Holy as He is Holy....

Yesterday in staff meeting. Which always blows me away. Because it's me. 3 pastors. Our administrator. And our office manager, who relects true inner grace and beauty more than anyone I have ever come across. They all have at least 11 years on me. And have such spiritual maturity that at times I feel like just an infant.

Anyhow we did a little church health assesment. My senior pastor is working on his Doctorate. His on the O. He figures it will take him roughly 6 years to get it. He's on his 2nd. So it's the O. However the church assesment was for an upcoming class that he is taking.

We had to answer some very thought provoking questions.
Previous church assesments I have been involved in have been as simple as
"How many small groups do you have?" "Are they well attended?" "How many people come to your church?"
Lame questions - that don't really give you an good idea of the health of your church.

We answered as a team - questions like:

**To what extent are people in our church committed to being holy as God is holy?
**To what extent do the people in our church avoid judgemental attitudes and accept one another just as Christ has accepted them?
**To what extent are the people in our church committed to doing good works because of thier salvation?
**To what extent are the people in our church praying that they will reflect the love and holiness of God Himself?
**To what extent are people in our church ministering to one another by practicing all of the "one-another" injuctions?

That is just a few of the questions we answered about the health of our church. But to reflect on them... to ask myself those same questions. To what extent am I commited to being holy as God is holy? I think about the word "committed". The first thing that comes to mind, is the commitment I have to my husband. He will be my husband until we die. He is the only man in my life. He will come before everything in my life, but not before God. It is a strong commitment. But is a commitment really a commitment if it is not strong? Am I committed to being holy as God is holy? I think I have a wussy commitment to being holy - or I wouldn't curse in my mind, just because the word doesn't make it out of my mouth, doesn't mean I am being holy. That is just ONE example of not being holy. I know I will never be holy as He is holy, but what commitment do I have to trying? I think it's a lame one. An "I'll come to your Christmas party, if I feel up to it" kind of commitment. An "I'll get up at 6:30am, when I don't really have to" kind of commitment.

I know realization of it is the first step to truly being committed to being holy as God is holy.

I wanted to write about my pregnancy, but theres not much to say. I'm 17 weeks. Have not felt the baby move yet. We have an ultrasound schedule for Dec. 24th at 10:15 am, where we will get to see the baby. The ultrasound tech will put GIRL or BOY in an envelope and we will open it with my crazy family on Dec. 25th at 11:01am. I say 11:01am because we can not go to my mom's before 11 to open presents because her and my step-dad sleep forever in the mornings.... In 10 weeks I will beging my third and final trimester. Nothing in my life has ever passed me by faster than the last 17 weeks, and I know the next 10 will fly by. Then, I hear, time slows down a little bit. I am enjoying every new phase, craving, and pain that I am having.

I have directed my first Christmas program as a Children's Ministry Director. It will be the Sunday, December 16th. So wierd to know that in 4 more Christmas' that our first child could be in the church Christmas program. And if he or she is anything like thier Dad, they won't stay out of the spotlight.

It's now 4:42pm. It's time for me to leave work and enjoy my non-minstry Thursday evening. (That means my husband and I can do whatever we want and don't have to go to Youth Group, Awana, BFC meeting, or any of the other things that we do on most other nights of the week.)