A guiding principle at TrueLife is to invite others on the journey with you.  If it’s fun, invite someone along!  Two events this weekend that you are welcome to join the Carr family.

1. Saturday – July 3rd – World Cup Soccer (Spain vs Paraguay) at Rudino’s Sports Grill

2pm at the Rudino’s at 3101 Edwards Mill Road

Click Here for Facebook event page

2. Sunday – July 4th – Fireworks at the Fairgrounds

7pm in the East Parking Lot of Carter Finley Stadium

Click Here Facebook event page -

Here’s the Flyer for the Fireworks

]]> http://blog.mytruelife.org/2010/07/02/bigtime-truelife-july-4th-weekend/feed/ 0 http://blog.mytruelife.org/2010/06/30/being-a-good-consumer-producer/ http://blog.mytruelife.org/2010/06/30/being-a-good-consumer-producer/#comments Wed, 30 Jun 2010 17:13:26 +0000 markcarr http://blog.mytruelife.org/?p=883 Continue reading →]]> Everyone comes into church as a consumer.  We all do.  We have some sort of internal gauge that tells us if the teaching, worship, children’s ministry, etc. tastes good to our spirits.  At some point in time, we have to move from consumer to producer.  To start to be a part of the church that produces the life that is to reflect the body of Christ.  (I Cor 12-14)

We are in a constant tension between consuming and producing.  As I trained for my first triathlon, and am now contemplating a second, I am learning the human body’s desire for the two.  I must consume the right things in the right amount in order for my body to produce the outcome desired.  If I consume too much without producing, my body will store the unneeded calories in unwanted places.  If I produce without consuming enough calories, my muscles revolt in cramps from being overused and undernourished.

The church body feels the same tension.  Some are overfed and underused.  This grows in us a critical spirit that is easily offended. Others of us are overworked and underfed.  This grows in us anger and frustration towards the beauty of the Church.  Both states of being are sinful, and we need to repent before the Lord.  Our Heavenly Master is a good coach that will call us to get off the bench and give where we have been consuming.  He also clearly commands us to Sabbath with Him.  To simply rest, play, and feast without guilt.

I know many of you want to help.  TrueLife Church is a part of a fellowship of churches known as the Assemblies of God.  Our fellowship through Convoy of Hope already has a team on the ground, and is beginning to distribute needed help.

You can give to Haiti through TrueLife Church by making an online donation http://www.mytruelife.org/give.html, or by sending a check to TrueLife Church, PO Box 31074, Raleigh, NC 27622.  Please mark the donation as Hope for Haiti, and all money will go directly to Convoy of Hope.

You can discover more about Convoy of Hope at http://www.convoyofhope.org.

Thanks for responding to this critical need.

I was not sure how today was going to go, because I pray along the trail like I am talking out loud to a friend. (I can do that there, because no one is around). A funny thing happened, when Jackson just joined in with me. We went from talking to each other, to praying, to looking at a tiny frog, and then back to praying. It felt like we had been doing this for years together. I don’t know if today was a monumental day for him, but it sure was for me.

Spirituality is meant to be a part of our everyday lives. Everything is spiritual. Spiritual parenting is simply letting your kids see a glimpse of God in the normality of life.

Deuteronomy 6:4-8

4 Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. ^[a] 5 Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. 6 These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. 7 Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. 8 Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. 9 Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.

I have setup an account at twitter named: truelifeprayer.  If you want to be a part of this team: You can setup a twitter account, and start following truelifeprayer.

We will also be meeting once a month for a time of encouragment and prayer togther.  I will be talking more about this on Sunday.  My goal of this team is to challenge each other to build a Biblical life of prayer by having a lifestyle that is continuously praying.

How will I be using the twitter prayer team?

I will not be updating you with everything I am doing in a day.  (I just refilled my third cup of coffee on this Monday, but the twitter prayer team is not for updating that info).

Truelifeprayer will be twittering things like:

• Mark is about to  study for Sunday’s Message.  Please pray for God’s wisdom.
• John Doe’s gradma was hurt.  Please pray for healing.
• Pray for the lost in Brier Creek today.

Here is a video that walks through Twitter:

1. Prioritize – because you really can’t do it all.  
2. Delegate – where possible
3. Release – things beyond your control.  

 I believe most people during this time of the year feel ovewhelmed because of overexagerrated expectations and over scheduling.  Matthew 6:34

“Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”   

“Happiness makes up in height what it lacks in length” - Robert Frost

“How much stuff do you need to be happy?” – Larry the Cucumber, from  VeggieTale’s “Madame BlueBerry”  

I am currently reading a book entitled “The Progress Paradox” by Gregg Easterbrook.  His premise is that life is getting better and people are feeling worse.  People are living longer, and the average American is living like a historic king.  Yet, our vast knowledge of the human body and the societies around the world has not made us happy.  I tell my kids all the time, “You may not be able to control the situation, but you can control your attitude.”  That sounds like a great Monday morning pep talk for us all.  Don’t let your environment shape your attitude, let your attitude shape your environment.  

14“You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. 15Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. 16In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven. (Matthew 5:14-16)    

Reason #1 – One day a year (not on Christmas or Easter), my neighbors put down the draw bridge over their virtual motes that surround their home, and invite people to ring their door and chat.

Reason #2 – Grown ups and kids are smiling as they share gifts with each other

Reason #3 – I get to walk around with some great people and get to know them. Here is a listing of the people, I connected with while “trick or treating”.

• Karst
• Shelby
• Nadalia
• Stephanie
• Carla
• Yoli
• Jake
• Josh
• Brian

How can we be salt and light to people if we are not touching them to be salt and out in the darkness with them to be light?

I am having to re-engineer my thinking on the paradigm of a church office.  If non-verbal communication (web, email, text-messaging, etc) becomes our primary way to recieve first level communication, how do we build a virtual church office that is effecient for the road ahead. What do you expect from a church office?  I would really like to hear from you on this one?  Most church offices build from the inside out, and therefore their offices function to mainly sustain the structure (whether healthy or unhealthy)

What do you value in a church office?

• A live person to answer the phone?
• quick email response?
• information?
• ?