The Land Between

*This is not my typical blog post. It's not about the kids and the fun things that we do together, this is about life. Specifically my life. It is very rare for me to be open to many (and by many I mean the 12 people who read this blog! ha) about myself. I tend to be a little guarded in what I say and maybe that is why I don't say much about me. I'm sure you are all trembling at what I plan to say! Or clicking the exit button! But, here is a little openness from me and some things I've learned recently.

Our church staff attended the Willow Creek Global Leadership Summit via satelite location at Grace Point Church in Bentonville. The summit consists of two days of intense and uplifiting leadership advice from pastors, ceo's of high profile companies, and business thinkers based around Christian principles and how you can apply these things in your leadership where you are. I was initially excited about this opportunity, but unsure about what this would mean to me, a preschool director. I was excited to spend time with our church staff who, in my opinion, is made up of some of the strongest Christians that I have had the privledge of knowing. I feel a little unworthy of my role within the church standing next to people like them, but I know wholeheartedly that God has placed me in this role to carry out the plans he has for me.

The first speaker of the summit was Bill Hybels, who is the pastor of Willow Creek Community Church in South Barington, IL, where the summit was held. He has written many books, but was speaking from his latest book Whispers From God. He focused on the journey from "here" to "there". Your here and there and my here and there are all together different, but the journey is ultimately the same. You are fired up at the beginning, knowing that you've got great plans and excited to get started. When the finish is in sight you are inspired to follow through with what you started and cannot wait to complete your task. The difficulty is found in the middle. This is when you can lose your focus, stumble, and forget your goal. This is where setbacks occur and often times people give up. It is this middle that you need to truly focus on and celebrate the milestones on the journey from here to there. Throughout all the speakers the common thread was getting from here to there with your team of people, your congregation, or even within yourself.

I felt convicted almost instantly, because I am on a journey from here to there. My here and there is really irrelevant, but it is a difficult journey to say the least. The summit opened today with a pastor named Jeff Manion. I literally sat in my seat and felt that he was speaking directly to me...via satelite none the less! His talk was called The Land Between and he has written a book with that title (if they hadn't sold out at the summit, I would've bought one and been reading it instead of writing this! I guess a trip to Border's is on the agenda for tomorrow). He began by telling the story of Moses and the Israelites wondering in the desert. They were on a journey from here (Egypt) to there (Canaan) and were hanging out in The Land Between with only manna (which translates to "what is it?"...seriously that's what it means) and were complaining to Moses of how awful it was to only have manna when hey had meat and fish to eat in Egypt. They wanted to go back to Egypt, where they were slaves, because it seemed better to them then where they were. Seems like a crazy thought, but it rings true. It's easier to go back then forward sometimes when you see the same thing over and over again. He goes on to say that The Land Between is fertile ground for emotional meltdown and boy did they have one. Read Numbers chapter 11 for full detail on this. He goes on to say that The Land Between is fertile ground for God's provision and God's discipline, but ultimatly The Land Between is fertile ground for transformational growth. In The Land Between God is telling us, showing us, leading us to trust in him, depend on him, and pray to him. It is here where we have the choice to grow or to lose faith. WOW! Just think on that for a minute.....

God is leading us on a journey from "here to there" wherever your here to there may be. It could be within your job, your home, your family, relationships, etc. Wherever your journey is in your unique season of life, God is there to lead you and all you have to do is have faith in him. The Land Between is where God does some of his richest works. I'm reminded of Moses, Elijah, Joseph, David, Samuel, and the list goes on and on and on.

His closing remarks were this, "someone here today needed to hear this." I almost raised my hand that I did. I needed this. I am the one you're talking about. Then I realized it was via satelite and he couldn't see my hand! He also said that in our lives complaint resists eviction- it won't leave. If you continuously complain it will never go away, but trust in God can evict complaining. All you have to do is trust that God is with you as you journey through your Land Between and you will get "there" and be stronger from the ups and downs and highs and lows along the way.

I feel like I am changed from hearing this and from attending this conference. The moments that stood out to me and said things to me were many. There were phenominal speakers who gave insights that I never would have thought of and will truly benefit the way I lead, not just at work, but everywhere. When Pastor Alan asked if this was something I would like to do again I didn't hesitate to say yes! I have August 11-12 2011 marked on my calendar and in the meantime I will be exploring the digital resources that they have availiable. They have Jeff Manion's The Land Between series of sermons that he did at his church in Michigan on there and I cannot wait to hear them!

So, that is me speaking from a place that I don't normally speak from and who knows, maybe I'll do it again!