Sarasota Christian Store's Blog

     I knew that I would have a problem the minute I agreed to blog. I love to write, but was concerned about committing to put something out on a regular basis. Why? Because everybody has something to say and most of us wish they would talk to themselves more often. When I got into Christian Retail it became glaringly obvious that not everyone should write book. (Sorry I tend to go off on tangents often.) Anyway, I have struggled for weeks to come up with something worth saying. Even today I stared at the blank page for a long time. Someone even suggested that with Independence Day approaching I should talk about how we are losing ours in this country. Well, since I am one of the least politically astute people that I know, that would not be a good idea.

     I saw an American flag on the road today. Needless to say, I felt that wasn’t an appropriate place to display our country’s stars and stripes, and pulled over to pick it up and place it in the compartment under my scooter’s seat. Driving home, a tidal wave of thoughts swept over me. I know many of you have different worldviews and belief systems, but for the most part we share the same common denominator; we’re Americans. When push comes to shove, we have each others’ backs. We hope and pray for our soldiers’ safety, whether or not we condone war. We’re saddened by the latest Gulf oil spill, as it affects the livelihood of our countrymen and endangers the wildlife that inhabits our shores. We the people share these experiences and heartaches.

     Now, despite the patriotism of the first paragraph, I have to begin this one on a more somber note. At some point in time, the United States of America will no longer exist (at least in the form we know). It could take just a few weeks or it may collapse slowly over centuries, but as history teaches, no great nation lasts forever. As sad as that fact may be, I’m thankful for it; it causes me to look beyond the surface level of life and into the world of the eternal.

     If you’ve ever read Ecclesiastes, written by King Solomon (the so-called wisest man to ever live), you may have been left with a cynical, depressed view of life in general. Afterall, this book of the Bible constantly hammers the meaninglessness of life on Earth. If you delve deeper, though, you’ll see a beautiful picture of what real life is all about; worshipping our Creator. I think God, through Solomon, was trying to revolutionize our view of the natural world and its ultimate importance. As a Christian man living in 2010, I’m increasingly more aware of the fact that this world is only temporary (2 Corinthians 4:18), and I’m simply a “pilgrim” passing through (I Peter 2:11) now that I’ve decided to follow Christ. This life does resemble the Matrix (at least the first of the three-film trilogy), and we will all awake from this illusion one day; an illusion we’d be fools to hold onto as the real thing. Btw, the flag turned out to be a beach towel…

     As the summer season kicks off, Sarasota Christian Store (aka Living Word) has already been involved in some incredible ministries! If you were able to see Tenth Avenue North on Siesta Key…it goes without saying that we were blessed by their music and message. Click HERE to see Youtube videos capturing the event.

   We tried something new last night- and by new I mean something totally different! We had Lighthouse Gospel, a local group made up of rappers and freestyle artists, perform in our Cup of Joy Cafe. It was epic! They were dancing and praising God as if no one was looking Speaking of totally different, we are carrying some products now that our ‘charismatic’ customers have been asking for for quite some time. If you’re familiar with Bethel church in Redding, California, we now carry the music from their youth worship team, Jesus Culture. Also, the DVD Finger of God is an extremely hot product in certain Christian circles. Whether or not you (or your particular denomination) believe that the kind of raise-people-from-the-dead power written about in the New Testament is still just as accessible to Christians today, this DVD is well worth a viewing!

   Lastly, if you’re on Facebook and haven’t joined our store’s group page, I have one question for you- WHY NOT?!? Click HERE to join and keep up with (and view photos from) in-store events, as well as connect with other Christians in the Sarasota/Bradenton/Venice world. Until our next ramblings, BE BLESSED!

By: Renee davis

Most people in America have taken at least one road trip in their lives.  Short or long, you run across 3 things: road signs, road blocks, and road kill.

I remember our first road trip using a GPS system.  For a person with my personality, this can be difficult the first time around.  The system we used in the past worked well for me.  My husband drove and I used my trusted laminated map of the US to navigate.  I knew every turn before we even started the car.  Now, not only am I unable to see what’s ahead of me, but I somehow end up in a verbal disagreement with the voice inside the box, even when I’m not at the wheel.  Although we made this trip many times, the route somehow seemed different. It really required a lot of trust.

Since I was not “needed”, I had a lot of time to think.  I began to wonder why the Lord never shows us the roadmap of our lives.  I guess in His infinite wisdom, He knows that not only will we question His sovereignty and try to choose a better, faster route we will become even more confused about His ultimate will for our lives.  Instead, He’s more like the GPS, giving us just enough information to navigate one day at a time.

I also began to wonder how I was doing so far on my journey.  Did I heed the road signs?  When I ran into road blocks did I take the correct detours?  And most importantly, did I leave behind a lot of road kill?  Were there broken hearts, wounded wills and shattered dreams littering the side of the road?  Were the lives I touched better or worse for having encountered mine?  I’d like to think that my goal was to provoke sighs of contentment, warm hugs, contagious giggles and therapeutic cries.  I’m not so convinced that I have accomplished these goals.  It sounds cliché but I know that the ones closest to me lay scattered about the road side.  Thank God that His grace and mercy, which is new every morning, gives me the strength to scrape them up, patch them together and take another shot at loving them.

So although I don’t know what the Lord has in store for the rest of my life, I do know the final destination.  My hope is to pick up some hitch hikers along the way, introduce them to the driver and not get into verbal disagreements with the navigator.

On Saturday
by Max Lucado

John didn’t know on that Friday what you and I now know. He didn’t know that Friday’s tragedy would be Sunday’s triumph. John would later confess that he “did not yet understand from the Scriptures that Jesus must rise from the dead” (John 20:9).

That’s why what he did on Saturday is so important.

We don’t know anything about this day; we have no passage to read, no knowledge to share. All we know is this: When Sunday came, John was still present. When Mary Magdalene came looking for him, she found him.

Jesus was dead. The Master’s body was lifeless. John’s friend and future were buried. But John had not left. Why? Was he waiting for the resurrection? No. As far as he knew, the lips were forever silent and the hands forever still. He wasn’t expecting a Sunday surprise. Then why was he here?

You’d think he would have left. Who was to say that the men who crucified Christ wouldn’t come after him? The crowds were pleased with one crucifixion; the religious leaders might have called for more. Why didn’t John get out of town?

Perhaps the answer was pragmatic; perhaps he was taking care of Jesus’ mother. Or perhaps he didn’t have anywhere else to go. Could be he didn’t have any money or energy or direction … or all of the above.

Or maybe he lingered because he loved Jesus.

To others, Jesus was a miracle worker. To others, Jesus was a master teacher. To others, Jesus was the hope of Israel. But to John, he was all of these and more. To John, Jesus was a friend.

You don’t abandon a friend—not even when that friend is dead. John stayed close to Jesus.

He had a habit of doing this. He was close to Jesus in the upper room. He was close to Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane. He was at the foot of the cross at the crucifixion, and he was a quick walk from the tomb at the burial.

Did he understand Jesus? No.

Was he glad Jesus did what he did? No.

But did he leave Jesus? No.

What about you? When you’re in John’s position, what do you do? When it’s Saturday in your life, how do you react? When you are somewhere between yesterday’s tragedy and tomorrow’s triumph, what do you do? Do you leave God—or do you linger near him?

John chose to linger. And because he lingered on Saturday, he was around on Sunday to see the miracle.

From He Chose the Nails
Copyright (W Publishing Group, 2001) Max Lucado

Healing 4 Haiti CD

     We know you’ve been inundated with cries for help amidst all the recent earthquakes. Sometimes its hard to discern how, where and why to give. Sarasota Christian Store (aka Living Word) has chosen to respond to the needs of Haiti. You’re probably aware of the Chile and Turkey quakes, but Haiti is experiencing the most dire of circumstances. As a Christian, we believe there are three ways you can assist us in the healing of this island nation: Pray, Give, and/or Go!

     First, let us be clear that prayer works! There are countless Scriptures that back up this claim (Click HERE for examples). There are some wonderful books on prayer, such as this one and this one. Possibly the most famous prayer in history is referred to as the Lord’s Prayer (Matthew 6:9-13).

     Second, we can give to help further God’s Kingdom. We’ve done a few things recently to make it easy for you to give to the Haiti relief efforts. Partnering with the missions organization, AIM, we’ve created a t-shirt (a portion of the profits go directly to AIM in Haiti- we’ve been able to raise about $800 so far!). Christian musicians haven’t let us down either- Michael W. Smith, Kari Jobe, Lincoln Brewster and many others have collaborated on an amazing project called Healing 4 Haiti. We will have them in the store in the next few days (and as you may have guessed, profits will be going to Haiti earthquake relief- $5.00 from each CD to be exact).

     Last, but certainly not least- you can GO! Evan Dawson (some of you know him as the ‘Music Guy’, others as the ‘Mission Guy’) is putting a team together for a mission trip to Haiti this summer. To learn more about this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, visit his ministry website HERE.

     Be blessed as you PRAY, GIVE, and/or GO!

     I hate the Atlanta airport nearly as much as I hate shopping at Wally World.  I pushed my way through the crowd, looking for a place to eat to minimize the drudgery of my 3 hour layover.  I asked for a booth somewhere in the corner so that I could do some work.  The only booths available were in the smoking section.  I frowned and asked for a table in non-smoking.  (I live in Florida, everywhere is non-smoking.)  The hostess looked over and found a booth between two single gentlemen diners.  I really did not want to sit there but I did.  The one on my left was friendly enough, but finished and left less than 2 minutes after I sat down.  The other was having cocktails.  He had work spread out in front of him.  Two cells phones, note pads, etc.  It looked as if he had a couple already.  I pulled out my laptop to finish the employee schedules that were already late, and the drinker begins asking questions about my net-book. I really did not want to talk, but I answered his many questions.  He then asked about my line of work, I stated I have a book store.  No detail, don’t want to talk, tired.  He asked what my niche was since there are so many; Barnes and Nobles, Borders etc.  I reluctantly said Christian. One because I did not want to be bothered and two I did not want him to think that I was judging him.  As usual the Lord made a “fool out of the wise”.  He kept asking and I kept answering, but the question that got me was “Do you believe that this is a calling, what you are supposed to do?  I powered down my laptop and had one of the most amazing conversations I had had in a long time.  Now, I saw how many drinks he had, and I kinda wondered what his story was but I did not care, until then.  My “line of work” is my passion.  I love the people that come into the Living Word.  Do I love all people?  I had looked past all the people that I passed in the airport.  I sighed as some stopped in mid traffic to determine where they were going, but I never saw the people.  Did I mention that I was reading, What Difference Do It Make?  For those who do not know it is a book written by a former homeless man and a wealthy art dealer who have made it their mission to live out their faith.  As I talked and poured out my passion for the Lord and the store, the Spirit took over the carnal.  When I looked up tears where running down his face.  We talked about the difference between religion and faith.  He asked if I considered preaching, I had not.  He asked if he could touch my hand.  He felt like he had met an angel. I told him that I am no angel, I just love people. I gave him a hug and my copy of What Difference Do It Make?

     My schedules are still late, ATL is still not my favorite airport and I have a million and 10 things on my mind, but I got the opportunity to be what Christ wants all of us to be for just one minute.  In a crowded restaurant with a bar and a smoking section.  When was the last time you where Christ to someone?