Have a Little Talk

My daughter and I have a routine we follow most days when she gets home from school. I say, "Hi honey, how was your day?" She responds and then says, "How was your day?" Recently I responded with, "I'm wiped out! I had an argument with my friend." To which my sweet girl replied, "Moma, they need to talk to Jesus!" It made me smile, because my girl was so quick to take up for her Moma.

It also reminded me of a song that I grew up singing in church. And at the risk of revealing just how far in the South I grew up, it was called "Just a Little Talk with Jesus", I think! Here's the words to the part I remember:

Now let us have a little talk with Jesus

Let us tell him all about our troubles

He will hear our faintest cry he will answer by and by

And when you feel a little prayer wheel turnin'

And you will know a little fire is burnin'

Find a little talk with Jesus makes it right

So I took my sweet girl's advice and had a little talk with Jesus about the argument with my friend. God is good and brings restoration and reconciliation if we're willing. He did for me and my friend and used my teenager to help me see it was possible. Amazing.

For those of you wondering about the song, look what I found on the wonderful web. Click here for a treat, Elvis style! Be warned, you made feel the need to tap your feet. Just make sure no one is watching. Enjoy your day and have a little talk with Jesus everyday.

Shine

I had the privilege this past weekend to speak at Shine, an event for women at Hilton Head Island Community Church. It was such a blessing to see God moving in the hearts of these women to start small group Bible studies at their church. We talked a lot about the importance of making connections to the body of Christ as believers. Those connections are what hold us accountable and keep us grounded in God's Word. We used the model of the early church found in Acts to set-up what a small group looks like and how each of us can participate. Acts 2:42 taught us that the believers were devoted to:

• The teachings of Jesus (the study of God's Word)
  


• The fellowship (the small group and the church)
  


• The breaking of bread together (communion and sharing of meals)
  


• Prayer (for each other, the small group and the church at large)
  

As someone who has been involved with small groups for over half my life now, it was a great reminder for me. I just finished Max Lucado's book, Fearless, and in it he has some great thoughts about the desire for the church to connect physically to the body of Christ. He reminds us that it is possible because the church is the body of Christ. He says, "When you interlock your understanding with mine, and we share our discoveries…When we mix, mingle, confess, and pray, Christ speaks." That alone should make the sacrifice of our time and energy worth the commitment.

I am so thankful to Cynthia Cullen and her team for having me and my family with them this weekend. We are blessed.