It could be as simple as wondering what a dry cappuccino is, as complicated as the tax code, or as difficult as how to potty train a two year old.

I’ll never forget being eighteen years old and not understanding the Starbucks menu. I liked coffee, but I had no clue what the difference was between latte, cappuccino, or americano was. I was embarrassed to ask the barista what they were and ordered countless drinks I didn’t like before figuring out what I did. Eventually I figured it out, but I could have saved myself some serious time, money, and frustration if I would have just asked the first time.

Why are we afraid to ask? What are we afraid of?

Asking questions shows humility.
Asking questions shows that we are willing to learn.

Parenting was one of the biggest areas I recognized that I needed to work on this area of my life. When I was pregnant with my first daughter, Lily, I started asking everyone everything I could think of. Since then I’ve asked many questions over the years and can’t imagine where I would be if I hadn’t. I attended parenting classes, read countless books, and asked every mom I know their advice on everything from breastfeeding to potty training to character building. Through that experience I’ve received so much clarity and am now much more confident in the area of parenting. I don’t know everything yet, but I’m much more confident moving forward because of my experiences so far and learning to ask for help and advice. I’m sure I’ll have many more questions as we embrace new seasons of life.

There are so many areas of life that we can learn to ask questions in. Everything from our jobs to marriage to parenting to finance.

I’m working on asking questions in many areas. I’m not great at it yet, but thankfully I’m surrounded by people who are good at it, and I’ve learned a lot from them.

I’ve said this many times before, but the idea of church planting team wasn’t always exciting for me. It was one of the those things I asked God to never make me do- along with never having to raise our own salary to live on. Well, God clearly has a sense of humor considering that He put us right in the middle of both of those things at the same time. The day Andy invited us to join him and Stacie in starting South Bay, I knew it was the Holy Spirit speaking through him.

When we gave Andy a “yes, we are with you” answer in September of 07, we jumped in with both feet. Early on, it was clear, we were in the middle of something bigger than ourselves.

When we moved to California on Sept. 1st, 2008 we had no idea where South Bay Church would meet. Within those first few weeks we began looking at a nearby elementary school to hold our monthly preview services. We were told a public school wouldn’t likely allow a church to meet in it, but we knew that God was bigger than a public school.

If He wanted us there, He would open the doors, and He did.
For more than three years, with the exception of Christmas Eve, every service was held in that very school.

Last Sunday we transitioned from being portable to permanent.

Our team had anticipated this day for a long time. It’s not easy being portable. The set-up team started every Sunday at 6:45am transforming a school gym into a worship experience for adults and a library, classrooms, and hallways into our Baykids area. When it was all over it all went back into a U-haul and two trailers until the next week. It was worth it, it was part of the process, but getting a more permanent facility was exciting for everyone involved.

The road to permanent wasn’t easy. Every step of the way required a miracle from God.

Raising funds was a miracle.
Finding a building was a miracle.
Getting permits to get inside the building was a miracle.
Renovating the building was a miracle.
Getting the fire inspection was a miracle.

I guess God wanted us to remember that we couldn’t have gotten there without Him.
I think we all got that message loud and clear.

Sunday was incredible.

Many of our staff and volunteers were up until well after midnight every day last week getting everything ready and working.
Pastor Archie and about nine others in the production crew were among them. Many of our volunteers worked their regular jobs during the day and came to work in our building all night.

The Baykids team also did a phenomenal job. Considering the flooring in these pictures wasn’t installed 24 hours before the first service began gives you a little clue into the craziness that preceded opening day.

Pulling it off took incredible sacrifice and significant work, but God even used the process to transform hearts and lives.

Several weeks ago we held a work day at the building. Filipe met a guy there who came with his fiance to help out. Her life had been radically changed just a month prior when she began attending; he had yet to come to a service. He told Filipe he was 100% committed to South Bay because of the change he saw in her. (Filipe wanted to hear him say that again after he had at least come once.) Last week he was helping Filipe again in the building and Filipe asked how he was liking it. Turned out he surrendered his life to Jesus, signed up for baptism, and was serving his heart out. Wow.

Pastor Andy preached a great message on the favor of God. It resonated with all who had been a part of South Bay in the past and inspired those who were just finding us giving vision for the future.

Between services Stacie had the opportunity to pray with a woman to receive Christ. We realized later that she was the mom of the guy that Filipe talked to. That’s what it’s all about.

My small contribution was developing the resource center. Filipe oversees all of our first impressions areas and that’s one of them. About two weeks before move-in day I saw how swamped he was and realized he didn’t have much time to spend on resources. It took me about two seconds to realize I needed to help him with it. Considering books are one of my passions, it was an easy yes. I had a lot of fun working on it and am looking forward to being more involved in the team.

I spent all day Saturday organizing this area (while my mother-in-law took care of my kids) and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Yes, I’m an organizing nerd, and I’m okay with that.

While I was organizing books, I listened to Archie and the band do a run through of the service. I was holding back tears just listening to video and the music. Everything going on in that building that day (& week & month) was an act of worship to God. People were scrubbing bathrooms, painting walls, hanging banners, and each part came together and allowed people to experience God for the very first time.

That’s why it matters.
That’s why we’re here.

You can check out more pictures here.

It’s been so surreal it’s hard to put into words right now.

The 3 areas:
1. Planned a birthday party for Lily.
2. Started a writing marathon.
3. Developed the resource area for South Bay Church as we moved from being portable to permanent yesterday.

On top of that I still:
Cleaned my house top to bottom
Did all the laundry
Went grocery shopping
Cooked meals for our family
And cared for my kids (though I did have a ton of help!).

See, miraculous I tell ya.

I’ll share more about each of these as the week goes on, we’re enjoying a day of rest today.

An early morning status update, blog post, or thirty second video clip can send us spiraling into the world of what if or what should have been. Before we know it we spent our entire day wrapped up in someone else’s reality, but far from living out our own.

It’s not that we intend to neglect those around us.
It’s not that we give up on the dreams in our hearts.

It’s just there.
Distraction. Staring us in the face.

It feels like it found us rather than we went searching after it. After all we have a long list of tasks to get done. I mean, come on, it’s not like we having nothing else better to do with our time. The list is endless.

I’ve spent the last few months working on this because when I look at what I want to get done compared with what actually gets done, I see a huge gap. When I look at the time I squander doing things that give me no satisfaction, things that don’t bring me closer to my dreams and goals, I get frustrated and discouraged. Not because I have too much to do, but because I know I could do them if I would just stay focused. I can’t blame anyone but myself. I know deep down the problem is with me.

So what do we do? How do we focus? Is it even possible?

The first thing I started to do was notice what distracted me. Different things distract each of us differently, so I spent some time identifying what those were for me. For example, I turned twitter off on my phone. I only see twitter updates now when I go to my app or computer. While I may be an hour late to know something, I’m able to focus just a little bit more through out my day. It’s been incredibly helpful. Minimizing the things that distract me has helped me keep my focus where it should be.

I recently evaluated my goals for the year- four months have already gone by in 2012. I spent some time narrowing down the areas I want to focus on for the month of May. I have some big goals and I expect big results. I know that by remaining focused to do it will bring much more satisfaction than turning my attention to whatever comes in front of me.

It is possible, but I believe it takes increasing amounts of discipline and self-control.
It may not be easy, but it is possible.

What’s your biggest distraction?

Those are the questions I’m thinking through today.

Every day is a day for God to teach us something.
Every day we can experience more of life, more of what we are created for.
Don’t just settle for the mundane.

Every day is a day to learn something new.

Since that post, I finished! I actually memorized the book of James. I think I’m still in shock that I really did it.

When I started, I would say things like, “I don’t know if I can do it, but I’m gonna try”. Then somewhere around chapter 4 I  felt like God was saying to me (more like shouting at me, or it may just have been a stern rebuke), “Stop it! You can do it, you are doing it!”

The more I believed it was possible, the easier it became.

How did I do it? 

1. I followed many of the basic things Beth mentioned in the curriculum DVD. She used the acrostic ABIDE as instruction- Ask God, Believe you can do it, Increase portions, Determine a set time, Enjoy it. She recommended to print out one chapter at a time and laminate it.

2. I am a mom of three (ages 5 and under). I don’t have long periods of time staring me in the face. I did find ways to squeeze in 15 minutes here or 15 minutes there- and it worked! I practiced while folding laundry. I practiced while doing dishes. I practiced while driving my daughter to dance class. I practiced while laying in bed unable to fall asleep. In fact, it actually put me to sleep many nights. What better to fall asleep to than the word of God rolling around in your mind? Maybe that’s why I’m sleeping a little better lately.

3. I spent many early mornings alone in my office reciting what I knew. In fact, (this is a little embarrassing) I would stand in front of my bookshelf and pretend my books (or the authors of the books) were faces staring at me so that I felt like I was actually talking to someone. Beth Moore was in that audience too. Whatever works, do it.

4. I memorized concepts more than words on a page. When I learning a particular portion, I focused on understanding the point being made, then it was just a matter of using James’s wording to say it. I didn’t stop mid-section. Some were longer than others, but that wasn’t the point. Having that understanding helps you recall the words much easier.

5. Once I had a section down I would recite it over and over throughout the day. I would recite it to my kids, to my husbands, driving, in the shower. Everywhere.

Up until this challenge, I resisted memorizing Scripture. I always found ways around it- especially as an adult in a leadership role. The thing about being a leader is you get to set the bar. I guarantee you that up until now I have never inspired anyone to memorize one verse of Scripture. How could I? I wasn’t doing it. And I’m ashamed to say that I never felt bad about it. I figured it was for the “professionals”. Carrying around notecards seemed to be “enough”. Boy, had I been fooled.

Walking through this journey has taught me so much about the Word of God. It’s come alive, and it’s changed my day-to-day behaviors. I don’t even know if I am aware yet of it’s profound effects on my life. I’m still processing it all.

Below is the video of me reciting James to my life group. If you choose to watch the entire video, I recommend that you close your eyes and listen. In Biblical times, the Scriptures were meant to be read. Listening is a different experience than reading, and I think you will hear things that you miss while reading.

I memorized the New Living Translation. I did stumble at the end, and as much as I want to redo it or make an addendum of me doing it “perfect”, I decided not to. I’m not a professional and I wouldn’t want to make it appear so. Memorizing Scripture isn’t just for the professionals. It’s for all of us. It’s for you and it’s for me.

My hope is that it inspires and encourages you. It’s the only reason I would put it up for the world to see.

If you’re out there taking on the challenge too, let me know. I will pray for you. You can do it!

My favorite part this year was connecting with our staff, leaders, and volunteers. We had a team of 25 with us. We had many encouraging and uplifting conversations, shared our meals together, and simply enjoyed one another’s company. Just spending time together outside of your normal environment is so healthy for a team.

The theme of the conference was, Be Present. They challenged us to cut out distractions and stay in the moment. I’ve been convicted and challenged in this area in my personal life over the last six weeks or so, and I loved that it was the theme of this event too. I felt like I was able to focus more over the last two days. In our current culture, it can be hard to silence and put away the phone, forget about twitter and facebook, and get into the lives of those directly in front of you. Being reminded of its significance and getting in the habit of practicing it, is so important and necessary.

Thanks Catalyst for the reminder.

Here’s a few pics of our time together.

You may not be able to tell by the pic, but the Asian culture dominates our team. We were introduced to the world famous Taiwanese bakery, 85C, and weren’t disappointed.

Some of the girls chillin’ on the hammocks.

The South Bay Team.

]]> http://mandysantos.com/2012/04/20/fun-friday-catalyst-west/feed/ 0 http://mandysantos.com/2012/04/16/where-is-god-when-i-mess-up/ http://mandysantos.com/2012/04/16/where-is-god-when-i-mess-up/#comments Mon, 16 Apr 2012 11:11:28 +0000 Mandy http://mandysantos.com/?p=4157 We started a new series at South Bay Church last week titled, “Where Is God When I…“. We heard a message from Craig Groeschel and Chris Beall from LifeChurch.tv. They talked about what happens when we fail, mess up, and/or get caught in a web of sin.

What do we do when we fail?
Where do we turn when we realize we screwed up big time?

Craig & Chris gave some great points that I wanted to share here on the blog. I feel like what they talked about is such a huge thing and what keeps so many people from living the life God desires for them. Maybe you are one of them and need to understand these truths. I believe these truths have such power to change whatever situation you are currently in. As hopeless as life may seem, as deep as you’re in, God longs for you to reach out to Him and let Him begin to restore you. He longs to give you an abundant future.

Many people live in bondage to our past. Past mistakes, past hurts, past failures, past sins. They are bound so tight to it that they are walking around with it dragging behind them. It affects their present and will continue to affect their future if they don’t break free and rid themselves of it. I can tell within a few (deep) conversations with someone if they are being controlled by a haunting past or if they are living in the freedom Christ offers. By the way, He offers it to anyone who asks Him.

Craig said one line over and over, and I’ve had it rolling around in my head ever since. He said,
“Every saint has a past, every sinner has a future (in Christ).”

Three Truths to Remember:

• Your biggest sins are not too big for God’s grace.
  No matter what you’ve done, you haven’t sinned too much for God.

  What is the worst crime/sin you can think of?
  What is the worst thing you’ve ever done?
  Remember Jesus came to forgive that one too.

  I John 1:9, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.”
  

• You are not what you have done. You are who God says you are.
  If you are a follower of Christ, you are not defined by your sin, but by who God says you are.

  Who is that? Here’s just a few:
  You are a new person. 2 Cor. 5:17
  You are more than conquerors through him. Rom. 8:37
  You are not condemned any more. Rom. 8:1
  You are part of the family of God. Rom. 8:17

• You can’t change your past, but Christ can change your future.
  Whatever happened yesterday, last week, or two decade ago cannot be undone. It may have been unfair, ugly, tragic, or despicable, but it cannot be undone. What you can do if put it behind you and leave it where it belongs- in the past. You can stop dwelling on it, choose to move forward, and ask for God to change your future.

  In Philippians 3:13-14 Paul says, “…I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us.”

Where Is God When I… from South Bay Church on Vimeo.

I’ve always like the idea of memorizing Scripture, and I’ll occasionally carry around 3×5 notecards of verses or tape them to mirrors, dashboards, etc to feel like I am, but really I’m not. I don’t focus on really memorizing- and retaining the info, I just mainly carry it for reference. (Which isn’t bad, just not the same as memorizing!)

But as I’m going through this process, I’m learning there’s a huge difference between having Scripture on a card in front of you and having it in your mind and in your heart.

Currently, I’m a few verses short of having chapter 1 down. Here’s what I’ve learned through the experience so far:

1. I really CAN do it.
2. I really can do it and even ENJOY it. It’s the least bit burdensome.
3. My thought life is much more honoring to God.
4. As I focus on Scripture throughout the day, it changes how I look at my situations- my joys & my sorrows.
5. The more I memorize, the more I want to memorize. It’s a snowball effect- the more TRUTH you grab a hold of, the more of it you want.

Maybe you’re an easy memorizer, or maybe you’ve never really been a fan. But from someone who was NOT a fan to a recent convert I must say it is incredible.

Go, try it! What have you got to lose?

While I couldn’t personally go on the vision day tour, Filipe did a great job of tweeting pictures from each of the stops along the way. In case you missed them, here they are.

Filipe testing a Google bike.

Many of our neighbors are Sikh’s- often mistaken for Muslim’s, but they aren’t. Filipe told our neighbor that he visited his temple and he was really confused and impressed. We pray for opportunities to share the Gospel with him and his family. Maybe this will open the door further.

Proverbs 29:18 in the King James Version says,
“Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he.”

The Message says it like this,
“If people can’t see what God is doing, they stumble all over themselves; But when they attend to what he reveals, they are most blessed.”

I love to stop and take notice of all God is doing around us, whenever I do, it’s pretty incredible.