped in their priority, though I still considered them important. Rising to the top of my focus was a passion to be a true follower of Jesus Christ – to obey His teachings and approach life not merely as a critic but more as an encourager. I also found myself increasingly free to enjoy and learn from Christians from other streams and perspectives.

Yet, these changes, though deep and lasting, occurred slowly, almost imperceptibly. They were happening quietly in my heart, and only in hindsight did I see what the Lord had done. Throughout this time, I was preoccupied with feelings of detachment from God's will. My prayer to know the Lord's plan for me continued daily.

The Breakthrough - One day, as I stood in the kitchen pantry, I repeated again my abiding prayer: "Lord, what do You want of me?" In a sudden flash of illumination, the Lord answered. Speaking directly to my heart, He said, "Love Me where you're at."

In this time and season, remember, I was not a pastor or minister. I was a television repairman doing odd jobs on the side to provide for my family. I hated what I was doing. In my previous church I taught against TV and now I was "laying hands" on television sets and raising them from the dead! The Lord's answer cut straight to my heart. I was awed at its simplicity! I asked, "Love You where I am at? Lord, is that all You want of me?" To this He responded, "This is all I will ever require of you."

In that eternal moment peace flooded my soul and I was released from the false expectation of ministry-driven service. God was not looking at what I did for Him, but who I became to Him in love. The issue in His heart was not whether I pastored, but whether I loved Him. To love the Lord in whatever station I found myself – even as a television repairman – this I could do!

A deep and remarkable transformation occurred in me. My identity was no longer in being a pastor but rather in becoming a true lover of God. Having settled my priorities, amazingly, just a couple days later I was invited to pastor a church in Marion, Iowa. In spite of all my previous anxiety about returning to ministry, I did not jump at the opportunity. For I had found what the Lord truly desired of me. Though I eventually accepted this call, my focus was not merely on leading a church but on loving God.

What God SeeksMore than one's ministry, God seeks our love. His great commandment is that we love Him, ultimately, with all our mind, all our heart, and all our soul and strength. If we love Him, we will fulfill all He requires of us (John 14:15). And it is as we love Him that He orchestrates all things to work together for our good (Rom. 8:28).

Beloved, loving God is not hard. We can fulfill any assignment – auto mechanic or housewife, doctor or college student – and still give great pleasure to our heavenly Father. We do not need ministry titles to love the Lord. Indeed, God measures the value of our lives by the depth of our love. This is what He requires of every true God-seeker: to love Him where we are at.

Lord Jesus, the revelation of Your love has swept me off my feet. Lord, You have drawn me and I run after You. Master, even in the mundane things of life, I shall express my love for You. Consume me in Your love.

by Frangipane Ministries, Inc.Copyright (c) 2010 All rights reserved. Unless otherwise stated, all Scripture quotations were taken from the NASB.
Please visit our
website for additional messages and resources. If you wish to contact us with comments or questions about this article, you may do so by writing us at comments@frangipane.org.

Monday, September 20, 2010

To Celebrate (or compete with) Someone's Calling...


"The Lord has assigned to each his task...The man who plants and the man who waters have one purpose, and each will be rewarded according to his own labor." -from 1 Corinthians 3


In business and life, we come in contact with lots of talented people. We see leaders, CEO's, pastors, and mentors doing great things and making a difference in the world; planting and watering as 1 Corinthians discusses. That is often what we desire for ourselves and is one of the purposes of our businesses.

The problem is when an unhealthy spirit of competition rises up within us. When this happens, we covet someone else's position, impact and/or gifts. Have you ever had thoughts rise up that say things like, "I could do their job or run their business better, why don't I have that ability, how did they get to that level without the education level I have, or why did she get that opportunity and not me?" We may not realize it, but we may be coveting and competing with that other person's calling, rather than supporting it.

Maybe the truth is you could do their job better. Maybe you could have done something great with that opportunity or position too. But honestly, it doesn't matter. God knows the plans He has for you. He knows the good works He has called you to. Their calling is not your calling.

Having not known God's plan for me for many years, I say this from personal experience; Many of us who do not operate in our gifts and calling feel frustrated, and feel a sense of competition with those who do. I am not talking about the feelings you get when you see someone effectively using their gifts and abilities that spur you on to the next level, to getting creative or towards growth, as that is a good thing! I am talking about judgmental feelings; competitive feelings; jealous feelings; unsupportive feelings; even feelings of self doubt.

On the flip side, when we understand our role and God's unique plan for us, celebrating someone else's gifts and calling becomes easier. Being critical fades away, and encouragement replaces it. We begin to recognize when someone else has stepped up to take their place in business, in ministry or in life and we can celebrate and support them! Then, we can even feel more confident about, celebrate and thank God for the work He is doing through us as well.

Just keeping it real :-)

Friday, September 10, 2010

The "Your Everyday Calling Workshop" Invitation

Do you know your everyday calling? Join Krista Dunk on October 2nd, in Lacey, WA, for a 3-hour workshop. Please view this 4-minute video with more info, then visit www.YourEverydayCalling.com for full details. See you there!

Tuesday, September 7, 2010

Dream Chaser


"On your mark... get set... G…… Hey, wait a minute... you didn’t wait until I said go. Hold up. Okay, fine. I can catch you anyway, at least I hope I can. I can. I will."

So, I run down the road, onto the gravel, hop over logs, up the dunes, down to the beach, into the waves, out again, into town, in the house, up the stairs. I stop.

"Hello? Where are you? I was right behind you for awhile but I couldn’t keep up. Why are you always running ahead of me? Yes, I am talking to you, my Dream. Why are you always running ahead of me? All I want to do is catch up with you. Can I do that for just a moment? All I desire, my Dream, is to live for a moment in unison with you. That is all I ask – just a moment here and there to live in unison with you. Did I make a wrong turn? Should I go back? Why do you avoid me? Why do you stay just out of my reach? Maybe the better question is why do I keep following you? Why?"

"O.K., really, why?"

"It’s simple really... because I believe in you, my Dream. And when the moment comes that I do catch up to you, and live in unison with you, that moment is a miracle. A natural occurrence of life."

Life is about following a dream wherever it may take me. And miracles are as natural as breath. The only thing unnatural about miracles is when they don’t happen.

So, yes I will follow my Dream. I will chase it, I will find short cuts if I can – but the key is that I know we will have our moments of unison – my Dream and I.

My life is nothing but living in, being with, waiting for, expecting soon, and sincerely pursuing my dreams and thus I live a life of miracles.

by Teri Hawkins - Master Teacher, International Speaker, Best-Selling Author, Philanthropist, Money Magazine's Top 1000 Female Entrepreneurs, and President of the National Speakers Club www.NationalSpeakersClub.com