What’s that all about? February 22, 2009
Have you seen these around town?
Wondering what in the world they are all about? Well, first of all you could actually go to the website:) But just in case you don’t want to go to the trouble… they are advertising a new series at Newspring Church. A marriage series, yes. You are quick!
This is week two for the Florence campus. And this week we are meeting at 5:30 pm and 7:00 pm instead of in the morning. Next week we will be back to our 9:30 am and 11:15 am times. So, if you think your marriage could be stronger (ahem that would be all of us) or if you would possibly like to someday have a strong marriage…then check it out.
You can visit the Florence campus at the McNair Science Building at Fracis Marion University or you can listen to the message at www.newspring.cc. See you there?
He invaded my spaces January 12, 2009
Today was a pretty big day in the Chapman household. Newspring Florence had its official public launch today. We have been meeting as beta services twice a month since October. So much history working toward this point. Two and a half years of praying and waiting and learning….
So today was awesome! We started with two identical services and over 300 people showed up! Amazing! Mark and I were literally speechless. We saw people walk through the doors that we have prayed for and hoped would come and they came. But there are so many, many more that didn’t come so we continue to pray and invest and pray some more!
Yes, we may sound like fanatics. But it isn’t because of Newspring it is because of Christ. He transforms lives. He invades the spaces within us that we want to keep private and closed because we think people are just better off not knowing about them. We think they will like us better if they never see those places, and honestly we aren’t proud of those private places but we have no idea what to do with them so we close them off, barricade around them and pretend we don’t smell the rot coming from behind the door.
Or better yet we decorate the door and make it look as pretty and celebrated as possible so hopefully we even begin to believe the lie that the corruption and brokenness is okay and we are okay. Sometimes we even make a shrine of that very torn and broken area that is causing us so, so much pain. It is better to elevate it and make it important and seem grand than to face the fact that we need help and maybe the very Being that created us may be the only One that can fix it and make it beautiful and functional and right again.
Jesus is fixing my broken areas. He is bit by bit healing my hurts and not just bandaging them, covering them, putting a pretty bandaid on them,… no He is healing them and making them forever healed. It is more wonderful than I can express. But it has nothing to do with me, my work or my goodness or my perfection. I asked Him to invade my space and as I ask Him into my broken areas He is doing His work.
There is lots of brokenness so it takes a while. I am so a work in progress. And no, honestly it doesn’t always feel “good” but each time He is done with an area the freedom I feel makes it all worth while. This amazing cleansing process has changed my life and my perspective. Everyone needs Jesus. All of us have “stuff” that only He can heal and make new.
That is why I continue to invite people to Newspring. That is whay I continue to pray for people I love. I may be obnoxious, annoying and over the top at times. I try not to come across that way, but the reason I can’t let it go is because His grace is way too amazing. So I wish I could say this will die down. But heaven forbid it does. I love you and the invitations and prayers will keep coming. Because whether you realize it or admit it right now or not, the Truth is we ALL NEED JESUS!
Great weekend! October 22, 2008
What a weekend! Our internet has been down since Friday so sorry for my silence:) It has felt like I’ve been in Siberia not being able to be online!
The biggest news from the weekend is that Mark was offered a job with another pharmaceutical company and he accepted it. God is so so good to us! His area will be Florence/Columbia so we don’t have to move. He starts Nov. 17th and pay from his old job ends Nov. 20th. Benefits from the old job end Nov. 30th and benefits from the new job start Dec. 1st! He still basically has a month off.
Isn’t God just “over the top” amazing that after such a tough year He gives Mark a two month vacation? We are amazed, thankful and humbled! Then to top it off we served and attended our first Newspring Florence service on Sunday. It was so great to see people we have been praying with serve, people we have been praying for show up and then God show up big time.
There was an attendance of 189 and one gentleman accepted the Lord as his Saviour. Again what a great, great weekend. We also shared a spontaneous dinner with some dear friends on Friday night and got to celebrate the news of Mark’s new job. Sat. morning we painted pumpkins with some other friends that I haven’t seen in ages, and some other new friends were nice enough to invite us to an Octoberfest on Sat. night! What a fun, busy weekend!
It’s Midnight, Now What? September 13, 2008
Today while at the gym I listened to a message from Newspring Church by Perry Noble. It was from two weeks ago and it was incredible. I relistened to part of it tonight because I really wanted to write down some of the points. The message was based on the story in Acts 16 where Lydia is converted, the demon-possessed girl is set free and then Paul ends up in prison. It is titled “It’s Midnight, Now What?”. Here are just a few of the points I took away with me:
- If we focus on our fear, what we fear the most controls us.
- Focus on the cross instead of our circumstances
- Focus on who Christ is instead of what could happen.
- When we feel like we are being crushed that is when Jesus is trying to use the suffering in our lives as a megaphone to communicate to the world that God is so good.
- When we begin to worship God for WHO HE IS instead of WHAT HE DOES for us – that is when He will shake things up.
- Sometimes God uses our suffering to set other people free.
- When the bottom falls out do you have the hope to say “God is in control” and “God is good”?
I don’t know about you but that is a lot to chew on. The whole message is worth the time to listen and at the end is an amazing video about Mike who has an incredible story of faith and salvation. So watching it online is an even cooler experience. So if you have some time one night this weekend sit down and spend some time on it. You can find it at:
Living not striving... 