Drinking from the Well

The First Question

2012-02-02T18:28:00.000-08:00

Last week, I wrote about our friend Rachel and how finding her and her blog led us to deal with some hard questions in our faith.

The first question I had to deal with for myself was about homosexuality. It all began when I found out that a dear friend of mine is gay. Not only is he gay, but he is the pastor of a large active church in Indianapolis.

Jeff went to church with me when we were in junior high and high school. He was the only person from school who also attended my church. We dated some and were good friends. One of the most attractive things to me about Jeff was his passion for Christ. Everyone saw it. Even our pastor told Jeff’s mom, “I believe God has something very special in mind for Jeff.” Jeff told me later, “Liitle did he know…”

When we were sophomores Jeff moved to Colorado. We wrote faithfully for a couple of years. Jeff wrote long letters to me about his desire to serve the Lord with all his heart, soul, mind and strength. But distance took its toll, and eventually we went our separate ways. In the past few years, I learned he was back in Indianapolis, and pastor of a large church that welcomed a diverse congregation, including gays and lesbians.

I had to think about this. I had to learn more about this. My first step was to attend a workshop on homosexuality sponsored by Focus on the Family. There were several speakers who had left the gay lifestyle to become straight, becoming part of traditional families. One of the most striking things they said was that Christians had done great harm to gays during the AIDS epidemic in the 80’s and 90’s. Instead of acting in love and coming to minister to the gay community in their time of great need, most Christian groups took the position that this was God’s just judgment for their great sin. In essence, we said, “Good riddance!” This viewpoint is very prevalent even today.

But I knew that the information I got there was not the whole story. I had to hear the other side of the story, directly from Jeff. I contacted him, and on one of my trips to Indianapolis I arranged to meet him at a social event at his church. (I can’t tell you how nervous I was about all this. It was like covert operations!) I sat down to dinner with him and listened to his story.

Jeff went to college at Bob Jones University, an extremely conservative Christian college in South Carolina. It was there that he came to grips with the fact that he was gay. And that was a crisis point for him. His great desire was to be a pastor, but he knew that was impossible because of what he was dealing with. Jeff went on to Harvard Law School and practiced law in Washington, DC. It was there he found a church that welcomed gays, and this changed his life. This opened the door to his being able to fulfill his lifelong dream of being a pastor. That is he how he came to be back in Indianapolis.

Jeff has written a book about his views on the Bible and homosexuality. His view is that God’s judgment rests upon the promiscuity that often accompanies the homosexual lifestyle. He believes that gays in committed monogamous relationships are able to live a strong Christian life. He practices what he preaches and has been married to his spouse for over fifteen years.

When I met Jeff and talked to him after all these years, I was struck by a couple of things. Jeff was very much the same person I remembered, and yes, even loved, so many years ago. He was smart, engaging and fun to talk to, and none of his zeal for serving the Lord has diminished. He speaks often about his faith, and engages in debates about his views (those lawyer skills come in handy). He lives out his Christianity better than most people I know.

So what do I do with this? How to I understand this? This goes against everything I have ever been taught.

I don’t have the answers. I still find all this totally confusing. But one thing I do know. Once you put a face on homosexuality instead of just using it as a label, your perspective changes. You’re forced to grapple with it, and there are no easy answers.

The other thing I know is that each person’s story matters. The road they’ve taken… the problems they’ve dealt with…it all matters. It matters to Jesus, and it better matter to me, if I truly want to follow Him. That’s why I’m listening, and trying to learn what God wants me to do to meet the needs of friends who are dealing with homosexuality in their own lives, and in the lives of family members.

Significance

2012-01-29T12:57:00.000-08:00

On Friday morning we gathered to have our Friday Friends Bible study and fellowship. This is a group of women of all ages coming together to learn from each other how to live the Christian life together. I can’t tell you what this group has come to mean to me. Everyone there has genuine care and concern for the others in the group. The support that I’ve received from this group has made some heavy burdens feel a lot lighter.

In our study we are learning how to meditate on scripture. I am so excited about this because I know this is a practice I need to engage in more often. Although I am faithful to my daily Bible reading, that does not mean that I am meditating on the scriptures. This week we studied verses that had to do with feeling forgotten, feeling like you’re not appreciated, feeling as if you don’t matter.

It all boils down to the need we have to feel significant in this world

We all desire it to some extent. God has put it in our hearts. That’s why we have to seek it His way, and that means seeking it through becoming a part of His story. His story revolves around redeeming people and being a part of His kingdom work here on Earth. The more involved with His story we are, the more significance our own story has.

There are several stay-at-home moms in our group, and they voiced their feelings. “Is what I do enough? Should I be doing more?” There’s no magic formula for how much is enough. It’s a part of our personal work to know what God expects from each of us individually.

We dug into the paradox between Jesus charge, “Don’t do your good deeds publicly, to be admired by others,” to his command a few verses earlier, “Let your light shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.” Obviously, it’s all about who gets the glory.

The verses we studied led me to a lot of thought-provoking questions:
What things have I said and done am I looking forward to being revealed?
What things do I wish would remain hidden? How can I eradicate these things?
How can I be constantly aware that what I do for Christ is not in vain, even when I see no
evidence that what I do matters?

Good thoughts, good food, good friends. What a blessing to be able to “work out our salvation” together!

A Profitable Week

2012-01-27T18:27:00.000-08:00

Lots of activity this week centered around our involvement at Camp of the Woods in Canada.

On Monday night we invited several people interested in spending the summer at camp to dinner. After dinner we discussed our desire to recruit summer staff for the camp. We discussed dates and finances, including plans we have for securing funds. There was a lot of enthusiasm for the task, and we enjoyed sharing our passion for this work.

If you’re reading this, and you know a young person who would be interested in hearing about the opportunity to serve in the ministry at Camp of the Woods, be sure to contact me so that I can get information out to them in a timely manner.

Wednesday night I spoke to the youth at church about a mission trip to camp in July. There are several young people who have expressed an interest in working a week at the camp. Some that were not interested in spending the whole summer are very interested in this shorter trip. Our hopes are that once they’ve been there, the place will take hold of them as it has us.

Our friend Ashley has been working on a very sharp looking brochure that will contain all the information about our work at the camp and how friends can support the work. We want to have it ready so that we can give it to people when they ask us what we’re going to do when we retire. We are trying structure it so that others who are trying to raise support for spending the summer at camp will be able to send it out with their personal information on it. It should be finished soon. Kudos to you, Ashley!

On Sunday after church we’ll be meeting with any adults and families who are interested in the Canada trip. I’ve had calls and texts wanting more information. I’m anxious to see who’ll turn up.

Phil and I are so excited about all this activity. We are anxious to expose others in our church family to this place we’ve come to love so much. I’ll keep you posted here on our progress. Keep us in your prayers.

Questions

2012-01-22T12:21:00.000-08:00

I introduced you to my friend Rachel Held Evans in my last post. I wanted to elaborate on some of the things I’ve learned from reading Rachel’s book and following her blog.

My favorite part of Rachel’s book deals with asking questions.

And yet I’m learning to love the questions, like locked rooms and mysterious books, like trees that clap their hands and fish that climb up cave walls, like mist that clings to the foothills of the Himalayas just like it clings to the Appalachians. And slowly I am learning to live the questions, to follow the teachings of a radical rabbi, to live in an upside-down kingdom in which kings are humbled and servants exalted, to look for God in the eyes of the orphan and the widow, the homeless and the imprisoned, the poor and the sick. My hope is that if I am patient, the questions themselves will dissolve into meaning, the answers won’t matter so much anymore, and perhaps it will all make sense to me on some distant, ordinary day.

Those who say that having childlike faith means not asking questions haven’t met too many children. Anyone who has kids or loves kids or has spent more than five minutes with kids knows that kids ask a lot of questions. Rarely are they satisfied with short answers, and rarely do they spend much time absorbing your response before moving on to the next "why?" or "how come?"

Psychologists say that the best way to handle children in this stage of development is not to answer their questions directly but instead to tell them stories. As pediatrician Alan Greene explains, "After conversing with thousands of children, I’ve decided that what they really mean is, That’s interesting to me. Let’s talk about that together. Tell me more, please.” Questions are a child’s way of expressing love and trust. They are a child’s way of starting a dialogue. They are a child’s way of saying “I want to have a conversation with you"…

If there’s one thing I know for sure, it’s that serious doubt—the kind that leads to despair—begins not when we start asking god questions but when, out of fear, we stop. In our darkest hours of confusion and in our most glorious moments of clarity, we remain but curious and dependent little children, tugging frantically at God’s outstretched hands and pleading with every question and every prayer and every tantrum we can muster , ‘We want to have a conversation with you!’”

For all the years we have been married, Phil has had lots of questions about lots of things we find in the Bible, and things we have learned in church. He has questions about everything from new Earth vs. old Earth to God’s involvement in our daily lives. In the early days, whenever he would bring up these questions, I didn’t want to listen to them. They made me afraid, and I didn’t want to think about what he was saying. We did not have conversations about them.

In the past 7-8 years, I have changed. I have begun to deal with questions that have come to my heart instead of just ignoring them or denying them. I read books constantly that deal with questions of faith and have found many to be helpful resources in strengthening my faith in different areas. My willingness to entertain questions has led to a rich dialogue with Phil. We have great conversations on a regular basis (mostly over Mexican food at El Metate).

It’s taken me all these years to understand this… that the questions matter… that they don’t bother God… that He is big enough to handle them…and that He loves the conversation it opens up with me.

Meeting Rachel

2012-01-19T20:08:00.000-08:00

I started the day singing “O What a Beautiful Morning” as I watched the sunrise after a brisk pre-dawn walk with Mary.

I am ending my day with a full heart because of a new connection I got to make tonight.

Phil, Kathryn, and I, along with our good friend John Cofield, made a trip to Lee University to attend a book reading by a person who has become a huge part of our lives, who has influenced us greatly, and yet a person we had never met.

Rachel Held Evans was the featured speaker at Lee University’s 6th Annual Writer’s Festival. She read passages from her book, Evolving in Monkey Town, which is a memoir about growing up in Dayton and having a very evangelical upbringing. As a young adult she faced a crisis of faith, which she is continuing to work through. She also read from the draft of her upcoming book, A Year of Biblical Womanhood, in which she shares what it was like to live the past year taking literally the scriptures about what a woman should and should not do.

I first came to know Rachel because she was going to church with Kathryn. Kathryn suggested that I start following her blog, which I have been doing ever since. Soon I was telling Phil, “You’ve got to read this,” and it wasn’t long before he was hooked too.

Rachel’s blog has been a lifeline to us to open our hearts and minds to new ways of thinking about our faith. She has directed us to books we should read, people we should follow, and practices we need to incorporate into our faith walk. She has had such a big impact on Phil, and he would tell you that Rachel has given voice and thought to many of the issues he has struggled with for so long. I have watched as he has taken her words to heart, as he has searched the scriptures for new answers, and as he has had a new desire to put his faith into action.

We all came away from the evening with so much to think about, so much to rejoice over. And I’m looking forward to sharing some of those thoughts with you here.

I'm Back!

2012-01-16T14:04:00.000-08:00

I just looked at my blog, and it’s been a whole month since my last post. That’s a long time for me to be quiet.

It hasn’t been that there’s not been anything going on. The holidays are always busy with lots of family around and not much of a schedule to keep.

We enjoyed a visit from Phil’s dad and my aunt Pauline. I even made a quick trip to Indiana with Kathryn to take Pauline home and see some cousins that I haven’t seen for years.

Kathryn at Abraham Lincoln's birthplace. We stopped there on our trip to Indiana.

We also spent time at the zoo, beautifully lit for Christmas (free tickets thanks to my Aunt Sue), and toured the Children’s Museum with my friend Robin. They had a Barbie exhibit that had several dolls and accessories that I had played with in my childhood. It lets you know you’re old when toys that you actually owned are in a museum.

There’s lots of school stuff going on too. Mary and I are changing our schedule. She is going to work with all the elementary kids, and I’m going to work with the middle school students. So far it’s making us both happier. It’s also time to prepare for Science Olympiad, one of the highlights of the year. I’m excited about competing well, but it’s very busy getting everyone ready.

Finally, I’ve been doing lots of reading. I don’t know exactly what to say about all that, but it’s been very interesting. I hope to share some of my thoughts on these books in upcoming posts.

So I’m back.

A Lesson About Generosity

2011-12-13T18:28:00.000-08:00

Last week Phil had lunch with a friend and came home to relate this story to me.

Our friend has two daughters who are adopted. For Christmas they received $100 from their grandparents. They chose to use this money to buy presents to send to kids in need. Their father related the great joy they took in doing this.

Phil said to him, “This shows me that you are raising caring and generous girls. That is such a good thing to instill in them.”

Our friend said, “What it shows me is that they trust me to be their provider. They know they can give that money away to the needs of others, because they have complete confidence that all their needs will be met by me and their mom.”

What a great lesson about giving! I can give fearlessly because I have no doubt whatsoever that my heavenly Father can meet my every need without fail.

May I keep this lesson at the forefront of all the decisions I make concerning money over the next year.

The Radical Experiment

2011-12-11T14:53:00.000-08:00

I recently had several blog entries in which I shared quotes from the book Radical by David Platt. Platt had so many challenging things to say and the final chapter was no exception. That chapter is entitled "The Radical Experiment: One Year to a Life Turned Upside Down." In it he presents five challenges to undertake in the coming year. I intend to take the challenge, and I'd like to invite as many of you that will to take the challenge along with me. I know a year is a long time, but even if you fall short, you'll probably be further ahead than if you never attempted it.

Here are the five challenges:

1. Pray for the entire world. Although this sounds daunting, Platt suggests a resource called Operation World (www.operationworld.org). Every day they present a country and tell specific needs to pray for in that place. All this information is available free online or you can order a book that will place the info in your hands. There is even a version for children.

2. Read through the entire Word. There are many resources available for doing this: online calendars, daily reminders, and many versions of the Bible set up to accomplish this very thing. This past year I used 24/7 A One Year Chronological Bible. I am a big fan reading chronologically, and I liked the version presented here, which is the New Living Translation. It was very understandable and easy to follow.

3. Sacrifice your money for a specific purpose. Platt emphasizes that the key word here is "sacrifice." Don't just give of the excess you have, give above and beyond what you feel is comfortable. There are some things to consider as you decide where and how to give. Spend your money on something that is gospel-centered and church-focused. Give to a ministry that you feel passionate about. If you don't have one that you feel that way about, find one. Give to someone you can trust and in a way that is sustainable. There are lots of possibilities. Contact me if you need more info here. I'll be happy to help you figure it out.

4. Spend your time in another context. By this, Platt means to take some time in the coming year to go on a mission trip. It could be out of the country or it could be in another city or state. Just go somewhere to get another perspective, to see how others live, to experience another part of the world. Dedicate whatever amount of time you can to make this happen; it might be a week, it might be a month.

5. Commit your life to a multiplying community. Be an active part of a church family. Be a part of seeing it grow by making disciples of those who come. Commit. Be faithful. Let others know you can be counted on.

I intend to take steps to make all these things a reality in my life over the next year. I'd like to invite you to join "The Radical Experiment" with me. If you're willing to give it a try, please let me know. I'd like to be a part of encouraging you to stay on track throughout the year. Let me help hold you accountable, and let me pray for you.

Let's do it for the glory of God and the love of our Savior, Jesus Christ! Let's make it a "radical" new year!

Highlights of Our Trip

2011-12-05T18:30:00.000-08:00

I thought I'd share a few highlights from our trip out east. Phil had meetings in New York for the Teaching American History Grant he works with and I tagged along. Then we took the train to DC to attend the National Council of Social Studies conference. The pictures are not in chronological order but it's just too much trouble to change them.

We were able to have dinner and a candlelight tour at Mount Vernon. Mrs Washington was delightful!

Andrea Boccelli was in concert. Phil enjoys his music and would have liked to see him but instead he took me to the event of my choice...

Handel's Messiah at the National Cathedral. I enjoyed it immensely.

We toured the 9/11 Memorial. It was a very solemn occasion.

Rockefeller Center was decorated for the holidays. Beautiful!

We watched skaters and enjoyed wonderful weather.

We saw all our favorites at the Today Show. We even shook hands with Matt.

I got this close to Michael Buble. He sang in the studio. Here he is collecting toys for the toy drive.

At the Museum of Natural History we saw this Christmas tree decorated with origami ornaments.

We saw the big Christmas tree but it was lit the night we left.

We had a good time kicking off the holidays.

At the NCSS this was the most interesting thing I came across. Kids did history projects that they posted on the internet. The projects were about local historic sites. They then created these QR codes to place at the site. People can scan these codes with their phone to access the kids' stories. This idea took me in a lot of different directions. What do you think?

I almost forgot to include the fact that I accidently attended the funeral of a billionaire. What are the chances!

Troop Carrier or Luxury Liner?

2011-11-26T19:10:00.000-08:00

This next post is a lengthy story from the book Radical by David Platt. It was too good to leave out of these posts so I have copied it in its entirety.

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The language of Matthew 10 envisions Jesus as a military commander sending soldiers out on a mission. He summoned his disciples, and then he sent them out. In light of the needs before them and the danger around them, the disciples knew they were entering the battle.

In the late 1940’s, the United States government commissioned William Francis Gibbs to work with the United States Lines to construct an eighty-million-dollar troop carrier for the navy. The purpose was to design a ship that would speedily carry fifteen thousand troops during times of war. By 1952, construction on the SS United States was complete. The ship could travel at forty-four knots (about fifty-one miles per hour), and she could steam ten thousand miles without stopping for fuel or supplies. She could outrun any other ship and travel nonstop anywhere in the world in less than ten days. The SS United States was the fastest and most reliable troop carrier in the world.

The only catch is, she never carried troops. At least not in any official capacity. The ship was put on standby once during the Cuban missile crisis in 1962, but otherwise she was never used in all her capacity by the U. S. Navy.

Instead the SS United States became a luxury liner for presidents, heads of state, and a variety of other celebrities who traveled on her during her seventeen years of service. As a luxury liner, she couldn’t carry fifteen thousand people. Instead she could house just under two thousand passengers. Those passengers could enjoy the luxuries of 695 staterooms, 4 dining salons, 3 bars, 2 theaters, 5 acres of open deck with a heated pool, 19 elevators, and the comfort of the world’s first fully air-conditioned passenger ship. Instead of a vessel used for battle during wartime, the SS United States became a means of indulgence for wealthy patrons who desired to coast peacefully across the Atlantic.

Things look radically different on a luxury liner than they do on a troop carrier. The faces of soldiers preparing for battle and those of patrons enjoying their bonbons are radically different. The conservation of resources on a troop carrier contrasts sharply with the opulence that characterizes the luxury liner. And the pace at which the troop carrier moves is by necessity much faster than that of the luxury liner. After all, the troop carrier has an urgent task to accomplish; the luxury liner, on the other hand, is free to casually enjoy the trip.

When I think about the history of the SS United States, I wonder if she has something to teach us about the history of the church. The church, like the SS United States, has been designed for battle. The purpose of the church is to mobilize a people to accomplish a mission. Yet we seem to have turned the church as troop carrier into the church as luxury liner. We seem to have organized ourselves, not to engage in battle for the souls of peoples around the world, but to indulge ourselves in the peaceful comforts of the world. This makes me wonder what would happen if we looked squarely in the face of a world with 4.5 billion people going to hell and twenty-six thousand children dying every day of starvation and preventable diseases, and we decided it was time to move this ship into battle instead of sitting back on the pool deck while we wait for the staff to serve us more hors d’oeuvre.

Are we willing to obey the orders of Christ? Are we willing to be like him? Are we willing to risk our lives to go to great need and to great danger—whether it’s in the inner cities around us, the difficult neighbor across the street, the disease-ridden communities in Africa, or the hostile regions in the Middle East? Are we willing to fundamentally alter our understanding of Christianity from a luxury-liner approach that seeks more comforts in the world to a troop-carrier approach that forsakes comforts in the world to accomplish an eternally significant task and achieve an eternally satisfying reward?

My Shield

2011-11-25T13:33:00.000-08:00

Last year our choir sang this song. The chorus is taken from Scripture and this is what it says:

But thou, oh Lord are a shield for me
My glory and the lifter of my head
Thou, oh Lord are shield for me
My glory and the lifter of my head

I still have the CD in my car and I was listening to it and singing my heart out on a trip to Chattanooga today. Of all the things I'm thankful for this season, the truth of these words has to be at the top of the list.

In the past year there have been trials in my life that Satan wanted to use to destroy my faith. But because the Lord was a shield to me, those things were just glancing blows. They bruised me; they left a scab, but they were not lethal.

Sometimes I feel ashamed, disgraced or discouraged. I pick at the scab, and it bleeds.

And that is when the Lord is the lifter of my head. He speaks to me, and I know He is there. He tells me that this is not over, that time will bring healing, that He is always in control.

Praise God! Just wanted you to know that I shouted "Hallelujah!" a few times today. And it felt really good.

Radical Part 7

2011-11-23T12:01:00.000-08:00

The next chapter in the book is entitled "Living When Dying Is Gain: The Risk and Reward of the Radical Life." The big question we have to ask ourselves here is "Do I believe the reward found in Jesus is worth the risk of following him?"

Quotes from the chapter:

I can imagine the looks on the disciples’ faces when the next words came out of Jesus’ mouth: “I am sending you out like sheep among wolves.” Sheep are among the most helpless of all domesticated animals. They are also some of the most senseless. Harmless noises can send them into a frenzy, and when they face danger, they have no defense mechanism. All they can do is run, and unfortunately they are slow. As a result, the dumbest thing a sheep can do is to wander into a pack of wolves. So why in the world was Jesus, the good shepherd (John 10:11), the great Shepherd (Hebrews 13:20), telling his sheep to hang out with wolves?

Jesus was saying to his disciples then—and, by implication, to you and me now—“I am sending you to dangerous places, where you will find yourself in the middle of evil, vicious people. And you will be there by my design.” Jesus told them, “Go to great danger, and let it be said of you what people would say of sheep wandering into the middle of wolves. ‘They’re crazy! They’re clueless! They have no idea what kind of danger they are getting into!’ This is what it means to be my disciple.”

Archaeologists who have explored the catacombs have found a common inscription scattered throughout them. The inscription was the Greek word ICTHUS, which was used as an acrostic for “Jesus Christ, God’s Son, the Savior.” You might recognize the sign because now these fish symbols are scattered across the back of cars belonging to Christians. How far we have come when we paste this symbol identified with martyred brothers and sisters in the first century onto the backs of our SUVs and luxury sedans in the twenty-first century.

The reward of the American dream is safety, security, and success found in more comfort, better stuff, and greater prosperity. But the reward of Christ trumps all these things and beckons us to live for an eternal safety, security, and satisfaction that far outweigh everything this world has to offer us.

This is the testimony of all Scripture. From the story of Job to Paul’s description of Satan’s attack in his life in 2 Corinthians 12, we see how Satan not only acts within the sovereign permission of God but also ends up accomplishing the sovereign purposes of God. Indeed, this is what the Cross is all about. Satan’s strategy to defeat the Son of God only served to provide salvation for sinner.

We have nothing to fear, because God is sovereign.

The Long Way Home

2011-11-21T19:20:00.000-08:00

We took the long way home today.

After spending the weekend in Indiana visiting relatives with my parents we made one last stop this morning. We went to Mitchell, Indiana, to eat breakfast with my aunt Mary. Mary is the only one in Dad’s family who still lives in their hometown. Mitchell has it own claim to fame. Not only does it host the annual Persimmon Festival complete with a Persimmon Queen; it also is the hometown of Mercury astronaut, Gus Grissom. (I think my Uncle Ralph went to school with him.)

After breakfast we headed south. Our usual route home is straight down I-65. But the detour to Mitchell took us south on the two-lane back roads of southern Indiana. And as we rolled along toward home my dad recollected his younger days when he had traveled those roads as a kid. I heard about how:

*his older brother John had taken him for rides in on these hilly roads at speeds of 80-90 mph. I asked, “Were you scared or did you think it was fun?” He said, “I just thought it was stupid.” He said John would even drive a loaded dump truck so fast he thought it would roll over.

*his mother was a saint, full of compassion and love. She was a hard worker even after being burned over half her body. The fire also badly burned her toddler son, my dad.

*his dad, just like most dads, had his good points and his bad points. Although he was not a Christian at the time, he never worked on Sunday (aside from milking and feeding that had to be done). He didn’t go to church, but the rest of the family walked to the church just down the road. On the other had, his son Norman was in the Navy and sent money home for his dad to save for him. His dad bought a cow with the money.

*Uncle John owned an excavating business and was the first president of the Lions Club of Orleans. He lived near my Uncle Norman who laid gas lines for a living. These two brothers married sisters. I still remember going to their house where we saw color TV for the first time.

*the fields we were passing were ones that my dad had farmed with his dad. He said he would drive the tractor, which would bundle shocks of wheat. Sometimes Dad would forget to pull the lever and the shock would get too big, which would cause it to jam. He would have to get down and pull the wheat out by hand. It sounded dangerous to me.

*the roads we were traveling were the same ones they rode to take hogs to market in Louisville. On the way home dad said they would stop in Palmyra to look at tractors. We saw the tractor dealership there. Dad still loves to look at tractors.

The route we took made our trip a couple of hours longer than it should have been, but it was time well spent. I was happy to be there to listen to my dad share a piece of his childhood with me.

Radical Part 6

2011-11-19T06:31:00.000-08:00

There has been a lot of discussion in books and on blogs recently about universaliam. It is the idea that some how, some way, in the end, God is going to save everyone. It stems from people having a problem with the idea that so many people will die and go to hell just for the misfortune of having been born in the wrong part of the world. It doesn't seem fair to them. I understand what a big stumbling block it is to some people.

Some have embraced the idea that those who have never heard of Jesus will surely be allowed into heaven. So chapter 7 in this book addresses that idea. It is titled "There is No Plan B: Why Going is Urgent, Not Optional." I thought it was very good in addressing this problem with sound biblical support. Quotes from the chapter:

"If people will go to heaven precisely because they never had the opportunity to hear about Jesus, then the worst thing we could do for their eternal state would be to go to them and tell them about Jesus. That would only increase their chances of going to hell! Before we got there, they were going to heaven; now that we’ve told them about Jesus, they might go to hell. Thanks a lot!"

"Imagine encountering an international student newly arrived on a college campus in the United States. You ask her if she has ever heard of Jesus, and with a puzzled look on her face, she responds, 'No.'
Now, if this girl is headed to heaven precisely because she has never heard about Jesus, then the best thing you could say to her for the sake of her eternity is, 'If anyone tries to tell you about Jesus, just put your hands on your ears, start yelling very loudly, and run away.'
Obviously this particular methodology is not prescribed in Scripture."

Radical Part 5

2011-11-15T18:35:00.000-08:00

The next chapter in the book is "How Much is Enough? American Wealth and a World of Poverty." Buckle up! This is a rough ride. The following are all direct quotes from the book.

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We look back on slave-owning churchgoers of 150 years ago and ask: “How could they have treated their fellow human beings that way?” I wonder if followers of Christ 150 years from now will look back at Christians in America today and ask, “How could they live in such big houses? How could they drive such nice cars and wear such nice clothes? How could they live in such affluence while thousands of children were dying because they didn’t have food and water? How could they go on with their lives as though the billions of poor didn’t even exist?

Is materialism a blind spot in American Christianity today? More specifically, is materialism a blind spot in YOUR Christianity today? Surely this is something we must uncover, for if our lives do not reflect radical compassion for the poor, there is reason to question just how effective we will be in declaring the glory of Christ to the ends of the earth. More pointedly, if our lives do not reflect radical compassion for the poor, there is reason to wonder if Christ is really in us at all.

The rich man in this story [the one about Lazarus] is not in hell because he had money. Instead, he is in hell because he lacked faith in God, leading him to indulge in luxuries while ignoring the poor outside his gate. As a result, earth was his heaven, and eternity became his hell.

Why not begin operating under the idea that God has given us excess, not so we could HAVE more, but so we could GIVE more?

In John Calvin’s notes on 2 Cor. 8:14 he says: [God] “has enjoined upon us frugality and temperance, and has forbidden, that any one should go to excess, taking advantage of his abundance. Let those, then, that have riches…consider that their abundance was not intended to be laid out in intemperance or excess, but in relieving the necessities of the brethren.”

What would happen if we stopped asking how much we could spare and started asking how much it was going to take?

Give. Give generously, abundantly, and sacrificially. Give not because your stuff is bad. Give because Christ is in you. Give because your heart has been captured by a Savior who has produced in you “overflowing joy,” welling up in “rich generosity.”

The lesson I learned is that the war against materialism in our hearts is exactly that: a war.

More than anything, I don’t want to be the rich young man. And I don’t want to ignore the fact that the lure toward becoming him is always stronger than I would like to admit.

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In light of all this I have to wonder if I'm just like the rich young ruler who spoke to Jesus. Jesus tells him to sell everything and follow him. And he walks away.

Am I walking away too?

Radical Part 4

2011-11-12T06:30:00.000-08:00

Chapter 5 is titled "The Multiplying Community: How All of Us Join Together to Fulfill God's Purpose." I have to add that we are still fighting the battle between us as brothers and sisters in Christ over disinfecting ourselves from the world and discipling the world. Just this week I've had to deal with this. It is a very real battle. We have to be careful for our church not to develop a "country club" mentality when it comes to who we want in or out of our church. As Jesus told those who questioned his association with "riff-raff," "I came to seek and to save that which was lost...It is not the healthy who need a doctor but the sick."

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"At the end of the Son of God’s time on earth, he had staked everything on his relationships with twelve men.

"He has given us people, and he has said, “Live for them. Love them, serve them, and lead them. Lead them to follow me, and lead them to lead others to follow me. In the process you will multiply the gospel to the ends of the earth.

"Discipleship making is not about a program or an event but about a relationship. As we share the gospel, we impart life, and this is the essence of making disciples. Sharing the life of Christ.

"God’s Word is no longer just being heard in a building; it is being multiplied throughout a community. It is multiplying because the people of God are no longer listening as if his Word is intended to stop with them. They are now living as if God’s Word is intended to spread through them.

"In our Christian version of the American dream, our plan ends up disinfecting Christians from the world more than discipling Christians in the world.

"When we gather at the building, we learn to be good. Being good is defined by what we avoid in the world. We are holy because of what we don’t participate in (and at this point we may be the only organization in the world defining success by what we don’t do.) We live decent lives in decent homes with decent jobs and decent families as decent citizens. We are decent church members with little more impact on the world than we had before we were saved. Though thousands may join us, ultimately we have turned a deaf ear to billions who haven’t even heard his name.

"Whereas disinfecting Christians involves isolating them and teaching them to be good, discipling Christians involves propelling Christians into the world to risk their lives for the sake of others.

"Disciple making takes place multiple times every week in multiple locations by an army of men and women sharing, showing, and teaching the Word of Christ and together serving a world in need of Christ.

"All of a sudden, holiness is defined by what we do [not by what we don’t do]."

Radical Part 3

2011-11-09T19:39:00.000-08:00

Chapter 4 is titled "The Great Why of God: God's Global Purpose from the Beginning Till Today."

The message of biblical Christianity is “God loves me so that I might make him—his ways, his salvation, his glory, and his greatness—known among all nations.”

In Romans 1:14-15, Paul talks about being a debtor to the nations. He literally says, “I am in debt to Jews and Gentiles.” The language is profound. Paul is saying that he owes a debt to every lost person on the face of the planet. Because he is owned by Christ, he owes Christ to the world.

Every saved person this side of heaven owes the gospel to every lost person this side of hell.

…regardless of where we live—here or overseas—our hearts should be consumed with making the glory of God known in all nations."

Radical Part 2

2011-11-06T12:12:00.000-08:00

Chapter 3 is called "Beginning at the End of Ourselves: The Importance of Relying on God's Power."

"The question for us, then, is whether we trust in his power. And the problem for us is that in our culture we are tempted at every turn to trust in our own power instead. So the challenge for us is to live in such a way that we are radically dependent on and desperate for the power that only God can provide.

"As long as we achieve our desires in our own power, we will always attribute it to our own glory.

"The dangerous assumption we unknowingly accept in the American dream is that our greatest asset is our own ability. The American dream prizes what people can accomplish when they believe in themselves and trust in themselves, and we are drawn toward such thinking. But the gospel has different priorities. The gospel beckons us to die to ourselves and to believe in God and to trust in his power. In the gospel, God confronts us with our utter inability to accomplish anything of value apart from him. This is what Jesus meant when he said, 'I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.”'

"This is how God works. He puts his people in positions where they are desperate for his power, and then he shows his provision in ways that display his greatness.

"The reality is that the church I lead can accomplish more during the next month in the power of God’s Spirit than we can in the next hundred years apart from his provision. His power is so superior to ours.

Why do we not desperately seek it?

"He puts his very power in us so we might have all we need to accomplish his purposes in this world.

Instead of imagining all the things we can accomplish, we ask God to do what only he can accomplish. Yes, we work, we plan, we organize, and we create, but we do it all while we fast, while we pray, and while we constantly confess our need for the provision of God. Instead of dependence on ourselves, we express radical desperation for the power of his Spirit, and we trust that Jesus stands ready to give us everything we ask for so that he might make much of our Father in the world.

Radical by David Platt

2011-11-04T09:52:00.000-07:00

Last month I had several posts from books by Richard Foster. This month I am beginning with excerpts from Radical by David Platt. The sub-title of the book is Taking Back Your Faith From the American Dream. It has been a challenging book and I'll share several ideas from the book here.

The first chapter is called "Someone Worth Losing Everything For." It's about how much we should love Jesus. The second chapter is "Too Hungry for Words," and it deals with how much we love God's Word. Here are some excerpts:

“This is the picture of Jesus in the gospel. He is something—someone—worth losing everything for. And if we walk away from the Jesus of the gospel, we walk away from eternal riches. The cost of nondiscipleship is profoundly greater for us than the cost of discipleship. For when we abandon the trinkets of this world and respond to the radical invitation of Jesus, we discover the infinite treasure of knowing and experiencing him.

“But is his Word enough for us?

"This is the question that often haunts me when I stand before a crowd of thousands of people in the church I pastor. What if we take away the cool music and the cushioned chairs? What if the screens are gone and the stage is no longer decorated? What if the air conditioning is off and the comforts are removed? Would his Word still be enough for his people to come together?

"[We did an experiment.] We called it Secret Church.

We set a date—one Friday night—when we could gather from six o’clock in the evening until midnight, and for six hours we would do nothing but study the Word and pray. We would interrupt the six-hour Bible study periodically to pray for our brothers and sisters around the world who are forced to gather secretly. We would also pray for ourselves, that we would learn to love the Word as they do.

(I'd love to do this sometime.)

"What is it about God’s Word that creates a hunger to hear more? And not just to hear the Word but to long for it, study it, memorize it, and follow it? What causes followers of Christ around the world literally to risk their lives in order to know it?

"We are afraid that if we stop and really look at God in the Word, we might discover that he evokes greater awe and demands deeper worship than we are ready to give him.

(I think this is SO true!)

"An old preaching professor used to take his students to a cemetery every semester. Standing on the perimeter overlooking scores of headstones, he would ask his students in all sincerity to speak over the graves and call people from the ground to rise up and live. With some embarrassment and an awkward chuckle or two, they would try it. Of course, one by one they would fail. The professor would then look at his students and remind them of a core truth in the gospel: people are spiritually dead, and only words from God can bring them to spiritual life.

(How often do I forget the power of God's Word?)

"And salvation now consists of a deep wrestling in our souls with the sinfulness of our hearts, the depth of our depravity, and the desperation of our need for his grace. Jesus is no longer one to be accepted or invited in, but one who is infinitely worthy of our immediate and total surrender.

(This is addressing how we word our invitations to salvation..."invite Him in"...Accept Him as your Savior.)

"But that gift of grace involves the gift of a new heart. New desires. New longings. For the first time, we want God. We see our need for him, and we love him."

Life With God: Final Post

2011-10-29T07:35:00.000-07:00

“If gossip or empty talk is a struggle, we train through silence. If greed, we retrain our view of possessing things by engaging in simplicity, frugality, giving. If cursing, we train by blessing those who provoke our anger, taking up the habit of blessing for a month or so until we are more apt to bless than to curse.

(What practical words!)

“We address our vices by attending to the opposite virtues, and then seeking which Disciplines will train us in those virtues.

“Fasting is feasting on God.”

“Pause for a moment and consider how much time, money, energy, and thought you spend on meeting these basic needs for yourself, for family members (and pets), for friends and visitors in you home. All of it is fertile ground for learning the ways of life with God.

“Grace is not a ticket to heaven, but the earth under our feet on the road with Christ.

“Bonhoeffer conceived of relationship with God in terms of ‘existence for others, through participation in the being of Jesus.’

“In Bonhoeffer’s life and teachings we witness the difference between the soft complacency of ‘cheap grace’ and the tough-minded discipleship of ‘costly grace.’

(Although I have often heard of Bonhoeffer, I have not read his works and I need to. He was an amazing martyr for the faith during the Nazi occupation of Germany.)

“Grace is the action of God in our lives.

“God comes to us not to overwhelm us and overpower us, but to interrupt us in the midst of our ordinary routines, on the ground of what is familiar to us—everyday life, the arena in which most of life with God takes place. He whispers rather than shouts, gently prompts rather than shoves, I am with you—will you be with me?

“Grace enables us to do with God what we could never do on our own.

“Grace is the invisible made visible in ways we could never dream of, much less bring about….grace operates like this: the more we use it, the more there is of it.

“God makes grace accessible to us by empowering us with the means for growth.

“Mother Teresa knew with every fiber in her body that John’s call to love does not refer to some warm feeling or abstract ideal. She demonstrated, at great cost to her own comfort and feelings, that love involves clearheaded action toward God and others, rooted in Jesus’ sacrificial action on our behalf.

Life With God 6

2011-10-27T20:01:00.000-07:00

(If you don't know Anna's story read Luke 2:36-39.)

“We can see in Anna a beautiful harmony of inner life and outer testimony. We can also see the striking juxtaposition of a life steeped in solitude—and no doubt loneliness—and a life that becomes critically important to the community of God’s people. Anna’s outsider status as a widow is radically reversed to an insider role in redemption history.

“This is a crucial function of the Disciplines—to prepare us in ‘little’ ways for the ‘big’ work God is doing in our lives.

“God is always ready and willing to take what we can do in order to accomplish within us what we cannot do on our own.

“The bottom-line goal of practicing the Spiritual Disciplines is so that when the moment of action comes, our automatic default mode is to ‘act naturally’ according to the Spirit, not the flesh…

“Spiritual growth is a gift, not an accomplishment.”

“John Woolman’s life illuminates for us a liberating truth: we do no become godly by trying to become godly. We become godly as “holy habits” such as love, joy, and peace fill our character so that we do the right thing at the right time with the right motive, instinctively…without thinking about it…Woolman is a magnificent example of the principle of indirection. Indirection affirms that spiritual formation does not occur by direct human effort, but through a relational process whereby we receive from God the power or ability to do what we cannot do by our own effort. We do not produce the outcome. That is God’s business. We enter into an interactive relational life with God utilizing appropriate Disciplines for the training of body, mind and spirit in righteousness. The result of all of that is a character formation that is in excess of anything we could have hoped or dreamed—a life filled with righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit.

(If you want to know more about John Woolman you can google him. I want to read his journal now that I've learned something about him. I don't know why I haven't heard of him.)

Life With God 5

2011-10-26T14:13:00.000-07:00

“A Spiritual Discipline is an intentionally directed action, which places us in a position to receive from God the power to do what we cannot accomplish on our own.

“Moving into the depths of life with God involves shedding the illusion of self-sufficiency and trusting in God’s promise, ‘I will carry you.’ (Isa. 46:4)

“The Disciplines require us to do things, but not for doings sake. This doing leads us into being in the presence of God so that we can sense the rhythm of God’s heartbeat underlying the surface rhythms of daily life. And being with God is what shapes us, more and more, into the image of God originally planted within us and redeemed in Christ.

“[Discipline is] the ability to do the right thing at the right time for the right reason.

“If we find that we are not venturing deeply enough into the waters of life with God, the answer is not to try harder. The answer, simply, is to get rid of more—get rid of our agendas, get rid of our self-concern, get rid of our helplessness and fear, so that we might get more of God.

“The Disciplines of abstinence allow us to bring all human desires under the grace of God. We put up guardrails so that these good gifts do not overrun healthy boundaries and become unhealthy obsessions. In addition to channeling our natural desires so they do not overwhelm us, practicing abstinence also carves out room in our lives for active pursuit of the ways of the kingdom.

(In this case, "abstinence" does not mean sexual abstinence, although it could be included. It means giving up any physical activity, such as eating, exercise, TV, etc. It may mean giving it up for good or for a defined period of time.)

“Where experience has robbed us of trust in God, engagement (seeking life with God through his word) helps us find it again so that we can exclaim with the psalmist, ‘Bless the Lord, O my soul, and do not forget all his benefits.’

Life With God 4

2011-10-24T15:50:00.000-07:00

“The assurance that God has given us full competency is a great liberation and should encourage ordinary folk to come to the Bible with confidence that God is with us and will guide us rightly in all things necessary to life. We may get plenty wrong, but we will get right what we need to get right.

“We want neat, orderly systems; God gives us a koan: ‘I am.’ We want absolute truth nailed down in neat propositional form; the Bible gives us a vast sprawl of Divine-human history. We want bottom-line rules for life; the Bible gives us the law of love. We want programs to follow; the Bible tells us to follow hard after God. We want something tangible to show for our efforts; The Bible asks that we relinquish results and place our faith in what is unseen. The Bible reveals to us its Story—tragic as will as glorious, bloody and violent as well as nurturing and inspiring—by pouncing upon us from another realm, taking us by surprise.

“[The calling of a prophet] involves speaking truth into the lives of the people, calling them back to their covenant obligations of single-hearted obedience to God, mercy and compassion for the poor and dispossessed, and justice and shalom toward all peoples.

“Life with God is an ongoing, ever-changing, relational adventure. It is not a matter of being driven through life, stopping every now and then to get out of the car and see the surroundings. God invites us to climb into the landscape of our journey, to breathe deeply with full lungs, to feel blood pulsing through muscles doing what they were made to do, to experience the wonder of having a body with which to see and hear and smell and taste and touch this astonishing world.

Life With God 3

2011-10-22T17:32:00.000-07:00

William Law, A Serious Call to a Devout and Holy Life

“It was this…intention that made the primitive Christians such eminent instances of piety, that made the goodly fellowship of the Saints and all the glorious army of martyrs and confessors. And if you will here stop and ask yourself why you are not as pious as the primitive Christians were, your own heart will tell you that it is neither through ignorance nor inability, but purely because you never thoroughly intended it.”

“One of the central themes in the story of God’s people is the stubbornness with which they cling to religious performance instead of clinging to God.

“After all, it is much easier to follow a to-do list than to engage in the messy business of personal relations.

“Inward stillness is as important to spiritual reading a muscle-stretching is to a workout.

(I love this analogy.)

“This is the deep connection we long for but rarely receive in a Christianized subculture where, too often, talking about experiencing God substitutes for actual experience of God.

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These all make me say, "Wow!"

Life With God (cont'd)

2011-10-21T06:10:00.000-07:00

Another excerpt:
“As we read and reread the Bible’s stories, we learn how life with God takes place in the rough and tumble of real-life situations. The crucible of change is our everyday world. The tools of our transformation are the choices arising from our everyday circumstances. The Bible fleshes out this with-God life in the give-and-take of everyday experiences. If we will allow them, these stories can draw us in irresistibly until they become emblematic of our story as well.

“We read of Abraham trudging up Mount Moriah, struggling with the decision to sacrifice Isaac, and we hear God speaking to us too. The Kol Yahweh, the voice of the Lord, is calling us to surrender our most priceless possession—and in that surrender, the meaning of ‘my’ and ‘mine’ are changed forever.

“We follow the Israelites from their exciting Exodus from Egypt in to the boredom, uncertainty, and fear of wandering in the wilderness. In their wandering, we see our own travel across unknown landscapes, and we learn to focus on God instead of on how soon we will make it to the next place of safety and whether we will have bread or meat for tomorrow.

“We meditate on the angelic encounter with Mary, and we feel the combination of fear and joy in the direct call of God. We, too, are invited to respond to the divine call with the overwhelming word of obedience: ‘Behold, I am a servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.’ (Luke 1:38)

“We see Peter walking on water, and we, too, are challenged to take up the humanly impossible task in our contemporary world, possible only if we will fix our gaze on Jesus and not look away in fear.

“We watch Moses standing dumb before the burning bush, and we, too, must be reminded to take off our shoes when God reveals to us that where we are standing is holy ground. We learn that wherever we are—in our homes, in our work, with neighbors and friends—God is present with us, at work to transform us into people who will carry on the liberating work of the kingdom of God.

“We read the story of Jonah, and we understand how resistance to God’s will manifests itself in nationalism and racism. Then we recognize the same spirit of rebellion and disobedience in ourselves, as well. As we turn in repentance, we are transformed yet another time into people who are more likely to love than hate, to unify rather than divide.

“We are drawn into the story of David acting on his lust for Bathsheba, and we recognize that the spirit of lust and possessiveness has taken up residence in us, too. We understand that our bodies themselves are testing places for our character, not mere vehicles of gratification.

“We marvel at the courage of Esther and long that we, too, might have the same holy courage for the tough decisions of life. We realize that all the little choices we make in each ordinary day of our lives shape us in ways that prepare us—or not—for the big choices that can face us unexpectedly in an instant.

“We learn from Daniel’s confidence in the lions’ den, a confidence born out of an unshakable belief in a living God, and we, too, long to believe in a living God. We learn that ‘faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen,’ and that Daniel’s story of faith has been preserved and retold—along with all the other stories recounted in the Scriptures—for our benefit, surrounding us with a ‘great cloud of witnesses’ for encouragement in our journey of faith (Hebrews 11:1;12:1).

“And we learn most of all from Jesus, ‘the pioneer and perfecter of our faith, who for the sake of the joy that was set before him endured the cross, disregarding its shame, and has taken his seat at the right and of the throne of God (Heb. 12:23).

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Kind of puts all those stories in a new perspective, doesn't it? That's what good authors do.

**Sorry for the text wrap problem. Too complicated to fix.

Life With God by Richard Foster

2011-10-20T20:07:00.000-07:00

I have just finished a book called Life With God by Richard Foster. The subtitle is Reading the Bible for Spiritual Transformation. So that’s what it’s about…reading the Bible. It also ties in to the spiritual disciplines we so need to develop in our lives. I love Mr. Foster’s heart as he shares it in this book. I will be sharing some excerpts from the book.

“Freedom comes not from the absence of restraint but from the presence of discipline. Only the disciplined gymnast if free to score a perfect ten on the parallel bars.

Only the disciplined violinist is free to play Paganini’s ‘Caprices.’

This, of course, is true in all of life, but it is never more true than in the spiritual life. When we are on the spot, when we find ourselves in the midst of the crisis, it is too late. Training in the Spiritual Disciplines is the God-ordained means for forming and transforming the human personality so that in the emergency we can be ‘response-able’—able to respond appropriately.”

Reflections on Autumn in Canada

2011-10-02T18:54:00.000-07:00

The camp road

Phil says this has been the best trip of his life.

We have reveled in the glorious weather and scenery we enjoyed. Except for a couple of days of rain, the rest of the days were picture perfect. The fall colors were at their peak and the temperatures were most comfortable. We did some stargazing on several nights, which included a spectacular view of the Northern Lights.

View from Bear Track

Sundown Point

We enjoyed great food and fellowship. Suppers of partridge, walleye, and wild rice (Fawnda outdid herself); breakfasts of blueberry & wild rice pancakes and delicious coffee (thanks, John); and other wonderful dishes (I made a chicken pot pie) tasted even better after a hard day’s work. We ate well and had great conversations that deepened our ties to one another.

John & Fawnda

We played a couple of new games. I finally had a chance to play “Ticket to Ride” which is very popular among the staff at camp. We also played a quick an easy card game called Golf. I’ll be happy to teach it to anyone who wants to learn. Phil even played and enjoyed the games.

I spent some of my days working with the Bates children. They are a wonderful bunch of kids. I also spent time working of ideas for next years’ camp. I feel like we made good progress.

And I read…ah, the luxury of quiet time to read. I’ll be sharing some of what I read in later posts. So many good things to think about.

Friday Friends

2011-09-10T13:21:00.000-07:00

Since I've retired I now have Fridays off. That means that I am able to attend Friday Friends, a ladies' Bible study at my church. It is a wonderful group of ladies including moms of toddlers, single ladies, stay-at-home moms, homeschool moms, and retired moms like me. We share food, fellowship, prayer requests and Bible teaching.

This past Friday I had the opportunity to teach the group. When I told Phil I was trying to decide what to teach, never to be one to withhold his opinion, he said, "I know what you should tell them. You should tell them to get up from the table immediately and go home and bake something. Teach them to take better care of their husbands."

Then he reminded me of this cartoon that we saw a few weeks ago...

Now don't worry. He was being sarcastic.

But it got me to thinking about these verses in Titus 2:

3 Likewise, teach the older women to be reverent in the way they live, not to be slanderers or addicted to much wine, but to teach what is good. 4 Then they can urge the younger women to love their husbands and children, 5 to be self-controlled and pure, to be busy at home, to be kind, and to be subject to their husbands, so that no one will malign the word of God.

So I went with it. What a great discussion we had! We got down to the nitty-gritty of what it means to love your husband, what loving your children really looks like, what "being busy at home" is all about, and last, but certainly not least, what it means to be subject to your husband.

None of this stuff is easy. It's hard work. It's messy and pesky and confusing. But it's what our real life, here and now, is all about. And if we can't apply our Christianity in our homes with our husbands and children, where can we apply it? On the other side of the coin, if we don't talk about the struggles we have in living this out in our homes and marriages, how can we overcome, how can we stand the storms? Because they're there for all of us, and they're tough. If we never tell people how we struggle, we make them feel like they are the only ones who feel this way, that what is happening to them is not natural. And we set them up for discouragement and failure.

So we shared, honestly and openly. And it was good for our souls.

2011-09-03T20:15:00.000-07:00

‎"With self-discipline, most anything is possible." -Theodore Roosevelt

I think discipline in one's life is one of the things most lacking in our culture today. When you think of all the negative things that come from lack of discipline (anger, weight gain, being unhealthy, debt...I could go on and on) and all the good things that come from discipline (peace, health, wealth, etc.) it's amazing that we don't emphasize it more. So I've taken to re-reading the book, Celebration of Discipline by Richard J. Foster. He opens with these words:

Superficiality is the curse of our age. The doctrine of instant satisfaction is a primary spiritual problem. The desperate need today is not for a greater number of intelligent people, or gifted people, but for deep people.

With so many good books out there to read, it takes a lot to commit time to a book I've already read. But this book is so practical that I know I'll get something new from it that I didn't get the last time I read it.

The first discipline is meditation on the Scripture. A couple of highlights:

Moses learned, albeit with many vacillations and detours, how to hear God's voice and obey his word. In fact, Scripture witnesses that god spoke to Moses "face to face, as a man speaks to his friend" (Ex. 33:11). There was a sense of intimate relationship, of communion. As a people, however, the Israelites were not prepared for such intimacy. Once they learned a little about god, they realized that being in his presence was risky business and told Moses so: "You speak to us and we will hear; but let not God speak to us, lest we die" (Ex. 20:19). In this way they could maintain religious respectability without the attendant risks.

The history of religion is the story of an almost desperate scramble to have a king, a mediator, a priest, a pastor, a go-between. In this way we do not need to go to God ourselves. Such an approach saves us from the need to change, for to be in the presence of God is to change.

And where do we meet God? Where do we come into his presence? In His Word. The author goes on to suggest practical ways to meditate upon God's Word. I got a least one tip that I want to put into practice. Good thoughts.

Tribute to My Mom

2011-08-26T13:34:00.000-07:00

My friend Rachel wrote on her blog about Proverbs 31:

The ancient acrostic poem celebrating the virtuous woman was never meant to be a standard women struggle to meet, but rather a blessing that celebrates the accomplishments they’ve already made. [Jewish] men recite the poem to their wives at the Sabbath meal, and Jewish women often praise one another for accomplishments in homemaking, career, boldness, and justice by declaring “eshet chayil!”—woman of valor!

Today is my mom's birthday. She is 76. I can't tell you what a treasure she is. She is a "woman of valor." I declare this blessing upon her:

Irene, woman of peace,
Gifted with mercy,
Your children rise up to bless you.
Faithful to your husband,
You have brought him good all his days.
He has “confidence in you
And trusts you without reserve.”
Always diligent in all your tasks,
You “do not eat the bread of idleness.”
Your home is immaculate and inviting.
You work in the garden and put up
Stores for the winter.
We reap the benefits of your labor.
Generous and kind, you set a feast before us.
All those who gather at your table find
Love and hope in the conversation there.
Always ready to fight for your offspring,
You battle for us daily in prayer.
“Many women do noble things,
But you surpass them all.”
You have lived your life
In the fear of the Lord.
Today we lift up praise to the Lord
For the blessing He gave us in you.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MOM!

Audience of One

2011-07-28T19:19:00.000-07:00

Didgeridoo

Yesterday I read something interesting in a book by Beth Moore. She said, “…the glory of our Lord Jesus surrounds us constantly.” And then she gives the following list of examples we might have experienced:

* Empowering someone to forgive us for something that seems unforgivable

* Feeling like the only one in the audience during a sermon or lesson

* Having our eyes opened anew to a portion of Scripture

* Attending a dying loved one who knows Christ

* Working through some detail that no one else knew anything about

* Having an impending disaster averted

* Feeling His powerful presence as we engage in worship

When I read this list I immediately thought of Mike Barris.

In the late 1980’s Ed Brown invited a man to speak at our church. He was a gifted musician and that is how Ed had met him. His name was Mike Barris. Mike was from Australia. He came with a wide assortment of strange Australian artifacts and instruments. He cracked a bull whip and explained that the noise it makes is actually a small sonic boom (breaking the sound barrier). He played a didgeridoo, an Australian aboriginal instrument pictured above.

He used each artifact as an object lesson to teach a Biblical lesson. And this is where he got me. Every lesson spoke to my heart. The main thing I was dealing with was serving the Lord out of duty or obligation, rather than out of love.

At the end of the service I was ready to run to the altar. I even remember thinking, “I’ll go down first, before everyone else comes.” I went down and cried and prayed for a good while before I realized that I was the only one who had come.

It was a life-changing experience that led me to think of my service to the Lord in the proper light and with the loving attitude He desired from me.

And it has always been mind-boggling to me to think that God called Mike Barris from Australia to come to Dunlap on that particular evening just to speak to me.

God is so good!

Top 10 Things I’ll Miss About COTW

2011-07-18T06:45:00.000-07:00

10. Fawnda’s flowers and food: Everyone is different. Fawnda loves gardening and cooking…two things that would not be on my “favorite things to do” list. But because she chooses to serve God with the things she loves, I get to enjoy them too.

9. The Big Pop: Every night of junior camp snack time ends with “The Big Pop.” There are many variations of it. Here’s one way to do it. (Sorry the video is sideways, but I couldn't rotate it.)

8. Singing in Chapel: I love to sing. When I was a kid we had all kinds of choruses that we would sing. It’s fun to get to be a part of that for this crop of kids. I love “sing[ing] to the Lord with all of [my] might.” (That’s one of my favorite camp songs. We sang it every night.)

7. Lazy Sunday afternoons on the lake: After a long week with campers, it is so pleasant to enjoy some down time. This past Sunday they were tubing.

Last week's activities included tie-dye.

6. Kids: I love being around kids. They are funny, insightful, energetic and sweet (at least most of them were).

5. New faces: Every week I’ve been there I’ve met new people who are a joy to get to know. The variety and quality of the people I’ve met has been amazing.

4. Favorite friends: You know who you are.

3. Sharing burdens and blessings: I can’t get enough of this one. Many prayers are going up from me and for me.

And on a related note…

2. Living in community: If you want to see how the body of Christ is supposed to work, come to COTW. Everyone united in one purpose…to shine the light of Christ into the hearts of kids. Everyone sharing everything in common…possessions, food, work, responsibilities.

1. SUNSETS: No picture I have ever taken has truly been able to capture the glory and scale of the sunsets on Troutfly Lake. But I’ll keep trying.

My last sunset for the summer.
Matt called this one "Sistene Chapel-esque"...not a word you hear every day.

Shouting Hallelujah!

2011-07-17T08:10:00.000-07:00

This past week while I was at COTW my daily Bible reading took me to the last few Psalms. They are joyful exaltations of God and His majesty. They begin with “Hallelujah.” It made me think of the song “Shout to the Lord.” And that made me think, “When have I ever shouted to the Lord?”

I felt like I was supposed to…even though it seemed silly.

So on a glorious morning, I went out to the lake before breakfast. I climbed the high dive and looked out over the lake, the sky, the trees…the beauty of God’s creation, and I shouted “Hallelujah!”

I still felt a little silly, so I squelched the urge to shout, “The Lord, He is God!”

John and Fawnda were on their porch and saw me on the high dive. They heard the shout but told each other that it couldn’t have been Pam shouting. Must have been someone on the shore.

See…they didn’t think I would shout either.

Friday morning I was determined to have some company so I had all the kids line up on the beach and we shouted “Hallelujah!” And we shouted, “The Lord, He is God!” It felt good. It felt right. It was exhilarating.

From now on I’m shouting more often. Maybe people will get to expect it from me.

So what about you? Feel like shouting?

Just do it!

Camp: Post #2

2011-07-09T13:27:00.000-07:00

Home Sweet Away from Home

Our group of Jr. Teen Campers

I’ve been hanging out at Lakeview this week and it’s been lots of fun. My speaking duties have ended although I may be helping John Cofield with the morning hikes. That will be something new for me.

This week the campers were very nice, very good kids. I think we were all able to enjoy them. Next week things will change because we will have junior campers. We will also have the biggest group yet…37 boys and 24 girls. We are a little short staffed, but it seems pretty manageable. Will and Micah will not be counseling this week, so they get a little break and will have other duties.

It’s so enjoyable to be here with so many good people. Some of the other adult staffers have their whole family here. They have some wonderful kids. I’ll have to tell you about them later.

For more info on the week, I’ll post some random pictures on Facebook.

The weekend is for resting, so I’ll be taking it easy here by the lake. Wish you were here…all of you!

Camp Day 1

2011-07-05T09:27:00.000-07:00

The view from Lakeview tonight at 11 pm

I arrived at COTW at 12:30 am and hit the sack in Lakeview. I haven't stayed here before and it is very nice. The pictures Will has been taking come mostly from the porch of this cabin.

We awoke to rain but by the time campers arrived at 10:30 it had stopped. The weather here changes by the hour. This week is pre-teen week and there are 45-50 campers. We've had a full day of activities but it has been hot and muggy (as well as buggy).

I am assigned duties in the kitchen before or after every meal. I was able to sit out this afternoon and splash my feet in the lake while the campers swam. We have the blessing of three lifeguards this week. It makes the sunny days so enjoyable for the kids to be able to swim. Next week I don't think we will have lifeguards so I don't know what the plan will be.

I will be doing some of the speaking in chapel this week. Pray for me to be able to speak plainly to these campers. Tonight I spoke about the fact that all we who are Christians are witnesses, we are the evidence, that God exists, and that He will do all He promises. I asked them to listen to the testimonies of their counselors and other adults here. May they believe the evidence.

The view at 9 pm

The view at 8 pm after thunderstorm

The view at 10 pm

My Aunt & Uncle

2011-06-30T16:32:00.000-07:00

I'm here in Indianapolis visiting some of my relatives. My Aunt Betty and Uncle Ralph are such special people to me. They have played an important role in my life from the very beginning. When I was a teenager they lived next door and had a pool where we had lots of parties and great fun. They love to laugh and joke and were always exciting to be around.

Now they are 82 years old and struggling with aging. They don't have any children, so I am one of their nieces who is trying to look after them in some ways. It is difficult because I am so far away. Pray for me as I visit with them this weekend that I can have wisdom in what I do and say.

Sharing a Blog?

2011-06-28T18:06:00.000-07:00

Kathryn is a great writer, but she is a terrible blogger. She has started two or three (or four) blogs, only to let them fade away because she doesn't write enough. I have invited her to share my blog, and she told me she would think about it. In the meantime, I came across this poem she wrote and got her permission to share it here.

photo © 2006 Uzi Yachin | more info (via: Wylio)

Creation plays in my car

and outside it, the world is trembling with

life.

the soprano soars and I weep

because

I know the newness of life

is mine- the beauty of it all is glaring like the sun through my windshield.

Doubt has residence in my bones

but hope and love live in my

chest constantly.

“A new created world” this morning on Highway 60.

(I asked her what Creation was and she said that it is Haydn's oratorio. She was a member of a choir in college and they performed this. She has a copy of it in her car.
You can listen to it here.)

My Un-Cool Church Part 6: Communion

2011-06-27T16:12:00.000-07:00

Some of my most cherished memories at my church have come during communion services. Pastor Brian is always trying to bring something to this special service to make it meaningful and unique. He often asks Bev or Tammy to use drama to bring the symbolic meaning of the service into focus.

The deacons stand at the front, one with the cup, one with bread. I sit on the front row so I get to step forward first. “Pam, this is Jesus’ body that was broken for you.” I tear off a piece and step toward the other deacon holding the cup. “Pam, this is Jesus’ blood that was shed for you.” They say my name, and it’s personal. Jesus died for me.

I return to my seat and the others file by… people who have been in my Sunday School class, kids I’ve had in AWANA and Kids Club, my First Place buddies, choir members. They file by and I recognize them for what they are… my family. I love them; I would do anything for them. They are so dear.

They are my un-cool church.

My Un-Cool Church Part 5: Concerns

2011-06-26T20:02:00.000-07:00

Even though I love my church, there are certainly things about it that concern me. One of the things that I see is that fact that we are not engaging the 20-30 year-olds in our community. Of course, this is not just a problem for our church; churches everywhere are facing this dilemma. Phil and I teach the College/Career class in Sunday School and generally only have one or two students every week. Of course, some of them are away at school, but most of them just don’t come. We’ve talked about how we could change things, but we aren’t sure how it should look, or if we’re just not the ones to be able to attract these young people. What does this mean for the future of our church specifically, and the church universal?

The other thing that concerns me is the role of women in our church. I have often found being a woman in our church a very frustrating experience over the past thirty years. I’ve read a lot about complementarianism and egalitarianism and find some validity in both positions. I read an article written by a woman who discussed her experience in martial arts. She explained the hierarchy of position in the training (based on belt color?) and the respect each student has for the others and for the teacher. She compared that to how she would like it to be in the church. I think she makes a valid point. I don’t want to run things; I just want to be respected and valued in the process.

Our church has faced some tough issues in the past few years, and I’m glad to say that I see growth in the area of grappling with controversy. We’ve been able to question each other, and disagree without being disagreeable. It is a work in progress, for sure, and I hope we can continue to challenge one another in a loving way.

My Un-Cool Church Part 4: Our Pastor

2011-06-24T14:03:00.000-07:00

Brian & Brenda

Brian Kearns has been my pastor for nearly 20 years. There are some distinct differences between him and the other pastors we have had since I have been at Ewtonville. He is a year younger than me; our children are the same age. This has made our relationship different than with other pastors. I consider him my brother and my friend.

Brian came with a determination to stay for the long haul. Most of the other pastors we had didn’t stay more than two or three years. Having a pastor stay for a long time has brought a stability to our church that we didn’t have before. The deacons have learned to play a different role in leadership because of Brian, and that has led to much spiritual growth in their lives. Let me explain further.

In the church I grew up in and lots of others, the pastor runs everything. That was not true when I came to Ewtonville. The deacons saw to the running of the church because they had to. The pastors we had before were “short-termers.” The deacons had to insure that things were going to continue no matter who the pastor was. Once Brian came and was willing to stay (and we wanted him to stay), they were able to change their approach to leadership in some ways.

Brian preaches differently than our other pastors. His approach is expository, which is what I grew up listening to. He chooses a book of the Bible and works his way through it. His desire is to teach “the full counsel” of the Word of God.

As I’ve been calling this series “My Un-Cool Church,” Brian is just oozing with “un-coolness” (Sorry, Brian). He has trouble pronouncing words. He cuts off words at the ends of sentences when he’s preaching. He uses lame object lessons (Sorry again, Brian). But these are things that, rather than bother us, have endeared Brian to us.

And what he lacks in coolness, he makes up for in sincerity, in humility, in love. Brian sets an example of humility that is very often lacking from pastors. He feels no need to be threatened when someone has an idea they want to try out. He’s all for us all using our gifts. There is no job in our church that he would not do. He would clean toilets if they needed it (and probably has); he deems no job beneath his position. In short, Brian has a servant’s heart. And I’ll take that over coolness any day of the week.

Brian "runs the race" "to win the prize."

My Un-Cool Church Part 3: In Our Community

2011-06-22T11:41:00.000-07:00

For the past several years, our church has been branching out to meet the needs of our community in several different ways. The Women's Care Center of Dunlap opened its doors a couple of years ago. An independent ministry, it has had tremendous support from our church as a whole, and many individual members as well. The story of how this ministry began is another amazing story, but I won't go into the details here.

Although many of our mission projects have centered around building in other communities, the talented workers in our church have done a lot of building right around here. Not only have we built some low cost housing for seniors in our community through New Hope Ministries, we have done many projects that included roofing homes, building wheel chair ramps, doing needed repairs, and doing general cleaning and maintenance, especially for seniors. In the wake of the tremendous tornado damage in our area this spring, our members have been very busy, cleaning up yards, repairing roofs, and rebuilding homes that were destroyed.

We have joined ministries that have been established both in the Sequatchie County jail and the prison in Pikeville. Several members minister on a monthly if not weekly basis in both these facilities. At the prison we support a Bible institute that is training prisoners in the Word of God.

We have just started a program called Celebrate Recovery to minister to people with "hurts, hang-ups, and habits." We have a class called First Place, that is all about health and wellness, that has made a tremendous difference in my life and many others over the last six years. We sponsor a 5K run to benefit ministries in our community and call people to a healthier lifestyle.

Finally, we support Inez & Bethany Pavon in ministering to Hispanics in our neighborhood. (Some other time I will have to share some of their amazing story.) We offer services every week, and at certain times during the year they run a soccer league that brings out lots of men and women for food, fun and fellowship. We're also able to share the gospel during those times. The language barrier makes it difficult for many of us to be involved, but I would so like to see more of our members out there spending time with these dear folks.
photo © 2008 Tim Schapker | more info (via: Wylio)

These are ministries that my church supports in addition to music ministry, kids and youth programs, and bereavement & hospitality ministries, as well as general teaching ministries. I'm once again proud of the members of my church family who have had things laid on their heart, and then went out to make them happen and help in whatever way they could.

My Un-Cool Church Part 2: Missions

2011-06-21T15:13:00.000-07:00

Jim Allison in Honduras

One of the things that was very different about my church in Indiana was missions. Being independent meant that the missionaries were independent too, unlike the Southern Baptists who have the Cooperative Program. The Cooperative Program enables support for missionaries to come from a large pool of money set aside for their support. Independent missionaries have to travel to individual churches to raise their support.

Both systems have their good points and bad points. The Cooperative Program allows missionaries to get to the field quicker and gives them stable financial support. Independent missionaries have to be able to put on a pretty good show to raise their support, and that can exclude some awfully good people who can do lots of good work but may not be entertaining speakers. But the good part about being independent is that you have to visit your churches. The people have to know you personally.

For most of the first 10 or more years I went to Ewtonville, I never saw a missionary or heard one speak. Maybe once we had a special service where three or four came to speak. Even though we supported the Cooperative Program, we didn’t know any of the missionaries personally.

But then things started to change. Ed & Martha Brown started going to Honduras and later to Oklahoma. Others decided to join them. It was the beginning of a complete transformation.

Since then our church has been involved, up close and personal, with missions in all kinds of ways. We continue to support orphans in Honduras, and our VBS offering usually goes to a feeding program for the poor in that country. We have built houses in Mexico with our own hands. We partnered with a church in New Orleans after Katrina, and saw it rebuilt and on its feet again (Both my kids got to go on one of the trips to NO). We sent a group to Africa to build a school. We also worked in Dominican Republic.

We began supporting several missionaries on our own, in addition to continuing to participate in the Cooperative Program. These missionaries are in Ukraine, Jordan, Iraq, Honduras, and Mexico. And this is just our foreign missions outreach. Later I will speak about what we’re up to in our own community.

Ukraine missions

I praise the LORD for this change in focus in our church. So many of our people have been able to go and serve in another country. There’s nothing more eye opening than serving the LORD with this global perspective.

My Un-Cool Church Part 1

2011-06-20T10:52:00.000-07:00

A friend whose blog I follow posted this entry last week, Blessed are the Un-Cool. She had many responses telling about their un-cool churches. Later she invited readers to tell about their churches in a short response or as much detail as they liked. I’ve decided to respond to this on my blog this week.

I grew up in an independent church in Indianapolis. Our leader, Pastor Felber, was a great Bible teacher, and I’m very thankful for the things I learned under his leadership. We had a great youth group, and we often had over 100 kids in attendance to many of our activities. I loved my church very much.

When I got married and moved to Dunlap, Phil and I joined Ewtonville Baptist Church. It was Southern Baptist, which was frowned upon by the crowd I had been around. We chose Ewtonville for a couple of reasons. We were used to big churches, and it was the biggest one in town. We also chose it because it was nearby. Even though I knew we could find a better church to attend if we went to Chattanooga, I knew that to serve in a church it needed to be where you live, work and play, so that you can build community.

It took me a long time to love Ewtonville as much as I loved my church in Indiana. I struggled with that for many years. But I remember a Sunday when we were giving testimonies, and I was able to stand up and tell my church family how I had finally come to love them better than my old church. It was a great day.

I’ve been a member for around 30 years now, and I’ve come to this conclusion. Even though I had better Bible teaching in the church I grew up in, Ewtonville is a better church because it is more balanced (even though that certainly hasn’t always been true), and because it shows great love.

More details later.

Happy Father's Day!

2011-06-18T13:55:00.000-07:00

My dad worked for Kroger almost his whole career. He worked in the dairy where he did everything from bottle milk, to making cottage cheese, to making all kinds of ice cream. Yesterday at Walmart I opened the dairy case to buy a gallon of milk, and the smell brought back memories. Dad would come home with that milky smell on his clothes. I also remember going to the dairy many times for tours and smelling the same smell there.

Dad has always been a hard worker. He worked all the overtime he could get, and provided so many good things for our family. He took us on a great vacation every summer; he saved so that we could have a really big Christmas every year. (We got so much stuff that I believed in Santa when I was old enough to know better because I was convinced there was no way we could really afford all the presents we got.)

The greatest thing he gave me was my education. He worked hard (and later Mom worked to help out), and put all his kids through college. None of us had to deal with any debt. What a gift!

Since he retired, Dad continues to do so many things for all of us. He takes care of most of the yard work around here. He and Mom do a lot of gardening, which makes for some delicious eating. He generously invites us all to share our holidays at their home where we often eat him out of house and home.

Dad has been a Christian since his twenties. He has a plaque recognizing that he did not miss Sunday School for 25 years. He’s an example of what it means to be faithful. I’m so thankful for the spiritual growth I’ve seen in him through the years.

But most of all, he loves my mom. It’s evident every day. He takes good care of her—it’s obvious they have a good time with each other. They laugh and joke and enjoy themselves.

I’m thankful for all that he’s been to me through the years. He’s another one of those"diamond" men.

How It All Began

2011-06-16T12:12:00.000-07:00

Can I tell you the amazing story of how we got to Canada?

Phil went to Camp of the Woods with his church in 1971 & 1972. In 1973, he was able to spend the summer there on staff.

Jump forward 32 years…

Phil and Pete Van Dyken decide to go to Canada to fish, and they return to the area around COTW because Phil loved it so much. Phil returns to COTW to reminisce and take pictures. He does the same for the next 4 years.

Pete becomes mission leader at our church and determines to find John Cofield, one of the members of the family who founded the camp. John is our age and went to Tennessee Temple with us. Pete finds John & family in MacDonald, Tennessee, and arranges a meeting for us all. It was an immediate connection.

After a couple more get-togethers, we decide to support COTW with a monthly donation. This helps to encourage John to step out of his job as a teacher and return to full time staff for COTW. We arrange to go to Canada together (Phil & I) and spend time at the camp.

In May 2010, we go to camp for Phil to fish and for me to help prepare for camp. The theme of camp is The Amazing Race and I am able to help develop the race, since I have created several through the years. We have a wonderful time and feel very much like we have found a ministry to be a part of.

I return later in the summer with two other ladies to spend two weeks working with the kids during Junior camp. It was lots of fun.

This year we have returned again to work with COTW. We both found important roles to play in the camp ministry. We are hoping to return next summer to spend the whole summer in camp after we retire.

This is the short version of the story. There are many other details that make this story more and more amazing. We see the hand of God in it all. “He who began a good work in [us] will be faithful to complete it.”

Canada Post #7

2011-06-13T19:21:00.000-07:00

We spent our last evening in the Loon’s Nest. Oh, how we have loved it!

Phil went fishing one last time with Pete and Bill. I stayed at camp, and after supper I planned to sit and enjoy the sunset once more. As I was leaving the lodge, Becky caught me and told me that we needed to call and talk to Brenna about some of the things I have been writing for camp. So we went to her house. And the sun began to set.

After we talked a while and finished our business, I headed for the cabin. On my way I came across Fawnda who had mail to prepare so that we could carry it back to the states for her. So I went in to help. And the sunset faded. I thought to myself, “Oh, well, it wasn’t what I wanted to do, but I’ll be back and see more sunsets.”

We finished the job with the light fading. Phil came in, and we all sat down for a bowl of homemade ice cream with frozen blueberries. John turned out the lights, and we could see this…

I told John, “It really doesn’t get any better than this.”

Autumn came in. She has just auditioned for the Chattanooga Philharmonic and won first seat in the cello section. We asked her to play something for us. She played so beautifully, it brought tears to my eyes. It was one of the most wonderful moments of my life.

I turned to John and said, “I was wrong. This moment just moved up to another level.”

And so my last evening at Camp of the Woods was awesome!

Canada Post #6

2011-06-11T14:27:00.000-07:00

Since Will and Micah arrived something else arrived too...MY CAMERA!!

Here are the first pictures I've been able to take around here...

Will seeing his first Canadian sunset.

Micah checking out the marshmallow roasting skills of Don.

Matt and his wife, Melissa, are here for the summer to run all the games.
They are the ones who are working on "Clue." We are
doing our trial run tomorrow afternoon.

Love the pink reflected in the water in this pic!

The blazing fire. I'm sure all of you back in the states can't believe we need a fire.
But it was warm and toasty. Micah can't believe it's so cold here. He didn't bring a sweatshirt.
He may have to get one from the store here at camp.

Canada Post #5

2011-06-10T04:41:00.000-07:00

I love it here!
Everything has been perfect. Except this...

Phil and I in this full size bed. Not a good thing.

Aside from just having enough room and keeping the covers on, the biggest problem we've had is temperature. I am always hot, and he is always cold. In a small bed, there's no way to adjust.

That's why you've seen me post at midnight and after, and now this morning I've bee awake since before 5. Thank goodness these are fairly lazy days, and it doesn't matter.

Will and Micah have made it to International Falls and will be here soon. Can't wait to see them!

Canada Post #4

2011-06-08T21:59:00.000-07:00

Phil and I had the privilege today of accompanying John and Fawnda to the Wabigoon Lake Ojibway First Nation Reserve. I have never been to a reserve before, and it was an interesting trip in many ways. John has spent many hours on the reserve in the past and has been called upon to participate in the funeral of a friend.

We spent much of our time just taking it all in while John and Fawnda visited with the family.

After awhile, Fawnda introduced us to Sheila, the chief, and her mother. Phil struck up a conversation with them about hunting moose and other wildlife. They told us they will pretty much kill and eat anything on four legs. They particularly mentioned the comeback of porcupine.

When we got back to camp, I told Johnnie I had met Sheila, the chief of the tribe. Later he asked John about Sheila being the chief. Turns out I got it all wrong. What are the odds that I'm going to go to an indian reserve and meet someone whose last name just happens to be Chief? John got a big laugh out of my mistake.

We returned to camp to have another big fish fry, a delicious meal.

This evening John built us a fire on the beach, and we sat to watch a most unusual sunset. I hope to post a picture from a friend's camera later. It is a gorgeous night here. The temperature this evening is in the forties. It was a stormy night last night and blustery and cold all morning, but all is calm now. The rest of the week looks to be great weather. Can't wait for another great day here in Canada.

Night, all!

Native American Clipart supplied by First People - A large site about Native Americans and members of the First Nations.

Critic's Corner

2011-06-08T07:42:00.000-07:00

Even though we’re in remote Canada, Phil & I have had access to some different types of media. We’ve been passing some of our down time by watching some movies and reading some books. I’ve already posted from What Difference Do It Make?, so I won’t elaborate on that further (although I highly recommend both the books by those authors).

I downloaded some podcasts by Andy Stanley, whose teaching I love. The series I listened to was geared to single people. Any of you single people out there need to listen to this series. He has lots of good instruction, and he doesn’t pull any punches. Burn it to a CD for someone you love.

We had 4 Netflix movies, so I brought them along…

Star Trek was good entertainment. I loved the original series, and enjoyed this because of that connection. Phil…not so much.

The Social Network was a good movie. I liked learning more about the creation of Facebook since I’m on it all the time. I know Mark Zuckerberg went to see this movie about himself. Since it portrays him in such a bad light, I can’t imagine how that must have felt. I know that a lot of this movie is probably not accurate.

Both our kids liked Inception and thought we would too. What were they thinking?!! We endured Inception. In fact, we couldn’t watch the whole thing in one sitting, even though we were determined to finish it. The cinematography was amazing, but this story did nothing for us.

The fourth movie is Taken but we haven’t watched it yet.

Phil and I love history, so I brought along Ken Burns' film about Lewis and Clark. Beautiful photography and wonderful music bring this amazing journey to life. Highly recommend it!

I read North or Be Eaten by Andrew Petersen. Andrew is one of my favorite singer/songwriters. This book is the second in a series call the Wingfeather Saga. They are written in the same style as Chronicles of Narnia with strong Christian overtones. The book is exciting and inspiring, and I enjoyed it very much. It is written for children ages 9-12, so if you have one of those, check it out. This is a rare fiction read for me, but I thoroughly enjoyed it. Now I need to get Book 3.

[The English teacher in me wanted to italicize all the titles, but it was just too much trouble.]

Difference Part 2

2011-06-07T13:22:00.000-07:00

I have to share a couple more excerpts from What Difference Do It Make?

I had developed quite a do-gooder reputation for myself by refusing to judge “bad sorts”—bag ladies and vagrants, drug addicts, drunks, and runaway teenagers who sold their bodies for money.

Strangers.

But I was just now learning to do it for my own flesh and blood. I had no doubt that an ornery cuss like Daddy deserved to be tossed out on his can like a drunk—like when Mr. Ballantine’s son pushed him out of his car, motor still running, on the curb in front of the Mission. I had all this compassion for Mr. Ballantine, but it had taken me all this time to muster up compassion for the man who gave me life. And more than that. Earl Hall had been an alcoholic absentee father, crappy husband, and all-around curmudgeon, no question. But he had provided for his family for sixty-five years, which wasn’t true of many of the homeless I’d reached out to.

As a boy, I never missed a meal. I had a roof over my head, a cosigner for my first car. And Daddy had never asked me for money except in joking, and that was after I remodeled his house and he knew I was stacking it up.

Dad’s drinking never caused him to miss a day of work. Now he was an old man, his body failing, mind not far behind, with a wife who loathed him and a son who for most of his life had held him at arm’s length with nose pinched, as though holding a dirty diaper. A troublesome thought formed at the edge of my mind: was I so shallow, my do-gooding so superficial, that I could only set judging aside and help a person as long as his sins didn’t affect me?

*******************************************************

Since I been visitin a lotta churches, I hear people talkin ‘bout how, after readin our story, they felt “led” to help the homeless, to come alongside the down-and-out. But when it comes to helpin people that ain’t got much, God didn’t leave no room for feelin led.

Jesus said God gon’ SEPARATE us based on what we did for folks that is hungry and thirsty, fellas that is prisoners in jail and folks that ain’t got no clothes and no place to live (See Matthew 25:31-46). What you gon’ do when you get to heaven and you ain’t done none a’ that? Stand in front a’ God and tell Him, “I didn’t feel led”?

You know what He gon’ say? He gon’ say, “You didn’t need to feel LED ‘cause I had done wrote it down in the Instruction Book.”

Let’s be real. A lotta folks on the list that Jesus calls “the least of these” ain’t the ones you gon’ find down at the country club. No, most a’ them folks you gon’ find in the jail, or in the street. But we got to go to ALL the people—the rich, the poor, the lowdown, and the dirty—and show ‘em all we got the same thing for ever one of ‘em: the love a’ the Lord.

I think part a’ this problem is that too many folks ain’t ready to face up to the fact that to love the unlovable, they got to face people that they fear. They is afraid to get out of their regular livin space ‘cause they afraid it might be suicide, am I right? ‘Cause you wouldn’t be scared a’ nobody if you didn’t feel like they was gon’ do you wrong.

Most people want to be circled by safety, not by the unexpected. The unexpected can take you out. But the unexpected can also take you over and change your life. Put a heart in your body where a stone used to be.

**************************************

I’m glad the problem of homelessness is on the government’s radar. It’s just that the problem of homelessness will never be solved by government. That’s because government can put a roof over a man’s head and food in his mouth and even give him a job. But government can neither love a man nor lovingly hold him accountable. The chronically homeless, whether homeless through tragic circumstance or through messes of their own making, have a whole constellation of inner issues that food, shelter, and a paycheck won’t fix.

Like Denver says, “If folks like me had the ability to do what folks like you be tellin us to do, we’d a’ already done it.”

The chronically homeless need love, compassion, accountability, and someone to come alongside them and hold them steady as they limp along the winding, pitted road to wholeness.

What Difference Do It Make?

2011-06-05T12:48:00.000-07:00

I recently read a book called Same Kind of Different as Me by Ron Hall & Denver Moore. After I posted some thoughts from it here, my friend Robin told me that the follow-up book, What Difference Do It Make?, is also good, so I ordered it immediately. I am reading it now, and I like it very much. I just wanted to share an excerpt from it here.

“I remember one day in particular when Denver and I went out on the streets surrounding the mission. I had maybe a couple of hundred bucks in cash, and I’d visit with people, ask how they were doing, and bless them with a few dollars.

It’s important to draw a distinction between “blessing” the homeless and “helping” the homeless. I used to think I was helping by serving a meal or giving them some clothes, but I found out that for the most part I was just helping myself, making myself feel warm and fuzzy and philanthropic.

To be sure, it is a BLESSING to the homeless when they see people who care. But to really help, you’ve got to get down in the pit with people and stay with them until they find the strength to get on your shoulders and climb out. Helping someone is when you find out how to help them move toward wholeness and then hang with them until they make a change.

So when Denver and I walked the streets of Fort Worth, it was with the specific intent of bringing blessing. Of stopping to talk to people who are used to folks crossing streets to AVOID talking to them. Of being a bright smile, a touch of humanity.

It was a crisp, autumn afternoon, and we were heading back toward the mission. I had already made like Santa Claus and passed out almost all the money I had. All I had left was a twenty-dollar bill. Well, we turned a corner and came upon a Hispanic man who looked drunk enough to fry ice cream with his breath. Probably in his fifties, he looked seventy, with gnarled hands and brown skin wrinkled like a crushed grocery sack. Wearing smudged jeans and a threadbare flannel shirt of red lumberjack plaid, he lounged so hard against the brick wall of a streetside warehouse that I couldn’t tell whether he was trying to hold himself up or keep the wall from falling down.

Still pretty new to the streets, I pasted on a smile and, with Denver at my shoulder, said to the Hispanic man, “What can I do for you today?”

As the man tried to focus his eyes on me, a thin strand of drool slid from the corner of his mouth and began traveling south. “I needsh a reedle moony,” he slurred in a heavy Spanish accent.

I didn’t quite catch what he said and asked him to repeat himself.

“He say he needs a little money,” Denver said over my shoulder.

I AM NOT GIVING A DRUNK A TWENTY-DOLLAR BILL, I thought as I watched the drool reach the Hispanic man’s chin. Smiling away, I dug into my pants, feeling for smaller change.

Finding none, I pulled out the twenty-dollar bill and surreptitiously showed it to Denver. Glancing back at my mentor in the ‘hood, I tried intently to telegraph a message with my eyes: IF I GIVE HIM MY LAST TWENTY, ALL HE’S GOING TO DO IS GO DOWN TO THE LIQUOR STORE AND BUY SOME BOOZE!

Suddenly Denver leaned in, and I felt his breath at my ear. “Don’t judge the man,” he said, low and quiet. “Just give him the twenty dollars.”

Reluctantly, I held out the money, and the man took it. Just at that moment, the southbound drop of drool detached itself from his chin and hurtled toward the sidewalk.

“Shank ew,” he said.

I had never stopped smiling, but now my grin felt as fake as a plugged nickel. I felt like I’d just given a push to a suicide jumper.

Denver and I bid the man good-bye and headed down the street toward the mission. We hadn’t gone thirty yards when Denver stopped. “Turn ‘round here and look at me, Mr. Ron. I wanna tell you somethin.”

I stopped and faced Denver, and in a way that was becoming familiar to me, he pinned me with one eye while squinting the other like Clint Eastwood. “That man you just gave that money to—his name is Jose. And he ain’t drunk. He’s a stroke victim. And he’s one of the hardest workin men I ever knowed.”

Denver went on to tell me that before a stroke got him, Jose had been a bricklayer and a rock mason who worked hard, lived cheap, and sent all his money home to Mexico to support his family.

“He don’t even drink, Mr. Ron,” said Denver. “He depends on people like you to eat.”

Immediately, I thought of Deborah. From the moment we set foot in the mission, she had looked beyond the ragged clothes and the scars and the dirt and the smells. It was as though God had given her X-ray vision to see right past all that to the people underneath.She never asked them, “How did you get in the shape you’re in?” Her thinking was, if you condition your offer of help on how a needy person got that way, you’re probably not going to help very many people. The question Deborah asked was, “What is your need NOW?”

Now Denver completed his verdict and gave me an ultimatum. Keeping me pinned with that eyeball, he said, “You know what you did? You judged a man without knowing his heart. And I’m gon’ tell you somethin. If you gon’ walk these streets with me, you gon’ have to learn how to serve these people without judgin ‘em. Let the judgin be up to God.”

Wow! Did these words ever hit me! I've been doing this all my life, judging whether people are worthy of help. Reminds me of the words I posted on FB from Mother Teresa:
"If you judge people, you have no time to love them."

Canada Post #3

2011-06-04T07:05:00.000-07:00

We've been here a week so I thought I'd sum up what we've been doing. We have been the only group here this week, so it's really quiet compared to most weeks. Another group arrives tonight, John and Autumn come Tuesday and Will & Micah should be here Friday.

* The men have caught their limit of fish every day. We have had a fish fry three times this week. :)

* We have cleaned the kitchen, the lodge, and the washrooms. More cleaning to come.

* I have been working on the program for the campers. The theme of camp is mystery, so I have been setting up a crime scene for the kids to investigate. I also had been trying to create a "real-life" Clue Game. I had several ideas, and then Matt & Melissa, who will be running the games this summer, came along and took that and ran with it. It's going to be great fun!

* I've been learning my way around the kitchen helping Fawnda. Every day Phil asks me so hopefully, "Did you learn anything today?" We wear aprons and headscarves when we work, and Phil said I look cute in this attire. Can you tell how much he loves food? BTW, the food at every meal has been so delicious. Everything made from scratch...Fawnda is amazing.

* Phil has been repairing and restoring some chairs for Fawnda. On Monday he is going to pick up a lathe that he is donating to the camp so that he can turn wood while he's here. Then there'll be another thing he loves to do here.

* Finally, we've just been relishing the relationships and the conversations. Everyday we get to become closer and closer to a dear group of people. And Phil and I are enjoying our time together here in this beautiful place, too.

Canada Post #2

2011-06-03T19:55:00.000-07:00

I don't have my camera, but it doesn't matter.

No picture could do justice to what I'm seeing tonight.

The air is slightly cool, but very comfortable. The lake is an icy blue color, shimmering in the gentle breeze. The silhouettes of the trees all along the edge of the lake are inky black. Just above the trees runs a ribbon of pink light that fades into blue that grows deeper as it rises above the horizon. A sliver of a moon is hanging there...it will soon be setting.

I hear a loon calling. What an amazing sound! So sad and mournful, but so beautiful.

I can't tell you how amazed I am that God has been so gracious to me. He has lead me to minister in this place, this awesome place. How could I ever deserve such a blessed thing! Praise him that His grace has abounded to me!

News From Canada Part 1

2011-05-29T18:38:00.000-07:00

I am sitting here in the Loon's Nest watching the sunset. It has been a gorgeous day here...70 degrees, beautiful blue skies. The lake is smooth as glass tonight, and all the reflections are perfect. I can hear a loon calling. Bats have nested in the front wall of the cabin, and I can hear them squeaking. In a few minutes, when it gets a little darker they will start pouring out of the hole, to gobble up the mosquitoes buzzing around. As long as the bats don't make their way inside, I've determined to not freak out about them.

Yesterday we had a crew from the churches in town come in to spring clean the kitchen and lodge. When they clean, they clean. They start with the ceilings and work their way down until every shelf, every pot, every pan, every window has been done. It was a big job, but lots of help made it go faster.

A lady named Angela came to help. She has cerebral palsy. She can't do a lot, but she worked all day ironing the curtains for all the cabins. It has not always been easy for me to talk to people like her; I am out of my comfort zone. But today at church, she latched on to me. I was so thankful that she wanted to. I guess I'm making progress.

She was so funny. She brought her own record player and a collection of vinyl. We listened to everything from Merle Haggard to Ronnie Millsaps to Buffy St. Marie Vol. You can check out one of her songs on my FB page. It was quite interesting. : )

At the Border

2011-05-26T19:17:00.000-07:00

We arrived in International Falls this evening. It is a nice little town at the Canadian border. We will cross in the morning. Tonight we are staying in a cute little cabin that Pete found for us.

Here we are at dinner tonight. We look a little done in...it's been a long drive.

We had chocolate mousse...

...at the Chocolate Moose.

This is one happy man. I can see the change in him already. It is so good to be here.

I'll keep you posted on how it's going as I have internet access. I think it will be somewhat limited.

Water for Elephants

2011-05-23T08:46:00.000-07:00

We went to see Water for Elephants this weekend. We don't go out to see a lot of movies, but I had bought movie tickets from Fandango via Living Social. It was the first deal I made on Living Social, and I got two tickets for $9. At the regular price they would have been $23, so Phil was impressed with the deal. I had never used Fandango before, but I printed the tickets and was able to forgo the long line at the ticket booth and walk right in. Technology once again amazed me.

As for the movie, I thought it was pretty good, but Phil gave it "thumbs down." I enjoyed the trip back in time to 1931, and the look behind the scenes at the traveling circus business. It was an amazingly brutal world to live in. Robert Pattinson and Reese Witherspoon were both beautiful. Rosie the elephant was quite amusing too. The scenes of the family home that were shot in the Chattanooga area couldn't have lasted more than a total of 2 minutes. It is very small amount of time for all the hoopla that went on surrounding the filming.

The book was probably better than the movie. Most books are.

I think this will be a good movie to rent when it comes out on DVD. Catch it then.

Burdens

2011-05-20T17:29:00.000-07:00

photo © 2008 Lisa H | more info (via: Wylio)

Last week I wrote about conversations I was having with several different friends. Most of those conversations were positive and cheerful. This week has been different, and I feel burdened for several of my friends.

This week I sat with a friend who has Alzheimer's disease, and she is only in her 50's. Her husband is looking for someone to sit with her during the day. He is her caregiver and the job is getting increasingly difficult.

I have a couple of friends that are dealing with the devastating effects of cancer. This disease is wreaking havoc in their lives because they have loved ones who are seriously ill. Their emotions are up and down, as you might expect.

Divorce continues to rear its ugly head in the lives of those I care about. Today another friend told me about getting a divorce.

I prayed with a teenager who was in tears because her family is under an unbearable amount of stress.

I prayed with a young boy who was trying to choose holiness over worldliness. (What a blessing it was!)

The world is broken. Sin is rampant. It's effects are everywhere. So we are urged to "carry each other's burdens, and in this way you fulfill the law of Christ."

"Live creatively, friends. If someone falls into sin, forgivingly restore him, saving your critical comments for yourself. You might be needing forgiveness before the day's out. Stoop down and reach out to those who are oppressed. Share their burdens, and so complete Christ's law. If you think you are too good for that, you are badly deceived."

I've been trying to live these verses this week. But bearing burdens is messy and heartbreaking...

Yet I serve a God who is in control and promises to use all these trials for our good. So thankful for that hope.

Conversation Part 2

2011-05-15T13:04:00.000-07:00

There are a few more conversations that I continue to have on my mind.

As soon as we returned from Illinois we connected with Daniel and Victoria Meade, whom I met at camp last summer. Daniel and Victoria are roaming around the country to raise support for going to the mission field. They intend to be on staff in the fall at the Black Forest Academy in Germany. It is a boarding school for missionary kids. They are an exceptional couple who will be an asset to the ministry there. I am so glad that Phil and Will got to meet them and know the high caliber of people they are, and why I hold them in such high regard.

Phil and I have gotten to have a couple of good conversations this week with another one of our favorite people, John Cofield. We get to talk about school, family, and Camp of the Woods, all of these topics near and dear to our hearts. Our time with John is always so encouraging, and I think it works both ways. We missed Fawnda because she has already left for Canada.

Yesterday I got to talk to Becky Bates at Camp of the Woods. She was sharing with me the theme for camp (Mystery) and the ideas that they have already been rolling around. I will start working on things I might be able pitch in from my experiences and resources. It's always fun for me to be thinking about this sort of stuff. I've been talking to Johnny too via email.

And last, but certainly not least, there's my mom and dad. I try to go up every evening and watch "Wheel of Fortune" and "Jeopardy" with them. We talk over our day during the commercials. We have conversations quite frequently, so many of them are pretty inconsequential. But I'm treasuring each one of these conversations more and more. Mom and Dad are such an important part of my life, and I appreciate the encouragement they are to me on a daily basis.

Conversation

2011-05-14T19:52:00.000-07:00

Proverbs 18:20(The Message) says, "Words satisfy the mind as much as fruit does the stomach, good talk is as gratifying as a good harvest."

I feel this way about great conversation. Over the past couple of weeks I have had the pleasure of being able to engage in a lot of it. Let me recap it here.

I went hiking on the Cumberland Trail with Ashley and Kathryn. We had all been to church that day and the sermon had given us lots to talk about. It is so important for me to keep these girls engaged in discussions of faith. Too many people their age have completely lost any desire to think about their faith.

Even though the funeral for Phil's mom was a sad occasion, getting together with the extended family was a rare treat. We got to visit with all our nieces and nephews, along with the youngest members of our family.

Phil's cousin, Kevin, and his wife, Shelia, flew in from California. They are funny and intelligent and have a "California" perspective on lots of things that you don't always find in our neck of the woods. For instance, Shelia has an app on her phone that helps you select the best seafood to eat based on environmental factors (fishing practices, population of the species, etc.) She works for the Monterrey Bay Aquarium, and had some interesting things to share about her job.

It was fun talking to one of our favorite people in the world, Aunt Kay, and her daughters, who we don't get to visit with enough. We are going to have to do better about that.

We always try to visit with Phil's friend, Cathy and her husband, John, when we're in Illinois. This is the first time both Kathryn and Will had been able to be with us. Cathy is such a great hostess, and I am always envious of her beautiful home and her little tea pot. Our favorite quote from the evening... John says to Cathy: "You'll be bunking with her."
Sorry, you had to be there.

More later.

What I'm Reading 2

2011-05-10T19:39:00.000-07:00

The other book I just finished reading is The Challenge of Jesus by N.T. Wright. I had been working on this book off and on for 6 months. Most of the book had been very scholarly, much more than it was applicable and usable to me. Even though it was laborious to read, I had finished the first six chapters and laid it aside. This past week I picked it up, determined to finish it (because I would not start a new book that I had ordered until it was finished).

What a pleasure it was to find such good stuff in the last two chapters! Let me share a couple of things that I liked.

The first thing I liked was a brief but clear explanation of post-modernism and what changes have occurred in our thinking in the transition from modernism. If you would like a better understanding of this, I would highly recommend chapter seven.

Chapter 8 calls us to be "the light of the (post-modern) world."

"Part of the point of postmodernity under the strange providence of God is to preach the Fall to arrogant modernity."

"And our task, as image-bearing, God-loving, Christ-shaped, Spirit-filled Christians, following Christ and shaping our world, is to announce redemption to the world that has discovered its fallenness, to announce healing to a world that has discovered its brokenness, to proclaim love and trust to the world that knows only exploitation, fear and suspicion."

"What should we be doing in God's world that would call forth the puzzled or even angry questions to which [the Scriptures] would be the right answers?"

"Your task is to find the symbolic ways of doing things differently, planting flags in hostile soil, setting up signposts that say there is a different way to be human. And when people are puzzled at what you are doing, find ways--fresh ways-- of telling the story of the return of the human race from its exile, and use those stories as your explanation."

"Do not despise the small but significant symbolic act."

"[The way of the Christian witness] is the way of being in Christ, in the Spirit, at the place where the world is in pain, so that the healing love of God may be brought to bear at that point."

"Learn new ways of praying with and from the pain, the brokenness, of that crucial part of the world where God has placed you. And out of the prayer discover the ways of being peacemakers, of taking risk of hearing both sides, of running the risk of being shot at from both sides."

"As C.S. Lewis said in a famous lecture, next to the sacrament itself your Christian neighbor is the holiest object ever presented to your sight, because in him or her the living Christ is truly present."

"God forgive us that we have imagined true humanness, after the Enlightenment model, to mean being successful, having it all together, knowing all the answers, never making mistakes, striding through the world as if we owned it. The living God revealed in his glory in Jesus and never more clearly than when he died on the cross, crying out that he had been forsaken. When we stand in pain and prayer, following Christ and reshaping our world, we are not only discovering what it means to be truly human, we are discovering the true meaning of what the Eastern Orthodox Church refers to, yes, as 'divination.' Ultimately, if you don't believe that, you don't believe in the Holy Spirit. And if you think that sounds arrogant, imagine how arrogant it would be even to think of trying to reshape our world without being indwelt, energized, guided and directed by our God's own Spirit."

What I'm Reading

2011-05-09T17:19:00.001-07:00

I often have two or three books underway at one time, so over the last couple of weeks I have had some time off that allowed me to finish two books. The first one that I'll talk about here is Same Kind of Different as Me. My sister was going to read it so I downloaded to my ipad. It is the first book I have read on the ipad, and that in itself takes some getting used to. I like books and turning pages and marking things I find important or interesting. Although you can still do all those things, it's going to take some getting used to for me to be a fan.

This book is alternately narrated by a white man, Ron, who became involved in a homeless shelter, and a black man, Denver, who was changed by the ministry of the man and his wife. It is a powerful testimony of God's grace, and the struggle of what you do when things go wrong, and you can't understand why God lets bad things happen to good people. Tears are guaranteed when you read this book, so have a tissue ready.

Here are a couple of passages and quotes I really liked:

(Spoken by Denver, who was a tough, homeless ex-con) "Ever man should have the courage to stand up and face the enemy," I said, "cause ever person that looks like a enemy on the outside ain't necessarily one on the inside. We all has more in common than we think. You stood up with courage and faced me when I was dangerous, and it changed my life. You loved me for who I was on the inside, the person God meant for me to be, the one that had just gotten lost for a while on some ugly roads in life."

(Spoken by Ron) "I remembered what C.S. Lewis said of the clash between grief and faith: 'The tortures occur,' he wrote. 'If the are unnecessary, then there is no God, or a bad one. If there is a good God, then these tortures are necessary for no even moderately good Being could possibly inflict or permit them if they weren't.'" (C.S. Lewis lost his wife to cancer.)

(Spoken by Ron) "The pain of losing Deborah still brings tears. And I cannot mask my profound disappointment that God did not answer yes to our prayers for healing. I think He's okay with that. One of the phrases we evangelicals like to throw around is that Christianity is 'not a religion; it's a relationship.' I believe that, which is why I know that when my faith was shattered and I raged against Him, He still accepted me. And though I have penciled a black mark in His column, I can be honest about it. That's what a relationship is all about."

Here She Comes!

2011-05-02T17:58:00.001-07:00

My brother shared the following piece when his mother-in-law died a couple of years ago. I thought it was lovely and wanted to share it in memory of my mother-in-law.

photo © 2009 Stephanie | more info (via: Wylio)

I’m standing upon the seashore; a ship at my side spreads her white sails to the morning breeze and starts for the blue ocean. She is an object of beauty and strength, and I stand and watch her until at length she hangs like a speck of white cloud just where the sea and sky come down to mingle with each other. And someone at my side says, “There. She’s gone.”

Gone where? Gone from my sight, that is all. She is just as large in mast and hull and span as she was when she left my side, and just as able to bear her load of living freight to the place of destination. Her diminished size is in me, not in her; and just at the moment when someone at my side says, “There. She’s gone,” there are other eyes watching her coming and other voices ready to take up the glad shout, “Here she comes!”

…and that is dying for those who trust in Jesus Christ’s work on the cross for their salvation.

Dorothy Kiper

2011-05-01T19:37:00.000-07:00

My mother-in-law, Dorothy Kiper, passed away today. She had been afflicted with Alzheimer's disease since about 1999. They call Alzheimer's "the long goodbye" for good reason. Dorothy left us long ago. Today she became her true self once again.

Dorothy was a wonderful mother, mother-in-law, and grandmother. She gave good advice but did not force it upon you. She loved spending time with all her grandchildren, and although she lived very far away, she made the time we spent with her special and something to look forward to. She was witty, sarcastic at times, and very funny. Her writing reminded me of Erma Bombeck (if you're old enough to know who that is).

She worked in Sunday School and in AWANA Cubbies for many years. She loved being with little kids.

She had been married to Roger for over 60 years. They were very devoted to each other.

Will posted this sweet status on FB: "The world lost an amazing woman this morning in my grandmother, Dorothy Kiper. She has struggled with Alzheimer's disease for almost as long as I've been alive and it's a relief to know that she's not sick anymore. I'm sad that I didn't know her better but happy that I will someday."

I am thankful to be able to pay tribute to her here. She was a wonderful person, and I will miss her.

This is one of my favorite pictures of Dorothy with Kathryn. Kathryn's expression shows how much fun her grandma was.

One time when we visited she pitched a tent in the backyard.

Grandma & Grandpa on a visit to our house on Ewton St.

Many times we went with Grandma & Grandpa to visit Lincoln sites in Illinois.

Our family on a visit to Illinois for Christmas.

Grandma & Grandpa visiting the TN Aquarium with us.

Resurrection!

2011-04-24T06:12:00.000-07:00

Easter is such a joyous time!

Having observed Lent again this year, I confess the fact that I have had great anticipation leading up to Easter this week. I attended a Maundy Thursday service at Chapel Hill and took communion with a sweet and familiar set of friends that I don’t get to see very much. The sunset that evening capped off the evening nicely. I have had pleasant and meaningful conversations with Will and with my mom that have deepened the meaning of the season for me. I will treasure those moments.

But Lent is a time of fasting, and Easter is the time to break the fast. Anyone who has fasted knows how it feels to anticipate the end of the fasting. And so, Easter brings great joy because now I can partake of the things that I have denied myself for the past six weeks.

It is a great joy to be able to enjoy sodas, coffee and tea again. And it is a great joy to be reunited with all my friends and family on Facebook.

But those are such small things compared with the great joy of the resurrection of Jesus. His life gives me strength, hope, and love. I’m so thankful for all He has done for me and all He continues to do.

Holy Week

2011-04-16T15:55:00.000-07:00

photo © 2008 Melissa Doroquez | more info (via: Wylio)

In the Church universal, many people observe the coming week as Holy Week. There is Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Easter Sunday. As I approach the coming week I am making plans to carve out some time for quiet reflection each day about what this week means to me and my personal faith journey. I am thankful to have the leisure of spring break this week which will make it easier for me to have the time. For those of you who do not have that luxury, I still think that you need to set aside some time for meditation.

I've enjoyed following a new blog lately. This blog belongs to a new friend of Kathryn's; they go to church together. This entry has some great things to say about Holy Week.

http://rachelheldevans.com/not-so-holy-holy-week

I'm excited about our church service tomorrow. The choir is doing a wonderful song. (Thanks to Alyssa for her passion for making the music come alive.) We will be sharing communion; I love this! Can't wait to see what God does in our midst.

Jason & Jessica

2011-04-10T19:01:00.001-07:00

My dear friends, Jason & Jessica, have been youth ministers at our church for the past 13 years. They have resigned, feeling called to something new, although they are not quite sure what that is yet. We had a special service for them tonight, and I, along with many others, got to pay tribute to them. Here's what I said:

"Jason and Jessica have been active in my kids’ lives for all their formative years. They have ministered to them in so many different ways. Their faithful service every Wednesday night has given my kids a solid foundation in the Word. Each summer at camp they were challenged to go deeper with Christ, to open their hearts more fully to the work He wants to do in their lives. They went on mission trips to New Orleans and Oklahoma, as well as being a part of missions right here in Dunlap. And both of my kids have chosen to spend a summer on a mission trip, Kathryn at Yellowstone and Will this summer in Canada at Camp of the Woods. Without the continued emphasis on missions that Jason & Jessica provided, I don’t know if that would have happened.

"I’ve shared a lot in their ministry, being a part of the Youth team, planning activities, opening my home, being a counselor at camp, chaperoning other youth trips. I introduced them to my brother, and he became their brother too. It has always been a blessing. I’m so thankful that they let me be a part of it.

"We have been through lots together, and they continue to be some of the “go to” people in my life. When I have been going through hard times, I have known that I can count on them and lean on them for support. They have been there for ME, not just my kids. I can never thank them enough for all they have done for us.

"They are two of my dearest friends, and when I heard of their decision to leave this ministry, I wrote them these words:

How courageous you are!!

You have let go of the known to venture into the unknown (or at least, the different)!
You have dared to imagine doing and being something different than what you see in your life right now.
Bravo!!

"And finally I am sharing again with you this verse that has meant so much to me through this very tough year. We sing it as a song in Kids’ Club…
Joshua 1:9
'Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.'

"He will go with you. You can count on Him."

2011-04-10T06:48:00.000-07:00

Yesterday Aaron took Kathryn, Mary and I on a wildflower hike. It was a pretty strenuous five mile hike which took us about four hours. The path was strewn with all types of wildflowers. It was beautiful and hot and exhausting. There were many butterflies out on the flowers too, which seems very early for them to be out and about. We saw Sutter's Falls and Horsepound Falls at the Savage Gulf State Park where Aaron is a ranger.

The hike was a little longer than I would have liked but it was worth the time to see Mary enjoy it so much. She told me she wouldn't have gone if I hadn't gone along, and having Kathryn along was a great bonus. It was a throughly enjoyable afternoon, and I'm so glad I got to experience the beauty of all those wildflowers.

Something to Consider

2011-04-08T17:18:00.000-07:00

I've continued to listen to and be challenged by Andy Stanley. His latest sermon that has set me to thinking is called "I Owe Who?" It is about gratitude and ingratitude and is taken from Luke 17:12-19. It is a familiar story about 10 lepers who were healed but only one returned to thank Jesus.

Andy's main premise is this: "Unexpressed gratitude is the same as ingratitude." If you had talked to the 9 lepers who did not return to Jesus and asked them if they were grateful for their healing, I feel certain that they would have all expressed how grateful they were. They felt grateful. But feeling grateful is not the same as being grateful.

Another point Andy made was that ingratitude in almost impossible to recognize in yourself. That is because you feel grateful. So you would never say that you are guilty of ingratitude. What makes this even harder is that it is so easy to see ingratitude in someone else.

And so I've been challenged this week not just to feel grateful but to actually be grateful. I thanked Phil for cutting the grass and taking care of the yard. He thanked me for the spaghetti dinner I fixed for him last night. Gratitude grows gratitude in others.

And I've begun to realize how often I've prayed for something and received the answer I had requested, and then I forgot to thank God for the answer. Just like the lepers.

I really need to work at this...expressing my gratitude instead of just feeling it. Maybe you do too.

Peter and John: A Story Rap

2011-04-03T13:47:00.000-07:00

We had a chance to make our own video of our latest story in Kids' Club. Enjoy!
View it at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sbtI8yf_AxE

Answered Prayer

2011-03-27T12:46:00.000-07:00

What a dreary day it was yesterday! I was home alone, and in the middle of the day I found myself at a really low place. Crying. Feeling sad about so many things. And I cried out to the Lord, "Please help me! Send someone to help me out of this hole I've dug for myself."

Immediately I had an answer. I turned to working on finishing up on an Amazing Race I had been asked to plan for the TLC girls at our church. I had been asked to plan this over a month ago. I had worked two or three hours in the thinking stage earlier in the week. Yesterday morning I got up and put it all together. I went to church to copy the clues and put everything into place.

It was at this point that I spoke my prayer. And the answer was... the Amazing Race. I knew God had planned for me to be working on this race to help me through this day. Otherwise I could have gotten up this day and spent the entire day wallowing in my sadness.

God had sent the answer before I had even asked. He had known my need months ago.

I'm so thankful that I serve a God like that. A God who hears and answers our prayers, even before we ask.

Bethlehemian Rhapsody

2011-03-23T18:33:00.000-07:00

Just as I said when I sang Sunday, God continues to speak to me through our Wednesday night Kids Club lessons. Tonight was David and Goliath. I shared this music video with the kids. It gives the ones who know the story well a fresh look at what it says. Those of you who are old enough will recognize this parody of Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen. I love how they've taken a really unique song and given it such an inspiring message. It makes me smile.

My favorite part of this Bible story is what David says as he faces off against this giant:

“You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the LORD Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. This day the LORD will deliver you into my hands, and I’ll strike you down and cut off your head. This very day I will give the carcasses of the Philistine army to the birds and the wild animals, and the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel. All those gathered here will know that it is not by sword or spear that the LORD saves; for the battle is the LORD’s, and he will give all of you into our hands.” (1 Samuel 17:45-47)

Now you parents out there, if you want to give your kids something to fight temptation with, have them memorize this passage. Teach them to turn this into a prayer about whatever they're dealing with:

"Dear Lord, the devil is coming against me with (anger, hate, peer pressure, fear... whatever you're dealing with), but I come against him in your name, the name of the LORD almighty, my God. Deliver me from the devil's hand... so that the world will know that there is a God. All those around will know that it is not by sword or spear that the LORD saves; for the battle is yours, and you will help me and be with me."

Talk about the Sword of the Spirit!!

*You can find links to the lyrics if you really want to know all the words. They're very clever.

2011-03-13T18:40:00.000-07:00

This weekend I took a trip up to the Cumberland County Playhouse in Crossville. I went to see Camp Rock. This wouldn’t really be a show of my choice, but I went to see two of my students, Lenny and Lindsey, who had parts in the show. Lenny actually had a large part and did a great job. Lindsey was one of the campers and did a lot of singing and dancing. It was a high-energy show so I know it was quite a workout to perform, and they did three shows Saturday. I really enjoyed it!

But one of my favorite parts of the day was spending time with my good friend Jamie. She used to work with me at school, but she’s retired now. I was glad to get to share this beautiful day with her.

The earthquake

2011-03-13T18:05:00.000-07:00

The earthquake

Go to this link to find some good thoughts about the situation in Japan.

Kids Club

2011-03-10T18:18:00.000-08:00

On Wednesday nights I help out in Kids Club at our church. I’ve been doing this for sixteen years when we first started having AWANA at our church. Although it has often made for hectic evenings, and I can’t deny that Wednesday snow days are my favorite (no school= no Kids Club), I love teaching kids about the Bible.

Every week it’s my job to tell the Bible story. I love figuring out how to connect the story to real life. I love trying to make a story that many of the kids have heard over and over come alive. I love getting them to help me with the details so that they can share what they know.

But the best part of all is how God uses the stories so often to meet me where I am in my personal life and minister to me. In the last few weeks I have taught about being strong in God’s Spirit like Samson. (Teaching about Samson is challenging because he did so many things wrong, yet he is included in Hebrews 11 as an example of faith.) We sang a song with words from Joshua 1:9 which says “Be strong and courageous…” and the words nourished my heart.

We talked about Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego and how they believed the truth even when faced with the fiery furnace, and I was inspired by their words: “If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to deliver us from it, and he will deliver us from Your Majesty’s hand. But even if he does not, we want you to know, Your Majesty, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.”

We talked about Abraham and how he believed God would keep His promise even though it took many, many years for it to come to pass. It reminded me that God will keep His promises to me also. (I’m hanging onto this one tightly.)

I am blessed when you who have children in Kids Club tell me about the conversations that you have with your own children because of things we have talked about in class. God bless you for taking these teachable moments and running with them.

All the adults who have served so faithfully through all these years bless me too. Many of them have served as many years as I have. It is a privilege to share this ministry with them. And it has been great to provide a place for people to learn how to work with kids. We’ve trained a lot of people through this ministry.

I could go on, but you get the picture… I’m blessed.

There are a lot of needy kids who come to Kids Club. And there is nothing I can give them that is more valuable than the truth of God’s Word. I’m so thankful to be able to share.

Joy!

2011-02-26T06:58:00.000-08:00

It’s been a while…

Things have been happening in my life. Lots of things. I told some friends I felt like they could use my life as the basis of a TV drama. I have enough plots and subplots going to provide hours of interesting viewing. It’s been a hard week.

But I am convicted by my Bible study this week. It was all about joy. You know what I’m talking about. Those pesky verses in James that say, “Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance.”

Listen to them in The Message: “Consider it a sheer gift, friends, when tests and challenges come at you from all sides. You know that under pressure, our faith-life is forced into the open and shows its true colors. So don’t try to get out of anything prematurely. Let it do its work so you become mature and well-developed, not deficient in any way.”

As I was pondering a big blow yesterday I thought, “What’s it supposed to look like when a Christian goes through what I’m going through?” Today I remembered the answer: It’s supposed to look like pure joy.

Well, in this I have failed miserably for the past week.

Forgive me.

Today my Bible study questions said that if we are to be deliberate in our pursuit of joy, we need to identify the blessings that God has bestowed upon us. So here goes:

1. I am thankful for the good days I have had with my daughter this week. They have been better days than we have had together for a long time. They give me hope.
2. I am blessed to feel so loved by my husband. He has made his care and concern most evident. I know he will do anything he can to help me through all this.
3. The love and concern I have had from so many friends and relatives has been a tremendous blessing. Thanks to all of you!
4. I am excited about my future, even though I’m not sure what it holds.
5. Finally, I am so thankful for the truth of the Word. Staying in the Word and teaching it on Sundays and Wednesdays has helped bring stability to the chaos I feel. It has convicted me and given me great hope.

Let me end with the verses that really got me today…I Thes. 5:16-18.
“Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”

Working to make these my reality for the coming week.

Innoculation

2011-01-21T08:56:00.000-08:00

My friend Jane recently shared about a pastor in Dallas whom she follows, Matt Chandler. After she referenced him I wanted to know more so I googled him and read some things about him, as well as watching several video clips on youtube. One of his recurring clips is called "Jesus wants the rose." Check it out if you have time. It's great!

But in another clip he put out an idea that I haven't been able to stop thinking about. His church is in Dallas, entrenched in the Bible belt. He said that many, many people in the Bible belt have been "inoculated" against the Gospel. This works just like the shots we get to protect us from many terrible diseases. When we get the vaccine, what we are getting is a small dose of the germs that cause this disease, in order to form an immunity to it. Now think about this in terms of the Gospel. Many people get just enough of the Gospel so that it has no real power over them. They are immune to it.

This is an amazing thought.

What it needs to cause us to do is to think. To consider. How do we reach people who have been "inoculated" from the Gospel? New methods, new approaches will have to be launched. We will have to use great creativity. It is a challenge.

Boom Boom Revolution

2011-01-15T08:01:00.000-08:00

I have invited all my FaceBook friends to take part in the Boom Boom Revolution. I want to give a further explanation of what this is all about here.

You’ve heard of Random Acts of Kindness. Well, the premise behind Boom Boom Cards is that we should be doing intentional acts of kindness. So each of the cards has a task to be completed, some good deed. Some of the deeds will cost something, but many of them won’t cost a thing. You can choose to do all the tasks or pick the ones that work for you. It won’t matter if you aren’t able to do a particular task on the day it is posted either. Just do it when it works for you. The main idea is to plan to do something.

I’ve been thinking of doing this for a long time. But there are principles behind the reasons for doing these small, simple acts. One of my favorite quotes comes from Helen Keller. She said, “I long to accomplish a great and noble task, but it is my chief duty to accomplish small tasks as if they were great and noble.” I love this idea because it works to squelch the pride I battle in my life often.

Another quote comes from President Obama. During his speech for the memorial service for the Arizona victims this week he said that we all need “a continuously widening circle of concern.” It will only widen as we stretch ourselves to reach beyond those we comfortably reach out to regularly.

Hebrews 10:24 says, “Let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds.” So that’s my goal, to spur you on.

For those of you who have young children, I hope you will involve them and engage them in conversations about the good deeds that are all around us, just waiting for us to have eyes to see. Train them in this kind of thinking.

So, beginning February 1 I will be posting a task each day. If you decide to play along I would love to have you post on the event wall what you do and any thoughts you have about what we’re doing. I’m excited about the possibilities.

The Tapestry of My Life

2011-01-13T19:12:00.000-08:00

One of the reasons I wanted to come to Indianapolis this week was to see Robin. Robin and I were best friends in high school. I was Maid of Honor at her wedding. I don’t have a great memory for things that happened long ago but I do remember a time I spent the night with her. We could not stop giggling, and Robin’s mom had to come in repeatedly to tell us to be quiet. For whatever reason we were crazy about Mark S. and this was the source of our giggling. How silly we were!

We kept in touch somewhat during college years, but then our lives took us in very different directions. We didn’t talk for over 25 years. Then last year she found me on Facebook. We got together during spring break for our first visit, and now we have had our second. She had a letter that I had written her in 1978 saying that it didn’t matter how long we had been apart, that we were always able to just pick back up with each other as if no time had passed. And that was true again today. I like her now for all the same reasons I liked her so long ago… she’s funny, she is insightful, we have great conversations… she’s just dear to me. I’m so glad she’s in my life again.

So I’m finding once again that life is like a tapestry, a picture/story that is being told thread by thread. Sometimes the threads are visible in the picture but other times they run underneath, only to resurface when they again become part of the picture. I have found this so true in my life over the past year. Former friends have resurfaced and have become active once again in my life, and they are such a blessing. I’m thankful the color and texture they bring to the tapestry of my life.

I love you, Robin!

2011-01-10T14:03:00.000-08:00

This is my last post about the book, Desiring God by John Piper. Let me begin with a couple of random quotes that I liked.

“The reason there is so much misery in marriage is not that husbands and wives seek their own pleasure, but that they do not seek it in the pleasure of their spouses. The biblical mandate to husbands and wives is to seek your own joy in the joy of your spouse."

“The call of God does what the call of man can’t. It raises the dead. It creates spiritual life.” (I love the power of these words.)

“’All things are possible with God!’—in front the words give hope, and behind they give humility. They are the antidote to despair and pride.” (Great!)

The final section is all about suffering. There are some powerful Ideas here. They really made me think... a lot.

“All experiences of suffering in the path of Christian obedience, whether from persecution or sickness or accident, have this in common: They all threaten our faith in the goodness of God and tempt us to leave the path of obedience. Therefore, every triumph of faith and all perseverance in obedience are testimonies to the goodness of God and the preciousness of Christ—whether the enemy is sickness, Satan, sin, or sabotage."

"[Suffering] is intended by Satan for the destruction of our faith and governed by God for the purifying of our faith."

“God uses our suffering to wean us from self-reliance and cast us on Himself alone.”

“This is God’s universal purpose for all Christian suffering: more contentment in God and less satisfaction in self and the world…I have heard strong saints say, ‘Every significant advance I have ever made in grasping the depths of God’s love and growing deep with Him has come through suffering.” (This is so true.)

“If we hold fast to Him ’when all around our soul gives way,’ then we show that He is more to be desired than all we have lost." (Wow!)

“Oh, that we would embrace the necessary suffering appointed for the advancement of Christ’s kingdom in the world!"

“God intends for the afflictions of Christ to be presented to the world through the afflictions of his people."

“Every kind of suffering can become a ministry for other people’s salvation.”

“The chief end of man is to glorify God. And it is truer in suffering than anywhere else that God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him. My prayer, therefore, is that the Holy Spirit would pour out on His people around the world a passion for the supremacy of God in all things. And I pray that He would make it plain that the pursuit of joy in God, whatever the pain, is a powerful testimony to God’s supreme and all-satisfying worth. And so may it come to pass as we ‘fill up what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions’ that all the peoples of the world will see the love of Christ and magnify His grace in the gladness of faith."

Brother Andrew describes Christ’s call like this:

“There’s not one door in the world closed where you want to witness for Jesus…show me a closed door and I will tell you how you can get in. I won’t however, promise you a way to get out…
Jesus didn’t say, ‘Go if the doors are open,’ because they weren’t. He didn’t say, ‘Go if you have an invitation or a red carpet treatment.’ He said, ‘Go,’ because people need his Word.
We need a new approach to missions—an aggressive, experimental, evangelical, no-hold-barred approach…a pioneering spirit…
I’m afraid we’ll have to go through a deep valley of need and threatening situations, blood baths; but we’ll get there.
God will take away what hinders us if we mean business. If we say, ‘Lord, at any cost…’—and people should never pray that unless they truly want God to take them at their word—he will answer. Which is scary. But we have to go through the process. This is how it has worked in the Bible for the last two thousand years.
So we face potentially hard times, and we have to go through that…We play church and we play Christianity. And we aren’t even aware we are lukewarm…We should have to pay a price for our faith. Read 2 Timothy 3:12: ‘Indeed, all who want to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.’ The church has been much purified in countries where there was a lot of pressure…All I can say is to be ready."

What challenging words! May they challenge all you who read them too.

Return to Desiring God

2011-01-07T13:06:00.000-08:00

The next topic tackled in this book was money. He called it the "currency of Christian Hedonism."

“The root of all evil is that we are the kind of people who settle for the love of money instead of the love of God."

“Buying things contributes absolutely nothing to the heart’s capacity for joy."

“So the answer to how to lay up treasures in heaven is to spend your earthly treasures for merciful purposes in Christ’s name here on Earth."

“But this idea of simplicity can be very misleading. I mean it to refer to a style of life that is unencumbered with nonessentials—and the criterion for ‘essential’ should not be primitive ‘simplicity’, but wartime effectiveness…A wartime lifestyle implies that there is a great and worthy cause for which to spend and be spent."

“Do not desire to be rich, be content with the wartime necessities of life, set your hope fully on God, guard yourself from pride, and let your joy in God overflow in a wealth of liberality to a lost and needy world."

All this makes me think that I continue to have a long way to go to reach the "wartime effectiveness" that he talks about here.

Romans 8:28

2011-01-06T21:14:00.000-08:00

In the previous post I talked about the tremendous attacks that I feel my family has been under. I wanted to add some further thoughts to this idea.

Sunday night Bro. Brian preached from one of the greatest and most comforting verses in the Bible, Romans 8:28. It says, “For we know that all things work together for good to them who love God, for those who are called according to his purpose.”

As I reflected on this verse and the many examples we find of this in the scriptures such as Joseph, Daniel, Paul and others, I came away with renewed assurance that my family will survive these trials. Every attack, every problem, that the Devil sends our way with the intention of destroying us, devouring us, God intends and allows for our good. No matter how impossible it may seem that anything good can come from these situations, I will take hold of this promise and run with it. I have complete confidence that I will be able to one day look back on all this and see the purpose of God fulfilled in bringing the best to all our lives.

This, too, is part of the fight.