Laura Crosby

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Soul Food – Gifts for Christmas

November 13, 2015 /

It’s almost Thanksgiving. Twinkle lights are starting to appear and Peppermint Mochas are available. I’ve started playing Christmas music and praying about how God might use these posts to bring life and peace this Advent.

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One of the huge stressors of the season is the gift giving. Can I get an “AMEN”?!! The financial strain, the time crunch, the emotional stress of trying to find Just The Right Thing. We want it to be delightful and natural and sometimes it is, but others times…

Can I make a few suggestions (especially if you have young kids)? Note: everyone is different! Maybe these aren’t right for you. Continue reading

The Rest of the Story on the “B word”

November 11, 2015 /

On Monday I wrote about reading the Bible and my plan for this year.  I mentioned that I hesitate to write this kind of post because it can sound so legalistic which is not how I feel or what I want to communicate. I have friends reading this who are not yet into the Bible. Just the word can seem threatening, so I feel like my words on this are extra important.

So I tried…But when I read back over the post, it felt…kind of 1, 2, 3-ish. Not the whole story. Like saying Jonah is about a fish. Just a few facts.

My relationship with the Bible has changed over the years, just like my relationship with Jesus has changed.

I have such a deep love for God’s Word in this season that it’s hard to express it.

I am drawn to the Bible. I savor it. I feel tenderhearted like Mary, and awe-struck like the shepherds in the starry night filled with angels. It is intimate and conversational and life-giving.

There is a foreverness about God’s Word that is deeply reassuring. But it hasn’t always been that way. Continue reading

4 Benefits to Reading (most of) the Bible in a Year

November 9, 2015 /

Confession: I am afraid this post is going to come off like one of those neat and tidy, happy clappy “Life is so good with Jesus” posts that are true as far as they go, but can make everyone feel queasy and a little “less than”.

That is NOT what I want. But I also can’t deny the powerful effect committing to a “Read through the Bible in a Year Plan” has had on me. Yeah, I’ve always read the Bible before, but this has been different. And yes, I’ve missed a bunch of days, but that’s ok.

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So…Here are few things I’ve experienced reading the whole most of a lot of the Bible in a Year Continue reading

Soul Food When You’re Thirsty

November 6, 2015 /

This is my favorite Instagram of the week, posted by my son-in-law. It’s possible John may have gotten a similar text from me at some point.

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So, what are you thirsty for this weekend?  A prayer walk where you can truly breathe and be present to God? Story reading with kids? A date night? Worship? Conversations with good friends who are refreshing to your soul?

For me, this week has been full of people showing up with delightful “cups of water” I’d love to share with you…

The mailman showed up with this that I’m devouring.

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Here’s a quote from the first chapter:

“It’s about the beautiful things we might reclaim and the stuff we may decide to kick to the curb. It’s a book about making peace with unanswered questions and being content to live into the answers as they come. It’s about being comfortable with where we land for now, while holding our hands open for where the Spirit leads us next… Really, it’s a book about not being afraid.” Sarah Bessey

Isn’t that hopeful and lovely? More later on this book…

I posted Wednesday how we got to go to the Catalyst One Day and fill up. I was left thinking about the questions, “What would a great leader do?” and “What would a great wife do?”

Continue reading

That’s a Great Question

November 4, 2015 /

Yesterday John and I and a few staff from our church attended the Catalyst One Day in Minneapolis.

This is a day-long conference where there’s worship and Andy Stanley and Craig Goeschel take turns sharing leadership lessons.

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They are both amazing leaders we admire, so we were ready to learn more about the secret sauce that makes them that way.

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Don’t you love days when you sit back in a workshop, and take ALL THE NOTES, and are “fed” til you feel like it’s Thanksgiving evening and you’re in a turkey coma?

You feel like you’ve done AN IMPORTANT THING when you take home your little notebook crammed with GREAT IDEAS. You’re sure it will make you a better leader just by holding it close. Am I right?

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So yesterday my favorite session, the one I was sure was going to transform me into “AMAZING ANDY LEADER” was his first talk, entitled “That’s a Great Question”.

The big idea was that great leaders ask great questions and one of the most powerful, clarifying and disturbing questions a leader can ask is:

What would a great leader do?

Andy fleshed it out with a lot more, but that was the basic idea. At the end, he added, “If you’re married, what if, when you go home and are going through your day and come to a decision point, you ask yourself, ‘What would a great husband do?’ or ‘What would a great wife do?'” Continue reading

How to Write the Perfect Note

November 2, 2015 /

Ok, the title of this post might be a tad misleading. Technically speaking, I do NOT know how to write a perfect note.

And don’t forget one of my life verses: “Where words are many, sin is not absent.” So there’s that…

However, writing notes to people is a powerful ministry. I think we can all learn from each other.

I’m betting you, like me, have a drawer of “keepers” – notes that have been especially timely, impactful, or encouraging.

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Like a squirrel with a stash of nuts he saves for the long winter nights, we may treasure and re-read these nuggets when we need a little encouragement, especially in dark, cold seasons.

What is it that gives special notes such value in your mind?

As I read back over my “stash” here are some of the elements I notice about people who write great notes: Continue reading

What Halloween and My Husband Taught me About God

October 30, 2015 /

Halloween is one of my husband’s favorite days of the year.  I know, odd for a pastor, right?

The PC answer should be Easter, right?  And yes, it IS the most important, but John’s love of Halloween has taught me something about God.

He likes Halloween because it brings him so much joy to welcome kids with enthusiasm, handing out candy and oohing and ahhing over every single costume like they were the one and only.

He looks forward all year to parking his chair by the front door and waiting for kids to come.  Even though he’s terrible at figuring out what the costumes are, he greets each kid as if they were THE most amazing, creative, delightful goblin of the night.

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Last night he took it to a new level.  He carried his rocking chair outside and our firepit along with a jack-o-lantern and a big basket of candy.  As I was watching him it struck me how much his posture towards the kids is like God’s towards us, only we usually miss it. Kind of like the dad waiting and watching for the prodigal son to come home.

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How many times do we approach God as if the lights were out and the door locked tight?  Like we have to convince Him to care…to show up…to answer us?  Instead, the Bible says He stands at the door.

God’s the father, out watching for His kid to show up.

He’s the party-giver inviting us to a banquet.

He delights in us, sings over us.

 

The door isn’t locked.  The lights aren’t off. He is an incredibly personal God who delights in His kids who show up.

How to be a Hero

October 28, 2015 /

This is one of my heroes. Roger Anderson.

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He turned 90 last week.

When we moved to Minnesota for John to become the lead pastor at “our” church, it had been “his” church for 34 years. Yep, he had planted the church. He was leaving “his baby” for us to steward for the kingdom.

What if we mucked it up? What if we KILLED it, for Pete’s sake?! Or worse, (gasp!) changed the music???!

And yet, Roger has been our biggest cheerleader. Our most fervent prayer warrior. Our baton-hander.

Leadership is like being in a relay race. Succession is important. We need to pass on the baton to the next generation because our part in the race is not the end, and Roger knew that. Continue reading

When you Can’t See The Road Ahead

October 26, 2015 /

Last week I drove down to my hometown in the suburbs of Chicago on Saturday for a run honoring my brother. After the race on Sunday husband John warned me that I needed to get on the road back to Minneapolis early because of my “condition”.

I have “night blindness” which means I have no depth perception when it gets dark. My perspective is flat. Skewed. I can’t tell how far or close things are (You know, like cars, or stoplights, or the shoulder of the road – the little things.)  And I can’t anticipate turns in the road. So when I didn’t leave Chicago until after 1:00 and hit bad traffic it meant driving the last two hours in deep darkness.

In the dark my eyes play tricks on me. My emotions play tricks on me. It feels kind of like being on that Disney World roller coaster in the dark that has a name with “Terror” in the title. There are times when I’m sure I’m driving off the road into certain destruction. Really.

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For anyone, in the days of loss – loss of person, job, dream – weird shapes loom and threaten in the darkness.  It can feel very scary. Nothing is certain. Life feels unpredictable.

As I concentrated hard and prayed, it struck me how all of us have “night blindness” . Whether it’s the dark of discouragement and challenging circumstances, or the illusion of control and self-sufficiency, or a hill on the route of our personal marathon, we don’t see things as they really are – as only God sees them. Continue reading

Soul Food When Everyone is Welcome

October 23, 2015 /

When I started doing “Soul Food Friday” I didn’t intend for it to just be focused on what happens around the table, but instead about everything that feeds our souls.

But truly, something very special happens when we show up as we are, and amidst half eaten chili or chicken we celebrate or cry or question.

We gather around a table, and when it’s good it’s messy, and real, and a little island of safety where our stories can be shared and God’s faithfulness recognized.

Everyone is welcome. Nobody’s perfect. Anything can happen.

So, this week…. Continue reading

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