Comments on: And God said… “choose the Cocoa Puffs… with soy milk” http://www.newlife-glastonbury.org/blog/2009/07/28/and-god-said-choose-the-cocoa-puffs-with-soy-milk/ Thoughts on faith and culture from the community of NewLife Christian Fellowship, Glastonbury, CT Tue, 07 Feb 2012 03:05:51 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 hourly 1 By: Robin http://www.newlife-glastonbury.org/blog/2009/07/28/and-god-said-choose-the-cocoa-puffs-with-soy-milk/comment-page-1/#comment-20451 Robin Thu, 27 Aug 2009 14:10:33 +0000 http://www.newlife-glastonbury.org/blog/2009/07/28/and-god-said-choose-the-cocoa-puffs-with-soy-milk/#comment-20451 "Robin seems to be seeking the right church. If God is meeting her at any of them, great! But it sounds like she wants to choose the “best” one. Maybe she should ask which one needs her the most?" Umm... I never said i was looking for the" best" one. I wouldn't begin to know what the best church was and I suspect it does not exist here on Earth anyway. “Robin seems to be seeking the right church. If God is meeting her at any of them, great! But it sounds like she wants to choose the “best” one. Maybe she should ask which one needs her the most?”

Umm… I never said i was looking for the” best” one. I wouldn’t begin to know what the best church was and I suspect it does not exist here on Earth anyway.

]]> By: Danelle http://www.newlife-glastonbury.org/blog/2009/07/28/and-god-said-choose-the-cocoa-puffs-with-soy-milk/comment-page-1/#comment-20376 Danelle Sun, 23 Aug 2009 23:58:07 +0000 http://www.newlife-glastonbury.org/blog/2009/07/28/and-god-said-choose-the-cocoa-puffs-with-soy-milk/#comment-20376 "This is the way; walk in it" is such a helpful/ not helpful verse. I always want to say, "WHICH way?!" I wish it could be easier to "figure things out." But "whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it as unto the Lord." This makes me think that God lets us freely choose whatever we want to do, so long as it doesn't go contrary to scripture. (Marrying a non-believer, for example, is not the right way.) God does give clear direction about some things. My problem is figuring out what is the BEST way! I hope that I am always seeking God's best for my life, but admittedly, there have been times I wanted to do my own way. Robin seems to be seeking the right church. If God is meeting her at any of them, great! But it sounds like she wants to choose the "best" one. Maybe she should ask which one needs her the most? I'll never forget what my first IVCF staff worker said about finding a spouse. So many people are concerned about finding "the one." Their "destiny." He said he didn't know if she was "the one" until he was standing at the altar saying his vows. Then, after he promised to love her, cherish her, care for her, etc. he finally knew that she was "the one." The will of God is to obey his word, choose for ourselves and do it all for His glory. Now isn't that an easy answer? So clear! ;) “This is the way; walk in it” is such a helpful/ not helpful verse. I always want to say, “WHICH way?!” I wish it could be easier to “figure things out.” But “whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it as unto the Lord.” This makes me think that God lets us freely choose whatever we want to do, so long as it doesn’t go contrary to scripture. (Marrying a non-believer, for example, is not the right way.) God does give clear direction about some things.
My problem is figuring out what is the BEST way! I hope that I am always seeking God’s best for my life, but admittedly, there have been times I wanted to do my own way. Robin seems to be seeking the right church. If God is meeting her at any of them, great! But it sounds like she wants to choose the “best” one. Maybe she should ask which one needs her the most?
I’ll never forget what my first IVCF staff worker said about finding a spouse. So many people are concerned about finding “the one.” Their “destiny.” He said he didn’t know if she was “the one” until he was standing at the altar saying his vows. Then, after he promised to love her, cherish her, care for her, etc. he finally knew that she was “the one.”
The will of God is to obey his word, choose for ourselves and do it all for His glory. Now isn’t that an easy answer? So clear! ;)

]]> By: Eric Stillman http://www.newlife-glastonbury.org/blog/2009/07/28/and-god-said-choose-the-cocoa-puffs-with-soy-milk/comment-page-1/#comment-19862 Eric Stillman Fri, 31 Jul 2009 14:13:58 +0000 http://www.newlife-glastonbury.org/blog/2009/07/28/and-god-said-choose-the-cocoa-puffs-with-soy-milk/#comment-19862 thanks for sharing your experiences, Robin... it is hard for me not to get overwhelmed just even mentioning the subject of God's will - the questions seem to far outweigh the answers. I may just get up there on Sunday and say "I don't know" and sit down. Or I may speak for 8 hours and say too much. So... pray for me as I try to find the happy medium, and I'll pray for you as you continue to walk in your relationship with God. thanks for sharing your experiences, Robin… it is hard for me not to get overwhelmed just even mentioning the subject of God’s will – the questions seem to far outweigh the answers. I may just get up there on Sunday and say “I don’t know” and sit down. Or I may speak for 8 hours and say too much. So… pray for me as I try to find the happy medium, and I’ll pray for you as you continue to walk in your relationship with God.

]]> By: Robin http://www.newlife-glastonbury.org/blog/2009/07/28/and-god-said-choose-the-cocoa-puffs-with-soy-milk/comment-page-1/#comment-19860 Robin Fri, 31 Jul 2009 14:05:06 +0000 http://www.newlife-glastonbury.org/blog/2009/07/28/and-god-said-choose-the-cocoa-puffs-with-soy-milk/#comment-19860 <p>Hey Eric, You said:<br /> "And somewhere else, there is a woman who is staying home on Sundays because she has not heard God’s voice telling her which of the many churches she has visited is the one her family should be attending. "</p> <p>Ouch!... But that statement does fit me pretty well, as I have explored a number of different Churches this Summer and am still undecided. My problem is not so much, waiting for God to lead me (or lead me back) to one Church specifically, but that I find them all so interesting. For me there are just too many choices... Online, Grace based, Emergent, Traditional(well ok prob not that) Charismatic, Fundie etc etc etc. even Catholic! I feel the same degree of angst at the grocery store when I picking out toothpaste, as I'm easily over whelmed, when presented with all those colorful little boxes, much like your cereal lady. In the spirit of transparency, I will confess it's always, Peanut Butter Puffins and Lite Vanilla Soy Milk for me ;-) and Trader Joes Natural toothpaste with Fluoride.</p> <p>This process has been both an beautiful and agonizing journey but the down side has been loss of a real life community to worship with on a consistent basis and all that it offers and I miss that. I very grateful to the members of New Life who have stayed connected with me during this time. You guys rock! </p> <p>What I really need help with, is that I feel the presence of God everywhere, so I have not been able to discern what His will is. Honestly, I don't feel or hear Him more in one place than the other, except maybe, outside in the Woods when I'm walking. Sadly, there is no "Church that Meets in the Woods" around here(or anywhere I suppose) so it limits me to man made structures, which always feel so separate from Him and His beautiful creation.</p> <p>I know I'm rambling but I can't help thinking of a Christian friend who answers every request with, "Sister I'll have to pray on it." I often found it to be an easy way out when he dose not want to do something and doesn't have the guts to say no to my face. So, I can see where praying for every little thing can be a cop out but the other hand how do we know which things are important to God and His will for us? Maybe when I pick out my cereal, I'll meet someone at that exact spot in the cereal aisle who needs to talk and the end result will be that they accept the Lord? This actually happened to me recently at CVS...Praise God!</p> <p>Anyway, awesome blog with lots of interesting questions. I recently did a study on Proverbs but found the lack of a narrative to be sort of distracting. It just seemed like a string of "words of wisdom" without context, one after the other. I'll be interested to see how you approach it and will definitely check it out. Take care and God Bless you and your beautiful family. </p> <p>I</p> <p>\</p> Hey Eric, You said:
“And somewhere else, there is a woman who is staying home on Sundays because she has not heard God’s voice telling her which of the many churches she has visited is the one her family should be attending. “

Ouch!… But that statement does fit me pretty well, as I have explored a number of different Churches this Summer and am still undecided. My problem is not so much, waiting for God to lead me (or lead me back) to one Church specifically, but that I find them all so interesting. For me there are just too many choices… Online, Grace based, Emergent, Traditional(well ok prob not that) Charismatic, Fundie etc etc etc. even Catholic! I feel the same degree of angst at the grocery store when I picking out toothpaste, as I’m easily over whelmed, when presented with all those colorful little boxes, much like your cereal lady. In the spirit of transparency, I will confess it’s always, Peanut Butter Puffins and Lite Vanilla Soy Milk for me ;-) and Trader Joes Natural toothpaste with Fluoride.

This process has been both an beautiful and agonizing journey but the down side has been loss of a real life community to worship with on a consistent basis and all that it offers and I miss that. I very grateful to the members of New Life who have stayed connected with me during this time. You guys rock!

What I really need help with, is that I feel the presence of God everywhere, so I have not been able to discern what His will is. Honestly, I don’t feel or hear Him more in one place than the other, except maybe, outside in the Woods when I’m walking. Sadly, there is no “Church that Meets in the Woods” around here(or anywhere I suppose) so it limits me to man made structures, which always feel so separate from Him and His beautiful creation.

I know I’m rambling but I can’t help thinking of a Christian friend who answers every request with, “Sister I’ll have to pray on it.” I often found it to be an easy way out when he dose not want to do something and doesn’t have the guts to say no to my face. So, I can see where praying for every little thing can be a cop out but the other hand how do we know which things are important to God and His will for us? Maybe when I pick out my cereal, I’ll meet someone at that exact spot in the cereal aisle who needs to talk and the end result will be that they accept the Lord? This actually happened to me recently at CVS…Praise God!

Anyway, awesome blog with lots of interesting questions. I recently did a study on Proverbs but found the lack of a narrative to be sort of distracting. It just seemed like a string of “words of wisdom” without context, one after the other. I’ll be interested to see how you approach it and will definitely check it out. Take care and God Bless you and your beautiful family.

I

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