Somewhere Along the Road

Hiatus

2011-07-02T16:39:00.000-04:00

If you haven't given up on my poor neglected blog, thank you. I love sharing my heart here, whether or not anyone even reads it. :) But I wanted to let you know that you should check for me now on a new blog for a while: http://katscloserwalk.blogspot.com. I have been away for a month because I've been processing the news that I have cancer. Seriously! :O (that emoticon is supposed to be me with my mouth hanging open) All the details are available on my new blog, but the short version is that I have stage 1 invasive breast cancer and have also tested positive for a genetic mutation that makes me highly susceptible to breast and ovarian cancer (BRCA2). Our first mode of attack is going to be a double mastectomy and we'll take things from there. I'd love for you to keep up with me as I brave this. Just pop over to Just a Closer Walk and say hi.
Love, Katherine

Thought of the Day

2011-05-25T15:49:00.000-04:00

"Life’s a piano, and it so easy to think that the white keys are blossoms, petals, pure joy, and the black keys, the ache, the grief and the rain.

And yet — black keys, they are there to sing songs too."
(Ann Voskamp)

Ever Think You Don't Understand God?

2011-05-20T12:39:00.003-04:00

What It Means to Live the Christian Life

2011-05-20T11:28:00.000-04:00

My poor blog has been terribly neglected lately. In keeping with the theme of my blog's title, I'd describe the part of the road I've been on for the past month or two as slow-going. The kind of road where you have to put your car in 2nd gear just to keep moving forward safely. But my class is finished and I am slowly revving back up.

Below is part of a blog post by Connally Gilliam that I read last week. Its description of the life of faith as lived out in our fallen world was encouraging and fortifying for me. I hope it is for you as well.

We are all pilgrims on a journey. The ultimate destination is, though I'm not sure what it will look like, the new heavens and the new earth (John Bunyan in "Pilgrims Progress" calls it "The Celestial City") with our loving and powerful God reigning smack in the middle of everything. We journey in this life to Jesus, our Redeemer, and then with him and others we journey towards this, the believer's final destination, or first beginning. It's actually, as CS Lewis famously said, Chapter One of the Great Story which no one on Earth has read: which goes on forever: in which every chapter is better than the one before.

But en route, we aren't detached Buddhists, negating this world with its pleasure or pain. We are women and men called to fully engage--responding to God's original call to worship and know him, to build families and communities, and to work to cultivate the most human good that we can (literally & spiritually). This is what we were made for. It got all messed up by sin, but because Jesus has come, we get to experience and help others experience something of how it should be--we get to be involved in helping (if always imperfectly in this life) to realize the redemption Jesus has inaugurated.

So as we go, the assured reality of heaven infuses our journey with hope, even as God's Spirit infuses our journey with love and strength. We hold our unmet longings and unsought suffering in the open palms of our hands, an offering, even as we thank him for His incredible provisions. And we pray like crazy for more and more people...to join in the journeying throng.

Start with One

2011-05-12T09:05:00.000-04:00

The story below is one of my favorites and I have references to it in both my house and office, but it came unexpectedly to me in an email yesterday and I appreciated the reminder that it only takes one. Maybe you can use the reminder, too.

Once upon a time there was a wise man who used to go to the ocean to do his writing. He had a habit of walking on the beach before he began his work. One day he was walking along the shore. As he looked down the beach, he saw a human figure moving like a dancer. He smiled to himself to think of someone who would dance to the day. So he began to walk faster to catch up. As he got closer, he saw that it was a young boy and the young boy wasn't dancing; instead he was reaching down to the shore, picking up something and very gently throwing it into the ocean.

As he got closer he called out, "Good morning! What are you doing?"

The young boy paused, looked up and replied, "Throwing starfish into the ocean."

"Why are you throwing starfish in the ocean?"

"The sun has come up and the tide is going out. If I don't throw them in the ocean they'll die."

"But, young man, don't you realize that there are miles and miles of beach and starfish all along it. You can't possibly make a difference!"

The young boy listened politely. Then bent down, picked up another starfish and threw it into the sea, past the breaking waves and said-

"It made a difference for that one."

Don't Try to Pray Away Your Problems

2011-05-09T10:56:00.001-04:00

Yesterday's Jesus Calling article:

"Do not long for the absence of problems in your life. That is an unrealistic goal, since in this world you will have trouble. You have an eternity of problem-free living reserved for you in heaven. Rejoice in that inheritance, which no one can take away from you, but do not seek your heaven on earth.

"Begin each day anticipating problems, asking Me to equip you for whatever difficulties you will encounter. The best equipping is My living presence. My hand that never lets go of yours. Discuss everything with Me. Take a lighthearted view of trouble, seeing it as a challenge that you and I together can handle. Remember that I am on your side, and I have overcome the world."

Easter Monday Faith

2011-04-25T17:27:00.000-04:00

From Ann Voskamp:

Sun’s rising after Resurrection Sunday on a Monday world where everything’s changed…
Easter Monday faith believes that in impossible darks, impossible light sparks.
Easter Monday faith believes that the tomb places of our life, are but womb places for new life.
Easter Monday faith believes that Christ tenderly takes our doubts — and says touch my scars…
This faith believes in stones that roll, in grave clothes that fall, in an Easter people who sing hard hallelujahs … because we believe in resurrections always coming.

At the Cross

2011-04-22T10:06:00.000-04:00

Alas! and did my Savior bleed
And did my Sovereign die?
Would He devote that sacred head
For sinners such as I?

At the cross, at the cross where I first saw the light,
And the burden of my heart rolled away,
It was there by faith I received my sight,
And now I am happy all the day!

Thy body slain, sweet Jesus, Thine—
And bathed in its own blood—
While the firm mark of wrath divine,
His Soul in anguish stood.

Was it for crimes that I had done
He groaned upon the tree?
Amazing pity! grace unknown!
And love beyond degree!

Well might the sun in darkness hide
And shut his glories in,
When Christ, the mighty Maker died,
For man the creature’s sin.

Thus might I hide my blushing face
While His dear cross appears,
Dissolve my heart in thankfulness,
And melt my eyes to tears.

But drops of grief can ne’er repay
The debt of love I owe:
Here, Lord, I give my self away
’Tis all that I can do.

-Isaac Watts (1707)

"Stand up and praise the Lord your God"

2011-04-20T16:56:00.000-04:00

Just a beautiful piece of scripture I read this morning:

"They stood where they were and read from the Book of the Law of the LORD their God for a quarter of the day, and spent another quarter in confession and in worshiping the LORD their God. Standing on the stairs were the Levites—Jeshua, Bani, Kadmiel, Shebaniah, Bunni, Sherebiah, Bani and Kenani—who called with loud voices to the LORD their God. And the Levites—Jeshua, Kadmiel, Bani, Hashabneiah, Sherebiah, Hodiah, Shebaniah and Pethahiah—said: 'Stand up and praise the LORD your God, who is from everlasting to everlasting.'

“Blessed be your glorious name, and may it be exalted above all blessing and praise. You alone are the LORD. You made the heavens, even the highest heavens, and all their starry host, the earth and all that is on it, the seas and all that is in them. You give life to everything, and the multitudes of heaven worship you" (Neh. 9:3-6).

Earth Day - It's Not Just About Saving the Planet

2011-04-20T12:19:00.003-04:00

God's Love Can't Be Lost or Earned

2011-04-19T07:46:00.000-04:00

From today's Jesus Calling:
"I love you regardless of how well you are performing. Sometimes you feel uneasy, wondering if you are doing enough to be worthy of my love. No matter how exemplary your behavior, the answer to that question will always be no. Your performance and my love are totally different issues, which you need to sort out. I love you with an everlasting love that flows out from eternity without limits or conditions. I have clothed you in my robe of righteousness, and this is an eternal transaction: nothing and no one can reverse it. Therefore, your accomplishment as a Christian has no bearing on my love for you. Even your ability to assess how well you are doing on a given day is flawed. Your limited human perspective and the condition of your body, with its mercurial variations, distort your evaluations. Bring your performance anxiety to me, and receive in its place my unfailing love. Try to stay conscious of my loving presence with you in all that you do, and I will direct your steps."

Memory Verse #8

2011-04-18T08:54:00.000-04:00

I can't believe I've already memorized 7 verses and am now on number 8. It's getting harder to say all of them at once, but it's a great reward when I notice them popping up in sermons or devotions. It makes the message even more interesting and applicable to me. Here is my new verse: Eph. 6:10 - "Be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might."

I chose this verse because I had never really thought about the fact that God is calling us to strength IN HIM. It doesn't just say, "Be strong." God knows I've tried to do that and failed. Pulling myself up by my bootstraps just doesn't work. I am not strong. But "in the Lord" I can do all things (Phil. 4:13). God is not calling me to be a tower of strength, a pillar of confidence. He's calling me to bring my weakness to Him and exchange it for His strength: "For when I am weak, then I am strong" (2 Cor. 12:10).

Crying Uncle

2011-04-06T16:54:00.000-04:00

A couple of months ago, I shared my deep disappointment that a situation wasn't panning out the way I had hoped it would. I was second-guessing God. Trying to define "good things" for myself, instead of letting God define them. God and I have wrestled long and hard over this and (shh - don't tell Him) I let God win. I reluctantly admitted that I believed Him when He said He works all things for our good.

Believing this didn't used to be a problem for me. It's not that I jumped up and down for joy constantly, but I could look at some of my most desperate circumstances and say, "If this excruciating path is the only way to get to where God wants me to be, then where I'm going has got to be pretty amazing, because I know God would not allow me to suffer like this unless it was absolutely necessary. Sometimes the most beautiful places can only be reached by walking through the pit." And so I waited in great anticipation for the beautiful ending I knew was coming.

Fast forward 3-4 years. Although I've seen some great sights along the way and even found a few places where I'd have liked to camp out, the much-anticipated amazing end to my difficult path hasn't materialized yet. And so, a few months ago, I ended up with the feelings of deep disappointment I blogged about. Disappointment that what I thought was good was not. Disappointment that my timetable was not God's. Questioning God's wisdom and His knowledge of what is good for me. Doubting His ability to provide something beyond my imagination, like He promised in 1 Cor. 2:9. And I have wrestled with these thoughts since then.

But, like I said above, I finally let God win. I acknowledged that God was capable of defining good in my life and that I did not have all the facts necessary to make that judgment. That if God took something away from me, then it was not something that was good for me to have. I don't have all the facts, but God does, and He knows what He's doing. I don't for a minute believe that I will stay in this place of acceptance and surrender for the rest of my life, but I desperately hope I can spend a lot more of my time here.

Jon Acuff talks about this in his post today. I really liked his take on this topic. Read it below.

I do not remember the day that I got my rejection letter from the University of North Carolina. That moment did not crystallize, me standing at a cold Massachusetts mailbox with a much too thin envelope clutched in my teenage fist as I cursed the clouds above. That would have been dramatic, but I am not sure that’s how it happened.

My father went to UNC. My mother went to UNC. My uncle went to UNC. My younger brother went to UNC. My little sister went to UNC. I was supposed to go to UNC. I grew up loving the UNC basketball team, throwing frisbee on the Carolina campus and dreaming about wearing that shade of blue for four perfect years. But then I got rejected.

Situations like that force me to deal with a harsh reality—there are some things I want that I will simply never have. Experiences or possessions or friendships that will for a host of reasons never really be mine. And I have a hard time rectifying that limited reality with my limitless God.

Have you ever felt that way? Have you ever realized that a dream you have is sunsetting instead of sunrising? Ending instead of beginning? Maybe it’s a job promotion you killed yourself for that slipped through your fingers. It was yours. It was meant to be. You had sacrificed so much and then it just disappeared.

More than likely though, it was a moment of love unreturned. Have you ever loved someone that would not love you back? Maybe it was that guy you were supposed to be with. When you were around him you felt this strange mixture of being stirred up inside but at the same time feeling as if you were home.

He was the one in a world full of not the ones. But it didn’t happen.

He fell in love with someone else. Someone not named you. And despite your best hopes that particular dream ended.

What then? Where does that leave God? What if that desire wasn’t something you hid from him? What if it were something you prayed about fervently and patiently? What then?

I wrestle with this sometimes but what I am starting to think is that disappointment, sunset moments, only point to how bright my sunrise really is. Throughout the bible, we are told that God knows our true desires, those things we really need above all else. And in his midst alone, do we find our satisfaction. So when I experience something that hurts, an expectation that was unmet, maybe what I should think is, “If that felt good at first and that’s not the thing that God has planned for me, how amazing is that thing going to be?”

There’s a verse in Psalm 103 that kind of makes me think about that. It describes God as he “who satisfies your desires with good things.” So when I got rejected from UNC, a place I thought was a good thing, I can’t help but think, “If that wasn’t the good thing, just imagine what is?” And I ask that question confidently because we know, that God is in the business of good. In Romans 8:28 we’re told “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” It’s not “in some things” or “in the things we understand” or “the things we dictate to God.” The verse says, “all things” according to “his purpose.” If it were my things and my purpose, I would have told God “We’re going to UNC,” and then missed Samford University. And my wife Jenny. And ultimately, my children L.E. and McRae.

The challenge in all that though is being honest about the things that burn. The good things that turned out to not be the good things after all. I think God wants to dialogue about the desires we have that didn’t get met. I don’t think he wants us to fake it and shine up our hurts as if they didn’t. I think he wants to hear you say, “God, I want to die when I see Bill and his fiancée. That should be me.” I think he wants us to be honest about those things so that in those moments he can hold us, he can comfort us and he can reveal our true good things.

There will be things you think are good, that you don’t get. God is not an ATM or a genie who grants wishes. He doesn’t take orders from us or fulfill our hopes in the shape and size and speed we demand.

Why not?

Because He’s bigger than that. He’s better than that. And above all, he loves us much, much more than that.

Quietness Follow-Up

2011-04-04T09:02:00.000-04:00

On Friday, I wrote about quietness and finding God in the midst of chaos. Many of those thoughts were inspired by Jesus Calling. Cultivating the habit of finding God in the clutter is difficult and so I was greatly encouraged by today's entry: "Stillness of soul is increasingly rare in this world addicted to speed and noise. I am pleased with your desire to create a quiet space where you and I can meet. Don't be discouraged by the difficulty of achieving this goal. I monitor all your efforts and am blessed by each of your attempts to seek My face."

It's such a new concept for me to think of God as pleased with my efforts rather than my outcomes. But what a release from worry and stress, to know that all I have to do to please God is to earnestly seek Him. It gives new meaning to a familiar verse: "Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness; and all these things will be added unto you" (Mt. 6:33).

New Memory Verse

2011-04-02T15:00:00.000-04:00

"Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need" (Heb. 4:16).

Quietness

2011-04-01T16:20:00.000-04:00

I've been feeling kind of scattered lately, like I have so many things to keep track of in my mind that some of them fall out every once in a while. (This is not the same as my feeling of anxiety. I give glory to Jesus for two weeks of class so far and no anxiety.) I like to think I'm a responsible, with-it girl, but the past few weeks I've felt like a complete airhead. I was telling someone about my ditsy behavior yesterday and offering my own solution of slowing down, limiting my focus, and possibly taking some things off my plate to free up time for reflection.

Now there are several verses that talk about pursuing a quiet, humble life:

"Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life and attend to your own business and work with your hands, just as we commanded you" (1 Thess. 4:11).

"First of all, then, I urge that entreaties and prayers, petitions and thanksgivings, be made on behalf of all men, for kings and all who are in authority, so that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity" (1 Tim. 2:1-2).

And Peter's specific words to women:

"Your adornment must not be merely external--braiding the hair, and wearing gold jewelry, or putting on dresses; but let it be the hidden person of the heart, with the imperishable quality of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is precious in the sight of God" (1 Pet. 3:3-4).

I've always thought that the simple life was closer to what God desires for us.

But this morning I read today's Jesus Calling entry:

"I am calling you to a life of constant communication with Me. Basic training includes learning to live above your circumstances, even while interacting on that cluttered plane of life. You yearn for a simplified lifestyle, so that your communication with Me can be uninterrupted. But I challenge you to relinquish the fantasy of an uncluttered world. Accept each day just as it comes, and find Me in the midst of it all."

Hmm...Isn't it just like God to speak directly into my circumstances with a completely different perspective? This other perspective brings to mind One Thousand Gifts and counting it all as gift and grace. Isn't that what eucharisteo is? Taking everything we are given, even the frenzied moments, and offering them to God with thanksgiving? Finding Him in the moment? He transcends my cluttered thoughts and they are no barrier to keep Him from me. If I can find Him in my most scattered place, where He longs to meet me, won't His peace bring quiet in the midst of all the fury? Maybe I don't need to be delivered from the storm but instead call God to join me and turn the storm into calm.

Quotes

2011-03-28T08:20:00.000-04:00

Some quotes I saw today and wanted to share:

"Kindness is just love with its workboots on."
"Leadership is defined by what you do not what you think."

The end is not the end; rather it's a bend in the road

2011-03-25T18:29:00.000-04:00

A few years ago, I got into a situation where God's will seemed unclear. I had an open door in front of me but I wasn't sure if God wanted me to walk through it. So I prayed fervently that God would close that door if it was not His will for me. The door stayed open. I prayed again. The door stayed open. It seemed clear that I should take this path and I proceeded, cautious, and yet believing God would stop me if I was going the wrong way.

But God didn't stop me, and that path led me to numerous difficulties and finally a dead end. A dead end. What?! I couldn't believe it. I had prayed about this; I had asked for wisdom and for the door to be shut if it wasn't right for me. Why would God bring me to a dead end without bringing anything good from the situation? Now please do not think that I see myself as the ultimate determiner of what is good. However, in this case I couldn't even imagine any good ever coming out of it (and I have a pretty good imagination).

A couple of years later, I came across this quote by Helen Keller: "When one door of happiness closes, another opens; but often we look so long at the closed door that we do not see the one which has been opened for us." It seemed like God was telling me to move past the situation, that by fixating on it I was blinding myself to other lovely things He had planned for me. I finally accepted the closed door and began looking around for the new door God had opened.

Quite a bit of time has gone by since this happened and I'd pretty much forgotten about my journey down the dead-end road. There were beautiful things to see once I stopped staring at my closed door and took a look at the world around me. Of course, once I was content with the new paths I had found, what should appear but that same dead-end road! Only this time, instead of a dead end, I am able to see the faint outline of a totally different path, worlds away from what I had originally thought the path would lead to. This new path is still being cleared, but I see that it may lead to an outcome I didn't even have enough faith to imagine.

What is God teaching me? That just because things seem to be immovable, ruined or lost doesn't mean that's how God sees them. If I think a situation is beyond repair, instead of giving up or pouting I should be craning my neck to catch a glimpse of the awesome thing God is going to do next. 1 Cor. 2:9 says, "No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love Him." Now that's a door worth staring at.

Quote of the Day

2011-03-20T16:18:00.002-04:00

From today's church bulletin:
"I saw that for us he is everything that we find good and comforting. He is our clothing, wrapping us for love, embracing and enclosing us for tender love, so that he can never leave us, being himself everything that is good for us, as I understand it. That is the reason why we do not feel complete ease in our hearts and souls: we look here for satisfaction in things which are so trivial, where there is no rest to be found, and do not know our God who is almighty, all wise, all good; he is rest itself. God wishes to be known, and is pleased that we should rest in him; for all that is below him does nothing to satisfy us; and this is why, until all that is made seems as nothing, no soul can be at rest. When a soul sets all at nothing for love, to have him who is everything, then he is able to receive spiritual rest." (Julian of Norwich)

New Songs

2011-03-16T18:59:00.005-04:00

New Memory Verse

2011-03-16T09:34:00.003-04:00

Today is the day for a new memory verse. This time I'll be working on this:

"If you pour yourself out for the hungry and satisfy the desire of the afflicted, then shall your light rise in the darkness and your gloom be as the noonday." (Is. 58:10)

Some Tim Keller Quotes

2011-03-15T12:04:00.001-04:00

"God will only give you what you would have asked for if you knew everything he knows."

"The gospel of justifying faith means that while Christians are, in themselves still sinful and sinning, yet in Christ, in God’s sight, they are accepted and righteous. So we can say that we are more wicked than we ever dared believe, but more loved and accepted in Christ than we ever dared hope — at the very same time. This creates a radical new dynamic for personal growth. It means that the more you see your own flaws and sins, the more precious, electrifying, and amazing God’s grace appears to you. But on the other hand, the more aware you are of God’s grace and acceptance in Christ, the more able you are to drop your denials and self-defenses and admit the true dimensions and character of your sin."

“The Bible’s purpose is not so much to show you how to live a good life. The Bible’s purpose is to show you how God’s grace breaks into your life against your will and saves you from the sin and brokenness otherwise you would never be able to overcome… religion is ‘if you obey, then you will be accepted’. But the Gospel is, ‘if you are absolutely accepted, and sure you’re accepted, only then will you ever begin to obey’. Those are two utterly different things. Every page of the Bible shows the difference.”

"It takes pride to be anxious – I am not wise enough to know how my life should go."

Love Song

2011-03-15T07:34:00.114-04:00

For the last two weeks of February, my memory verse was Zeph. 3:17: "The Lord your God is with you; He is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, He will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing." The past month has definitely been a time when I needed to feel God's unwavering love for me. Not only have I been memorizing this verse, but God has sent me little love messages many times since then.

I read several devotionals, Christian blogs and Christian books every day. This verse keeps popping up, as well as the idea of God being our love and our portion. Yesterday, I remembered a song I had heard that talked about God being our love song. But that was all I could remember, and it wasn't enough to find the name of the song. This morning, God brought to mind the rest of that phrase, so I wrote it down to look up at work: "You are the love song we'll sing forever."

I got to work, found the song (listen to it below) and then pulled out one of my devotionals. Here is the beginning of today's entry:
"Listen to the love song that I am continually singing to you. I take great delight in you...I rejoice over you with singing" (Jesus Calling). "Love song!" "Singing!" My verse! I hardly know what to write.

God knows the disappointments I've had in human love. But I don't have to be disappointed with His love. He has written a beautiful love song for me and is singing it to me all of the time, in so many little ways, each message like a love note, eagerly hidden in anticipation of the joy I will find in discovering it. The God of the universe, the perfect Savior who died for me, loves me; and not just in a save-the-sinful-world way. He loves ME. Me! I am delightful to Him. He breaks into happy song because of me. How can I help but make Him my love song? "Holy, holy, Lord God Almighty...worthy is the Lamb who was slain! Highest praises, glory and honor be unto Your name."

Isaiah 43

2011-03-14T15:32:00.002-04:00

New Every Morning

2011-03-14T09:11:00.002-04:00

An excerpt of an article posted on Desiring God's website:

"How many times in life do we come to the end of our resources and say: there isn't anything in here anymore. I am depleted. One more straw and this camel's back will break. And we despair that tomorrow will just be rolled on to today's depleted condition.

"And at that moment we desperately need this truth: God will not expect you to carry one more straw with these present mercies. When the next straw is added, the mercies will be new.

"So we must not compound today's load with fretting over tomorrow's. We must not doubt God and say, 'I have no more strength; so tomorrow will be impossible to live.' That's not true. You will not be asked to live tomorrow on today's strength. What you need today is not tomorrow's strength, but today's faith that tomorrow's mercies will be new and will be enough." (John Piper).

Lamentations 3:22-23: "The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness."

2011-03-11T14:19:00.002-05:00

2011-03-11T08:01:00.000-05:00

Just saw this on Facebook this morning: "What if letting go of everything you wanted led to dreams you didn't know you had?" (Paul Baloche)

Be Still

2011-03-10T17:45:00.000-05:00

This morning I read a devotional about being quiet before the Lord, waiting on Him and listening for His still, small voice. I definitely struggle with trying to run ahead of God or just "help Him out." Somehow I got the idea that I always need to be working to improve something or to move forward in some way. But I remember Psalm 46:10 and I hear a different message: “Be still, and know that I am God."

I was interested in the original word for "be still," and looked it up to see how it is translated throughout the Bible. Here's what I found: to abandon, abate, be disheartened, be quiet, forsake, idle, let alone, let drop, refrain, relax, show oneself slack, sink, sink down, withdraw.

Apparently, being still isn't exactly what I imagined - passive, hanging out, twiddling my thumbs, waiting for God to say or do something. It seems it's actually an action - abandon, forsake, drop, withdraw - my plans, my opinions, my expectations. Come to God empty.

I read this yesterday in One Thousand Gifts:
"Instead of filling with expectations, the joy-filled expect nothing - and are filled. This breath! This oak tree! This daisy! This work! This sky! These people! This place! This day! Surprise! [...]
'God blesses those who are humble, for they will inherit the whole earth' (Matt. 5:5). The humble are the laid-low and bowed ones, the surprised ones with hands open to receive whatever He gives. He hands them the earth. The earth. [...]
To receive God's gifts, to live exalted and joy filled, isn't a function of straining higher, harder, doing more, carrying long the burdens of the super-Pharisees or ultra-saints. Receiving God's gifts is a gentle, simple movement of stooping lower (p. 170-171)."

Be quiet, release your cares to the Lord, rid your hands of whatever you're clutching onto and free them to receive all from the Father's hand. Give thanks. And know that He is God.

Give Me Your Eyes

2011-03-09T09:59:00.003-05:00

I read this verse the other day - "Moses was faithful as a servant in all God's house" (Heb. 3:5) - and for some reason, the idea of Moses' faithfulness stood out to me. I don't remember Moses being particularly faithful. In fact, I remember some pretty bad things Moses did. In Exodus 3:12, Moses murders an Egyptian and then tries to cover up his crime by hiding the body in the sand. Throughout the first few chapters of Exodus, Moses tries to convince God to send someone else to speak to Pharaoh and lead the Israelites out of captivity. In Numbers 20:7-12, he does things his own way instead of God's, and his sin keeps him from entering the Promised Land, after all his work in Egypt to convince Pharaoh to let the people go and after 40 years of wandering in the desert with complaining Israelites.

Maybe you can see why I find it hard to believe that God considered Moses faithful. But Hebrews 3:5 is not the only place where Moses is commended. Exodus 33:11 says that God spoke to Moses "face to face, as a man speaks with his friend." God considers this man a friend? Moses is even included in the Hall of Faith (Hebrews 11)! I find it hard to believe that someone who committed murder, who tried to wiggle out of God's express will for his life, who disobeyed God so grievously that he was denied entry to the Promised Land, this very one is considered faithful, a friend of God!

Apparently God views our lives differently from how we view them. When I look back on my past, I can't help but chastise myself for sins I have committed, mistakes I have made. But thinking about Moses' life and what God said about him makes me think that God looks at us through lenses of love and kindness, remembering the good and not holding our sins against us. These verses come to mind:
"He will not always accuse, nor will He harbor His anger forever" (Ps. 103:9).
"The Lord longs to be gracious to you; He rises to show you compassion. For the Lord is a God of justice" (Is. 30:18).

Oh, what a glorious thought! When God looks at my life, He doesn't focus on every little thing I've ever done wrong. He does not always accuse. He looks at me with the tender eyes of a father, remembers that I am but dust, and loves me for all the ways my heart seeks to please Him. And if God can look at me that way, who am I to judge myself more harshly? "Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus" (Rom. 8:1).

As I was looking up verses to include here, I kept getting referred to Psalm 103. It's a beautiful psalm. Read it here.

A Good Day for Quotes

2011-03-09T07:53:00.004-05:00

"The truth is, what we call interruptions are precisely our real life, the life God is sending us day by day." (C.S. Lewis)

"You are a greater person healed than if you had just been well." (Beth Moore)

Eucharisteo

2011-03-07T10:36:00.001-05:00

You might have noticed that I added a new tab at the top of my blog called One Thousand Gifts. I've been reading the book with the same name, as I've mentioned in several posts, and I've decided to join Ann Voskamp in training my mind to see reasons for giving thanks everywhere I look. Here is why we're doing it:

"The face of Jesus flashes. Jesus, the God-Man with his own termination date. Jesus, the God-Man who came to save me from prisons of fear and guilt and depression and sadness. With an expiration of less than twelve hours, what does Jesus count as all most important?

'And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and give it to them...' (Luke 22:19). [...]

I thumb, run my finger across the pages of the heavy and thick books bound. I read it slowly. In the original language, 'he gave thanks' reads 'eucharisteo.'

I underline it on the page. Can it lay a sure foundation under a life? Offer the fullest life?

The root word of eucharisteo is charis, meaning 'grace.' Jesus took the bread and saw it as grace and gave thanks. He took the bread and knew it to be gift and gave thanks.

But there is more, and I read it. Eucharisteo, thanksgiving, envelopes the Greek word for grace, charis. But it also holds its derivative, the Greek word chara, meaning 'joy.' Joy. Ah...yes. I might be needing me some of that. That might be what the quest for more is all about - that which Augustine claimed, 'Without exception...all try their hardest to reach the same goal, that is, joy.' [...]

That's what I was struggling out of nightmares to reach, to seize. Joy. But where can I seize this holy grail of joy? I look back down to the page. Was this the clue to the quest of all most important? Deep chara joy is found only at the table of the euCHARisteo - the table of thanksgiving. I sit there long...wondering...is it that simple?

Is the height of my chara joy dependent on the depths of my eucharisteo thanks?

So then as long as thanks is possible...I think this through. As long as thanks is possible, then joy is always possible. Joy is always possible. Whenever, meaning - now; wherever, meaning - here. The holy grail of joy is not in some exotic location or some emotional mountain peak experience. The joy wonder could be here! Here, in the messy, piercing ache of now, joy might be - unbelievably - possible! The only place we need see before we die is this place of seeing God, here and now.

I whisper it out loud, let the tongue feel these sounds, the ear hear their truth.

Charis. Grace.
Eucharisteo. Thanksgiving.
Chara. Joy.

A triplet of stars, a constellation in the black. A threefold cord that might hold a life? Offer a way up into the fullest life?

Grace, thanksgiving, joy. Eucharisteo.

A Greek word...that might make meaning of everything?"
(p. 31-33)

Wishing...

2011-03-03T10:32:00.003-05:00

Andrea sent me the post below, from Stuff Christians Like (Jon Acuff). A great read. Of course, God has already had me focusing on this very topic - living in the present instead of always wishing for the next thing. During some times of self-reflection, I've noticed that I spend all of my time looking toward the future (which is a natural tendency for an N, but still...) and have a lot of trouble staying in the present. Well, not just a lot of trouble. A.LOT of trouble. I'm not even sure how one goes about present-tense living. S friends, please speak up! :)

God has convicted me that my wishing reflects discontentment with the life God has chosen for me right now. I'm kind of afraid that if I don't make some changes, I will end up wishing away my entire life. And it's not that I'm sitting around thinking of things I want that I don't have. I'm just always looking forward, thinking about what I'm going to do tonight or this weekend or when summer comes. And when I get to those anticipated times, I'm off wishing for the next thing.

Of course, this post from Andrea is not the only avenue God's been using to get His message across. The book I'm reading, One Thousand Gifts, also talks about living in the present and being thankful in every moment. Here are a few quotes:

Here dies another day
During which I have had eyes, ears, hands
And the great world round me;
And with tomorrow begins another.
Why am I allowed two? (G.K. Chesterton)

Why doesn't anyone ask that why question? Why are we allowed two? Why lavished with three? A whole string of grace days? [...]

When I realize that it is not God who is in my debt but I who am in His great debt, then doesn't all become gift? [...]

'...that I'd day after day after day greedily take what looks like it's good from Your hand - a child gloating over sweet candy...' My voice catches hard. I've been a thief, trying to hoard away all the good. '...but that I'd thrash wild to escape when what You give from Your hand feels bad - like gravel in the mouth. Oh, Father, forgive...Should I accept good from you, and not trouble?' (Job 2:10) [...]

Eucharisteo is how Jesus, at the Last Supper, showed us to transfigure all things - take the pain that is given, give thanks for it, and transform it into a joy that fulfills all emptiness. [...] The hard discipline to number the griefs as grace because as the surgeon would cut open my son's finger to heal him, so God chooses to cut into my ungrateful heart to make me whole."

How dare I be ungrateful for this moment given me by not fully enjoying the gift, the present, God has given me! Here are Jon Acuff's thoughts:

The Secret About Ideas

I like to judge the Israelites.

I like to read Genesis and Exodus and feel pretty smug about myself when I hear them complain.

“In Egypt we had meat! We’re sick of manna! Remember the good old days when we were slaves?”

They say and do some pretty incredible thing. It’s like watching a desert reality show. I keep waiting for the host of Survivor, Jeff Probst to step out and say, “Today’s reward challenge is that God heard your constant grumbling and has decided to make it rain poisonous snakes. We’re calling it ‘Pitted against pit vipers.’ On your mark, get set, go!”

My favorite section to judge them on is when they asked Aaron to make them a new God to worship. Moses was on the mountain and in their restlessness they asked for a new idol. Aaron complied and created a golden calf for them to worship.

When Moses calls him on it, he responds in Exodus 32, “I told them, ‘Whoever has any gold jewelry, take it off.’ Then they gave me the gold, and I threw it into the fire, and out came this calf!”

It’s like a bad Criss Angel magic trick. I read that and think, you are so dumb, so dumb. Why would anyone ever think a golden calf could be a god worth serving? That is such an obvious idol. And then I continue to hide my own idols deep down where no one sees them.

I don’t worship money. I’ve never had a difficult struggle with bling. For the most part “item idols” are not something I wrestle with. But recently, I realized I’m having a much harder time with something else:

“Idea Idols.”

They’re not tangible. They’re not physical. They don’t have the sheen of gold about them, but they are every bit as ridiculous as baal.

One that got exposed last week was my worship of “the next job.”

I’m a serial quitter. I had eight different office jobs in eight years. I’ve never stayed at a company very long. At first I blamed this on my generation. I’d say, “The days of working for 30 years and getting a gold watch are over.” And that might be true, but something else was going on with me. I expected the next job to fix me.

Each time I would get a new job, I would experience a honeymoon period. I’d be happy or engaged for six months to a year. But then I’d get bored. Then I’d get unhappy. Then I’d get frustrated. And then I’d start to dream about “the next job.”

At the next job, I’ll be happy.

At the next job, I’ll be fulfilled.

At the next job, I’ll be better.

At the next job, I’ll be the man I’ve always wanted to be.

Every morning, the thought of the “next job” would comfort me and provide me a false sense of hope.

I didn’t realize how much I idolized the idea of the “next job” until I got a job I didn’t want to leave. I recently passed the six month mark at Dave Ramsey. And when I ran into the challenge of writing my next book, I woke up one morning and there was the “next job” idol waiting for me. My book which comes out in May has been a crazy walk through of the last 12 years of my life and finishing it has been the hardest creative exercise I’ve ever done.

As I got stressed about that, I instantly returned to the idol of the “next job.” Only I didn’t want a next job. I want to stay at Dave Ramsey for years and years. But I spent a dozen years teaching myself to bow down at the idol of the next job. So last week, as I went to kneel before the “next job,” I felt like God pulled back the curtain and showed me how ugly that idol was. How empty. How hopeless.

Have you ever done that? Have you ever said, “This next boyfriend or girlfriend will make me happy.” Or “This next opportunity will fix me.” Or “This next purchase” or this “next anything?”

The challenge of “idea idols” is that they’re secret. They’re powerful because we keep them deep inside us. Friends can’t call them on us because they’re not nearly as obvious as a golden calf. And I carried mine and manicured it and worshipped it for 12 years.

I’m tired of that. Worshipping what’s “next” has blinded me too often to what’s now. And though I may pick them up and lay them down a thousand times as I walk forward, I can’t worship an idea idol any more.

I’ve got God, right now. I don’t need the idol of what’s next.

Quotes

2011-03-02T08:23:00.002-05:00

I've read a few good quotes this week and wanted to share.

"God is attracted to weakness. He can't resist those who humbly and honestly admit how desperately they need Him. Our weakness, in fact, makes room for His power." (Jim Cymbala)

"Ever lift Thy face upon me as I work and wait for Thee, resting 'neath Thy smile, Lord Jesus, earth's dark shadows flee. Brightness of my Father's glory, sunshine of my Father's face, keep me ever trusting, resting, fill me with Thy grace." (Hymn: Jesus, I am Resting. Hear my favorite version here.)

"In the end, God is the One who controls your life and writes your story. The good news is, the stories He writes are the most beautiful kind."

Love Never Fails

2011-03-01T14:40:00.001-05:00

"Love never fails." This is part of one of the most well-known passages in the Bible. Even non-Christians are familiar with it, for it's often quoted at weddings. "Love is patient, love is kind..." and so on, until the beginning of verse 8 - "Love never fails," where the quotation usually ends. I'm sure you've all heard it many times.

Last week, in one of my Bible study lessons, I read this verse. But the thoughts raised took a surprisingly different direction from what I've always thought this verse meant. Coming on the heels of identifying adjectives like "patient" and "kind," I just assumed that "never failing" was something a person who loves doesn't do. She never fails to show love; she never quits. And I still think this is a big part of this verse's meaning.

But what if we read it in a different way? What if what the author really meant is that the action of love - showing patience, kindness, humility, forgiveness, etc. - never fails to bring about a positive result? Love never fails. It's like saying, "His shot never misses" or "The experiment was successful in 100% of the trials." The way of love is foolproof.

For me, this concept is revolutionary. It takes 1 Cor. 13:8 and reverses it so that it is no longer about my own work, struggling to show love without giving up, and makes it instead a promise given to us by God: Do the work of love, showing patience, kindness, forgiveness, etc. and you will never fail. Choosing love is always a safe bet. It does my heart good to know that there is something in my life that is guaranteed success. Now for the grace to live this way.

New Verse

2011-03-01T08:25:00.000-05:00

Here is this week's memory verse challenge: "Yet the Lord longs to be gracious to you; He rises to show you compassion. For the Lord is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for Him!" (Is. 30:18)

Feel free to quiz me on it and on all the other memory verses I've posted whenever you see me.

It's All a Gift

2011-02-28T21:28:00.000-05:00

"'To name a thing is to manifest the meaning and value God gave it.' I look at a day, a thing, an event in front of me, and it may look manna-strange: 'What is it?' But when I name it, the naming of it manifests its meaning: to know it comes from God. This is gift! Naming is to know a thing's function in the cosmos - to name is to solve mystery."

There are a lot of things that have happened in my life that I see no purpose for other than pain. I have spent countless hours agonizing over the reasons for some of these, the good behind the pain, but even my overactive imagination can't come up with anything. Yet God says that all things work together for good, even things meant for evil by someone else (Rom. 8:28, Gen. 50:20). Like Ann Voskamp says in the quote above, even things in my life as foreign to me as manna was to the Israelites don't have to cause me bewilderment. God has already told me what they are - gifts. All I need to do is give thanks for what He's given. Blessed be the name of the Lord!

Christmas Can Last All Year

2011-02-28T14:47:00.002-05:00

Love INC asked me to share my experience helping families in need this past Christmas. I thought you might like to read what I wrote.

“What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them? Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to them, ‘Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,’ but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. (James 2:14-17)

While Christmas is certainly not the only time we are called to care for others, it’s an easy time to show faith through action; the spirit of giving abounds and needs are more publicized. Over the past few years, God has softened my heart toward those in need and shown me the abundance of riches He’s given me. He has convicted me with Paul’s words: “But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that” (1 Tim. 6:8). When Christmas rolls around and people start asking for my wish list, these verse come back to me and prompt me to ask that my gifts be given to someone in need. I have food and clothing and will be content with that.

My family has also started giving up their presents, and this Christmas I was able to buy gifts on their behalf for a family I heard about through Love INC. The family originally consisted of a blind single mother and her elementary aged daughter, but a couple of weeks before Christmas the mother called to say that her sister had been put in jail and she now had custody of her two-year-old niece. A woman in need, helping those in even greater need.

I have a three-year-old niece, so I contacted my sister to see if she had any clothes, toys or diapers that would be appropriate for this new addition to the family we were helping. She was able to put together some things my niece had outgrown, in particular a winter coat. My niece wondered what her mom was doing with her coat, so my sister explained to her that there was a little girl who didn’t have a coat, who could wear this one that no longer fit her.

I’m not sure if my niece had ever heard of people who don’t have everything they need, but her tender little heart was definitely grieved by this idea. She said she wanted to give her coat to the girl who didn’t have one. She also decided to color a picture for the “little girl,” in case she didn’t have any pictures. I was touched by her thoughtfulness and generosity toward a little girl, like herself, who didn’t have everything she needed. I was excited that she had seen the real meaning of Christmas and was hopeful that she would remember that spirit of giving in future Christmases. I thought that next year, when it’s time to buy gifts for someone in need, I could remind her about the little girl she helped this year. I didn’t expect that the lesson would stick year-round. But it did.

The “little girl who doesn’t have a coat” has become something of a legend in my sister’s house. Just a few days ago, my niece put on her favorite skirt and discovered that it no longer fit. Her first thought was that she should set it aside “for the little girl who doesn’t have one.”

We usually think that by giving to those in need during the holidays or at other times throughout the year, we are helping them. And we are. But I think those who give receive much more than we ever give away. We get to see young hearts learning to show compassion to others. We get to break out of our materialism and cultivate a spirit of thankfulness for all we’ve been given rather than make lists of everything we want. We get to live out true faith. It really is more blessed to give than to receive (Acts 20:35).

Thank you, Love INC, for making this Christmas a blessing to so many.

Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus

2011-02-28T14:06:00.000-05:00

I read this in one of my devotionals today: "My focus was locked in on the dread of the outcome rather than on my Rescuer." I had heard a similar idea recently - that the main cause of anxiety is eyes focused on ourselves or our circumstances rather than on the God who is bigger than all of that - and honestly, the thought blew my socks off. I think about God often. I go to Him for help to get me through difficult circumstances. I enjoy worship. But after hearing this idea - that anxiety comes when our focus is misplaced - I am able to see a hallmark in every one of my anxious situations: I am completely consumed with "fixing the problem." The situation is the problem; I just need to make it go away.

So what if I refocus my thoughts on God? Won't the problem pale in comparison? "And the things of earth will grow strangely dim in the light of His glory and grace." There is nothing that is too big for my God, no detail of life He doesn't care about.

But surrendering my problems to Him means giving up control. Do I really trust Him to handle my problems in the way I see fit? Ha ha - "the way I see fit." I am not all-knowing! What am I doing trying to manage my own problems? And why do I think I can do a better job than God? God promises us peace in exchange for our surrender: "Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee" (Is. 26:3).

Trust. Eyes focused on Jesus. Surrender. And finally, perfect peace...

Where Is the Light?

2011-02-26T14:10:00.001-05:00

I heard this quote during a conference today:

“Our Christian habit is to bewail the world’s deteriorating standards with an air of rather self-righteous dismay. We criticize its violence, dishonesty, immorality, disregard for human life, and materialistic greed. ‘The world is going down the drain,’ we say with a shrug. But whose fault is it? Who is to blame?

Let me put it like this. If the house is dark when nightfall comes, there is no sense in blaming the house; that is what happens when the sun goes down. The question to ask is, ’Where is the light?’ Similarly, if the meat goes bad and becomes inedible, there is no sense in blaming the meat; this is what happens when bacteria are left alone to breed. The question to ask is, ’Where is the salt?’

Just so, if society deteriorates and its standards decline until it becomes like a dark night or a stinking fish, there is no sense in blaming society; that is what happens when fallen men and women are left to themselves, and human selfishness is unchecked. The question to ask is, ‘Where is the Church? Why are the salt and light of Jesus Christ not permeating and changing our society?’

It is sheer hypocrisy on our part to raise our eyebrows, shrug our shoulders, or wring our hands. The Lord Jesus told us to be the world’s salt and light. If therefore darkness and rottenness abound, it is largely our fault and we must accept the blame.” (John Stott)

One Thousand Gifts

2011-02-24T06:40:00.000-05:00

I started an amazing book last night. I "happened" to see my friend Theresa giving it the highest recommendation on a Facebook post and I take her recommendations seriously. When I saw what the book was about, it sounded like exactly what I need right now: One Thousand Gifts: A Dare to Live Fully Right Where You Are. I've only read the first chapter, but I have already been deeply affected. I think I'll write out passages that strike me as I go through the book.

The section begins with a conversation between the author and her brother-in-law:
"I grab him by the shoulders and I look straight into those eyes, brimming. And in this scratchy half whisper, these ragged words choke - wail. 'If it were up to me...' and then the words pound, desperate and hard, 'I'd write this story differently.' [...] He's watching that sea of green rolling in the winds. Then it comes slow, in a low, quiet voice that I have to strain to hear. 'Just that maybe...maybe you don't want to change the story, because you don't know what a different ending holds.' [...]
There's a reason I am not writing the story and God is. He knows how it all works out, where it all leads, what it all means.
I don't. [...]
I think of buried babies and broken, weeping fathers over graves, and a world pocked with pain, and all the mysteries I have refused, refused to let nourish me. [...] With memories of gravestones, of combing fingers through tangled hair, I wonder too...if the rent in the canvas of our life backdrop, the losses that puncture our world, our own emptiness, might actually become places to see.
To see through to God.
That that which tears open our souls, those holes that splatter our sight, may actually become the thin, open places to see through the mess of this place to the heart-aching beauty beyond. To Him. To the God whom we endlessly crave."

A Word on Waiting

2011-02-23T13:24:00.000-05:00

I have such wonderful friends who definitely serve as "iron sharpening iron" (Prov. 27:17). God uses them daily to encourage me or bring me truth about Him that I need to hear. I got this article on waiting from one of them today and it was just exactly what I needed to hear. I hope you'll read it, too. Know, though, that just because I have read it and been convicted by it doesn't mean my heart attitude has completely shifted toward acceptance of my situation, but I certainly know what I need to be praying for right now. :) And if any of you want to pray toward this end on my behalf, I would be forever grateful.

Keeping My Mind Stayed on Thee

2011-02-23T09:55:00.001-05:00

Verses I've been thinking about today:

"The peace of God, which transcends all understanding..." (Phil. 4:7)
"You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you." (Is. 26:3)
"Do not be grieved, for the joy of the Lord is your strength." (Neh. 9:10)
"Have you not known? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable." (Is. 40:28)
"Out of my distress I called on the Lord; the Lord answered me and set me free. The Lord is on my side; I will not fear. What can man do to me? It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in man." (Ps.118:5-6, 8)

New Memory Verses

2011-02-23T09:27:00.000-05:00

While I was in Kenya, the time came for two of my memory verse challenges with the Siesta Scripture memory team. Here is what I worked on:

Feb. 1-15: "No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and His love is made complete in us" (1 John 4:12).

Feb. 16-28: "The Lord your God is with you; He is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, He will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing" (Zeph. 3:17).

We Have Everything We Need

2011-02-22T12:34:00.001-05:00

One of my dearest friends posted a link to this article on Facebook this morning. Just another kind word from my Savior, reminding me of what is truth. I encourage you to read it. I think it will speak truth to your life, as well.

Here are some snippets of what it contains:
"What if we believed in the deep places, the darkest recesses, that He always provided — and not just barely, but abundantly? Wouldn’t we always be at peace — no matter what?"
"What if thanks in all things actually could be easy — because we believe that God always gives us the thing we exactly need?"
"And when God provides, He should be praised, and if God always provides, shouldn’t praise always be on the lips?"

Lessons in Believing God

2011-02-22T09:53:00.000-05:00

As I shared in the past few posts, I've been struggling a lot over the past few weeks. I've been run down from traveling and sickness and overcome by a difficult personal trial. For me, it's always a battle of mind over feelings. I have a deep reserve of verses I go to during these times that try my soul (couldn't resist the quote), but I was still having trouble making the familiar verses fresh to my current situation.

As I've written about before, some friends and I have been doing Beth Moore's Believing God Bible study over the past six months or so. It has had so many wonderful, challenging insights for me (ones that greatly impacted my travel to Kenya - but that's another post). We have reached our final week of the study and of course God used the lesson to give me fresh truth about believing Him.

A main principle in the study has been "present-active-participle believing," or continually, presently, actively believing God. Here is what I read yesterday: "Present-active-participle believing God awakens in the morning and says, 'My Lord and my God, I thank you for another day to know You and believe You. Whatever means You may choose to increase my faith today, I commit myself to that glorious end.'"

"Whatever means..." Anything? I'm supposed to be okay with "whatever means" God chooses to use? Most means, I can adjust to; but whatever? Some things in life just stink. Am I really supposed to view those as opportunities from God to increase my faith? Of course I know the answer is yes. I actually prayed in Kenya for greater faith, for more opportunities to believe God. I had no idea what I was asking for! God's answer to my prayer is just too hard!

Continuing in my lesson, here is what I read: "Challenges will undoubtedly arise in our lives when God has every intention of bringing us complete victory, but He ordains that the process will demand our all." Well, this challenge definitely qualifies. I don't think I can take much more. But, "God has every intention of bringing us complete victory." He didn't bring me into this situation to see me fail. He brought me here to show me victory through Him! Beth continues, "The Lord Jesus Christ offers us the one and only way to wholeness: Giving ourselves wholly to Him, inviting His healing, and trusting Him to apportion our energies, gifts, and talents in their most effective ways...We give Christ our all. And with it He does the impossible."

Some of the concluding thoughts from the lesson: "In Him alone life makes sense, and apart from Him all is chaos...Say to your soul, 'Behold and believe!'...When you have no idea what to believe Him for in a given situation, just believe Him to be huge. Come, holy God, and be Thyself."

So I am believing God to be huge. I remember in one of our video lessons, Beth was gesticulating animatedly and saying, "God, be big!" I'm not quite that expressive, but I share all Beth's enthusiasm and fervor and say, "God, show up and be big in my life! Show me Your glory! Use this challenge that demands my all and do the impossible with it so You may get all the praise and honor."

Misplaced Satisfaction

2011-02-21T14:03:00.000-05:00

I noticed this verse on my desk today: "Satisfy us in the morning with your unfailing love, O Lord, that we may sing for joy and be glad all our days" (Ps. 90:14). I definitely need this truth today - that the Lord is the source of all joy and gladness, not my current situation, however happy or painful it may be. The steadfast and unfailing love of the Lord is the only thing that can give me joy and gladness that never end. Oh, to find my satisfaction in God's unfailing love and not go searching for my joy in other places.

Downcast

2011-02-17T13:48:00.001-05:00

I'm an introvert and a perfectionist, among other things, and in the past I've had difficulty fully expressing my thoughts and feelings. That's a big part of the reason I challenged myself to write this blog - to "live out loud" in front of anyone who chooses to read it, allowing people to get to know me intimately.

Because of this, I feel like I have to share that I've been having a really rough time over the past couple of weeks. The reasons for this are multi-layered, but they run the gamut from the physical to the emotional to the spiritual. I've written numerous times about my struggle with disappointment and life not turning out like I had hoped/planned. Yet each time I'm disappointed I return to the solid rock of promise that God has a good plan for my life.

The past two months I was beginning to see what I thought was redemption for the years I lost in my marriage/divorce. I was finally seeing the "bright hope for tomorrow" that I had always known was coming. I started a new Scripture memory challenge and the first verse I chose to memorize was Psalm 103:4-5: "[The Lord] redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion, who satisfies your desires with good things, so your youth is renewed like the eagle's." I had found the "good thing" that God was providing to satisfy the desires of my heart, and all seemed awash in glorious possibility and joy.

But my bright hopes were cruelly dashed without cause or explanation. Once again, I am left wondering what happened and how God could possibly call me to walk through such difficulty again. It feels like more than I can bear. My heart is broken and so I cannot rely on it to guide me through this time. If left to its own devices, my heart would surely shake its fist at God and accuse Him of being mean-spirited or of trifling with my feelings. My body would say, "Forget it. I give up. Life is just a chasing after the wind, after all."

My will alone chooses to say, "Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him." What else is there to do but to ride the rocky sea of pain, knowing that God has said the boat will not capsize, but feeling every moment like I'm about to drown? I join with the psalmist in commanding my heart: "Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God."

If anyone would like to bear this burden with me, I would appreciate the lighter load. Just keeping it real here.

Where Hope Grows

2011-02-16T08:21:00.000-05:00

This was yesterday's devotion and exactly what I needed to hear. Please pray with me that I would be a "hope grower" rather than someone who is devastated by Satan's attempts to steal my joy. The devil is a foe to be reckoned with, but he does not have the final say over my heart and life. May God be glorified, even in the painful times.

"But I will hope continually and will praise You more and more.” Psalm 71:14 (NKJV)
Hope lives in the heart of a little child who sees a rainbow in every cloud. Hope lives in the heart of an unemployed worker who sees a brighter tomorrow. Hope lives in the heart of a mom who sees success in the eyes of her troubled teenager. Hope lives in the heart of a godly woman who sees God’s hand working in her life despite delays. Where hope grows – miracles blossom all around us. Exploding with trust in our Almighty God, hope growers quickly rid themselves of pesky weeds of discouragement and despair. Confident of God’s goodness even in the midst of challenges, hope growers know the real secret is to rest in God’s sovereignty rather than their own. And when their trust levels elevate, Satan loves to come tagging along attempting to dangle hope in mid air. Casting his web of doubt and uncertainty, Satan specializes in reminding us of who we are not and what will never be. But hope growers recognize his deceptive tricks, and release praise from their lips reflecting their confidence in the One true God! Where hope grows – miracles blossom, victory reigns and God is magnified. The blind see, the lame walk, the wounded are heal, the weary are restored and the sinner is redeemed. Waiting with anticipation, hope growers cherish the involvement of their God and hope continually in His promises.

“How precious to cling to You Father. To trust in Your timing, Your ways and embrace Your miracles for our lives.”

(Janet Martin)

2011-02-15T10:52:00.002-05:00

"Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted within me? hope in God: for I shall yet praise him, who is the health of my countenance, and my God" (Ps. 43:5).

2011-01-25T09:01:00.002-05:00

No creature that deserved redemption would need to be redeemed.
~ C.S. Lewis

Get Thee Behind Me, Satan

2011-01-24T12:05:00.000-05:00

I struggle with an anxiety disorder, originally brought on by extreme stress that my mind and body didn't know what to do with. Unfortunately, anxiety attacks have now become my body's default response to any issue that pops up in my life. I am slowly learning to identify triggers to the attacks and I am hopeful that eventually I can retrain my body not to overreact every time something out of the ordinary happens.

Now that I can recognize a few of the issues that bring on my anxiety, I need to be mindful to cast these anxieties on my God who cares for me (1 Peter 5:7). With a business trip to Miami this week and leaving for Kenya on Saturday, I am definitely feeling a bit anxious (especially since flying scares me). Of course, God had something to say about that and spoke to me through Saturday's Jesus Calling entry: "Strive to trust Me in more and more areas of your life. Anything that tends to make you anxious is a growth opportunity. Instead of running away from these challenges, embrace them, eager to gain all the blessings I have hidden in the difficulties. If you believe that I am sovereign over every aspect of your life, it is possible to trust Me in all situations."

Now of course I've also been doing Beth Moore's study, Believing God. I wear a blue bracelet on my right hand to remind of the fact that I believe God is who He says He is and that He can do what He says He can do. I do not serve a small god. I serve the God who performs miracles (Ps. 77:14)! With this message coming at me from all sides (even in yesterday's sermon), how can I excuse my anxiety? God has everything under control. And not just under control, but perfectly orchestrated to work something beautiful in my life, to give me hope and a future.

So, Anxiety, you will not be my master. You will be an opportunity for me to further test my faith and see God come through, true to His promises. I choose to see you as a weakness that makes God's power more evident. With Paul, I say, "I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong" (1 Cor. 12:10).

This will not be easy; it is a weakness, after all. And I know that my own strength is not even enough to enable my mind to follow the desire of my heart. So I fling myself on Christ and ask Him to guard my heart and mind (Phil. 4:7), to give me grace to trust Him more.

Kenya

2011-01-24T10:42:00.003-05:00

You may have noticed that I mentioned a trip to Kenya in my last blog post. I just realized, though, that I haven't given many details about our trip, and some of you might not even know about it. So for those of you who don't know, I'm going to Kenya on Saturday! My friend Andrea and I fly out on Jan. 29 and return on Feb. 14. We'll be meeting up with our friend, Kaylie Sauter, who is working as the Artist on Call in Kenya with BuildaBridge. BuildaBridge seeks to bring hope and healing through the arts and to engage artists in service to others. Part of Kaylie’s work in Nairobi has been to promote local artists’ work and to establish a market where these artists can sell their work in fair trade. One of the already established organizations Kaylie found in Nairobi is Goldmines Foundation. Goldmines Foundation, founded by Brenda and Kevin Ochieng (who we will be staying with in Nairobi), seeks to impact the lives of the youth through empowerment in the form of work skills and education. The visual arts club of Goldmines also makes beautiful jewelry and sells it to support the Goldmines Foundation.

In addition to joining Kaylie in her BuildaBridge work, we will also be spending our days in an orphanage, sharing God's love with the kids and helping out in whatever way is most needed. One weekend, we will have the opportunity to travel to the Olooloitikosh Girls Rescue Center and spend an afternoon being the loving arms of Jesus to the girls who live there, victims of forced marriages and physical and emotional abuse from their husbands. It's been amazing to watch how God has orchestrated all that we will be doing in Kenya and I can't wait to see how it plays out in real time.

If you'd like to follow our trip, you can check out our Kenya blog; I've provided a link at the top right of this blog. We would love your prayers: for safety, for health, for an outpouring of God's love on all we come in contact with, that He may be glorified.

The Power of Your Name

2011-01-21T15:15:00.000-05:00

My sister shared this song with me today; it made her think of Kenya and what we are hoping to do there. I love its message.

2011-01-21T14:03:00.000-05:00

I got a little behind on posting my verses, so here are two days in one.

Romans 14:15: "If your brother is distressed because of what you eat, you are no longer acting in love."

Romans 15:4: "For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope."
The Bible wasn't written to be a book of rules or a condemnation of us for our frailty as humans. It was written to encourage us, to give us hope! The message of the Gospel is good news. Yes, we are fallen and live far short of the glory God intended for us. But He has come and met us in our degraded state and made a way for us to be lifted up again. If that is not reason for hope, I don't know what is!

Yesterday's Word

2011-01-20T13:13:00.001-05:00

Romans 11:12: "But if [Israel's] transgression means riches for the world, and their loss means riches for the Gentiles, how much greater riches will their fullness bring!"

2 Corinthians 8:2, 9:11: "Out of the most severe trial, their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity. For I testify that they gave as much as they were able, and even beyond their ability...You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God."

Oh Africa

2011-01-19T10:31:00.000-05:00

This is just another reason why I love Africa and people who do all kinds of work there. The people of Africa have a beautiful spirit of resiliency and hope, which is demonstrated in this story: http://www.charitywater.org/blog/liberia-equip

2011-01-17T13:25:00.004-05:00

You know how I love personality tests and Andrea posted one on her blog last week. Here are my results. Just hold the mouse over the different colors to see what they represent. You can also take the test yourself here.

A Castaway No Longer

2011-01-17T08:57:00.001-05:00

I have to give a shout out to God this morning. As you know, I've been spending some time every morning reading my Bible and asking God to open my eyes to His truth and give me a verse or two to meditate on for the day. I also read my Bible at night, but I have not made it my practice to ask God to show me something specific during these nighttime readings. Last night, He did it anyway.

Rejection is a sensitive topic for me. I don't know why, but in relationships I am almost always waiting for the other shoe to drop, for someone I'm close to to decide I no longer interest them or that being my friend is a drag. So when someone goes out of their way to tell me they care about me or they are thankful to be my friend, it means the world to me.

In my bedtime Bible reading, I've been reading through Isaiah. There are so many beautiful and familiar passages in this book. When I got to Isaiah 41:9-10 last night, these words leapt off the page at me:

"You whom I have taken from the ends of the earth, and called from its farthest regions, and said to you, ‘You are My servant, I have chosen you and have not cast you away: Fear not, for I am with you; Be not dismayed, for I am your God."

This is what God said to me: I've searched the whole world. I know every single person who's ever lived or who will ever live, and I chose you. You are my beloved, and I will never grow tired of you or fed up with you or ashamed of you. Do not fear anything. I am always with you. Never be worried or insecure. I am your God, and if I am for you, who can be against you?

Ahh...Lord. Thank you!

Why We Shouldn't Worry

2011-01-16T16:34:00.000-05:00

From Jesus Calling: "You know that this day will bring many difficulties, and you are trying to think your way through those trials. As you anticipate what is ahead of you, you forget that I am with you - now and always. Rehearsing your troubles results in experiencing them many times, whereas you are meant to go through them only when they actually occur. Do not multiply your suffering in this way! Instead, come to Me, and relax in My presence. I will strengthen you and prepare you for this day, transforming your fear into confident trust" (January 16 entry).

New Year's Challenge

2011-01-16T16:27:00.000-05:00

My friend Elizabeth told me about a scripture memory challenge that Beth Moore gives to her readers/sisters (aka "siestas") every year. The challenge is to memorize a new verse every two weeks. I love having a structured program and accountability to keep me motivated, so I have joined the challenge. Next January, all the members of the 2011 Siesta Scripture Memory Team will get together and share our verses with one another. The thought of reciting my verses to strangers is a little scary, but I know having these verses hidden in my heart will be worth it. I should have posted my first verse on here January 1, but I didn't think of it. Like my daily "Fresh Words," I'd like you to keep my accountable with my memorizing by asking me to quote my verses to you. Those participating in the challenge can choose any verses they want to memorize; here are my first two:

Psalm 103:4-5 "[The Lord] redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion, who satisfies your desires with good things so your youth is renewed like the eagle's."
Proverbs 16:4 "Commit your work to the Lord and your plans will be established."

Word

2011-01-13T22:00:00.000-05:00

Rom. 4:19: "Without wavering in his faith, Abraham faced the fact that his body was as good as dead - since he was about a hundred years old - and that Sarah's womb was also dead."

Even physical impossibility did not keep Abraham from believing that God would do what He said He would do. Abraham knew he was much too old to father a child, not to mention the fact that his wife was sterile. And yet he still believed God, without wavering. Without wavering! How many times do I look at my circumstances and determine what God is capable of doing in that situation? How many times do I not even ask for something because I have decided it's impossible? That there is no way God can come through on this one; there is no good that could ever result from it? Oh me of teeny-tiny faith! Why do I limit God to only that which I understand or can imagine? I am sure James was speaking to me when he said, "You do not have because you do not ask God" (4:2). I pray God will increase my faith and teach me to believe Him, despite all evidence to the contrary.

Today's Word

2011-01-12T11:07:00.001-05:00

Romans 1:29-32: "Although they know God's righteous decree that those who do such things (wickedness, evil, greed, depravity, envy, murder, strife, deceit, malice, gossips, slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant, boastful, invent ways of doing evil, disobey parents, senseless, faithless, heartless, ruthless) deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them" (verses reordered and emphasis added).

I hope no one who reads this takes offense at it. I'm not directing my words toward anyone in particular; I just want to make an observation about our world in general and how we should consider responding to it as Christians. This morning, when I read this aggregate list of behaviors that are unacceptable to God, I immediately thought about the kind of behavior that is often captured by reality shows. For lots of shows, even their basic premises are based on these behaviors - greed, gossip, envy, depravity, ruthlessness, just to name a few. It seems to be a thrill to gawk at the terrible ways people will behave when put under pressure.

The point of these verses that I really want to focus on is the part that says that anyone who even approves of those who practice these things also deserves death. Whoa. I think this verse is saying that when I watch shows celebrating ungodly behavior, I am like Saul, who watched over the Sanhedrin's coats as they stoned Stephen - not directly participating in but still approving the act (Acts 7:58, Acts 8:1).

Here is where the potentially judgmental part comes in: I don't personally enjoy reality TV. It is not hard for me to say that I have been convicted to stop watching reality TV, because I already don't watch it. But there are plenty of other ways that I may subtlety approve of those who practice ungodliness - music, movies, regular television shows, interest in celebrity lifestyles or gossip about someone caught in sin. At times, I am even the one who is behaving in these activities deserving of death. No one is without sin. But reading this verse today convicts me that I need to be more aware of ways I condone behavior that separates me from God. It's not enough to just refuse to participate in it; I need to keep my mind free from any exaltation of wickedness.

Prayer and Thanksgiving

2011-01-11T18:12:00.000-05:00

For quite a while now, I have been thinking about prayer and trying to gain a better understanding of it. This is not a purely intellectual pursuit; rather, I want to know more about prayer so I can use it more in my life and thereby increase my communication with God in a way that is pleasing to Him. I also want to unleash His power in my life so that His glory may be seen through me. Little by little, God has been giving me pieces of truth about prayer and strengthening my belief in Him and in His desire to work for our good. The passage below from today's entry in Jesus Calling clarified for me a point that had eluded my understanding up until now. I never understood if we are supposed to pray repeatedly for things we greatly desire, or if our asking God for it one time is sufficient, as He never forgets and has all power to answer our requests. I like the way it's explained here:

Speak to Me candidly; pour out your heart. Then thank me for the answers that I have set into motion long before you can discern results. When your requests come to mind again, continue to thank Me for the answers that are on the way. If you keep on stating your concerns to Me, you will live in a state of tension. When you thank Me for how I am answering your prayers, your mind-set becomes much more positive. Thankful prayers keep your focus on My presence and My promises.

When I hear prayer described like this, I think that I may have missed some of the meaning intended in Philippians 4:6: "Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God" (emphasis mine). God promises to answer our prayers, so we can begin to thank Him for the answers as soon as we lift up our prayers, knowing that, however He answers, it is for our good and His glory.

A Fresh Word

2011-01-08T22:18:00.000-05:00

Acts 20:24: "However, I consider my life worth nothing to me, if only I may finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me - the task of testifying to the gospel of God's grace."

Love Is Not Love...

2011-01-06T09:08:00.002-05:00

I have been thinking recently about love. 'Tis the season. And it seems I am not the only one thinking about love. Little things have been popping up here and there. Their cumulative effect has been to dislodge my emotions and stir me to confront some lies I've been believing.

I used to believe in fairy tales; in happily ever afters. I am a fan on Facebook of the group, "I blame Disney for my high expectations of men." :) What little girl doesn't want a handsome prince to ride in, fall madly in love with her, declare her to be the only one for him, swoop her up onto the horse with him, and ride off into the sunset toward a life of never-ending bliss?

Real life isn't like that. I get it. The prince has smelly feet; the princess snores. I am not so naive as to think married life is perfect. As most of you know, I've lived the married life and it ain't always pretty. But I'm afraid I have swung too far to the other side. Having been hurt by someone who made a commitment to me and called it love, I am now skeptical that anyone can ever truly love another. Sure, people "fall in love," but they just as easily "fall out of love" and move on to the next person. Does true love even exist anymore?

I am going to venture to say yes; it just doesn't look like the same thing we've been calling love. As Shakespeare knew, "Love is not love Which alters when it alteration finds, Or bends with the remover to remove: O no! it is an ever-fixed mark That looks on tempests and is never shaken" (Sonnet 116). I read this quote this week: "Love means to love that which is unlovable; or it is no virtue at all" (G.K. Chesterton).

Love exists. I believe that. I believe God has loved us lavishly and continues to love us with an everlasting love. I rest secure in that. But my belief in the fairy tale where my handsome prince will love me until the day I die has been shattered. Commitment means nothing in today's world. "I do" means "Until something better comes along." Talk is cheap. I can't help it; I just expect to be let down.

And this realization about myself almost makes me weep. I don't want to be a skeptic. I don't want to live every day waiting for the next rejection to come. I want to believe in people like those Andrew Peterson talks about in his song below, Dancing In the Mine Fields, who promise forever to each other and then, when things get tough, stand on that promise and refuse to waver. I just have a hard time believing that anyone's up for that nowadays. And it breaks my heart.

Andrew Peterson - Dancing In The Mine Fields

2011-01-06T08:14:00.001-05:00

A Fresh Word

2011-01-05T09:17:00.002-05:00

Acts 16:34: "He was filled with joy because he had come to believe in God."
Prov. 16:3: “Commit your work to the LORD, and your plans will be established.”

Wonderful Words of Life

2011-01-04T15:07:00.000-05:00

About a month ago, I was challenged in my Believing God Bible study to start actively seeking to believe God more, pursuing the next level of relationship I desire to have with Him by seeking Him first every day. In our study, Beth Moore shared about a friend of hers who gets up every morning and begins her study of the Bible by asking God to give her a specific verse to meditate on over the course of the day, clearly showing her what He has for her to learn and focus on that day.

I can't believe that I had never thought about asking God to give me a takeaway from our time together. I was reminded, though, by a verse Nancy Leigh DeMoss shared a while back: "Open my eyes that I may see wonderful things in your law" (Ps. 119:18). I have begun waking up early to read the Bible and start my time with God by asking Him to open my eyes to the wonders contained in His Word.

I had already been waking up early in order to get to work in time to meet some new, early deadlines, but instead of sleeping in on the days I didn't have deadlines, I began getting up at the same early time in order to have time to read and study before work. I get up, get ready for work, and then spend the remaining half hour or so reading the Bible. I begin by praying Ps. 119:18 and asking God to give me a specific verse or concept from His Word to meditate on as I have free time during the day. I write down this verse and carry it around with me for the day. Over the weeks, the verses have accumulated and I now have a nice stack to flip through when I'm waiting or have other free time.

I thought I'd like to start sharing my verses here. It will keep me accountable to study every day and it is my hope that these verses might be encouraging or challenging to you, too. I have not felt like God has given me a specific verse every single day, but sometimes He gives more than one verse in a day. Whatever I get, I'll share it here. I've been collecting verses for a few weeks, so this first post will have a lot of verses, but going forward there will just be a verse or two for each day or every couple of days. Feel free to post any thoughts you have on the verses. It will only deepen our understanding of it and, I hope, draw us closer to God.

Dec. 7
Is. 53:4: "Surely He took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered Him stricken by God, smitten by him, and afflicted" (emphasis mine).
John 1:11: "He came to that which was His own, but His own did not receive Him."

Dec. 8
Prov. 30:8-9: "Give me neither poverty nor riches, but give me only my daily bread. Otherwise, I may have too much and disown you and say, 'Who is the Lord?' Or I may become poor and steal, and so dishonor the name of my God."

Dec. 9
John 5:14: "Stop sinning or something worse may happen to you."

Dec. 12
John 5:44: "How can you believe if you accept praise from one another, yet make no effort to obtain the praise that comes from the only God?"
John 6:70: "Then Jesus replied, 'Have I not chosen you, the Twelve? Yet one of you is a devil!'"

Dec. 14
John 8:50, 54: "I am not seeking glory for myself...If I glorify myself, my glory means nothing. My Father, whom you claim as your God, is the one who glorifies me."

Dec. 15
Ecc. 10:1: "Dead flies putrefy the perfumer's ointment, and cause it to give off a foul odor; so does a little folly to one respected for wisdom and honor."

Dec. 16
Rom. 4:18, 19, 20-21: "Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed...His body was as good as dead...Sarah's womb was also dead...Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, being fully persuaded that God had power to do what He had promised."

Dec. 23
I Tim. 4:7: "Train yourself to be godly."
I Tim. 6:11-12: "Pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance, and gentleness. Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called" (emphasis mine).

Jan. 4
Acts 13:38-39, 43: "Therefore, my brothers, I want you to know that through Jesus the forgiveness of sins in proclaimed to you. Through him everyone who believes is justified from everything you could not be justified from by the law of Moses...Look, you scoffers, wonder and perish, for I am going to do something in your days that you would never believe even if someone told you."
Ex. 6:6-7: "Therefore, say to the Israelites: 'I am the Lord, and I will bring you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians. I will free you from being slaves to them, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with mighty acts of judgment. I will take you as my own people, and I will be your God. Then you will know that I am the Lord your God, who brought you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians."

Looking Forward

2011-01-03T12:18:00.000-05:00

I don't usually get into the New Year's resolution-making. If I get excited about something, I like to start doing it right away and not wait for the start of a new year. This year, however, on December 30 I read something that excited me, and since it coincides so well with the start of 2011, I think I can call it a New Year's resolution. What I read was this:

At a recent staff meeting, our pastor challenged us to pray for and encourage each other. He showed us a valuable lesson through a quote from Pastor Ed Young Sr., “Whatever you need, give away.” If you need love, give it away. If you need appreciation, give it away. If you need encouragement, give it away.

I think this idea fits perfectly with the upside-down kingdom Jesus told us about while He was here on earth. Here are just a few examples:

"Whoever tries to keep their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life will preserve it" (Luke 17:33).

"Whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all" (Mark 10:43-44).

"Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you" (Matt. 5:44).

"Sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven" (Luke 18:22).

So this year, I'm going to try to put this into practice. When I need encouragement, I'm going to encourage others. When I need grace, I'm going to extend it to others. When finances feel tight, I'm going to continue giving to those in need and seek out others who need help. I say that "I'm going to...," but of course I will not do this every time a situation arises. There will be victories and failures. I should really say that my resolution is that I will get closer to being someone to whom this upside-down living is second nature. This is probably not so much a 2011 resolution as it is a long-term goal.

A friend's husband wrote this modified and personalized view of 1 Cor. 13, and this is what I hope can be said about me, too; maybe not after just one year, but when I die, I pray I can be described in this way:

Katherine never gives up.
Katherine cares more for others than for herself.
Katherine doesn't want what she doesn't have.
Katherine doesn't strut,
She doesn't have a swelled head.
She doesn't force herself on others,
Katherine isn't always "me first."
She doesn't fly off the handle,
She doesn't keep score of the sins of others,
She doesn't revel when others grovel,
Katherine takes pleasure in the flowering of truth,
She puts up with anything,
Katherine trusts God always,
She always looks for the best,
She never looks back, but keeps going to the end.

Writing My Story and Theirs

2010-12-29T09:22:00.000-05:00

A friend I've never met, but who is definitely a kindred spirit, who shares my heart for Africa and desire to serve God, who visited my special children while she was in Swaziland this fall, wrote this blog post. She says so beautifully many of the same things I've seen in my own life in 2010 and also what I pray will be accomplished in 2011.

There are 4 days left of 2010. Many chapters have been written.

If your story has been like mine, it’s been filled with some extreme highs & some shocking lows. But that’s what makes a good story, isn’t it? Intrigue. Seemingly insurmountable circumstances. Then at the last possible moment a hero rides in to save the damsel & her dying city from sure defeat?

Jesus has been my hero this year. And He’s saved me from losing my mind in the midst of the darkest days. And truth be told, it’s been during those difficult times that I’ve felt closest to Him.

Here’s how I want the last four pages of my 2010 storybook fulfilled. I want to be found…
Loving – my family, my friends & my enemies with Christ’s unconditional love
Laughing – finding joy in the simple things
Giving – giving my time, my resources, myself like never before
Advocating – being a voice for the ‘least of these’

Truth be told, I’m not so concerned about my 2010 Storybook ending on a high note. I want to Change the Storybooks for some kids I met back in September in Swaziland, Africa. I saw first hand what a difference an education can make. Education is often the deciding factor of a life filled with hope or a life left to chance. And in Swaziland, the chances are not in a child’s favor.

Because of the impact of extreme poverty, many children in Swaziland, Africa do not have the opportunity to go to school. They must work, search for food, or walk long distances to get water. However, even with these obstacles removed, many children cannot afford the minimal costs of school attendance.

Help keep a child in school–where they belong–learning how to read and write and study. Education is the key to independence and the gateway to making dreams come true. Sometimes, those fees are less than $100/year. Your funds will support our Bheveni CarePoint (and other carepoints) in Africa that work with children to develop their educational opportunities AND their Christian character.

So how will you spend your last 4 days of 2010?
Will you send it out with a BANG?
Give more than you ever have?
Dream bigger than you thought you could?
Change the story of children who need an education?

Just say YES! You’ve got just 4 days to change not only your story, but to change the life story of a child in Swaziland. Be the hero. Be the hands & feet of Jesus, who rides in to change the story & bring hope to a dying nation!

Change Their Story by providing Education Opportunities
My sons have been raising funds to help children in Swaziland, specifically at our Bheveni Carepoint, to have a chance at an education. They have raised nearly $800 towards their goal of $1,000. That $1,000 could provide a year of education for up to TEN kids! For many, money is the only thing stopping them from attending school. Please visit Andy & Jonny’s webpage at the link above, for more info & be sure to click that big SUPPORT ME button!

I pray that as your 2010 Storybook comes to a close, you are able to open the first chapter of 2011 with hope & joy & an outward focus on changing the Storybooks of children all over the world! Adventure awaits!

Purpose

2010-12-28T19:33:00.000-05:00

I got this poem in the mail today. I've read Emily Dickinson before and never saw this one, but I love its message.

If I can stop one heart from breaking,
I shall not live in vain;
If I can ease one life the aching,
Or cool one pain,
Or help one fainting robin
Up to his nest again,
I shall not live in vain.

Ordinary

2010-12-23T13:50:00.001-05:00

My friend Andrea keeps up with Jon Acuff's blog, Stuff Christians Like, and forwards me things she knows I'll like. Today she sent me the post below. I thought you'd like it, too. And that's really all the commentary I can offer on it; it speaks for itself.

Sometimes, if I’m in a meeting, my wife will see comments on Stuff Christians Like before I do and will tell me not to read them because they’re not nice.

That happened twice last week.

I guess it was technically once, since someone left the same comment on two consecutive posts to make sure I got the point. It was long, and not on the surface that mean, but despite my wife’s warning to skip it, I read it and two lines stood out to me. Here is what they said:

I like the humble Jon Acuff. Not the buy-my-new-book Jon Acuff.

I found that challenging for a few reasons. The first is that, despite this all being really new to me and making mistakes, I honestly don’t feel like I’ve been cocky about the new book. I self published a book. I haven’t been bragging about a publisher or a book tour or anything like that. The second comment though, about me turning into “buy-my-new-book Jon Acuff” was more frustrating. Imagine that since the third grade, you wanted to write books. For close to 30 years, that was your dream. And in the third week your new book was available, someone essentially tells you “enough already.” The book had been out for 17 days before someone told me they were tired of hearing about it. Imagine being a musician and on the third week of your album release, someone at your show tells you to stop talking about your new album. Imagine if you got your MBA after years of work, balancing your kids and your family with that dream. And in the third week, someone at your job tells you to stop talking about it already.

Those kind of situations are demoralizing, aren’t they? Even if you don’t have a blog, someone in your life has discouraged you or labeled or questioned you in a way that was not intended to grow you.

Someone has told you, “Enough already.”
Someone has told you, “Who are you to try that?”
Someone has told you, “You’re the last person I could see doing that.”
Someone has told you, “That will never work.”

When that happens, you feel defeated. You don’t feel special. You feel common. You feel really ordinary.

We think of that sometimes as a barrier to our ability to be used by God. We look at our simple hands and our simple ideas and wonder if there is any good that can come from someone so ordinary.

I’ve felt that way a lot, but it’s getting harder to, because there’s a new thought that is becoming inescapable.

It caught me again when I heard my pastor talk about a verse in John 1. When Nathanael heard where Christ was from, his first response was, “Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?”
Can anything good come from there?
That is not the dynamic, earth shakes beginning to a ministry. That is not the warrior’s entrance the world expected. There is no shock and awe to hearing a man is from Nazareth. Christ came from somewhere ordinary.

Why?

Why was he a baby born to an ordinary family in a less than ordinary place, in a worse than ordinary manger?

Because God loves doing the extraordinary with the ordinary.

He loves turning things the world has forgotten into miracles. He loves turning our ordinary expectations upside down into extraordinary experiences.

Over and over again he does this. From creating an extraordinary virgin birth in an ordinary town leading to Christmas to John the Baptist.

In Acts 4:13, we see the rulers, elders and teachers of the law debating what to do with Peter and John. Was it their extraordinary powers that wowed them? Was it the might and ability that terrified them or forced them to admit a curiosity that would not be so easily solved?

No, not at all. Here is what the Bible tells us the rulers thought:

“When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus.”

They were ordinary. Like me. Like you. Like us. And it was so astonishing, to see the extraordinary so clearly displayed in people so clearly ordinary.

In 2011, people will tell you that you are ordinary. That might sting sometimes, but my hope is that by your ordinary life, you will point people toward an extraordinary savior. My prayer is that your ordinariness will be so pronounced that it will be astonishing and above all, it will reveal to friends and family members and neighbors and strangers, that you’ve been with Jesus.

A savior who loves doing extraordinary things with ordinary people like us.

2010-12-21T09:44:00.001-05:00

For the past six years or so, I've struggled with an anxiety disorder; the result, I believe, of trying to cope with a horrible situation I could do nothing about. That specific situation is no longer present in my life in the same form, but my body has learned to deal with difficulties by going straight to crisis mode, and so my anxiety flares up off and on. It's a frustrating thing to not be able to control your own body.

Anxiety is an especially difficult problem for a Christian to have, because it is so often associated with sinful worry and lack of faith: Worry is a topic covered extensively in the Sermon on the Mount, Paul tells the Philippians not to be anxious about anything, and Peter tells his readers to cast their anxieties on God. People often assume that I could stop "worrying" if I really wanted to. I greatly desire to follow God's commands on the subject of anxiety and worry; unfortunately, anxiety disorders are not the same as "worry." If they were, I think I would have been free from this problem a long time ago. Instead, it shows up in the most unwelcome places and makes seemingly easy tasks difficult at times.

It's hard to admit that I don't always have it all together. It's hard not to cringe when I tell someone about my anxiety disorder, in expectation that they will think less of me or consider me not fit to have a relationship with. It's hard, knowing my reactions to things are sometimes irrational and yet not being able to control them. Basically, this part of my life is just plain hard.

I shared with someone about my anxiety disorder last night. The person was kind and seemed to be understanding, and yet I woke up this morning thinking that there was a strong possibility that my struggles with anxiety would send him packing. In light of all this, the words to today's Jesus Calling devotional were especially powerful for me: "Do not fear your weakness, for it is the stage on which My power and glory perform most brilliantly." Dare I say with Paul, "Therefore, I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong" (2 Cor. 12:9-10)?

I don't need to be ashamed that I struggle with anxiety. In my weakness, Christ's strength shines. I know I can do nothing apart from Him. Why do I even try, when His strength in me can do everything so much better? This acceptance of God's power in me doesn't erase the hurt that comes when people don't understand, but it gives purpose to my suffering and strength to carry on.

The Word Made Flesh

2010-12-16T08:03:00.000-05:00

Below is today's devotional from Nancy Leigh DeMoss. I thought it was a good illustration of what Emmanuel, God with us, really means.

In the 1800s a Belgian priest arrived in a Hawaiian village that had been quarantined as a leper colony. He lived with the lepers, learned their language, organized schools, bandaged their wounds, and ate with them.

The village was transformed. Yet for years the priest was different from his people in one important way. They had leprosy, and he didn’t. Then one day he stood and began a sermon with two words: “We lepers . . .”

He had contracted leprosy, and from that moment on, people in the village saw him in a new light. He had become one of them. He would not only share their life but also die as they would die.

On Christmas we celebrate the day God came to our village in the person of Christ. He became one of us.

Thank You, Lord Jesus, for humbling Yourself, for taking on our sin-diseased condition, and for dying our death.

Something that Costs Me Nothing

2010-12-15T11:02:00.000-05:00

A few weeks ago, I posted a reprint of last year's Christmas gift-giving thoughts and ideas. The idea of giving to those in need instead of giving to my family and friends who already have everything they need was transformative for me, and both last year and this year I've enjoyed finding charities and families in need to give to in celebration of Jesus' birth. It's hard to believe that the thought of giving gifts to Jesus for His birthday took almost 30 years to occur to me! It seems so obvious now! When it's my brother's birthday, I don't give gifts to my friends. I give a gift to him.

I'm not trying to say people shouldn't exchange gifts at Christmas. God told us that "it is more blessed to give than to receive" (Acts 20:35). Christmas is a great holiday for thinking about others and trying to show them how much they mean to you. But I think my focus needs to be on giving to Jesus.

But last night I started to think through the logic of this in my head. If Christmas is Jesus' birthday and I tell my friends and family to give their gift to Him instead of me (when I shouldn't really be receiving anything at all, since it's not my birthday), am I still giving something to Jesus? Isn't it really my friends and family who are giving to Jesus?

All of this thinking was brought on by a verse that came to mind a day or two ago. The context of this verse is this: God told David to build an altar to Him on a specific piece of property. When David approached the owner about buying the property and the owner saw that it was the king who wanted to buy it, he told the David to take the property as a gift, along with animals to sacrifice and wood to build the fire. But David's response was this: "No, but I will surely buy it from you for a price, for I will not offer burnt offerings to the LORD my God which cost me nothing" (2 Sam. 24:24). Hmm...Redirecting my Christmas presents to the One whose birthday it is costs me nothing. Am I okay with only giving Jesus something that cost me nothing? I don't think so. I want to give Him a lavish gift like He has given me! Thankfully, Jesus isn't hard to shop for. I am excited about what I can do for Jesus for His birthday; something that is a true gift to Him from me. Happy birthday, Jesus!

Winter Beauty

2010-12-13T08:42:00.000-05:00

One of my good friends shared this with me last week (credit to her friend Linda for writing it). I think it speaks for itself:

'Tis the season. The Christmas tree is up and decorated. The house is festive with all the Christmas treasures I’ve collected over the years. Marv’s out front getting his fun outdoor lights just right. I’m sitting here at the desk looking out the window at the huge trees across the street and taking a few minutes to ponder...

Wasn’t it just yesterday I sat in this very spot, looking out the same window – reveling in the splendor of spring and the wonder of new life? Admiring the trees in their budding beauty and listening to the birds singing their springtime songs? There are no birds singing today. Those same trees are barren, seemingly lifeless. Their skeletons stand against the winter sky, bleak and desolate.

And yet...there is a beauty here I’ve not seen before. These majestic trees – so beautiful in the newness of spring, the fullness of summer, and the colorful splashes of fall – are no less beautiful now. I don’t know if I’ve ever noticed their winter beauty before. It is stark and naked, exposed and vulnerable. They stand before their Creator strong and steady, knowing that this hard season is necessary, and knowing that their Maker is faithful to see them through it.

I could take a lesson from the winter trees. To embrace the vulnerability of a cold, dark season. To stand strong and steady through the test, even though I feel naked and exposed. To be assured that my Father is faithful. This season is not for my destruction, but to position me for growth, for strengthening and for renewed beauty.

It is for His glory, I know. And now I’m seeing that it truly is for my good as well. Thank You, Father, for opening my eyes to a bit of Your truth today. Please help me to be like the winter trees. Give me the grace to stand before you naked and exposed. Help me to embrace the vulnerability of this season of my life. Holy Spirit, please come and do Your work in my soul.

Isaiah 54:1, 4-8, 10, 13-14

2010-12-13T08:16:00.001-05:00

1 “Sing, barren woman,
you who never bore a child;
burst into song, shout for joy,
you who were never in labor;
because more are the children of the desolate woman
than of her who has a husband,”
says the LORD.
4 “Do not be afraid; you will not be put to shame.
Do not fear disgrace; you will not be humiliated.
You will forget the shame of your youth
and remember no more the reproach of your widowhood.
5 For your Maker is your husband—
the LORD Almighty is his name—
the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer;
he is called the God of all the earth.
6 The LORD will call you back
as if you were a wife deserted and distressed in spirit—
a wife who married young,
only to be rejected,” says your God.
7 “For a brief moment I abandoned you,
but with deep compassion I will bring you back.
8 In a surge of anger
I hid my face from you for a moment,
but with everlasting kindness
I will have compassion on you,”
says the LORD your Redeemer.
10 Though the mountains be shaken
and the hills be removed,
yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken
nor my covenant of peace be removed,”
says the LORD, who has compassion on you.
13 All your children will be taught by the LORD,
and great will be their peace.
14 In righteousness you will be established:
Tyranny will be far from you;
you will have nothing to fear.
Terror will be far removed;
it will not come near you.

Quote of the Day

2010-12-04T14:49:00.003-05:00

We have been called to heal the wounds
To unite what has fallen apart
And to bring home
Those who have lost their way.

– St. Francis of Assisi

We Are the Body

2010-12-03T20:01:00.006-05:00

Contradictions

2010-11-30T14:40:00.003-05:00

I had a little meltdown over Thanksgiving. I was just feeling awkward, insignificant, misunderstood and alone. My mom had a hard time understanding that these are legitimate feelings for me. I think she was surprised by what seemed to her like a disconnect between what I write on my blog and the pain I was obviously feeling. Maybe you've seen similar situations in my life and have wondered the same thing. I'd like to try to explain.

The quick answer is one that this quote sums up well: "The longest journey a man must take is the eighteen inches from his head to his heart.” My heart does not always listen to what my mind tells me is true, even if I am completely and utterly convinced of its truth. Everything I write here is the truest version of me, not trying to impress anyone, just sharing what I've been thinking about and things God has taught me. I truly am passionate about my faith and all God is doing in my life. But just because God is doing a work doesn't mean my journey is easy. Have you seen The Lord of the Rings? It was clearly Frodo's destiny to carry the ring, though he was small and unadventurous and didn't even know the way to Mordor.

I think it's possible to see God working everything out for good and still be grieved that the road to glory is paved with such suffering. Frodo didn't rejoice over the task he was called to. In fact, he actually says that he wishes the ring had never come to him. Sometimes I wish suffering had never come to me. I would have been ever so content with a little family with 2.3 children, a white picket fence, and a dog named Spot. I think C.S. Lewis would have said that I was "far too easily pleased."

God, in His kindness, has given me some suffering in this life. I say that He is kind, even though I sometimes have to say that with tears running down my face, because in suffering God has given me an opportunity to know Him more. Paul tells the Romans:

“We are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory. I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us…We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption to sonship, the redemption of our bodies” (Rom. 8:17-18, 22-23).

Grief and joy are not opposing emotions. Admitting pain doesn't negate God's love for me or my belief in His good work on my behalf. Some things can only be gained through pain, like the redemption Jesus bought for us on the cross. Despite those days when life seems overwhelming, I can still trust God's promise to bring good out of my difficulties. I grow closer to Christ by sharing in His suffering, knowing that the "joy set before [me]" - sharing in Jesus' glory - will far outweigh these "light and momentary troubles."

How Do I Love Thee? Let Me Count the Ways

2010-11-30T12:16:00.000-05:00

I usually use my blog to write about my latest adventures in my faith journey. But my blog is also a place where I feel free to be myself, where I can say all that's on my mind without worrying if people are too busy to listen or just don't care to hear what I want to say. I know that everyone who reads my blog does so because they want to. The thought that I have no one to cater to is so freeing! Consequently, I feel most like myself when I am blogging.

That being said, today I just want to express my thankfulness for my job. There are many reasons to appreciate my job:
1) I have a job. That is not something to take for granted right now.
2) My job is in Charlottesville - a place where I feel completely at home and delighted to be on a regular basis.
3) My skills match up well with what my job requires of me.
4) I get to work from home once a week.
5) I'm able to network with people whose highly visible positions bring greater attention to the causes I care about, multiplying my efforts ten-fold.
6) My boss is supportive of any career growth I desire to seek and treats my contributions to our work with respect.
7) I have awesome coworkers. Although I am the only one who does what I do, right now I am working on a special project that has placed me in a team. These coworkers frequently express their appreciation for my work - they bring me flowers, they buy me coffee, they give me gift certificates for mani/pedis, they send me cards, they praise me to my boss. Is there anything more wonderful than that?
8) Yes, there's #8. I do some as-needed work analyzing clinical data for nurses who are doing research projects or are attempting to measure the success of a new treatment they've implemented. These nurses are always lavish in their thankfulness for the help I give them, but yesterday one of them brought me almost four pounds of Lindt truffles. Four pounds! Yum! I will join Jimmy Stewart in saying, "It's a wonderful life!"

In Honor of Thanksgiving

2010-11-23T13:54:00.001-05:00

Last week, a friend shared with me the John Piper quote below. We are studying his book Desiring God and the messages keep popping up everywhere. The quote resonated with me then and I saved it to ponder. As I re-read it today I realized that, with all its talk of drinking, nibbling and being stuffed, it is also a fitting Thanksgiving quote:

"If you don't feel strong desires for the manifestation of the glory of God, it is not because you have drunk deeply and are satisfied. It is because you have nibbled so long at the table of the world. Your soul is stuffed with small things, and there is no room for the great." - John Piper

So as you think about the great feast to come on Thursday, think also of the feast that awaits you at God's table:

“Come, all you who are thirsty,
   come to the waters;
and you who have no money,
   come, buy and eat!
Come, buy wine and milk
   without money and without cost.
Why spend money on what is not bread,
   and your labor on what does not satisfy?
Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good,
   and you will delight in the richest of fare."
(Isaiah 55:1-2)

The Reason for the Season

2010-11-22T20:24:00.000-05:00

The post below is one I wrote last year as I began thinking about what I wanted to give and get for Christmas. Now that the Christmas lights are up and live trees are for sale at the grocery store, I suppose it's time to think about that for this year. Last year, my nephew and I went shopping to pick out toys for an Angel Tree child his exact age. It was so much fun seeing him choose gifts that he thought this other little boy would like. My niece and I made a birthday cake for Jesus and together we put money in the Salvation Army kettle (there is not an easy way to get a 2-year-old to understand giving to the poor). For my other family members, I pick out a person or cause that reminds me of them and give a gift in their honor. It's a lot of fun matching gifts to each family member - a gift to an adoption organization for my brother and sister-in-law, in honor of their hope to be able to adopt our wonderful Nate (a hope that was realized this summer - yay!) or a gift to build a local Habitat for Humanity house in honor of my dad, who's been constructing a monster garage for about 10 years now (I think he's finally going to finish it this week!). Get creative and gifts to help others can still be personal and meaningful. Best of all, you can give to Jesus and celebrate the real reason for the season.

What I'm Doing for Christmas This Year

I'd like to share an idea that has been in my heart since going to Uganda. It's especially pertinent now, as we enter the season of giving and celebration. This idea is found in 2 Cor. 8:1-15, where Paul encourages the believers to give to those in need:

"And now, brothers, we want you to know about the grace that God has given the Macedonian churches. Out of the most severe trial, their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity. For I testify that they gave as much as they were able, and even beyond their ability. Entirely on their own, they urgently pleaded with us for the privilege of sharing in this service to the saints. And they did not do as we expected, but they gave themselves first to the Lord and then to us in keeping with God's will. So we urged Titus, since he had earlier made a beginning, to bring also to completion this act of grace on your part. But just as you excel in everything—in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in complete earnestness and in your love for us—see that you also excel in this grace of giving. I am not commanding you, but I want to test the sincerity of your love by comparing it with the earnestness of others. For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich. And here is my advice about what is best for you in this matter: Last year you were the first not only to give but also to have the desire to do so. Now finish the work, so that your eager willingness to do it may be matched by your completion of it, according to your means. For if the willingness is there, the gift is acceptable according to what one has, not according to what he does not have. Our desire is not that others might be relieved while you are hard pressed, but that there might be equality. At the present time your plenty will supply what they need, so that in turn their plenty will supply what you need. Then there will be equality, as it is written: 'He who gathered much did not have too much, and he who gathered little did not have too little.'"

I am so convicted by the bounty we have here in America. Last year, America spent $460 billion dollars to celebrate the holidays (IBISWorld). That's enough money to completely relieve the world's need for water, with money left over. Think of what a difference could be made in the world if Christians alone used the Christmas season to give to those in need, instead of to our family and friends.

These thoughts were also reinforced by a couple of newsletters I got in the mail. The first one said, "I see some of my fellow Christians exchanging expensive gifts with friends and relatives, seemingly oblivious to the fact that so many of our brothers and sisters in Christ in poorer countries have absolutely nothing. And these poor saints have no way to improve their lot unless we Christians in industrialized countries share our bounty with them." Why are we not sharing our plenty with these who have such great need?

The second newsletter reminded me of the reason we celebrate Christmas: Jesus' birth. Now when it's my birthday, people get me presents. They don't get presents for my friends or for my brother and sister. The celebration is all about me. :) So why do we celebrate Jesus' birthday by giving gifts to each other? Why don't we give to Him? Jesus has told us how we can give to Him: "'For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.' Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?' The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'" (Mt. 25:35-40)

I plan to celebrate this Christmas by giving to Jesus. I know of wells to be dug, children to be fed and sent to school, men and women who are victims of drought, children who won't get presents this year because their parents are in jail. All of these are ways we can give to Jesus for His birthday. I hope you will join me in celebrating true CHRISTmas this year.

I Am Not Invisible

2010-11-21T20:43:00.002-05:00

I went on a women's retreat with my church last weekend. I was looking forward to spending time with some of my best friends, having a weekend away, imposing rest and relaxation on myself. I was also in a state of anticipation for the message our speaker, Connally Gilliam, was going to bring. Connally's written a book, Revelations of a Single Woman: Loving the Life I Didn't Expect (which was a great book about the single life - living it or relating to it), and since I too am living a "life I didn't expect," I had a feeling God was going to give her something to say to me. And He did.

The opening session on Friday night focused on the fact that we are seen by God. He never leaves us alone and we are never invisible to Him. I don't know how many times over the past several years I have felt alone. Intellectually, I knew I was never alone. God has promised to never leave me or forsake me. I have a family who loves me. But I still felt completely and utterly alone. And like T.S. Eliot says in a poem Connally shared:

What is hell? Hell is oneself.
Hell is alone, the other figures in it
Merely projections. There is nothing to escape from
And nothing to escape to. One is always alone.

What bleak words! Yet as I heard them I realized that that is exactly how I would sum up the experience of my life over the course of six years or so. To realize that I would use these horrible words to describe my own life brought me grief, but that grief was countered by the feeling that I was finally exhaling a breath I didn’t know I had been holding. My past hurts, and no matter how hard I try to see the good in things and look on the bright side, there is still pain that won’t be explained away or justified by some good that results from it. This was my frame of mind going into the next section of our Friday night session.

The next part of our session was a time of prayer, worship, and reflection on some Scriptures that Connally read to us. A fitting Scripture for a retreat about “being known,” Psalm 139 was one of the first passages Connally read. I know this psalm; I memorized it growing up. But one verse jumped out at me that night: “In your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them” (vs. 16). Here is how my thoughts progressed from that point:

God had all my days written down, planned out, from before creation. He knew about those years of loneliness; in fact, He planned them for me! Why, God, why? Was all that suffering really necessary? Even now I feel the effects of it. (Cue tears.) I want to be made whole, for the good promised me in Rom. 8:28 to come to pass, and yet I still feel broken. Enough already! Aren’t you listening to me, God? I love you and I want to trust you, but this is so hard! Please give me more faith. Help my unbelief.

At this point I realized I was missing the other verses Connally was reading, so I turned off my inner monologue and tuned in again to what she was reading. This is what I heard: “I have heard your prayer; I have seen your tears. Behold, I will heal you.” Seriously. That’s what she read. (I found out later that it’s 2 Kings 20:5.) God’s message could not have been clearer had the woman next to me turned to me and spoken it. God heard my prayer! He sees my tears! And He is going to heal me!

Honestly, I should not have been as shocked as I was, but I have never received such a blatant word from God before. It’s taken me a whole week just to formulate my thoughts for this post: I am not alone. I am heard by God. I am seen by God. He understands my emotions and does not chastise me for them. My pain is not trifling to Him. Best of all, He is going to heal me. He told me so Himself: “I have heard your prayer; I have seen your tears. Behold, I will heal you.”

Stay tuned; this story is To Be Continued…

Books!

2010-11-17T08:17:00.001-05:00

“No entertainment is so cheap as reading, nor any pleasure so lasting.” ~Lady Mary Wortley Montagu

Quote for the Day

2010-11-16T18:43:00.002-05:00

If you've been reading my blog, you know I've been reading Desiring God by John Piper with my Bible study group. One of my friends found this quote posted on Facebook a few days ago and I thought I should share:

"If you don't feel strong desires for the manifestation of the glory of God, it is not because you have drunk deeply and are satisfied. It is because you have nibbled so long at the table of the world. Your soul is stuffed with small things, and there is no room for the great." - John Piper

Truth.

Strength for Today and Bright Hope for Tomorrow

2010-11-11T15:44:00.000-05:00

I have shared several times from my new daily devotional, Jesus Calling. Every day's reading offers something that seems to speak directly to whatever situation I'm in at the time. Isn't that so like God? :)

If you've talked to me at all in the past year or so, you've heard me talk about Myers-Briggs (and if you haven't, check out this Facebook app and let me know what Type you are!). I bring up Myers-Briggs because I know that, as an INFP, I am very future-oriented. I am always imagining elaborate things that might happen in my future (think opening credits of Star Wars - an endless galaxy of possibilities!). These imaginings make for some delightful daydreams, but they can also leave me worried about the untold possibilities of what could happen to me. The past three days of devotions have touched this part of me. Remember, these are written as though Jesus were talking to the reader. Here are some excerpts:

Some fears surface over and over again, especially fear of the future. You tend to project yourself mentally into the next day, week, month, year, decade; and you visualize yourself coping badly in those times. What you are seeing is a false image, because it doesn't include Me. Those gloomy times that you imagine will not come to pass, since My presence will be with you at all times.

When a future-oriented worry assails you, capture it and disarm it by suffusing the light of My presence into that mental image. Say to yourself, "Jesus will be with me then and there. With His help, I can cope!" Then, come home to the present moment, where you can enjoy peace in My presence. [...] I am most assuredly with you, enveloping you in My love and peace. While you relax in My presence, I am molding your mind and cleansing your heart. I am re-creating you into the one I designed you to be.

As you move from stillness into the activities of your day, do not relinquish your attentiveness to Me. If something troubles you, talk it over with Me. If you get bored with what you are doing, fill the time with prayers and praise. When someone irritates you, don't let your thoughts linger on that person's faults. Gently nudge your mind back to Me. Any day can be a good day, because My presence permeates all time. [...]

Do not let any set of circumstances intimidate you. The more challenging your day, the more of My power I place at your disposal. You seem to think that I empower you equally each day, but this is not so. Your tendency upon awakening is to assess the difficulties ahead of you, measuring them against your average strength. This is an exercise in unreality.

I know what each of your days will contain, and I empower you accordingly. The degree to which I strengthen you on a given day is based mainly on two variables: the difficulty of your circumstances, and your willingness to depend on Me for help. Try to view challenging days as opportunities to receive more of My power than usual. Look to Me for all that you need, and watch to see what I will do.

There's nothing we can't handle with God, nothing He will call us to that He won't also carry us through. There may be difficult things in my future. There may also be wonderful things. But either way, God is there. "Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? [...] You will never leave me, nor forsake me. [...] And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Ps. 139:7, Heb. 13:5, Rom. 8:38-39).

How He Loves Me

2010-11-02T09:19:00.001-04:00

In a previous post I mentioned that I started a new devotional called Jesus Calling. Below is yesterday's entry, which was such a timely message for me. A couple different discussions lately have been about God's will and they debunked a philosophy I unknowingly believed: that if I earnestly try to grow in relationship with God, it is still possible to find myself in a place that is outside God's will for me. It is hard to think that I believed that God was dodging me; scurrying off somewhere else every time I got close to Him; that the point of the Christian life is to accomplish a specific task, rather than love my Maker, Father, and Friend. I found the message below, written as though Jesus were speaking to me, amazingly comforting and reassuring, releasing me to rest in God's work and His love for me rather than my own accomplishments. I've included some verses below the devotional that have reinforced my new image of Jesus as the kind and merciful Savior and Brother.

Do not be discouraged by the difficulty of keeping your focus on Me. I know that your heart's desire is to be aware of My presence continually. This is a lofty goal; you aim toward it but never fully achieve it in this life. Don't let feelings of failure weigh you down. Instead, try to see yourself as I see you. First of all, I am delighted by your deep desire to walk closely with Me through your life. I am pleased each time you initiate communication with Me. In addition, I notice the progress you have made since you first resolved to live in My presence.

When you realize that your mind has wandered away from Me, don't be alarmed or surprised. You live in a world that has been rigged to distract you. Each time you plow your way through the massive distractions to communicate with Me, you achieve a victory. Rejoice in these tiny triumphs, and they will increasingly light up your days.

"The Lord is compassionate and merciful, slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love. He will not constantly accuse us, nor remain angry forever. He does not punish us for all our sins; he does not deal harshly with us, as we deserve. For his unfailing love toward those who fear him is as great as the height of the heavens above the earth. He has removed our sins as far from us as the east is from the west. The Lord is like a father to his children, tender and compassionate to those who fear him. For he knows how weak we are; he remembers we are only dust" (Ps. 103:8-14).

"For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin. Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need" (Heb. 4:15-16).

Song: How He Loves

Wizard Wisdom

2010-11-01T21:08:00.002-04:00

I've been watching The Fellowship of the Ring (again) and just love many of the lines. Here are a couple that stood out tonight:

Gandalf: Do not be too eager to deal out death in judgment...even the very wise cannot see all ends.

Frodo: I wish the ring had never come to me...I wish none of this had happened. Gandalf: So do all who live to see such times, but that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us. There are other forces at work in this world, Frodo, besides the will of evil. Bilbo was meant to find the ring. In which case, you also were meant to have it...and that is an encouraging thought.

I Love Quotes

2010-10-31T16:13:00.000-04:00

"And today, God keeps on loving the world. He keeps on sending you and me to prove that He loves the world, that He still has that compassion for the world. It is we who have to be His love, His compassion in the world today. But to be able to love we must have faith, for faith in action is love, and love in action is service." ~Mother Teresa

Quote of the Day

2010-10-29T15:13:00.001-04:00

"Hope is the feeling that the feeling you have isn't permanent." ~Jean Kerr

Not I, But Christ

2010-10-28T10:43:00.001-04:00

My mom gave me this great daily devotional, Jesus Calling, that's written as if Jesus were speaking to His followers and advising them on how to love Him, serve Him, and find true joy in Him. I've been encouraged and challenged by many of the entries, including this one:

To live in My presence consistently, you must expose and expel your rebellious tendencies. When something interferes with your plans or desires, you tend to resent the interference. Try to become aware of each resentment, however petty it may seem. Don't push those unpleasant feelings down; instead, let them come to the surface where you can deal with them. Ask My Spirit to increase your awareness of resentful feelings. Bring them boldly into the light of My presence, so that I can free you from them.

The ultimate solution to rebellious tendencies is submission to My authority over you. Intellectually you rejoice in My sovereignty, without which the world would be a terrifying place. But when My sovereign will encroaches on your little domain of control, you often react with telltale resentment.

The best response to losses or thwarted hopes is praise: The Lord gives and the Lord takes away. Blessed be the name of the Lord. Remember that all good things - your possessions, your family and friends, your health and abilities, your time - are gifts from Me. Instead of feeling entitled to all these blessings, respond to them with gratitude. Be prepared to let go of anything I take from you, but never let go of My hand!

Halloween

2010-10-27T12:47:00.000-04:00

One of my friends wrote this post on her blog. I had never thought about Halloween affecting the areas Kirsten mentions or the subtle message kids (and adults) take away from this holiday. I hope you read her post; it will make you think.

2010-10-23T00:11:00.000-04:00

How fun! I'm featured in a blog post by Caroline's Promise, the organization I work with to help orphans. Check it out!

Are We There Yet?

2010-10-22T09:40:00.003-04:00

Today's devotional:

When we go through tough seasons of life, we’re tempted to wonder, “Will this ever end?”
The children of Israel probably wondered that when God led them through the desert for the first time. They’d had a great victory in Egypt but now faced a long march through the desert. Exodus tells us, “God did not lead them on the road through the Philistine country, though that was shorter. For God said, ‘If they face war, they might change their minds.’”
God took them on a longer route so He would have time to teach them and prepare them for what was ahead. If it feels like you’re in a desert, maybe God’s preparing you for something special. One day you’ll look back over your path and realize that God knew just what He was doing. (Nancy Leigh DeMoss)

This message really resonated with me today. I've been thinking about my divorce off and on over the past couple of months. Actually, more than thinking, I've been feeling the divorce recently. In my concept of time it is time to be done with that and time to be moving on to the next thing. But, even though it seems like it's been such a long time since my divorce, it's still hard to believe that it really happened; that when I tell the story, I'm talking about myself and not some character on TV. I know if God had told me ahead of time that this is what I'd be facing in life, I wouldn't have believed Him. "Not me - I don't believe in divorce! That's only for people who just didn't try hard enough to make things work." If God had shown me my path ahead of time, I probably would have turned around and told Him I was going to take a different path. Like the Israelites, I would have looked at myself and my own strength and determined that I did not have what it would take to get through a situation this terrible. And yet, like Nancy DeMoss says in this devotional, I believe that I will one day be able to look back on this and see the mighty works God has done, things that never would have happened if I had followed my path rather than God's. When I'm tempted to give up or complain to God because I'm not done with the suffering yet, I can remember the Israelites and how God brought them to the blessed Promised Land on His timing, not theirs. I can trust that God will deliver me, too, and all I'm called to do right now is wait on Him.

How I Want to be Remembered

2010-10-20T11:11:00.005-04:00

2010-10-19T09:18:00.006-04:00

I have a feeling that if I only post a link to something you are less likely to read it than if I post the whole article. So I'm going to copy the entire text here for you. Just know that it came from Mike Brower's blog via his wife, Danielle. Mike and Danielle were both on the trip to Swaziland a couple of weeks ago and this post is a debrief of the trip. Mike was able to convey the conflicting emotions I felt while in Uganda, probably the same emotions most people experience when faced with unbelievable hardship and joy in the midst of it. I hope this touches you like it did me.

Wrecked...But Not Destroyed

Often since our return to America from Swaziland I’ve been asked, “How was your trip?”

The answer is typically some form of “Good” or “Great!”

And that’s the truth…but in so many ways it’s not really the truth either.

The trip to Africa went extremely well. There were so many ways that it went good. We made the trek to Swaziland without trouble. Our team of seven found each other in Atlanta, arrived in Johannesburg with all of our luggage intact, met our contact from Adventures in Missions right on schedule, had zero issues with Customs Officials in any country throughout our journey, and none of our planes crashed in flames!

The technical parts of our journey, the travels and schedules and connections, went perfectly!

Had this been a dream vacation, or business excursion, we couldn’t have asked for more.

But something more happened in our trip, something beneath the surface, a thing that was unexpected and without a nice little box for me to check off.

In the words of one of our team, I was “wrecked.” I experienced a sense of brokenhearted living that I cannot explain. In talking about the mission, I can relay the experiences fairly well.

It’s the transformation happening within me that is challenging to express.

On our first day with the beautiful children of Bheveni, we were able to bring new outfits for each of the children. This was something that we were so excited about. Delta had assisted us by waiving our additional baggage fees, allowing our team to transport 28 large suitcases from the United States to Swaziland. We carried many changes of clothes for the young boys and girls. Our goal was to have at least one new outfit for each, and thankfully we were able to have all that and more!

As the team set out the clothes and prepared for the children to come through, we were anxious about the hours ahead. Would we have enough clothes? Would we have the right sizes? Would the children enjoy these simple gifts? The questions came and went as the children began to arrive.

I watched the boys and girls begin removing their old, tattered, dirty clothing, be washed by members of our team, and outfitted with new shirts, shorts, or skirts, I was overcome with emotion. I could not stay in the room for long without tears welling up in me. I didn’t want the children to wonder why the guy with the camera was crying his eyes out, so I’d wander out every few minutes. As the emotion would subside, I’d return to the scene of the cry for a few more minutes of torture in my soul.

What I saw in Swaziland didn’t fit in my central Minnesotan box. I had an expectation of extremely different life, but I was not prepared for the dramatic shifts in physical poverty I would encounter. I was not prepared to see children barely old enough to walk wandering alone through the countryside. I was ill equipped for the barefoot masses, the distended abdomens, and the barren landscape dotted with homes that could not exist in my life in the States. What really rocked my world though was something I expected less than all else…the smiles.

On so many faces, and behind so many pairs of eyes, was an emotion that I couldn’t make sense of. Joy. In the midst of the most limited existence I could imagine, I met grateful hearts. I saw lives torn apart by disease, divorce, and economic disparity, and so many of those lives were marked with joy.

It made no sense. I couldn’t reconcile the extreme difficulties with the beautiful smiles. My breakdown was complete one afternoon as I noticed a young woman, perhaps eleven years of age, strolling to the outhouse. She appeared cautious. I saw her furtively glance about as she traveled the well worn trail toward a bathroom facility that most of us in America would be disgusted to visit.

And then it happened…my heart was in my throat and I couldn’t stop tears from flowing.

This young woman jumped into a hole. I wasn’t sure what I was seeing, but she casually jumped into what looked like a future, or possibly historical, latrine hole. As I stood in stunned observation, she climbed out of the hole carrying a crumpled up bit of cellophane plastic. My confusion cleared when it dawned on me…she had just found something suitable for her immediate need in the restroom – old, dirty, cellophane toilet paper. And with the realization, I was wrecked again.

It wasn’t fair.

It made no sense.

What could I do?

I was lost in a swirl of tears, prayers, and once again…joy.

In spite of the overwhelming need I could see around me, I had an element of joy as well. I knew that I knew that I was smack dab in the place I was supposed to be. God had brought me on this journey so that I could see and know and be wrecked by these moments. There was no quick fix. There was not a three point, formula sermon that would bring hope, heal the hurts, and provide the kingdom of Swaziland with wealth and toilet paper. There was nothing I could do.

But I could respond with love. I could choose to be broken. I could choose to grieve with the grieving, I could laugh with the laughing, and I could cry with the crying. I could offer myself to those in need. I could be salt and light to the world around me.

I could be wrecked, but not destroyed.

I was reminded of Esther and her uncle’s encouragement that she “had been made Queen for such a time as this.” I had travelled to third world Africa for such a time as this. Not only could I encourage the children with hope and love, I could be transformed by their joyous, grateful hearts as well.

And so I prayed. I asked for God to work in the lives of these children. I asked that they far outlive the statistics. I asked that they be protected from the predators, human and otherwise, that are out to get them. I asked that they would know God’s love in their daily lives. I asked that God would continue to work on their behalf…and that He’d show me what’s next for my involvement.

And then I played. With the kids. I gave what I had. They wanted me…just me…to see them and give myself. My time, my smiles, my arms, and legs, and back. I became their “jungle gym” for awhile. I got down at their level and shared my smile with them too. And it was fun! We had a ball together. In spite of the difficult language barrier, and the disparity in backgrounds, and all the many differences in our lives, we connected for a time.

And it was good. Great even!

I know that there’s much more that God is doing as a result of this trip. I know that the times of connection and play were not overly unique to many of the children. There is a consistent stream of American missionaries that flow in and out of the lives of Swaziland’s children. For the children of Swaziland, “Hello” is often followed quickly with “Bye Bye!”

And I know that I was where I was supposed to be in that stream. I know that there were seeds planted in me, in the B-team, and in the lives of the children there, that are going to germinate and grow and produce good in all of our lives.

Statistically, most of the children I met in Swaziland will not live to see their thirtieth birthday.

That’s horrible.

Something should be done.

I agree wholeheartedly. I’m trusting God to show me, or anybody, what the solution is.

In the meantime, I want to be about sharing life and love with these young people. I want them to know that whether they live a long while on this earth, or they are in the middle of the statistics, that they are valuable, lovable, and beautiful. They have much to give. I want to share in their joys, and help in their hurts.

My central Minnesota understanding of life needed to be wrecked. I’m so thankful for what was begun. And I’m looking forward to all that is ahead.

To see more from Mike Brower, please visit & subscribe to his blog @ www.mebrower.com

Spending that Saves

2010-10-18T09:47:00.000-04:00

Some of you know my friend Kaylie and know that she is in Nairobi, Kenya, working with BuildaBridge, an organization that works to bring hope and healing to communities through involvement with the arts. In February, my friend Andrea and I will be going to Kenya to visit Kaylie and help with her work and with some of the other needs in Kenya. I am so excited! Of course, not everyone can go to Kenya; in fact, lots of people probably don't want to go to Kenya. If you fit into either one of those categories, there is still something you can do to meet the needs of people there.

Part of the work Kaylie is doing in Kenya is promoting the work native craftsmen and connecting them with a larger market for their goods. When we buy fair trade items, we help to ensure that the artists and workers who make these crafts can make a living at their trade. Some beautiful jewelry made by Kaylie's friends is now available for us to buy. You can even request custom pieces! Check out some of the jewelry available on Kaylie's blog. I think these would make wonderful Christmas presents! What could be better than finding a beautiful piece of jewelry for your wife, mom, or sister and knowing that the money you spend is also going to help someone put food on their table or send their children to school? I already ordered some. I hope you will, too. I'll be sure to post other things for sale as well, as they become available.

Water Means Life

2010-10-15T09:07:00.005-04:00

Some of you may remember that last year I gave up my birthday to raise money to build wells in Africa. I did it because I had just heard about the fact that 1 in 6 people in the world do not have access to clean water. That's one billion people! And because these people don't have access to clean water, they are dying from completely preventable diseases. It's hard for me to understand how those of us who have clean water can sit back and do nothing while people are dying for something we take for granted.

Water was a subject that Jesus addressed, too. He met a woman at a well and asked her to get some water for Him. She protested, reminding Jesus of the custom that kept men and women separate, especially a woman with the past she had. But Jesus responded to her protests by saying, "If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water" (John 4:10).

I am passionate about seeing that people around the world have clean water, food to eat, and freedom from preventable diseases. But the most important thing these people need, and all people need, is the Living Water of Jesus. Jesus tells the woman at the well, "Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life" (John 4:13-14).

Life seems cruel for those who don't have access to clean water and it's true that they often live short, painful lives. Please read the information below and see the need for what it is - desperate. It may seem like this problem is too great. One billion people need clean water. There's no way one blog action day can eradicate this need. But each of us, making a difference one by one, can together make a big difference. And even more than giving life here on earth, we can offer the Living Water that will never leave them thirsty. I hope you will read the information below (provided by Blog Action Day) and be inspired to make a difference wherever you can.

The Problem of Scarce Clean Water
Nearly 1 billion people lack access to clean water, which causes a litany of struggles, diseases and even death.

40 Billion Hours: African women walk over 40 billion hours each year carrying cisterns weighing up to 18 kilograms to gather water, which is usually still not safe to drink.
38,000 Children a Week: Every week, nearly 38,000 children under the age of 5 die from unsafe drinking water and unhygienic living conditions.
Wars Over Water: Many scholars attribute the conflict in Darfur at least in part to lack of access to water. A report commissioned by the UN found that in the 21st century, water scarcity will become one of the leading causes of conflict in Africa.
A Human Right: In July, to address the water crisis, the United Nations declared access to clean water and sanitation a human right over. But we are far from implementing solutions to secure basic access to safe drinking water.

Water over-consumption in industrialized countries:

While the developing world faces a water crisis, those in industrialized countries consume far more than their fair share.

Food Footprint: It takes 24 liters of water to produce one hamburger. That means it would take over 19.9 billion liters of water to make just one hamburger for every person in Europe.
Technology Footprint: The shiny new iPhone in your pocket requires half a liter of water to charge. That may not seem like much, but with over 80 million active iPhones in the world, that's 40 million liters to charge those alone.
Fashion Footprint: That cotton t-shirt you're wearing right now took 1,514 liters of water to produce, and your jeans required an extra 6,813 liters.
Bottled Water Footprint: The US, Mexico and China lead the world in bottled water consumption, with people in the US drinking an average of 200 bottles of water per person each year. Over 17 million barrels of oil are needed to manufacture those water bottles, 86 percent of which will never be recycled.

Water solutions:

The good news is that there are great organizations working on solutions and new tools that empower people to do their part to address the water crisis.

Building Wells: Organizations like Water.org and charity: water are leading the charge in bringing fresh water to communities in the developing world. (I also support Living Water International and Blood:Water Mission)
Technology for Good: Do you want to measure how much water it took to make your favorite foods? There's an app for that.
Conservation Starts at Home: The average person uses 465 liters of water per day. Find out how much you use and challenge your readers to do that same.
Drop the Bottle: Communities around the world are taking steps to reduce water bottle waste by eliminating bottled water.

You can also shop in support of clean water. Charity:Water provides one way.

2010-10-14T11:29:00.002-04:00

Tomorrow is Blog Action Day. It's a day set aside for people to blog about the need for clean water around the world. This video explains the initiative and I thought it would be a good way to ramp up to tomorrow's post.

Blog Action Day 2010: Water from Blog Action Day on Vimeo.