questmiles

winter words. . .

2012-01-28T04:44:00.005-06:00

for winter lovers. . .

comfort. . .cozy. . .cookies. . .couch. . .cold. . .candles. . .cinnamon. . . .cooking. . .coffee. . .coats. . .

fire. . .frito pie. . .family. . .fudge. . .frost. . .football. . .fuzzy socks

night. . .near. . .

gumbo. . .games. . .gray day. . .gloves

books. . .blankets. . .boots

dogs. . .delight. . .delicious. . .dim. . .

puzzles. . .presents. . .pondering. . .

rain. . .rest. . .reading. . .

scarves. . .scents. . .shivers. . .sweaters. . .smoke. . .spice. . .smiles. . .stew. . .safe. . .scones. . .

snow. . .sometimes. . .

home. . .hot chocolate. . .

warm. . .welcome. . .words. . .walks. . .wanderings. . .wood. . .white. . .

winter. . .

© 2009-2012 by Melani Brady Shock

was he hiding behind the door?

2012-01-11T10:34:00.000-06:00

I don't often cross-post from my other blogs, but in this case I have to make an exception. I also posted this on eatthisbooklogos.blogspot.com. But I feel so strongly about it, until I will post it here, also.

My friend, Pam, forwarded this to me this morning. It is from Mark Batterson's 21-day Prayer Challenge based on his book about prayer, The Circle Maker.

I think he has been hiding behind my door, because these are the exact words I have been using to expound on the relationship between prayer and the Word!

Soak this in:

The Bible wasn't meant to be read. It was meant to be prayed. Reading without praying is like eating without digesting. The nutrients aren't absorbed the way they should be. The way you get the word into your heart, into your spirit is by praying it. Let me give you an example. This morning I was reading about "the circumcision of the heart" in Romans 2:29. The Holy Spirit stopped me in my tracks. I knew I needed to stop reading and start praying. I spent the next several minutes having a heart-to-heart with my Heavenly Father about some of my heart issues.

The spiritual disciplines are more interrelated than what we realize. I used to think of reading Scripture and prayer as very different endeavors. In fact, I felt bad because it was easier for me to read Scripture than to pray. Then I read something from the Talmud that set me free. The Jewish Rabbis said, "An hour of study is as an hour of prayer." That's when I realized that reading Scripture can be a form of prayer, a part of prayer. Many people don't know where to begin when it comes to prayer. What do I say first? Here's my advice: start with Scripture. Start reading and you'll eventually come to something you need to talk with God about. Prayer isn't a monologue where we outline our agenda for God. Prayer is a dialogue. Scripture is the way God speaks to us. Prayer is a way we respond to it. And when you pray the word you can pray with holy confidence because God's word does not return void.

Pray the Word!

blind spots

2012-01-05T10:33:00.000-06:00

The following article was emailed to me by my friend, Paula, who had received it from someone else. I did what she did...I scanned it, then re-read it, then printed it out and highlighted, and am filing it to include in lessons to teach as well as principles to begin immediately applying in my own home.

It is written to parents, but it is so much more than that. Anyone who pastors or teaches or instructs children and/or parents in any kind of setting needs to read this.

It's somewhat lengthy, but will be well worth your time. An excellent, thought-provoking article.

Exposing Major Blind Spots of Homeschoolers by Reb Bradley

In the last couple of years, I have heard from multitudes of troubled homeschool parents around the country, a good many of whom were leaders. These parents have graduated their first batch of kids, only to discover that their children didn't turn out the way they thought they would. Many of these children were model homeschoolers while growing up, but sometime after their 18th birthday they began to reveal that they didn't hold to their parents' values.

Some of these young people grew up and left home in defiance of their parents. Others got married against their parents' wishes, and still others got involved with drugs, alcohol, and immorality. I have even heard of several exemplary young men who no longer even believe in God. My own adult children have gone through struggles I never guessed they would face.

Most of these parents remain stunned by their children's choices, because they were fully confident their approach to parenting was going to prevent any such rebellion.

After several years of examining what went wrong in our own home and in the homes of so many conscientious parents, God has opened our eyes to a number of critical blind spots common to homeschoolers and other family-minded people.

1. Having Self-Centered Dreams

The reason that our dreams for our children are so vulnerable to crashing is because they are our dreams, imposed on our own children. As homeschool parents we make great sacrifices and invest a great deal to influence how our children turn out. The problem is that love for children can be lost in love for personal success as a parent. Our concern for ourselves ends up overshadowing our love for our children.

When my oldest son was 18 he developed habits of disrespectful communication and I had to ask him to leave my home for a season. Needless to say, my wife and I were devastated by the discipline we imposed. In the first month he was gone we wept each day for him. We were grieved that he was now unprotected from the junk from which we had worked so hard to shelter him, but more than that, I was heartbroken that my dreams for him and our family would no longer come true. I remember speaking the words to him - "Son, you've ruined my dreams." You see, I had a dream for my family and it involved adult children who lived at home humbly under parental authority, and who would one day leave home to marry, after following my carefully orchestrated courtship process. But now, my son had gone and "messed up" my perfect dream. Nothing is wrong with dreaming of good things for your children, but the truth was, my dream for my son was mostly about me.

In hindsight, what was particularly grievous was that I was more worried about the failure of my dream of "success" than the fact that my son and I had a broken relationship. Although he did come back and was restored to us 4 months later, it still took me years to realize that I had contributed to the damaged relationship.

It is only natural for parents to have high hopes and dreams for their children. However, when we begin to see our children as a reflection or validation of us, we become the center of our dreams, and the children become our source of significance. When that happens in our home it affects the way we relate with our children, and subtly breaks down relationship.

2. Raising Family as an Idol

When we allow the success of our family to determine our security or sense of wellbeing we are seeking from it something God intends us to receive from Him. I am describing idolatry. If homeschoolers are not careful, family can easily become an idol.

At times in their history the Israelites worshipped idols. They didn't always forsake worship of the living God - they merely served other gods with Him. Sometimes they simply made an idol of something good. Jesus rebuked the Pharisees because they elevated issues of holiness higher than the very God who declared them holy (Mat 12:1-8; 23:24). An idol is anything other than God in which we seek security and fulfillment. It may be something biblical or good, but if it has the power to determine our wellbeing, we have elevated it higher than God meant for us. As those who are devoted to our families, and therefore invest a great deal of time, energy, and heart, it is easy to elevate the family too high.

A great problem with idolatry is that idols require sacrifice, and we end up sacrificing relationship with our children for the idol of the family. When we elevate the image of the family, we effectively trade our children's hearts for our reputation.

3. Emphasizing Outward Form

Preoccupation with results often leads to emphasis on outward form. When we are preoccupied with achieving results it is natural to admire the results others seem to have achieved with their children. We like the way the pastor's kids sit reverently in the front pew and take notes of their father's sermon, so we go home and begin to teach our children to sit reverently and to take notes. What we don't know is that the pastor's kids conduct themselves with reverence and attentiveness not because he "cleaned the outside of the cup" and simply drilled them to do so -- he lived a genuine love for Jesus that was contagious, and watched as the fruit was born (Matt 23:26). Parents are destined for disappointment when they admire fruit in others and seek to emulate merely that expression of fruit in their own children. Fruit is born from the inside -- not applied to the outside.

Imagine that the fruit you desired was the edible variety, so you went out into your yard and planted an apple tree. Just suppose that one day, while you were waiting for the apples to begin growing on your tree, you caught a glimpse of a neighbor's apple tree. You noticed in admiration that its branches were laden with big, luscious apples. What would you do? Would you run to the produce market to buy some apples, then go home, and in the dead of night, tie them onto your tree? If you did, the sight of your tree might really impress your neighbors. But that is not what you would do. You would likely go to the neighbor and ask how he cared for and fertilized his tree to produce such fruit. It is the same with our children - luscious fruit will be born from what we put into them - not from what we tie onto them. As a matter of fact, in no time, the fruit that we put onto our children will rot and fall off.

In the homeschool community I have observed that there can be a great emphasis on outward appearance, whether it is dressing for excellence, modesty, grooming, respectful manners, music style, or an attitude of sober reverence in worship. Some even take their children down a country path of humble fashions, raising food, and making bread. Nothing is wrong with any of these things, but we must be careful - we can model for our children outward changes and easily fall into molding their behavior and/or appearance, while missing their hearts. In some circles emphasis on the outward is epidemic.

A friend of mine, a homeschool mom, just passed away of cancer. In the week before she died, I asked her if she had any regrets in her life. She told me she wished she had baked less bread - she said if she had it to do over again she would buy bread and spend more time with her children. She had invested time and energy in pursuing the "path" because she thought it was part of the spiritual homeschool package.

Let us not forget that Jesus came against the Pharisees for their preoccupation with what they felt were legitimate expressions of spirituality. They measured holiness by what was avoided and by what would be seen by others (Mat 6:1-2, 5, 16; 23:5-6, 23-28; John 7:24). The Pharisees were earnest in their religion, but they were preoccupied with outward expressions of holiness rather than hearts of humility and love (Micah 6:8) that would bear genuine fruit. I find it fascinating that in the gospels there is not one mention of Jesus coming against immodesty, even though among his followers were prostitutes and the like. Jesus emphasized cleaning up the inside while the Pharisees were the ones preoccupied with cleaning up the outside. We must ask ourselves: Which are we more like - Jesus or the Pharisees? Even now do we justify ourselves, insisting we emphasize cleaning up both the inside and the outside?

I know that some react strongly to these assertions, so let me emphasize that I do want my wife and daughters to adorn themselves modestly. God did address it once in the New Testament (1Tim 2:9), but we must ask ourselves, is it possible that we have elevated modesty, or other issues of outward form, higher than Jesus did? If he only mentioned modesty once in the epistles and never mentioned it in his earthly ministry, but instead emphasized the importance of a changed heart bearing outward fruit, should we not follow his example and concentrate on reaching our children's hearts? Because He did address it in the first epistle to Timothy, let us teach our children the value of keeping private that which should be, but let us be careful of thinking that just because they look moral on the outside that they have God's values on the inside. Concurrently, let us also be careful of measuring everyone else's enlightenment by what we have decided is modest, spiritual, or holy.

4. Tending to Judge

In setting standards for our family, each of us must work through a process of evaluation and analysis to decide what is safe, wise, or permissible. Once we become convinced of our personal standards, not uncommonly, it follows that we believe they should apply to others as well.

The Pharisees belittled others who didn't hold to their standards. We have gone their way when we judge others. It is easy to miss this area of pride because we may not express our judgments "arrogantly"; we may instead wrap them in compassionate-sounding words. Arrogance wrapped in concerned tones is deceiving.

Pride is so deceptive that we won't know our judgments are even judgments. We will think we are just making observations and feeling pity, when in fact, we are looking down on others from our lofty place of confident enlightenment. It is a high view of ourselves that allows us to condescend to and belittle others in our mind. And if you already knew all this, be careful - pride will even cause us to be amazed that others didn't see what was so obvious to us.

Typically, when we belittle others who don't measure up to our standards, we will also imagine others are judging us. Consequently, we will find ourselves frequently being defensive. We assume that others will think lowly of us for some perceived inadequacy, so we offer unsolicited explanations and clarifications for us or our children. For example, let's say we walked past a TV at Sears and saw something of interest - when we tell others what we saw, we are careful to clarify that we saw it at Sears and weren't watching a TV at home. If we live under fear of judgment, not only will we tend to be on the defensive, but whenever we are in a public setting where our children might be "watched," we will put pressure on them.

When pride is working its work in us, we sincerely believe our personal opinions reflect God's utmost priorities and standards. What we believe to be our "enlightened" perspective becomes a filter by which we gauge others' spirituality, and therefore limits our options for fellowship. We develop a very narrow definition of what we call "likeminded" people, based on the outworkings of our values and opinions. Now we are on a path to exclusivity when we will no longer associate with those who will be with us in eternity. Is it possible we have lost sight of fellowship based on love and devotion to Jesus, and have substituted personal standards and a narrow view of Christian liberty?

There are several serious consequences of raising children in a home marked by pride and judgment. Children may grow up also judging others. Or, they may hide their real values, acting as though they embrace our values, when, in fact, they are simply seeking to avoid discipline and lectures at home. Or, they may see the shallowness of our legalistic faith that consists primarily of "avoid this, wear that, attend this," and not be attracted to it in the least.

5. Depending on Formulas

Homeschool parents often take a formulaic approach to parenting. Committed to achieving results with our children, we look for formulas and principles to ensure our success. Knowing the Bible is full of the wisdom and promises of God, we look to it for its self-working principles and promised methods. Yet, there's a problem with that. We are commanded to trust in God, not in formulas (John 14:1; Ps 37:5; 62:8). There is a monumental difference.

Trust in formulas is really dependence upon ourselves to carry out a procedure correctly. But anyone who really understands the grace of the gospel knows that we cannot take personal credit for any spiritual accomplishments. We are totally God's workmanship (Eph 2:10; Phil 2:13; 1:6) and everything good in our lives is a gift from Him (James 1:17). We can do absolutely nothing by ourselves for which we can take credit (Eph 2:8-9; Gal 6:14; Rom 4:2; 1 Cor 1:28-31; 2 Cor 11:30). Yet many of us lean toward a formulaic mentality, because our fallen natures are drawn toward self-reliance. We want to feel that by our own efforts (works) we have achieved something that will make us acceptable to God - by nature we are legalistic.

God doesn't want us to trust in principles, methods, or formulas, no matter how "biblical" they seem. God wants us to trust in HIM!

6. Over-Dependence on Authority and Control.
Fruitful training of children and roses require a goal, a plan, and diligence in labor. However, the difference is that roses have no mind of their own and only grow as they are allowed. Children are people--self-determining individuals--and they ultimately choose how they will respond to parental influence.

No amount of parental control or restriction will guarantee that a child will turn out exactly as directed. Obviously, our training increases the likelihood our children will cling to the faith when they reach maturity, or turn back to Christ if they do enter a season of rebellion, but our training does not guarantee the desired outcome.

I know that some will struggle with the assertion that parents do not have total control over the outcome of their parenting, because of Proverbs 22:6. And I would have struggled too, ten years ago, but upon examination of the passage in question, I am convinced that it is a verse meant as an admonition of wisdom, not as a promise and guarantee of outcome. Like many of the sayings in Proverbs it is written as a statement of probability and not as a promise.

Solomon set for us a great example of balanced parenting - he admonished his young adult children and gave them commandments, but he knew that for them to honor his commands he needed their hearts. That's why he said, "My son, give me your heart and let your eyes keep to my ways" (Prov 23:26). The apostle Paul knew how much he needed the hearts of those he exhorted, and therefore told them "... although in Christ I could be bold and order you to do what you ought to do, 9 yet I appeal to you on the basis of love..." (Phile 1:8-9).

If we are to have significant influence of our teenage children we must have their hearts. Winning their hearts means gaining the opportunity to influence who they are, not just what they do.

7. Over-Reliance Upon Sheltering

An over-dependence on control in a family is often accompanied by an over-reliance on sheltering of children. It is not uncommon for homeschool parents to feel that since they filter whatever their children see and hear, they will control the results in their lives. That was me for many years. I remember saying to people, "I am controlling the influences in my children's lives, so I am going to control the outcome." I was absolutely certain that my children would be exempted from significant temptation and from developing particular bad habits because I was controlling what touched their lives.

In the last five years I have heard countless reports of highly sheltered homeschool children who grew up and abandoned their parents' values. Some of these children were never allowed out of their parents' sight and were not permitted to be in any kind of group setting, even with other "like-minded" kids, yet they still managed to develop an appetite for the world's pleasures. While I've seen sheltered children grow up and turn away from their parents' standards, conversely, I've known some Christian young people who went to public school, watched TV, attended youth groups, and dated, yet they walk in purity, have respectful, loving relationships with their parents, and now enjoy good marriages. Their parents broke the all the "rules of sheltering," yet these kids grew up close to their families and resilient in their walks with Christ.

Protecting from temptations and corrupting influences is part of raising children. Every parent shelters to one degree or another. All parents shelter - they just draw their lines in different places.Protecting our children is not only a natural response of paternal love, but fulfills the commands of God. The Scriptures are clear that we are to make no provision for our flesh (Rom 13:14) and are to avoid all corrupting influences (2 Cor 6:17-7:1). It warns us that bad company corrupts good morals (1 Cor 15:33) and that those who spend too much time with bad people may learn their ways (Prov 22:24-25) and suffer for it (Prov 13:20). Just as our Father in heaven will not allow us to be tempted beyond what we can bear (1 Cor 10:13), we rightly keep our children out of situations they will lack the moral strength to handle. Young children are weak and we are to protect the weak (1 Thes 5:12).

God understood the vulnerability of human nature when he gave the Israelites instructions before they entered the Promised Land. He told them to chase out the idol-worshipping Pagans in the land, lest His people associate with them and be drawn into idolatry (Ex 23:32-33; Num 33:51-56; Josh 23:7-13). The Israelites disregarded God's protective warning and allowed some Pagans to remain in the land. Subsequently, each successive generation of young people was lost to idolatry. God instructed them to shelter their families, but their neglect of His warnings brought pain to their children and to their grandchildren for many generations.

However, we are imbalanced when sheltering from harm is the predominant expression of our parenting. Sheltering is a critical part of parenting, but if parents keep it their primary focus, the children will grow up ill equipped to handle the temptations in the world.A child isolated from disease may appear to be of the greatest health to his parents, but the health of the human body is only proven by how it withstands an attack. A weak constitution succumbs to every germ and virus - a strong one fights them off. Our spiritual and moral health is developed and proved in the same way.

If we isolate our kids from the world until they are adults they may appear to us to be spiritually minded and strong in character. However, it is how they ultimately engage the world that proves their spiritual resilience. This is because sheltering does not transform the human heart - it merely preserves it, temporarily.

It is true that a boxer trains without an opponent until his coach decides he is ready for an actual fight. And it is true that a farmer might raise plants in a greenhouse until they are mature enough to be transplanted and face the various elements of nature. So also, we keep our children away from bad influences when they are young and need to grow unhindered in character and spiritual wisdom. The problem is that sheltering without significant preparation to engage the world fails to equip them. In fact, it may insure that they will fall in their first solo encounters.

Growing up isolated from temptation can develop a child who appears spiritually strong, but the appearance is not reality. When I was in college I moved to northern California to live for a summer in a Christian commune. I was somewhat isolated from the world and surrounded by an amazing support system of my fellow "Jesus people." I remember feeling so full of faith, so committed to holiness, and so in love with God that summer. However, the "spirituality" I felt and the level of holiness I achieved was not real and could not endure testing. At the end of summer I returned to college in Southern California and discovered that I had not developed true spiritual muscles - when faced with temptation I fell flat on my face every time. The communal environment, isolated from significant temptation, had not prepared me for the battle I would face in the world. Valid spiritual growth required that I face temptation and develop the capacity to resist it, which eventually I did. My isolation from temptation had left me like a boxer who had shadow boxed, trained rigorously, and looked good in his trunks, but had never faced a sparring partner, let alone a true opponent.

I believe that a primary reason we over-rely on sheltering is because it is easy. It requires no planning or expenditure of energy. It takes minimal immediate brainpower. we simply assess that something might be harmful and say to our children, "No." I don't know if I would go so far as to call it lazy parenting, but I will say that investing in our children takes a lot more work and a lot more time.

8. Not Passing On a Pure Faith

We've all heard it said that faith is caught and not taught. The Galatian church polluted their faith by seeking to make themselves acceptable to God with what they did or didn't do" (Gal 3:3). In the same way, we may have started off years ago with a simple, undefiled faith, but the more we got caught up in all the "works" of intense parenting, the more we moved away from a simple faith contagious to our children. It is critical for our sake, let alone for our children, that we enjoy a life-giving faith in Christ with no religious trappings added to it.

As I look back, I see that with my older children I was too concerned with how they were perceived by others. I saw their behavior as a reflection on me, and I wanted to look good. They, therefore, sensed in me a measure of pretentiousness--not the genuineness of faith that would have drawn them to me or to the Jesus I spoke about. My sincere concern for their character was overshadowed by my concern for my reputation. I have discovered that, like me, multitudes of parents want their children's hearts but live a faith that fails to completely attract them.

9. Not Cultivating a Loving Relationship With Our Children

Relationships between parents and teens are weakest in control-oriented homes. Bev and I treated our children as if they were "projects." The more they became projects, the less we had significant relationship. The less we had relationship, the more we lost their hearts. Without their hearts, the less we were able to influence them or their values. We regularly spent hour coaching and admonishing them during the teen years, not realizing that without their hearts, the best we could do was make more rules and devise new consequences. The consequences affected the outside, but not the inside.

Our Story
When my oldest son was almost 16 we let him get his first job washing dishes at a restaurant managed by a Christian friend of ours. As diehard shelterers we wrestled with whether or not our son was ready to enter the world's workforce. We knew we couldn't shelter him forever, and so finally concluded that he should be old enough to send into the world two nights a week. What we didn't realize was that he would be working with drug-using, tattooed, partiers, and our Christian friend was never scheduled to work our son's shift.

Within a month it became apparent that our son's new work associates were having an effect on him. He came home one evening and asked, "Dad, can I dye my hair blue?" After my wife was finally able to peal me off the ceiling, I laid into him, reminding him whose son he was, and that I would not have people at church telling their children not to be like the pastor's son. I explained that just because he wanted to use washable dye, it didn't make me any happier. (Note that my intense reaction had to do with "outward appearances" and the impact on me.)

Of course, my wife and I immediately began to evaluate whether we had made a mistake by letting him take the job. After an intense discussion we decided to coach him more carefully and let him keep his job.

Two months later he came home from work and asked me if he could pierce his ear. Again, my wife had to peal me off the ceiling. He thought it might be okay since he wanted a cross earring -- like I was supposed to be happy, because it would be a "sanctified" piercing. If that wasn't enough, he also wanted to get a tattoo! But it was going to be okay, because it would be a Christian tattoo!

As I was looking back on this experience several years later, something my son said shortly after he started his job kept coming back to me. When I picked him up the second night of work, he got in the car with a big smile on his face and said "They like me!" As I dwelt on that comment, it suddenly came clear to me - my son had finally met someone who liked him for who he was. Few others in his entire life had shown him much acceptance, especially not his mother and I. It is no exaggeration - in our efforts to shape and improve him, all we did was find fault with everything he did. We loved him dearly, but he constantly heard from us that what he did (who he was) wasn't good enough. He craved our approval, but we couldn't be pleased. Years later, I realized he had given up trying to please us when he was 14, and from then on he was just patronizing us.

The reason our son wanted to adorn himself like his work associates, was because they accepted him for who he was. He wanted to fit in with those who made him feel significant. He wanted to be like those who gave him a sense of identity. The problem wasn't one that could be solved by extended sheltering - he could have been sheltered until he was 30 and he still would have been vulnerable. The problem was that we had sent our son into the world insecure in who he was. He went into the world with a hole in his heart that God had wanted to fill through his parents.

Whether believer or unbeliever, those young people who are least tempted to follow the crowd are those who are secure in themselves and don't need the approval of others. The Bible calls insecurity the fear of man - it is allowing other's opinions of us to affect our values and choices.

The Solution

In the Bible we see that people obeyed God for two reasons - fear and love. King David sang of his love for God (Ps 18:1; 116:1; 119:159) and he also sang of the fear of God (Ps 2:11; 22:25; 33:8). God wants His followers to be drawn to Him out of love (Jer 31:3), and that's why it is His kindness that leads us to repentance (Rom 2:4). But He also wants us to be kept on the path by fear of His authority (Luke 12:5; 1 Pet 2:17). That's why He told the Israelites He wanted both their fear and their love; "And now, O Israel, what does the LORD your God ask of you but to fear the LORD your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul" (Deut 10:12). With our children, it should be the same.

Those who have the most power to influence our hearts are those to whom we are drawn: those who succeed with our values (which is what a hero is), those who can benefit us, those who make us feel valuable, and those who have earned our respect.

If our children grow up motivated only by fear of consequence, they will eventually get away with what they can whenever we are not around (Eph 6:6). If we have their hearts they will seek to honor us whether we are present or not, and their hearts will remain open to our influence.

I refer you to the apostle Paul who modeled this approach to leadership perfectly, "Therefore, although in Christ I could be bold and order you to do what you ought to do, yet I appeal to you on the basis of love..." (Phile 1:8-9a). Paul's pattern with the churches suggests he understood that appeals to love were more powerful than commands and threats.

Conclusion

I am convinced that the most contagious parenting is living a heartfelt faith before your children. Fruitful interaction is not about what you do to your young people, but who you are with them. It's about having a real faith in God, and expressing it in a real relationship with a real person--not about methods and self-working principles. God intends that the side-effect of loving Jesus and enjoying the grace of the gospel will be that all people--including our children--will be touched by the Savior in us. I pray in Jesus' name that as you read these words you will experience the grace of God in a fresh and new way.

Reb Bradley is a writer and national conference speaker. Read the complete article from which this excerpt was taken here. Visit www.familyministries.com to order Reb's CD set Influencing Children's Hearts.

Reprinted with permission from The Virginia Home Educator, Fall 2011.

day 40 - cleanup

2012-01-02T11:42:00.001-06:00

So, today we put baby Jesus back in the box.

We wrapped him in cellophane and situated him in the canopy that covers the largest camel. He should be very safe there until next year. We have stored him in a very safe place where he shouldn't get broken or damaged or thrown about, because he is really a very precious part of the Christmas season.

And, unfortunately, many others in my town did the same thing.

They put away the seasonal songs, the lights, the trees, and the nativities. They put away the feelings of good cheer and good will toward men. It's over. They will grudgingly begin unwrapping it all again this coming November--another 11 months to live in the same ole, same ole wondering why life doesn't get any better.

I think my job this year is to go unwrap Jesus for them. Oh, not the pretty ceramic one that is stored in the attic. The real, omnipresent, living, omniscient giver of life!

After everything was put away, my Girl walked through the house and said, "Well, we're back to our clean, uncluttered BORING house again!" We all laughed and went to work bringing back color and life and beauty to the places we had cleaned out.

How many of my neighbors said the same thing? And how many of them are just wanting somebody to bring Christmas back to their homes?

I'm going to try to be the Decorator for somebody this year. I think I feel a mission to try to keep Jesus out of the attic . . .

© 2009-2012 by Melani Brady Shock

day 39 - this is my year!

2012-01-01T11:53:00.002-06:00

Clean slates. Fresh starts. New leaves. Blank pages.

January 1 always arrives full of promise, full of hope, full of determination and full of "I can do this!"

I sometimes tire of the cynics who are growling about the futility of New Year's Resolutions and the lack of follow-through on the part of most who make them. They are full of recliner wisdom, those gurus. Can't you hear them?

"Aw, I don't fool with no New Year's Resolutions. It ain't no use! Ain't nobody keeps 'em, anyway. Buncha people just make up a buncha stuff they're gonna do to feel better about themselves and harp on it awhile and by the time Valentine's Day gets here, ain't nobody done nothin' about nothin'!" (Can you tell I might have a few Southern roots?)

Regardless of the accent or the regional vernacular, the message is usually the same everywhere.

And the cynics sometimes weigh down the idealists.

I think I'm making only one New Year's Resolution this year.

And that is to plug up my ears against anything the Cynics have to say!

I CAN do all things THROUGH CHRIST who strengthens me. (Phil 4:13)

And I WILL do all things He speaks to me in 2012.

This is My Year!

(My husband told me so in his sermon this morning. You need to get the CD.)

© 2009-2012 by Melani Brady Shock

day 38 - resolutions

2011-12-31T12:00:00.001-06:00

Yes, I have a few.

The normal ones...lose weight, be more organized, don't take on more than is possible, read more, love my family, yada, yada...

But today, on this first day of the year, I am challenging YOU with one:

Resolve this day that you will read the Bible -- first thing -- every single day of this year.

It can be as little as you want or as much as you want.

It can be from any book of the Bible.

But if you truly want your life to change, connect with the Logos--the Word--the Voice--first. Every single morning. Every single day this year.

And, periodically, journal your thoughts or what you feel God has spoken to you. That can be every day or once a week or whatever. Just regularly.

Then, on December 31, 2012, take a look back at the year and see how your life has changed.

I PROMISE you it will.

Are you up for it?

© 2009-2011 by Melani Brady Shock

day 37 - the perfections of God

2011-12-30T20:13:00.002-06:00

Allow me to break away from originality and share some of A. W. Tozer's thoughts on this next to last day of 2011. . .

Give unto the LORD the glory due unto his name; worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness.
Psalm 29:2

I hope that if I am remembered at all, it will be for this reason: I have spent my efforts and my energies trying to turn the direction of the people away from the external elements of religion to those that are internal and spiritual.

I have tried to take away some of the clouds in the hope that men and women would be able to view God in His glory. I would like to see this sense of glory recaptured throughout the church--too many Christians do not expect to experience any of the glory until they see Him face-to-face!

Within our Christian fellowship and worship, we must recapture the Bible concepts of the perfection of our God Most High! We have lost the sense and the wonder of His awe-fullness, His perfection, His beauty.

Oh, I feel that we should preach it, sing it, write about it, talk about it and tell it until we have recaptured the concept of the Majesty of God!

Only that can be beautiful ultimately which is holy--and we who belong to Jesus Christ should know the true delight of worshiping God in the beauty of His holiness!

Dear Lord, on the last day of this year, I pray for Your Church in the coming New Year, that it will be biblically faithful, Christ-centered and proactive in its fight against the forces of evil. May the name of the Lord Jesus Christ be praised in every nation!

© 2009-2011 by Melani Brady Shock

day 23 - home for Christmas

2011-12-16T13:00:00.001-06:00

Well, she made it.

Hannah's Nana made it home in time for Christmas.

Technically, she's her grandmother, but she raised Hannah and her sister and is Hannah's mom. Hannah's sister passed away in 2005 and her grandfather passed away in 2009. She found out about the cancer on November 16 -- one month ago today -- and by then it was too late--it was everywhere.

Hannah was devastated because Nana was all she had left down here. And that can be pretty daunting when you're only 23 and are still working hard to make it through college.

But several years ago, Hannah was introduced to the power of God and His love and so now, she knew that the most important thing in this whole situation wasn't the fact that she would be left alone, but the fact that her Nana didn't know Jesus. And she wasn't even sure she would even talk about it.

We joined together and began praying. I entered the urgent request in my journal on November 22 where I asked God to heal her, but most of all to save her. Our family prayed together and talked about it quite a bit.

I got word from Hannah on December 7 that her pastors were coming to talk to her Nana the next day about salvation and for us to pray that she would be open to them. We gathered with the Oil at the Ottoman as a family and asked God to soften her heart and save her. On December 8, her Nana agreed to be baptized the next day. My journal entry the morning of December 9 was for God to fill her with the Holy Ghost as she came out of the water.

She wasn't able to make it up the stairs at the church to the baptistry, so they baptized her in the bathtub. She came up out of the water speaking in tongues! At 8:30 pm the night of December 9, Hannah's tweet was that her Nana had been baptized and filled with the Holy Ghost! (That was also the anniversary of the day that Hannah received the Holy Ghost!) We all rejoiced.

They got her back home and in bed and physically, it was down hill from there. But spiritually, it was a mountaintop! She told Hannah that there was something empty in her all of her life and that it had finally been filled. She told her she had never been so happy.

Last night around midnight, she breathed her last down here. But because of Christmas, she breathed her first heavenly air! Because HE was born...and lived...and died...she was re-born into eternal life!

Hannah grieves today because she is alone. But her heart sings because her Nana lives!

The gift of myrrh was unwrapped and displayed and the greatest gift of all came to Hannah's house.

What a wonderful Christmas gift. We love you, Hannah!

© 2009-2011 by Melani Brady Shock

day 21 - you gotta sing!

2011-12-14T10:16:00.000-06:00

What can I say?

Thank you, Marie (a co-worker of an acquaintance) for providing us a generous dose of Joy to the World!

© 2009-2011

day 20 - don't miss it

2011-12-13T09:10:00.001-06:00

It was a cold morning the twelfth of January 2007 when a man placed a violin case on the icy floor of a Washington DC Metro train station, opened it and removed the violin inside and began to play.

He played six Bach pieces for about forty five minutes and during that time since it was rush hour it was calculated that thousands of people went through the station, most of them on their way to work.

Three minutes went by and a middle aged man noticed there was a musician playing. He slowed his pace and stopped for a few seconds and then hurried up to meet his schedule.

A minute later the violinist received his first dollar tip.

A woman threw the money in the till and, without stopping, continued to walk.

A few minutes later someone leaned against the wall to listen to him, but the man looked at his watch and started to walk again because clearly he was late for work.

The one who paid it the most attention was a three year old boy. His mother tugged him along in such a hurry, but the kid stopped to look at the violinist and finally the mother pushed hard and the child continued to walk, turning his head all the time.

This action was repeated by several other children and all the parents, without exception, forced them to move on.

In the forty five minutes the musician played, only six people stopped and stayed for awhile. About twenty gave him money but continued to walk. He collected $32.

When he finished playing and silence took over nobody noticed it, nobody applauded. There was no recognition. No one knew that the violinist was Joshua Bell, one of the best musicians in the entire world. He played one of the most intricate pieces ever written with a violin worth $3.5 million.

Two days before his playing in the subway, Joshua Bell sold out at a theater in Boston and the seats averaged $100 each.

This is a true story. Joshua Bell played incognito in the metro station and it was organized by the Washington Post as part of a social experiment about perception and priorities of people.

They wondered if humanity intricately perceives people’s beauty, or if it is something dictated to them by peers and media.

They wondered if calendars and clocks were more important to thousands of people then what has been defined as some of the best music in the world.

They wondered if people are so caught up in their own preoccupations, their problems, and their pursuits that they don’t even know when they step into the sphere of the uncommon.

Gene Weingarten of the Washington Post initiated the experiment and the article describing the event won a Pulitzer prize. But even more impacting then the Pulitzer prize is the question that Weingarten asked his readers,

“If we do not have a moment to stop and listen to one of the best musicians in the world playing the best music ever written, how many other things are we missing?”

© 2009-2011

day 19 - be not weary

2011-12-12T10:05:00.002-06:00

I have borne two children. Although they are now 21 and 15, the passing of the years has not diminished the memory of those experiences.

I was not the expectant mom with the "glow." At least, not the glow you expect. My glow had a greenish tint to it for about nine months per child. . .

I remember the perpetual sickness. I remember the fainting spells. I remember the hypoglycemia issues, the blood pressure issues, the heart monitors.

But more than any of that, I remember the fatigue. That mind-numbing, almost paralyzing bone-tired feeling. Counting the days until the baby would be delivered. And then, coming to grips with the fact that the baby HAD been delivered and there wasn't a due date on when I would ever get a full night's rest again!

If I live to be 100, I don't think I will ever forget the weariness of those times.

I cannot even fathom adding a journey of 100 miles on the back of a donkey to that. Only to find there was no shelter, no lodging, no relief for the pain, no respite for the weariness.

The natural progression of life dictates that couples go through those seasons while their bodies are young enough to withstand the onslaught of the physical assault and still be able to recover. But, I have not found that to hold true in the spiritual realm.

The seasons of life seem to come with amazing regularity, regardless of our age. And, the older we get, the harder these Birth Seasons seem to get.

Maybe you can relate to me. Maybe you are in a Birth Season as well. Maybe you are experiencing the discomfort of everything around you and inside you shifting and changing. Maybe you are also feeling the nauseating sensation of life coming at you fast and furious and in a totally unfamiliar way. Maybe you are as unsure as I am of what new challenges tomorrow will bring--or maybe even this afternoon.

And maybe you are just mind-numbingly, tired-to-the-bone, weary of it all. Past the point of functioning or trying or caring.

May I speak to your spirit this morning?

Please don't stop.

Don't give up. Don't quit now. Don't lose your burden, your vision, your want-to.

Formation is never easy, birth is never pain-free.

You are carrying somebody's salvation.

It matters.

And let us not be weary in well doing:

for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.

~Galatians 6:9

day 17 - do you have room?

2011-12-10T22:59:00.001-06:00

day 14 - personal celebration

2011-12-07T08:23:00.000-06:00

My boy is 15 today.

The birth was traumatic. The umbilical cord was wrapped around his neck--twice--and tied in a double knot. We knew there was an issue when the doctor started exclaiming, "Whoa--WHOA!!!!" and the nurse attending the birth (a member of our church) had tears flowing down her cheeks. We didn't realize how much of an issue until much later when they told us that only one other baby had ever survived that in the long history of that hospital.

Then, when he was four years old, the diagnosis of IgA Immune Deficiency brought home the fact once again that God had gifted us with a miracle. The diagnosis changed the course of our home as we made the adjustments necessary to provide him with a safe environment.

He's doing great. He's healthy, he's fun, he's smart, he's talented. He thinks, he processes, he loves God, he's responsible.

There is not a day that goes by that I don't thank God for him and for delivering him to our home. My love for him is indescribable and I would fall in front of a moving train if I thought it would spare him from illness, or heartache, or pain, or suffering.

And because his birthday is so close to Christmas, there is not a birthday that goes by that I don't think of Mary. What she must have suffered in her mother-heart as she looked at her 15-year-old boy.

The pondering that the Word says she did...how much of that was agonized pondering?

The sword must have begun piercing her own soul long before it pierced his side. The helpless agony she must have endured in her knowing--her awareness--her intense love.

I am a mama bear when it comes to my boy. Don't mess with him--don't fool with him! or I'll have to deal with you. I will move heaven and earth to help him when he's sick. I'll sacrifice whatever it takes to make sure he has what he needs.

How helpless Mary must have felt knowing that her boy's suffering was out of her control. It was beyond her limits of nurturing. It was beyond her ability, her realm of caring.

Sometimes it is agonizing to be chosen.

Sometimes it is a heavy weight to say "Be it unto me according to thy Word."

Sometimes it is unbelievably hard to trust, to walk the road alone, to ponder silently.

So, as I celebrate my miracle boy's birthday today, I am also giving thanks for Mary's suffering. Her sacrificial love. Her very human heart parenting divinity. Her willingness to give her first-born in order that eternal destiny may be fulfilled.

I can't even imagine what it must have been like.

© 2009-2011

day 13 - silence

2011-12-06T22:06:00.001-06:00

The day that got away.

The day when inspiration was still and quiet.

That day was today.

Never force words when words want to hide.

Embracing the silence...

Silent night, Holy night
All is calm, all is bright
Round yon virgin, mother and child
Holy infant, so tender and mild
Sleep in heavenly peace
Sleep in heavenly peace

© 2009-2011

day 12 - the gift of myrrh

2011-12-05T10:47:00.002-06:00

Gold, frankincense, and myrrh...the three gifts of Christmas.

No surprise to find gold as the first gift. A gift that transcends time and culture, it represents the fact that what is needed will be supplied.

Frankincense was also brought. It contains medicinal properties for healing as well as for treating depression. Also, transcending time and culture, it brings hope to the hurting.

But myrrh? Really? An embalming ointment? A gift representing death? I wonder what Jeff and Bridget Powell would think if I brought them a jar of myrrh to the hospital today as they are there celebrating the birth of their baby boy. A polite smile perhaps, with a question mark and maybe a pinch of indignant offense...

We've all heard the sermons and the wonderful discourses explaining how the gift of myrrh was given to represent the death on the cross that was to come for the babe in the manger. All of it true and so beautiful...the beautiful pageantry surrounding the dramatization of the giving of those gifts on screen and in plays always moves me.

But this morning, I'm not watching a movie about the three wise men, nor am I watching a play.

I'm in my prayer chair wearing a cloak of sadness and heaviness.

I'm wrapping the gift of myrrh.

I'm praying for the Melder family, whose mom crossed Jordan yesterday at home while their dad, who is in the hospital, is expected to cross at any time.

I'm wrapping the gift of myrrh.

I'm praying for Mikie Boudreaux. He's only 30 years old and has already lived a week past what the doctors said he would. His cancer has spread and now obstructs the flow of food. Although weak and emaciated, yesterday was his first time to miss church--he was too weak to come. If you would like to see him and hear him, here is an telephone conversation he had with Toby Mac just a few days ago. Mikie is one more awesome individual...

I'm wrapping the gift of myrrh.

I'm praying for Buddy Lucas--Gale's husband--she's my first cousin, and the closest thing to a sister that I have. He's young -- early 60s -- and he just got the news last week that he has a malignant mass in his lung. The fight has begun.

I'm wrapping the gift of myrrh.

I'm praying for Delisa Cox, my friend. Only 50, she has been diagnosed with stage 4 cancer. My heart breaks.

I'm wrapping the gift of myrrh.

I'm praying for Jeff Mallory. Pastor of a church on Maui, he is fighting cancer in the Washington, DC area while his children are here. Only 45 years old...too young to fight such a cruel disease.

I'm wrapping the gift of myrrh.

I'm praying for Steve Willoughby. Valiant missionary, stalwart servant...he said goodby to Barb, his wife, two years ago as cancer took her. Now he fights as brain cancer is taking his vitality, his strength, his life.

I'm wrapping the gift of myrrh.

I'm praying for Robert Trapani, our friend. A wise, gentle soul who fights for his life today.

I'm wrapping the gift of myrrh.

I'm praying for Gary Slaydon. People like Gary are God's gift to churches and pastors. Only in his 50's, he is fighting hard against his recent diagnosis of multiple myeloma.

I'm wrapping the gift of myrrh.

I'm praying for Mae Tate. Years of sewing up Messiah costumes, head pieces and clothing for Tupelo Children's Mansion. Fighting cancer.

I'm wrapping the gift of myrrh.

I'm praying for Hannah's Nana today. Her body is filled with cancer and the doctors say treatment would be ineffective. She's all that Hannah has left and she is praying for her salvation even more than her healing. Will you join me in helping me pray for Hannah's Nana?

I'm wrapping the gift of myrrh.

I'm praying for Geneva Carmouche. Gracious hostess at the POA, beautiful person inside and out. Early 60s. Way too young to begin a cancer fight.

I'm wrapping the gift of myrrh.

I'm praying for Roxie Ebare. Lifelong member of POA who has been a precious, faithful saint. She's in the cancer fight, also.

The gift of myrrh.

It transcends time and cultures, also. The death it represents comes unwanted into every home, every life, every circle.

But, because of the gift of myrrh, I have hope!

In Jesus' day, myrrh was used as an embalming substance. It preserves and protects, it keeps and it sustains. Death cannot destroy us, because we received the gift of myrrh when Christmas came!

When myrrh is burned, it puts forth a sweet savor. It was burned at funerals by those who could afford it because it masks the smell of death. It covered the smell of death with sweetness, with a beautiful fragrance full of love and hope. Our lives are sweeter because we received the gift of myrrh when Christmas came!

So, I'm wrapping the gift of myrrh for so many today.

And thanking God that He saw beyond where we are into our tomorrow...and provided myrrh for our Christmas gift.

day 11 - "how" has two sides

2011-12-04T08:32:00.000-06:00

"But the angel said unto him, Fear not, Zechariah: for thy prayer is heard; and thy wife Elisabeth shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt call his name John."

Luke 1:13

"And Zechariah said unto the angel, Whereby shall I know this? for I am an old man, and my wife well stricken in years."

Luke 1:18

"And, behold, thou shalt be dumb, and not able to speak, until the day that these things shall be performed, because thou believest not my words, which shall be fulfilled in their season."

Luke 1:20

"And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favor with God. And behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS."

Luke 1:30-31

"And said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man?"

Luke 1:34

"And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word. And the angel departed from her."

Luke 1:38

Two people--a man and a woman.

Two separate visits foretelling miraculous births.

One angel sent for two announcements.

Two questions regarding "how."

Two results: one a punishment, the other a Presence.

What was the difference?

The spirit of the question determined the outcome.

Are you questioning the ability of God or merely the method by which He wants to work?

The Lord doesn't mind questions. But he does care about the spirit from which the questions originate.

day 10 - baking day!

2011-12-03T06:30:00.001-06:00

What would Christmas be without baked goodies?

The dessert table is set up for the month by the tree, the fire is lit in the fireplace, and it's looking like a cold, rainy day is in the works (Louisiana's snow season!) So, it's time to turn the oven to 350 degrees and drag out the traditional pans...

We will begin today by sharing one of our favorite recipes of the Season. If you have some special favorites, it would be so kind of you to share them with us in the comment section below. We will also be sharing more recipes as the Season progresses.

Ingredients:

2/3 cup packed brown sugar
2/3 cup shortening
1 1/3 cups molasses
2 eggs
5 1/2 cups flour
5 teaspoons ground cinnamon
3 teaspoons ground ginger
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon nutmeg
cookie cutters (gingerbread men, Christmas trees, etc.)

1. Using an electric mixer, cream together brown sugar, shortening, and molasses.

2. Beat in eggs one at a time.

3. Slowly mix in remaining ingredients.

4. Gather dough into a ball. Wrap in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least one hour.

5. Heat oven to 375 degrees.

6. On a lightly floured surface, roll dough to 1/4-inch thickness. Cut into shapes with cookie cutters. Place one inch apart on a greased cookie sheet and bake for 7 - 8 minutes.

7. In a small bowl, mix together powdered sugar and water. Add more water, 1 teaspoon at a time, until icing is of a consistency that spreads easily.

8. Decorate cookies with icing and candy.

(taken from The Christmas Vault)

day 9 - frenetic friday

2011-12-02T09:10:00.000-06:00

Where I live, we celebrate Christmas BIG. Like, REALLY big!

All the different departments of the church start jostling early for a spot on the December calendar in which to have a Christmas party for their staff. I come from quite a large extended family, and several different branches of that family always try to find a way to connect for a night during the Christmas season. Then there are the different individual events to which we are invited and where we can connect to individuals that we don't get to see much during the year.

The days are filled with December deadlines for big January conferences and action steps for a big New Year's kick-off. The nights are filled with people and parties.

Fridays are usually the busiest with last-minute prep for Sunday, wrap-up of the week's (un)finished work, tired plodding through unfinished duties that must be done, and anticipation of the evening's "party of the week."

Do we dare combat that this year?

Do we dare turn aside for one evening of reflection? Unplugged from busyness and connection? A few hours to be and not do?

Yes! We dare!

Challenge: Escape for a few minutes and allow Him to schedule your Friday. Stuff the frantic, busy, madness into a big Santa bag and throw it down the chimney. Lay your calendar on your altar and ask Him to show you where to fill in the blanks.

Frenetic Friday just might become a pocket of peace in your week...

day 8 - pondering

2011-12-01T09:37:00.000-06:00

We're off! We began with Thanksgiving and praise. The laughter and rest have faded, the food is gone, the music is playing and the greens have been hung. Purpose has been established and we are settled solidly into the Season. Now we are wondering how to fit it all in--the parties, the endless Dirty Santa games, the shopping, the baking, the cleaning, the juggling...

STOP IT!

That's where it all breaks down.

That's where we lose our focus.

That's how a Holy Day becomes a Holiday.

Do you really want this time to be different? Do you really want to reflect the joy of His coming this Season?

Consider what Mary did.

She received news of the impending birth, she made the journey to Bethlehem, she gave birth, then the busyness started. The care of the new baby, adjusting to a new home and life away from her family, no help from the female clan who had sheltered her, the shepherds and all the visitors coming...I would imagine she could have easily been overwhelmed.

But Luke says that she took in all of the newness and "pondered." She reflected. She brought it all into her heart and sorted through it in stillness and quiet. Oh, she may have been washing or cooking or changing the swaddling clothes, but she was still and quiet in her spirit. She was focused.

That's the secret. Pondering. Asking the hard questions. Why do we do this? What does He want from me? How can I celebrate Him fully for His birthday? Who can I introduce to Him? Does He really have first place in my day, my mind, my actions, my life?

Pondering.

Stillness of spirit.

"But Mary kept all these things and pondered them in her heart."

~Luke 2:19

day 7 - a partridge? really?

2011-11-30T09:28:00.001-06:00

One of my favorite Christmas carols of all time: "The Twelve Days of Christmas."

I've sung it all kinds of ways--at all kinds of parties--for all kinds of ice-breakers--on hay-rides and at front doors and in the car riding down the highway to pass the time.

It never has made sense to me. I was always confused by the end of the first line and it continued from there: "On the first day of Christmas my true love gave to me, a partridge in a pear tree."

'Scuse me? THAT would be a dud gift in the game of Dirty Santa, for sure!

A few years ago, however, I came across some information that explained the song. Some people say there is no evidence to support this information, but the consensus is that it is accurate.

In England in the Middle Ages, there was much persecution of Christians going on during the so-called "religious wars." So, in order to teach their children basic principals of their faith, this Christmas song was written which had a very different meaning from the actual words. Basically, it was written "in code."

According to history, there was a meaning behind each of the gifts. Read on...

Day 1: A partridge in a pear tree symbolized the gift of Jesus Christ to the world (Luke 13:34)

Day 2: Two turtle doves represented the Old and New Testaments

Day 3: Three French hens represented faith, hope, and love (1 Corinthians 13:13)

Day 4: Four calling birds symbolized the four gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John

Day 5: Five gold rings were the five books of the Penteteuch: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy

Day 6: Six geese a-laying represented the six days of creation in Genesis 1

Day 7: Seven swans a-swimming symbolized the seven gifts of the Spirit:

Day 8: Eight maids-a-milking represented the eight Beatitudes in Matthew 5

Day 9: Nine ladies dancing symbolized the nine parts of the fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5

Day 10: Ten lords-a-leaping recalled the ten commandments in Exodus 20

Day 11: Eleven pipers piping symbolized the eleven faithful disciples in Luke 6

Day 12: Twelve drummers drumming helped them remember the twelve points of the Apostle's Creed of the Church.

It sort of makes me pause and think of the persecution involved in the creation of the song that I have ridiculed more than any other at Christmas.

And I sing it with just a little bit more appreciation for the partridge...

day 6 - sing!

2011-11-29T11:36:00.001-06:00

"And the angel of the Lord said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people!"

~Luke 2:10

day 5 - the hanging of the greens

2011-11-28T12:30:00.000-06:00

"I'm just not going to fool with decorating this year."

"We only decorate for the kids. Now that they are gone, I'm not going to do it."

"The grandkids won't be in this year, so we aren't going to decorate. It's just too much trouble."

"It's just me left at home now. Why fool with all of that?"

You have heard it said and so have I. You may have even agreed with the one who said it. (For the record, I may have kept silent, but I NEVER agreed.) You may have even said it yourself. You may even be one who doesn't decorate.

We have probably all heard those who love to talk about how Christmas is really a pagan holiday and it really isn't Jesus' actual birthday anyway, and we are really worshipping trees, and Christmas is just too commercialized now anyway and a true Christian doesn't need decorations--they just need to celebrate the love of God all year round, and on and on it goes.

I find it easy to dismiss all of the above nit-pickiness since I love the atmosphere of the Season. Anything that brings more of a God-awareness to our homes and society is a good thing. I know it probably isn't Jesus' actual birthday, but is that really the point? I know I'm not worshipping the tree, and I know I don't need decorations to celebrate the love of God, so whatever floats your boat, right?

I even felt this way regarding any kind of Christmas decorating. For years, I was of the opinion that it was everybody's individual choice. Whatever they wanted to do--to each his own. I certainly didn't agree, because I simply love Christmas decorations and twinkling lights, but that was my personal preference and I certainly wasn't going to foist it on anybody

However, in the past few years, I have been re-considering.

Because of the fact that festivals were instituted by God himself (see the book of Leviticus and research Old Testament feasts) it is definitely Biblical that we celebrate an event of such importance. Because of the fact that the order and agenda of the festivals were instituted by God himself (again, see the book of Leviticus and research Old Testament feasts) I also feel it is Biblical that we eat, laugh, take off work, and enjoy a few hours/days of special love and bonding in His Name. And, because of the fact that God was even present in the decorating details (see scripture listed at the bottom of this post) I feel that it is probably Biblical that we decorate.

In some fashion. Probably with greens of some sort. Even if you live alone or the grandkids aren't coming home this year. Even if it seems to be a little extra trouble. Even if you aren't very good at it and it turns out to be a little bit tacky.

Not to honor a pagan practice. Not to draw attention to a selfish pursuit. Not to commercialize a sacred, holy event.

But to let Him know that we are celebrating the fact He came. It's His birthday, and we love Him.

I'm not suggesting that anybody make a doctrine out of this post.

I'm just offering my take on an aspect of Christmas that is normally overlooked...

"And ye shall take you on the first day the boughs of goodly trees, branches of palm trees, and the boughs of thick trees, and willows of the brook; and ye shall rejoice before the Lord your God seven days."

~Leviticus 23:40

day 4 - come. let us go...

2011-11-27T08:20:00.011-06:00

The Holiday season is just beginning. The Season has just started. The anticipation of the coming event has just begun.

So come, let us go and worship.

Still basking in the glow of thankfulness, senses still heightened to the blessings of the year, our focus has now begun to shift a bit to the "to-do" list. We wake in the night to add to it. We work hard to shut off the thoughts of it during pre-dawn conversations with Him. We struggle to retain the focus of the reason for the season.

Isn't that the biggest struggle of the entire event? The fight to resist the expectations, the commercialism, the busyness?

This 4th day is our center. Our balance beam. Our stabilizing bar of the up and the down.

Come, let us go and worship.

We will enter with thanksgiving and praise. We will remember the ultimate gift. And we will allow Him to speak softly to us as He directs us to the hurting hearts in our world, rendered vulnerable by the Season.

Come, let us go and worship.

Let us bring our offering to him as a collective body--our chosen ecclesia--and offer him our unified commitment to keep Him at the forefront of the coming weeks. Power down the smartphone, close the computer, take out the headphones. Lay aside the pad and pen, forget about the budget, re-visit forgiveness. Let us remember Mary's loneliness, focus on Josephs's unselfishness, and pray to obtain the blind trust of the wise men.

Come, let us go and worship.

"We will go into his tabernacles: we will worship at his footstool."

~Psalm 132:7

day 3 - settling in

2011-11-26T14:43:00.002-06:00

It's inevitable. Tiny snippets of routine are creeping quietly back into the day. Putting the coffeepot back in its spot by the sink. Picking up clothes thrown over the backs of chairs. Sweeping by the back door.

Sunday comes again in a few hours which means Full Court Press in a parson's house.

But the "something" is still in the atmosphere. The awareness of the fact The Season is here. It's routine, but not. It's familiar, but not. It's normal, but not.

The fire is just a little cozier on this rainy Saturday. Enough slowness remains for deeper reflection and communion in the early morning God-talk. Intentional naming of Blessing #3 of the Year makes the me-focus just a little bit blurrier than normal. Family cords feel tighter, friendships feel stronger, and "it's gonna be alright after all" is persistently creeping in through the cracks.

Personal epiphany: this is His party--His festival--and He is happier than any of us that it is happening! He says, "Rest. Think. Dream. Thank. Eat. Laugh. Enjoy. And let Me take part with you..."

I know also, my God, that thou triest the heart, and has pleasure in uprightness. As for me, in the uprightness of mine heart I have willingly offered all these things: and now have I seen with joy thy people, which are present here, to offer willingly unto thee.

~ 1 Chronicles 29:17

day 2 - airports, football, and dirty dishes

2011-11-25T13:51:00.002-06:00

Well, of COURSE I'm an LSU fan! I'm a TIGER! What in the world did you expect???

And I KNOW this is about 40 days of celebration of the Christmas season.

Do you think I'm really thinking it's about FOOTBALL?

The Arkansas Razorback Shocks and the LSU Tiger Shocks (and all others!) face off -- one in their red, the other in their purple and gold. Talking smack, one-upping, superiority dripping. Laughter, fun, friendship. Condolences to the Hog fans after a DEMORALIZING loss (41-17!) Oh well, there's always next year.

Chips and dip, lasagna, and Coke. Trying to cut the richness of yesterday's taste with new seasonings. Smiling, chuckling, laughing uproariously. A little bit in awe of the beauty of the time together. Singing, painfully off-key, at the top of the lungs. For an hour. With music and without. Joyful noise. The puzzle this year is a hard one and Norman Rockwell just can't seem to emerge from the top of the coffee table. The men are proving their masculinity as they kneel over the table...frustrated that they can't conquer all in 30 minutes.

Airports are sad on this 2nd day of the Celebration. The visit so anticipated is over. Can we pretend it's Tuesday and we still have 3 days? But the quiet gift of early morning time by the fire as He joined the conversation about life and goals and Logos will also board the plane and linger...

The goodbyes are bittersweet with no date set for the next time. College beckons, jobs await, adventure is calling--unknown futures with concern for choices yet to be made, decisions yet to be reached. We part, but not with despair. He is why we celebrate together, He goes with each one as they go. He is in the future and He will bring us back again.

Peace follows us to bed as we realize that because of Christmas, we are not alone.

"...Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world."

~Matthew 28:20

day 1 - opening day of the Christmas season!

2011-11-24T13:34:00.002-06:00

Opening Day of the Christmas Season (otherwise known as Thanksgiving)!

We aren't skipping over Thanksgiving. Oh no, au contraire!

We are beginning the entire Season with it.

The countdown has been on for about 3 weeks. Trees are up and twinkling with lights. The one in the front window has all the ornaments collected from Christmases past and foreign lands. The big Nativity is on the piano. The puzzle is on the coffee table. (A few pieces are being chewed by Roxy, but it's mostly intact and everybody is cool with chewed-up pieces). Chicken and cornbread dressing is melding the flavors in MaMaw Smith's dressing pan, the sweet tea is piling up in the carafe, and Kim's pumpkin pie is due through the door any second.

A deep Southern Thanksgiving meal is close to the finish line and even hearts walking through present sorrow can't help but smile with anticipation.

Cars are pulling up and parking in the grass and foil-covered dishes are walking up the driveway. Get out of the ham, stop sneaking pieces of the turkey, we'll be ready in just a minute, stay out of that bowl, get out of here, I can't get a thing done with you under my feet, get in here right now, everybody gather in the den...I'm thankful for...what I'm most thankful for...this year, I want to thank God for...even though...I'm--I'll be able to say it in a second--I--I just am so thankful...He's been so good to me...I wouldn't want to be anywhere else...I don't deserve...I wouldn't trade it for anything...

...and so, dear Lord, we come before you now to give you thanks for this year. Thank you for the beauty and the pain, the joy and the sorrow, the bounty and the want. We have had our share of gray, but you have even been in the gray. Bless this house and these people and all who have gathered here with us this day...bless this food and the hands that prepared it...go with us now as we celebrate your coming to us...we give you thanks...

"Enter into His gates [His season, His birthday celebration, the time of joyful feasting] with thanksgiving and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name."

~Psalms 100:4

Don't Stop, Don't Give Up!

2011-11-16T08:56:00.000-06:00

Rick Warren's Surprising Advice to Pentecostal Churches

2011-11-14T21:12:00.002-06:00

Interesting article.

Thanks to Raymond Woodward for passing along the link.

I have too many comments, so I will just let you read and see what you say...just click on the link below to read the article.

Rick Warren's Surprising Advice to Pentecostal Churches

it all comes down to faith...

2011-11-14T09:27:00.001-06:00

All the questions...and confusion...and "well, I think"...and you're taking it too far...and God wants us to be happy...and grace means I don't have to respond in any way at all to God's love except to just say yes...and yada, mumbo-jumbo, blah, blah, blah...

It just all comes down to faith.

Faith that the Word of God is absolute and that Every. Single. Word. was breathed out of the mouth of God. (2 Timothy 3:16 - "All scripture is given by inspiration of God.") Inspiration comes from the Greek word "theopneustos" meaning "to breathe or blow." It implies sound--words--vocal intonation.

If Every. Single. Word. in the Bible was breathed by the God of the universe, then I don't have much room to quibble, do I?

The final question--the bottom line--comes down to this: Do you really believe that every single word in the Bible was breathed by God?

is it really progress?

2011-10-11T22:22:00.000-05:00

Okay, so I might as well face the music. I might be getting a little older. That's not an admission, nor is it a concession. It's just the acknowledgement of a possibility.

I have always loved, welcomed, longed-for, promoted, and embraced change. Change the den around every month just to keep things fresh. Cook new meals even if you don't like them just so you won't get bored eating the same ole food. Drive a new route to church. Change hairstyles. Re-paint.

I figured as long as I still loved change, I was still young.

So, this recent resistance to a form of progress has me a bit alarmed. I would love to deny it and pretend I am cool as can be with it, but you would be able to tell it on my face right away. It's hard for me to get it out, but...well...okay, I'm just going to say it...

I have a problem with one's personal Bible being on an e-reader.

There.

I said it.

Wait! Don't write me off just yet! I'm not saying it's a SIN or anything like that...I'm just saying I have a problem with it.

I know that our present book form is not the original form of the Holy Scriptures. I have studied the evolution of the written word and realize that the New Testament varied greatly from the Old Testament and that the codex form of binding didn't come about until after all the New Testament writings were completed.

I understand that the book form we are familiar with has only been around for about the last 600 years or so.

So, I'm not saying that in order for the Bible to be Holy it must be in the form of a bound book.

But, I AM wondering if the e-reader form of the Scriptures is truly progress?

I'm wrestling with the following elements:

The scrolls were a linear form of reading which made it difficult or perhaps impossible to read two areas of the Word at the same time without a lot of inconvenience in locating the new passage. In contrast, the codex form allowed a reader to actually be able to see two different passages in two different places relatively easily at one time. It seems to me that most e-readers are returning to that linear form of reading and making multi-passage reading more difficult.

I firmly believe that one cannot study the Scriptures without writing. If you read without writing, you are doing nothing more than perusing as you would a newspaper or your favorite novel. But to "eat" the Scriptures as Jeremiah talked about, you must have a pen in your hand. In the margins, in the front covers, underlining, highlighting...as He speaks you write it down and when you are done, there is an awesome conversation there that you will forever remember.

How can you do that on an e-reader? Oh, I know you can highlight and make a note. And a little number pops up to remind you that you made a note. But when you are reading that same passage six months later, are you going to click on every number and see your notes? Probably not. You are probably going to keep reading and nothing is going to catch your eye that He said to you that time before when you had those sweet moments with Him.

That bothers me a bit. Okay, well, maybe a lot.

And, another thing. Codex, like the scrolls, kept the Scriptures isolated and set apart. That's actually what the word "holy" means, isn't it? Set apart? Called out, consecrated, dedicated?

Am I being unreasonably narrow to say that it bothers me a bit that the Scriptures on an e-reader are all grouped in with everything else in there? Fiction, magazines, newspapers, damnable doctrines...all of it all together in one spot....oh gee, I really dated myself right there, didn't I.

I have had multiple conversations with men and women alike asking for help in their struggle against pornography. Without exception, they all access it on their phones and ipads. So, when all I see at church are people holding their phones in their hands as the Scriptures are being read and the message is going forth, I am bothered by the fact that it feels no different to them than if they are checking the LSU score or watching porn.

Okay. Shutting up.

But try not to make too much fun of me as I lug my big, black study Bible with me to church and work and everywhere else I go.

I have all the different versions and Bible programs on my computer, my iPhone, and my iPad.

But I'm just not so sure that's really progress...

Madagascar vignettes

2011-09-13T12:07:00.001-05:00

Several people have been requesting pictures and updates regarding our trip to Madagascar. So, if you are one of those people, this will probably be of interest to you.

Madagascar is an island off the eastern coast of Africa. Although it is considered part of Africa, the people there come from an Indonesian background rather than an African background. They culture has a lot of island culture mixed in with some African culture.

The average wage is $1 per day
The average age at death is 57
The climate is moderate (somewhat equivalent to Alexandria, Louisiana with less humidity)
There is no heat nor a/c in most homes and buildings.
The concrete/brick/cinderblock structures make the homes terribly cold in winter, but more pleasant in summer
It is in the southern hemisphere, so their winters are our summers and our summers are their winters
The country has not been "westernized." There are no American restaurant or hotel chains.
The country has a high Christian population, but is still bound by much "dark" religious tradition

The method of carrying loads on the head just mesmerizes me. The very young to the very old do it. It doesn't matter what it is. They will find a way to put it on their heads and take off marching down the road!

Poverty looks and smells the same in every country...

Much of life revolves around the rice fields. They bathe in them, wash their clothes in them, grow their food in them, and build their houses in the middle of them.

A good soccer game is fun regardless of the equipment or the field!

The scenes are filled with layers of stories. Taking the produce to market...

...who needs a dryer? Just make sure you have a big back yard...

...headed home after a long, hard day that began before sunrise...

...a hard day that included making bricks from the mud from the rice fields...

...but at the end of the day, there is still beauty.

There is still color.

There are still flowers.

And at the end of the day, evidently the language of flowers is the same around the world.

Madagascar

2011-09-06T23:16:00.000-05:00

It is a land of contrasts.

Modern vehicles bouncing up ancient cobblestone streets.

The rice field worker hand-washing clothes in a basin outside the walled entrance to a nice, modern dwelling.

Hand-pushing carts of belongings while talking on a cell phone.

Sleeping outside at the General Conference and cooking over an open fire while the speaker has flown 10,000 miles and sleeps in central air/heat.

Making $1 per day and collectively giving thousands of dollars to see the Gospel spread.

Madagascar and America: the two nations are worlds apart.

But the level ground at the foot of the Cross joins them both.

I will stand at judgment beside these people.

The Nona Freeman Prayer for Night People

2011-09-01T23:30:00.000-05:00

Kendra recently tweeted about praying the "Nona Freeman prayer" and how God took her up on it and she wasn't sure if she was glad about that or not. (Posted tongue-in-cheek, of course.) We got several questions as to what we were talking about and the explanation takes up more than the 140 characters Twitter allots.

Here is the story behind what we call "The Nona Freeman Prayer for Night People":

Nona Freeman was a veteran missionary for many years to Africa. She told incredible stories and probably died with more stories in her head and heart than ever came out.

She was a woman of faith and of prayer and a believer that God could and would do anything for His people...the problem was/is that we just don't ask Him enough and specifically.

She described herself as a night person. One who was more alert in the evening, who would rather stay up late and sleep later in the morning. She was not one who woke up early, chirping with the birds, and ready to conquer the world. That came later in the day. She was a night person.

However, she was a firm believer that God needed the first part of our day. Therefore, she knew that in order to give that to Him, she must not sleep until the last minute, but must wake up earlier than necessary in order to have time with Him. So, she prayed a prayer that went something like this: "Lord, I know that I need to talk to you first thing in the morning. But it is so hard for me to wake up and even though I set my alarm to get up earlier, I end up shutting it off to sleep until the last possible minute. So Lord, I'm asking you to wake me up 30 minutes early every morning. YOU wake me up. Don't let me go back to sleep. Wake up my mind and my heart so that You and I can have quality time together before our day begins. I want to, Lord, but my flesh is weak. So YOU help me. YOU wake me up!"

I heard her tell this story at our church when I was just a young girl and will never forget when she said, "And the Lord has done just that. Regardless of what time I go to bed or how little sleep I have received, He always wakes me up 30 minutes before I must begin my day."

I didn't pray that prayer for many years, because I am the ultimate Night Person and, quite honestly, didn't want God to answer it. (Confession.) But as I matured in Him, I realized that it was absolutely vital that I spend time with him FIRST before anything else had a chance to enter my mind, my heart, and my spirit in the morning. I realized all the scriptures in the Word that speak of spending time with Him first in the day, and was convicted. So, I prayed the prayer. He not only wakes me up 30 minutes early...He usually wakes me up 1 - 1 1/2 hours early! And I'm fine with it! I love it...there is no sweeter communion than the communion of first fruits.

I have challenged many of the young women in our church to pray that prayer. I have tried to convey the necessity, the beauty, the love, the wonder that comes with meeting with Him first in the day. I let them know they must mean it before they pray it, because He WILL answer it.

So, it takes them a while. It's serious business. And when they are finally ready to get serious about it, they pray it. And He answers them.

It's "The Nona Freeman Prayer for Night People."

It's a prayer that will change your life if you are willing to allow your life to be changed.

Of all the things I have missed this year. . .

2011-09-01T23:12:00.000-05:00

. . .I think I have missed blogging the most!

Time without reading and writing starves the deepest part of me. And the schedule of this year has been one of insanity. We have hurtled through the year.

I am just stunned that it is September 2. How did that happen?

Although our insane travel schedule doesn't officially end until November 5, I have decided to officially end the Blog Drought! If a spinning plate must crash to the ground in order for me to resume spinning the Blog Plate, so be it!

And thanks, Dennis, for missing me. I miss you, too.

and we are off once more!

2011-05-01T15:19:00.000-05:00

Kendra and I are off again! We have a few more minutes on our brief stopover in Honolulu before boarding for Manila.

Jordan Mallory will join us there and we will travel to Baguio for three days to speak at a Women's Conference. We will then travel to Singapore to speak at another Women's Conference and also minister at Tabernacle of Joy with Pastors Lee/Willoughby on Mothers Day.

In the meantime, there is nothing like Sunday morning with the POA on Waikiki Beach (via webcast)...

21 days

2011-03-28T07:27:00.000-05:00

And so it begins. 21 days of sacrifice.

Taking inventory. Sorting and separating into piles. Emotional baggage here, questions there. A few stray relational issues never resolved, still hanging around. Some scraps of unforgiveness, leftover anger. Messy.

Cleaning out the junk to make space for more of Him.

Yearning, begging, beseeching...reaching, stretching, climbing...seeking, wondering, pondering...becoming vulnerable, uncomfortable scrutiny, exposing the raw...

Be near to me, O God. Search my heart. See if there be any wicked way in me.

I shall ascend...

blessings

2011-03-26T11:53:00.000-05:00

Psalm 34:17-18

17 - The righteous cry,

and the LORD heareth,

and delivereth them

out of all their troubles.

18 - The LORD is nigh unto them

that are of a broken heart;

and saveth such

as be of a contrite spirit.

blessings

lyrics by laura story

We pray for blessings

We pray for peace

Comfort for family

Protection while we sleep

We pray for healing

For prosperity

We pray for Your mighty hand

To ease our suffering

And all the while You hear each spoken need

Yet love is way too much to give us lesser things

'Cause what if Your blessings come through raindrops

What if Your healing comes through tears

What if a thousand sleepless nights

Are what it takes to know you're near

What if trials of this life

Are Your mercies in disguise?

We pray for wisdom

Your voice to hear

We cry in anger when we cannot feel You near

We doubt Your goodness

We doubt Your love

As if every promise from Your Word is not enough

And all the while You hear each desperate plea

Lord, that we'd have faith to believe

'Cause what if Your blessings come through raindrops

What if Your healing comes through tears

What if a thousand sleepless nights

Are what it takes to know you're near

What if trials of this life

Are Your mercies in disguise

When friends betray us

When darkness seems to win

We know the pain reminds this heart

That this is not

This is not our home

'Cause what if Your blessings come through raindrops

What if Your healing comes through tears

What if a thousand sleepless nights

Are what it takes to know you're near

What if trials of this life

Are Your mercies in disguise

What if my greatest disappointments

Or the aching of this life

Is the revealing of a greater thirst

This world can't satisfy?

And what if trials of this life

The rain

The storms

The hardest nights

are your mercies in disguise. . .

thy word have i hid...or maybe not

2011-03-24T15:53:00.002-05:00

I am not endorsing John Piper. I don't know enough about him to endorse him or not endorse him.

But the above clip has convicted me beyond measure. We are in a fierce battle largely unprotected. God help us.

is there a new song?

2011-03-09T05:39:00.006-06:00

Am I the only one who feels as if I have been immersed in a beautiful movie with part of the soundtrack missing?

I love what God is doing in our lives, I love how He is walking so near to us each day. I love the fresh vision, the fresh words, the fresh burdens that seem to have unified those in my world in the past several months.

I even love the wonderful praise and worship songs which our teams do so well. Beautiful songs--many of them straight from the Psalms--expressions of heartfelt praise and love and adoration. They usher me into a place of worship that I love. I love how those choruses are vertical...they leave the "me" out of it and focus on the "Him". Upbeat expressions of worship, slower melodies to hear His heartbeat...I really do love all of that.

But there is still an element missing that I long to have restored in my life.

What would be the right word for it? The "testimony" song? The "story" song? The "experience" song? The "hope" song? The song that conjures up pictures of where I've been and what I've done and His response to that?

One with a beat, a flow, a melody line that causes your soul to soar...

My soul was so refreshed several years ago when the praise and worship choruses finally understood that worship was all about Him and we learned that to enter His presence, we must take the focus off of us and put it on Him.

But in the process, I am afraid we threw out Ephesians 5:19 which says, "Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord."

That's what I miss. I miss the "speaking to ourselves" songs. The ones that are testimonies of where we have been, what He has brought us through, and where we are going.

Not the corny songs about Mama, either. Nor the twangy ones that take their cue from bumper stickers.

Please don't stop doing the praise and worship stuff.

But is there a new song out there that can fill this hole in my soul?

I think I'm going to create a new label for posts in this blog and label it "Controversial."

This will be the first post that goes in it.

(I'm editing the post with this addendum: I'm not talking about bringing back the "old" stuff, either. I love to hear music that takes me back to another time, but that's not the new song I'm talking about. I'm talking about a new song for now...for 2011... I don't really know what I'm searching for, I just know that I will know when I find it!

smile without the paint!

2011-03-08T07:49:00.000-06:00

Wonder what he looks like without all the paint? When he's eating alone in the middle of the crowd and in the dark under all the bright lights?

Funny for a moment. He made us all laugh. Hahaha, life is grand.

But I wonder if he smiles without the paint?

Mark of my heart

2011-03-07T05:10:00.002-06:00

Mark and Bradyn

He's growing. He's getting taller, and wiser, and more confident.

He's learning to handle trials and temptations God's way.

Mark's teacher and his classroom

He's learning and excelling in school. His sweet smile offers hope to so many along the way.

His first convert.
Nellie, his guardian, is behind him.

He wants to be a pastor. He has already started giving short messages in his church. One of his school friends was converted and baptized as a result of that on Feb. 20, 2011.

We both hate goodbyes...

He is a miracle of God.

He reminds me of the power of one.

I love him dearly.

(For Mark's full story, follow the blog posts under the label "Mark".)

Island of the Blue Dolphins

2011-03-06T08:03:00.000-06:00

So, I think I have mentioned before that I am returning from a long, dead period of my life where I did absolutely no reading. An avid reader all of my life, I went through about a decade of nothing. Wasteland. No books, no desire for books, no growth. That is a story within itself that is beside the point, but in January, 2010, I declared 2010 to be the "Year of the Book." And it was! I probably shouldn't have said "year" though...I feel my soul returning and my insatiable appetite for the written word has once again taken over.

In the process, I am catching up on some old books that I missed during my desert sojourn. So, even though you have probably read many of the ones I am just now discovering, thanks for bearing with me as I delight in uncovering even the older treasures...

Today's book is "Island of the Blue Dolphins" by Scott O'Dell. Based on a true story, it captivated me. It is an easy read--one that is recommended reading in middle school. But the tale it tells is one as old as time and should be required reading regardless of age.

It is one of survival and amazing discoveries of the true capacities for survival that lie within each of us. Set on a deserted island in the 1800's, it details a story of resourcefulness, discovery, and hope in the face of what most of us think would destroy us.

Get it. You can finish it in about 3 hours. It's worth it.

Merry Christmas, 2010!

2011-03-05T10:00:00.000-06:00

So, about 150 Christmas cards are still stacked by my chair, waiting to be addressed and mailed... Sad.

Merry Christmas from The Homeplace!

(consider yourself officially greeted!)

Time is not the enemy

2011-03-04T08:38:00.001-06:00

Not that I would be so presumptuous as to think anyone has missed me, but I am the one who has suffered from my absence. The need to write and process and progress verbally through the wonderful and challenging roads which I am being privileged to travel requires that I write. To those of you who claw your way through the process with me...well, thanks! Let's move on down the road a bit...

Having already been involved in several major events in this short year (including 15 days in the Philippines) my mind keeps returning to a sign that hangs on the door in a humble home of one of our Filipino pastors:

Indeed.

More than any other temptation in my life, the temptation to control my time is the greatest one I fight.

He knows the number of my days and the plans he has for me.

My prayer is that I may not thwart them by careening full speed ahead with what seems good to me and not asking Him if that is His plan for me.

My prayer is that I give God all the seconds of this day. He knows how to multiply them.

Are you well-rounded? (What does that mean?)

2010-12-21T08:04:00.001-06:00

A friend sent this list to me on Facebook and I found it very interesting how much I had NOT read! Of course, this list is just someone's personal opinion as to what constitutes a well-rounded reader and if I had been making the list, I would have definitely taken out some titles and added in a few others. Still, it's interesting to see where you fall on someone else's reading list.

The BBC believes most people will have read only 6 of the 100 books listed here. You are supposed to copy the list and bold or italicize the ones you have read.

I haven't read nearly as many of these as I would have thought, but I have read tons that are not on here. Does that count?

Next on my list: "The Bell Jar" #76.

1 Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen

2 The Lord of the Rings - JRR Tolkien

3 Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte

4 Harry Potter series - JK Rowling

5 To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee

6 The Bible

7 Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte

8 Nineteen Eighty Four - George Orwell

9 His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman

10 Great Expectations - Charles Dickens

11 Little Women - Louisa M Alcott

12 Tess of the D’Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy

13 Catch 22 - Joseph Heller

14 Complete Works of Shakespeare

15 Rebecca - Daphne Du Maurier

16 The Hobbit - JRR Tolkien

17 Birdsong - Sebastian Faulk

18 Catcher in the Rye - JD Salinger

19 The Time Traveller’s Wife - Audrey Niffenegger

20 Middlemarch - George Eliot

21 Gone With The Wind - Margaret Mitchell

22 The Great Gatsby - F Scott Fitzgerald

23 Bleak House - Charles Dickens

24 War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy

25 The Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams

26 Brideshead Revisited - Evelyn Waugh

27 Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky

28 Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck

29 Alice in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll

30 The Wind in the Willows - Kenneth Grahame

31 Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy

32 David Copperfield - Charles Dickens

33 Chronicles of Narnia - CS Lewis

34 Emma - Jane Austen

35 Persuasion - Jane Austen

36 The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe - CS Lewis

37 The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini

38 Captain Corelli’s Mandolin - Louis De Bernieres

39 Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden

40 Winnie the Pooh - AA Milne

41 Animal Farm - George Orwell

42 The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown

43 One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez

44 A Prayer for Owen Meaney - John Irving

45 The Woman in White - Wilkie Collins

46 Anne of Green Gables - LM Montgomery

47 Far From The Madding Crowd - Thomas Hardy

48 The Handmaid’s Tale - Margaret Atwood

49 Lord of the Flies - William Golding

50 Atonement - Ian McEwan

51 Life of Pi - Yann Martel

52 Dune - Frank Herbert

53 Cold Comfort Farm - Stella Gibbons

54 Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen

55 A Suitable Boy - Vikram Seth

56 The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon

57 A Tale Of Two Cities - Charles Dickens

58 Brave New World - Aldous Huxley

59 The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time - Mark Haddon

60 Love In The Time Of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez

61 Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck

62 Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov

63 The Secret History - Donna Tartt

64 The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold

65 Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas

66 On The Road - Jack Kerouac

67 Jude the Obscure - Thomas Hardy

68 Bridget Jones’s Diary - Helen Fielding

69 Midnight’s Children - Salman Rushdie

70 Moby Dick - Herman Melville

71 Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens

72 Dracula - Bram Stoker

73 The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett

74 Notes From A Small Island - Bill Bryson

75 Ulysses - James Joyce

76 The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath

77 Swallows and Amazons - Arthur Ransome

78 Germinal - Emile Zola

79 Vanity Fair - William Makepeace Thackeray

80 Possession - AS Byatt

81 A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens

82 Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell

83 The Color Purple - Alice Walker

84 The Remains of the Day - Kazu Ishiguro

85 Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert

86 A Fine Balance - Rohinton Mistry

87 Charlotte’s Web - EB White

88 The Five People You Meet In Heaven - Mitch Albom

89 Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

90 The Faraway Tree Collection - Enid Blyton

91 Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad

92 The Little Prince - Antoine De Saint-Exupery

93 The Wasp Factory - Iain Banks

94 Watership Down - Richard Adams

95 A Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole

96 A Town Like Alice - Nevil Shute

97 The Three Musketeers - Alexandre Dumas

98 Hamlet - William Shakespeare

99 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Roald Dahl

100 Les Miserables - Victor Hugo

Annie Dillard

2010-12-08T09:39:00.000-06:00

So....I'm just now reading Annie Dillard.

Where have I been? Why have I not read her before?

Presently reading "Pilgrim at Tinker Creek."

I have only just begun, so am not in a place to totally recommend it.

But her writing is mesmerizing.

Have you read her?

2011 Book List

2010-12-02T08:22:00.001-06:00

Here is where we will share books for our 2011 reading list.

My startup pile includes:

The Council of Dads: My Daughters, My Illness, and the Men Who Could Be Me by Bruce Feiler

Faith Begins at Home by Mark Holmen

Gilead: A Novel by Marilynne Robinson (I have started this book twice and can't get past the first chapter. I'm going to give it one more shot.)

On Earth as It Is in heaven: How the Lord's Prayer Teaches Us to Pray by Warren Wiersbe

Raising the Dead: A Doctor Encounters the Miraculous by Chauncey W. Crandall

The Lineage of Grace series by Francine Roberts (It has 5 volumes)

Valley Forge: George Washington and the Crucible of Victory by William Forstchen

Operation Daybreak by David Norris

Thou Shalt Keep Them: A Biblical Theology of the Perfect Preservation of Scripture by Kent Brandenburg, Editor

Every Prayer in the Bible: Discover God's Patters for Effective Prayer by Larry Richards

How To Read a Book by J. Adler Mortimer and Charles Van Doren

Shepherding a Child's Heart by Tedd Tripp

Instructing a Child's Heart by Tedd and Margy Tripp

The Contemplative Pastor by Eugene Peterson

As you can see, if I am going to read 52 books next year, I have 38 more to go. So please post your comments with any suggestions. (Or, if I'm going to be like Rick Warren, I have 349 more to go for 2011!)

reading and such

2010-12-02T08:03:00.003-06:00

I am beginning my annual "season of reflection" which will last throughout the month of December. I do not travel during December and try to keep any speaking to a minimum. It is my time to draw close to the fire and reflect on the good and bad parts of the year that is ending and make resolutions of what to do better in the year that is ahead.

My resolution for 2010 was to make it "The Year of the Book." Although I'm an avid book lover, various circumstances had forced reading to the back burner on way too many occasions for several years. I felt stifled and felt as if a part of me was dying and knew that I had to return to a steady diet of books in order to see past the sameness of the every day. I resolved to try to average one book per week in 2010.

So, my reflection has revealed that I actually averaged one book for about every 10 days. I was very pleased about that until I read a tweet from Rick Warren yesterday that said: "In January, I'm starting a Christian Leader's Library webcast. For much of my life I've read a book a day."

A BOOK A DAY!!!

What kind of book? Dr. Seuss or a 300-pager? Retention rate? Who pastors the church? When does he find time to write? Has his wife seen him lately? Does he eat? Does he sleep? That may be it. I could read a book a day if I didn't have to sleep. Is he a speed reader? A genius?

That just floored me. Boggled my mind. Did he mean a book a week?

Well, I will definitely be listening to his library webcast.

In the meantime, check out the Book Club label to get my thoughts on some of the books I have read this year and to add yours to the 2011 list.

A book a day. How in the world...?

happy thanksgiving!

2010-11-25T08:52:00.002-06:00

We gather together to ask the Lord's blessing;

He chastens and hastens His will to make known;

The wicked oppressing now cease from distressing,

Sing praises to His name: He forgets not his own.

Beside us to guide us, our God with us joining,

Ordaining, maintaining His kingdom divine,

So from the beginning the fight we were winning;

Thou, Lord, wast at our side; all glory be Thine!

We all do extol thee, thou leader triumphant!

And pray that thou still our defender wilt be.

Let thy congregation escape tribulation;

Thy Name be ever praised! O Lord make us free!

Amen.

Traditional Thanksgiving Hymn

In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto

2010-09-29T10:13:00.000-05:00

Shock Book of the Week! By Michael Pollan.

The choices, preparation, and eating of food has a spiritual connection. God spent a lot of time discussing food in the Old Testament and much of his earthly ministry and miracles were associated with food. The Power of the Table has not been adequately addressed in the lives 21st century Christians.

For several years, I have been reading and studying, trying to analyze information vs. propaganda, and have become increasingly convinced that the Western diet is not only killing us, it is hindering our effectiveness in the Kingdom because of the vast amount of energy we must use to fight physical conditions which should not be. After years spent under the care of doctors trying to find the cause of several physical malfunctions in my own body and ultimately being miraculously healed in March, 2009, I have made it my goal that I will do all in my power to keep my body as healthy as possible in order to fulfill what God has called me to do and to be.

I am also responsible for making sure my family is presented with healthy choices so that their bodies can remain healthy.

Michael Pollan has made more sense about the Western diet and some practical things we can do to cope with the food choices we have in America than anybody I have read in a long time. He is not radical nor unreasonable. This book doesn't leave me with a helpless, hopeless feeling that it's just too hard for me to make right choices because of my lifestyle, my lack of time, and my location.

This book not only increased my knowledge, it left me with hope and some tools to make a difference in what I deem to be a very spiritual area of the lives of me and my family.

Is yo momma rich?

2010-08-26T10:31:00.000-05:00

A couple of weeks ago, a group from our church went to the 'hood and set up a snow-cone stand and a grill and gave out hot dogs and hamburgers, cold water, snow-cones, and conversation to anyone who wanted any of it. My son was among the group and came home telling me about his conversation with some of the kids who came around. He said one little boy was really cute. Their conversation went something like this:

Boy: Hey. Whacha doin?

Bradyn: I'm texting my mom. I'm telling her about when I'll be home.

Boy: Oh. She give you that phone?

Bradyn: Yeah, she did.

Boy: Oh. You play football?

Bradyn: No. But I like it. I play guitar.

Boy: Oh. You gotta guitar?

Bradyn: Yes. I have three guitars. Do you play guitar?

Boy: No. But I like it. Yo momma buy you dem guitars?

Bradyn: Yes. Do you go to school?

Boy: Yeah. I go to Huddle. Where you go?

Bradyn: Well, I'm homeschooled.

Boy: Homeschooled. What's that mean? Yo momma teach you?

Bradyn: Yeah. Some of it. Then another lady teaches me some stuff, too.

Boy: Another lady teaches just you? Nobody else?

Bradyn: Yes.

Boy: Is yo mamma rich?

Bradyn (laughing): Oh, no! Not even a little bit! It's a little complicated. But we aren't rich at all.

Boy: Sounds to me like you be rich.

I have heard sermons about it all of my life. Dogging the rich, young ruler who valued his wealth more than following Christ.

Sitting in judgment from the pew, from behind pulpits, from a disconnected, third-party stance--he wears the black cape, rides the black horse, has the foggy shroud--he is the bad man, the antagonist of the story line--he is the object of the tsk, tsk clucking of our self-righteous tongues as we think that if it would have been US, we would have had eternal perspective and would NEVER have made that choice.

The sermon ends and we are asked to respond to what we have heard, and we kneel or go forward, we cry, we ask God to please show us what to do, we vow within ourselves to give more in the missions offering, we briefly, fleetingly wonder what it would be like to live overseas or to work with the homeless or to be known as the friend of the 'hood, but know that is IMPOSSIBLE and that makes us a little sad.

We may go one step further and consider leaving our homes, our families, our security--but only for a few minutes because we rationalize that it wouldn't be fair to our families, to our children, to our parents. It's not realistic...and that makes us a little sad, but we can do all we can from here and then we tell someone to save us a place at the restaurant, we'll be there in a few minutes.

Besides that, WE aren't rich. The guy in the Bible was rich. Really rich. That sure isn't me. We know tons of people who have more than we do. THEY are the ones who are rich. We don't even think about the people in our churches in Asia or Africa who pray for their bowl of rice to come every morning. Whose teeth are rotting because of the bad water they drink and whose children die young because of no medical care. We have no concept of a grass or tin roof that totally disintegrates when it rains.

My only answer to that is that if you are reading this on your computer or iPhone or iPad, you're rich. Don't compare yourself to Mr. Fancy Neighborhood. Compare yourself to some of the ones I know who are praying for rice and shoes and some medicine right this minute. You're rich.

Matthew 19. He asked Jesus what to do. Jesus told him to sell what he had, give it to the poor, and follow Him. He considered it, maybe prayed a few minutes, thought about his family, his home, his security...and was so very sad because it just wasn't realistic for him. He really, really wanted to respond to the GO! But the odds were stacked against him and that made him so sad. So, he slowly walked away.

I know exactly what happened. Because I watch people walk away with him every week. I have walked with him, too.

I am the rich, young ruler.

Are you?

The Heart Mender

2010-08-23T11:48:00.000-05:00

The second of two books sent to me by Thomas Nelson Publishers that I was asked to review was The Heart Mender by Andy Andrews. I have enjoyed Andy's writing through the years. I have not had any epiphanies while reading his works nor can I say I have ever been riveted, but they have been enjoyable reads and I eventually get around to reading whatever his latest happens to be.

The Heart Mender does not fit into his normal category. From the first page I was intrigued. Actually, his introduction was what hooked me. He explained that the story was "for the most part" a true one. A few names and locations had been altered since the principal characters are still alive, but in one word, "yes," the story was true.

Then, the setting intrigued me. Realizing that the story was set on the beaches of southern Alabama, in and around Foley, Orange Beach, and Perdido Key, Florida, was plenty enough to grab my attention. I have spent many pleasant days and hours there with my family when my children were younger. We had access to a vacation home there and the landmarks and locations Andy describes in the book are all very familiar to me.

I am also intrigued by World War II history. Having toured prison camps in Germany as well as many historical sites in the Pacific theater, I have long been amazed at how the United States seemingly turned its head for so long against the atrocities that were being committed elsewhere. It was only when our own men and resources were attacked at Pearl Harbor, HI in 1941 that we began to sit up and take notice. To find out that the evil that pervaded the world during those years was actually right on my back doorstep--off the coast of my own state, Louisiana--is amazing to me.

But it was the actual story itself that wouldn't let me put the book down and forced me to read it in two sittings. An early morning forced the light out the first night. The second night, nothing could have forced it out. I read until 3:00 a.m. There was no way I was going to save the end for later. Amazing, mesmerizing, incredible...a story of love, forgiveness, suspense, horror, yet beautiful...

I wish so badly I could meet the characters who are still alive. I know it would be infringing upon their privacy, but there are so many questions I would love to ask.

Male or female, you simply must read it. I'm requiring it of my 8th grader in his Language Arts curriculum during the coming year. I want my husband and college student daughter to read it, also. I'm giving a copy to my mother. And I'm calling my uncle, a history buff from Texas, to tell him to get it tomorrow. It's a book for all ages.

You won't be able to put it down, either.

What difference do it make?

2010-08-22T17:03:00.001-05:00

I have discussed the sequel to Same Kind of Different as Me by Ron Hall, Denver Moore, and Lynn Vincent in the past few posts. What difference do it make? had some of it all. It provoked me (to anger, sometimes), it inspired me, and it educated me as to how many of us with a compelling desire to help those less fortunate sometimes just spin our wheels because we do it "our" way instead of "their" way.

This book is not nearly as captivating as Same Kind of Different as Me. However, that does not mean that it is any less effective. It is simply different. The first book is the story. The second book is the world's reactions to that story. It challenges us to act upon their challenge and make a difference.

Although not as mesmerizing as the first, I would still definitely recommend What difference do it make? There are passages that will ring in my ears and that I will re-visit for a long time to come. It's not enough to be stirred and filled with overwhelming good intentions, we must act upon them if we are going to make a difference.

When I die, I want the world to be a better place because I lived.

Cool Christianity?

2010-08-16T12:34:00.003-05:00

This article by Brett McCracken appeared on August 13, 2010 on Wall Street Journal online. It addresses an elephant in the room which does not need to be ignored. I have not read his book which is referenced at the bottom of the article, but it's one which I plan to read.

By BRETT MCCRACKEN

'How can we stop the oil gusher?" may have been the question of the summer for most Americans. Yet for many evangelical pastors and leaders, the leaking well is nothing compared to the threat posed by an ongoing gusher of a different sort: Young people pouring out of their churches, never to return.

As a 27-year-old evangelical myself, I understand the concern. My peers, many of whom grew up in the church, are losing interest in the Christian establishment.

Recent statistics have shown an increasing exodus of young people from churches, especially after they leave home and live on their own. In a 2007 study, Lifeway Research determined that 70% of young Protestant adults between 18-22 stop attending church regularly.

Statistics like these have created something of a mania in recent years, as baby-boomer evangelical leaders frantically assess what they have done wrong (why didn't megachurches work to attract youth in the long term?) and scramble to figure out a plan to keep young members engaged in the life of the church.

Increasingly, the "plan" has taken the form of a total image overhaul, where efforts are made to rebrand Christianity as hip, countercultural, relevant. As a result, in the early 2000s, we got something called "the emerging church"—a sort of postmodern stab at an evangelical reform movement. Perhaps because it was too "let's rethink everything" radical, it fizzled quickly. But the impulse behind it—to rehabilitate Christianity's image and make it "cool"—remains.

There are various ways that churches attempt to be cool. For some, it means trying to seem more culturally savvy. The pastor quotes Stephen Colbert or references Lady Gaga during his sermon, or a church sponsors a screening of the R-rated "No Country For Old Men." For others, the emphasis is on looking cool, perhaps by giving the pastor a metrosexual makeover, with skinny jeans and an $80 haircut, or by insisting on trendy eco-friendly paper and helvetica-only fonts on all printed materials. Then there is the option of holding a worship service in a bar or nightclub (as is the case for L.A.'s Mosaic church, whose downtown location meets at a nightspot called Club Mayan).

"Wannabe cool" Christianity also manifests itself as an obsession with being on the technological cutting edge. Churches like Central Christian in Las Vegas and Liquid Church in New Brunswick, N.J., for example, have online church services where people can have a worship experience at an "iCampus." Many other churches now encourage texting, Twitter and iPhone interaction with the pastor during their services.

But one of the most popular—and arguably most unseemly—methods of making Christianity hip is to make it shocking. What better way to appeal to younger generations than to push the envelope and go where no fundamentalist has gone before?

Sex is a popular shock tactic. Evangelical-authored books like "Sex God" (by Rob Bell) and "Real Sex" (by Lauren Winner) are par for the course these days. At the same time, many churches are ﬁnding creative ways to use sex-themed marketing gimmicks to lure people into church.

Oak Leaf Church in Cartersville, Georgia, created a website called yourgreatsexlife.com to pique the interest of young seekers. Flamingo Road Church in Florida created an online, anonymous confessional (IveScrewedUp.com), and had a web series calledMyNakedPastor.com, which featured a 24/7 webcam showing five weeks in the life of the pastor, Troy Gramling. Then there is Mark Driscoll at Seattle's Mars Hill Church—who posts Q&A videos online, from services where he answers questions from people in church, on topics such as "Biblical Oral Sex" and "Pleasuring Your Spouse."

But are these gimmicks really going to bring young people back to church? Is this what people really come to church for? Maybe sex sermons and indie- rock worship music do help in getting people in the door, and maybe even in winning new converts. But what sort of Christianity are they being converted to?

In his book, "The Courage to Be Protestant," David Wells writes:"The born-again, marketing church has calculated that unless it makes deep, serious cultural adaptations, it will go out of business, especially with the younger generations. What it has not considered carefully enough is that it may well be putting itself out of business with God.

"And the further irony," he adds, "is that the younger generations who are less impressed by whiz-bang technology, who often see through what is slick and glitzy, and who have been on the receiving end of enough marketing to nauseate them, are as likely to walk away from these oh-so-relevant churches as to walk into them."

If the evangelical Christian leadership thinks that "cool Christianity" is a sustainable path forward, they are severely mistaken. As a twentysomething, I can say with confidence that when it comes to church, we don't want cool as much as we want real.

If we are interested in Christianity in any sort of serious way, it is not because it's easy or trendy or popular. It's because Jesus himself is appealing, and what he says rings true. It's because the world we inhabit is utterly phony, ephemeral, narcissistic, image-obsessed and sex-drenched—and we want an alternative. It's not because we want more of the same.

Mr. McCracken's book, "Hipster Christianity: Where Church and Cool Collide" (Baker Books) was published this month.

But I didn't feel led . . .

2010-08-15T14:47:00.001-05:00

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

Jesus said God gon' separate us based on what we did for folks that is hungry and thirsty, fellas that is prisoners in jail and folks that ain't got no clothes and no place to live. What you gon' do when you get to heaven and you ain't done none a' that? Stand in front a' God and tell Him, "I didn't feel led"?

You know what He gon' say? He gon' say, "You didn't need to feel led 'cause I had done write it down in the Instruction Book."

p. 154 - "What difference do it make?" by Ron Hall, Denver Moore, and Lynn Vincent

Programs Ain't Gonna Cut It

2010-08-14T12:56:00.002-05:00

I will try to leave it after today. I will try to write about something else. But you need to hear just one more of Denver's stories:

"George W. Bush walked right up to me and stuck out his hand. "Denver Moore! What an honor to meet you, sir."

Well, I felt like I had to be dreamin now. Here was the president of the United States of America, treatin me, a poor homeless man off the street, like I was some kinda important person. I didn't know what to think. I don't even remember what I said back to him . . . somethin 'bout bein glad to meet him, too, I imagine. But I shook George W. Bush's hand and I ain't the smartest fox in the barnyard, but in that handshake I felt like a whole lotta history passed through: croppin all year just so I could pay the Man, passin by water fountains where a colored man couldn't get a drink, and spendin most a' my life bein called a nigger. Bein dragged by my neck behind horses when I was sixteen years old. Scratchin and scrapin and bathin in fountains in Fort Worth. And now here I was, an ol' 'cropper with a prison record, shakin hands with the most powerfulest man on the earth.

Ain't nothin that can do somethin like that but love. The love Miss Debbie had for the homeless had carried me all the way to the White House. And while the president still had ahold a' my hand, God reminded me of that scripture where He says, 'Through Me, all things are possible."

Government programs aren't the answer. Just writing checks and handing out rights aren't the answer. It won't happen without love.

I John 3:17 -- But whoso hath this world's good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him?

excerpt from What difference do it make? by Ron Hall, Denver Moore, and Lynn Vincent

Don't Waste Your Burden

2010-08-12T10:39:00.001-05:00

Okay. Moving on. Let's leave the little offensive "nut ball holy roller" phrase that we talked about yesterday behind and move on to a passage in the book that is a must-read for anyone who loves people and has a burden to make a difference in our world.

This passage is written by Denver Moore, the man who was homeless for so many years and who found Jesus and a better life because of the dedication of Ron and Deborah Hall. He has a message found on pages 44-45 that may surprise some well-intentioned people who are attempting to live out Matthew 25 to the best of their ability. Here is what he has to say:

Denver Moore

"Most a' the people on the streets know Jesus loves 'em. But they figure nobody else loves 'em but Jesus. Street people done heard more sermons than most preachers ever preached. Lotta good folks come 'round the 'hood, talkin 'bout Jesus this, Jesus that. Tellin us about Him is one thing . . . who gon' stick around and show us Jesus? See, deliverin kindness ain't the pastor's job. That's our job. When Jesus sent the disciples out two by two, He didn't go with 'em. He stayed back and laid low, maybe had Hisself a cup a' coffee.

Listen at this: Jesus sent the disciples out. John and Mark and Nathaniel and them went into the villages. When I was homeless, one thing I just couldn't understand is why all these folks kept tryin to invitin me in someplace that I didn't wanna be. They'd come out and hand me some kinda piece a' paper, talkin 'bout, 'Jesus loves you! Come fellowship with us!' Now, their hearts was in the right place, and they just tryin to show me the love a' God. But seemed like they didn't understand that it just ain't that easy.

For one thing, them folks that invited me was all smilin and clean, and I was all ragged and dirty. 'Sides that, most a' em was white, and I was black as a coffee bean. Wadn't no way I was gon' show up at their church lookin like I looked.

For another thing, where was I gon' leave my bags with all my worldly goods, my blanket and my soap and my half-pint and what have you? It wadn't much, but wadn't no way I was gon' leave it in the 'hood with all them fellas ready to split it up amongst themselves. And I was pretty sure they didn't have no luggage check at the church.

Then they'd say, 'God bless you!' and leave me with that piece a' paper so I wouldn't forget where I was s'posed to show up. 'Course, they didn't know I couldn't read.

See, we don't need to be tryin to drag the homeless, or any kinda needy people, to 'programs,' to 'services.' What people needs is people.

What people needs is people.

Don't waste your burden. Spend it wisely.

Don't Throw the Baby out with the Bath Water!

2010-08-11T09:50:00.005-05:00

So I told you yesterday about the new book I was reading, "What difference do it make?" I also told you it was a sequel to "Same Kind of Different as Me." Make sure you read "Same Kind of Different as Me" before you read "What difference do it make?" because you will get so much more out of it.

These books are true; they tell the story of how an incredible woman ministered to the homeless in the Dallas/Fort Worth area and the fabulous connection her aristocratic, snotty husband made with a homeless black man who lived on the streets. I have been mesmerized with the whole story for a long time. The homeless black man was originally from Red River Parish about 75 miles from where I live. The fact that there are others like him all around him has captured my mind and my heart. I haven't done anything with it yet, but this story with me isn't over.

Anyway, back to the subject at hand. I am now reading "What difference do it make?" and am just as enthralled as I was with the first book.

However, yesterday, I hit a major snag.

Ron was describing how his wife witnessed to him and ministered to him through her prayers. It is a beautiful description and I was reading along a bit teary-eyed until I came to this passage:

"To tell you the truth, even I felt intimidated when praying with her. Deborah prayed with such passion -- not like some nut-ball holy roller but with such knowledge of the Father as though He was her daddy and she was His favorite child..."

BAM! Excuse me? "...nut-ball holy roller..." I stopped reading.

I am a Pentecostal. Pretty passionate about my God and all things spiritual, actually. The church of which I am a part has been in existence for over 60 years and was labeled in years past "the holy roller church." So, I guess Ron was putting me in the box he labeled "nut-ball holy roller."

I was offended.

I am not a nut-ball. Most of the times, I pray quietly. The times I do pray out loud it is a conversation with God and I have never, ever even considered the fact I may be a "nut-ball." I wanted to stop reading, close the book, and give it to someone who might be spurred by its message to do something good for somebody, and forget about it.

Then it hit me that Ron's whole story is that of a man who overcame his prejudices and propensity toward judgmentalism to love people on the streets who were incredibly different from him.

He just hasn't overcome his judgmentalism toward "nut-ball holy rollers" yet. But he will. God has brought him a mighty long way and he can conquer this, too.

And, in the meantime, I might need to look in the mirror and check out the level of my prejudice and judgmentalism toward people that I don't understand, also. After all, that's the whole message of this book.

This whole thing just illustrates beautifully the point that we will never totally agree with an author on every point he makes in a book. But if there are enough truths there to overcome the negatives, we must learn to glean the nuggets and throw away the rest.

Don't throw the baby out with the bath water.

Read it anyway.

Two New Books

2010-08-10T07:24:00.002-05:00

Good morning from the hot place! No...it's not hell, but the temperature sort of makes you think of it. It's just a major heat wave in August in Louisiana. Temps soaring over 100 each day, humidity so thick you can swim in it, and oppressive, smothering heat when you step outside the door to walk the few steps to your car. I'm keeping those pics of the snow from a few months ago very close. They help.

The nice folks from Thomas Nelson ran across my blog and some of the books I have been recommending the past few weeks. They were nice enough to send me a couple more to preview and talk about on this blog. Life's schedule the past couple of months has been brutal and my reading time has been reduced to a few stolen moments here and there when I can make myself invisible behind a door or something, but I'm excited to dive in to the new stuff.

Ron Hall and Denver Moore have another book following "Same Kind of Different as Me." You just MUST read that book if you haven't already. It's a true story and will inspire you to live your life more in line with Matthew 25. The sequel is "What difference do it make?" I can hardly put it down. I will be
finished in the next day or two and will write about it here...I hope you will read it, too, and comment about it. Incredible book, incredible people, incredible God.

The other book is "The Heart Mender" by Andy Andrews. I love anything he writes, so I can't wait to sink my teeth into it.

While we're on the subject of reading, there is a fabulous blog post on Donald Miller's blog at http://donmilleris.com/2010/08/06/do-this-one-thing-and-youll-rise-above-your-peers/ that discusses the importance of reading and what is happening to the state of reading in our nation. Please take just three more minutes and go to his blog and read it. Readers are leaders. If we become illiterate, we become robots. Read!

Grand Reunion

2010-07-07T10:27:00.000-05:00

The last time I saw Mark in March, 2009, he was waving good-by from the cavernous opening of a nameless bus station in metro Manila, holding his papers and engulfing my heart with his sweet, sad eyes.

I had no idea that I would ever see him again.

But because of love and God, the united prayers of the POA, the untiring efforts of the Mallorys, and the selfless love of Nellie and her family and her church, I saw him coming home from school on the afternoon of June 23, 2010--happy, excited, well-fed, loved, and beaming with his new knowledge of God, salvation, acceptance, and destiny.

He is loved by so many. Nellie and her family have taken him in and love him as their own. The Mallorys feel as if he is a third son, and so do the Shocks. His birth family understand his bright future and his one prayer every day is for his mom, grandmother, and brothers and sisters to be saved.

He is getting medical attention, and is enrolled in a private Christian school. He has been filled with the Holy Ghost and baptized in Jesus name and says that he knows he wants to be a pastor when he grows up. His English is improving weekly and the sweet smile that captured us in the first place has not diminished.

It seems that others who may not have the best intentions are also interested in his future. It is impossible for me to be able to surround him and protect him from 10,000 miles away, but I know a God who can. Prayer can follow him where none of us can...so pray we will!

I can't rescue every underprivileged kid out there. But I can do my part to rescue one.

I wonder what would happen if we all just found one?

What Did God See?

2010-07-07T07:49:00.003-05:00

It was hot.

It was more than hot, but I don't know another word to use to describe it.

It was close to 100 degrees inside the smelly gym in some inner bowel of Manila that even the bus driver had gotten lost trying to find. It had rained and the smell of wet dogs, wet bodies, and wet wood was everywhere.

Truth be told, I was a little aggravated. The 20 of us had traveled all day long on day ten of a two-week stint, our praise team had stripped their voices and made themselves sick trying to sing on a ridiculously broken sound system, the preacher had preached his heart out to a congregation that couldn't even understand him for the most part and I thought my ears would bleed from the horrendously loud screeches coming out of the left speaker. The right one was blown, so the sound engineer in all of his wisdom thought he could make up for it by blowing the left one. Which was right by my ear. And I would risk offending others if I moved and would risk my life if I went outside. So I sat. And wondered why in the world we did this to ourselves.

Why in the world did we travel 10,000 miles and eat food we didn't really like and wear ourselves out and get so hot that the walls waved and the room did a little dance and then have maybe every fifth word understood by the audience? And leave feeling sick and weak and ineffective?

Well, I for one was tired and getting a gargantuan headache from the ridiculous speaker to my left and my foot was hurting where I had fallen the day before and injured it.

And I was baking in heat not fit for humans to survive.

And in all my miserable attitude, I glanced up and saw her not three feet in front of me.

She was in front of the same speaker and the temperature was the same. She had to have been tired, because her hands told the story of a woman who had to work hard every day just to survive. She didn't show the heat as much, because her body had adjusted to it, and her clothes looked fresher because they were made of some cheap fabric that wouldn't wrinkle.

But she didn't have an attitude about any of it. She had come to worship and nobody was going to stop her.

I doubt she understood the English. I imagine the bad sound was pulsating through her brain, too. The smells were the same beside her as they were beside me.

But it didn't matter.

She lost herself in praise and thanksgiving.

She smiled at God and was beautiful.

I watched her and asked forgiveness.

And I worshipped, too.

My Mind Is Not A Blank Slate

2010-06-29T02:54:00.000-05:00

It's very interesting the way life takes these little side roads where you think you are going to meander by waterfalls and through peaceful, wooded glades and BAM! all of a sudden you are smack dab in the middle of an interstate. Or the Daytona 500 track. Or in the path of an oncoming train.

Well, that is exactly what happened to us several months ago. Life came so hard and so fast until I'm still not even sure what to say.

I think I may be back now. I hope so. There is a lot on my mind that I need to get out.

So check back often. The words are beginning to stir.

Where's Waldo?

2010-04-07T14:54:00.002-05:00

Oh my. Did I fall off the face of the earth? I do believe I did.

Please forgive my lapse in posting and check back frequently. I think I'm back on track.

First on the list: Finish the final blog lesson of "Eat This Book" - Lesson 6 - "Pitfalls." Coming right up!

The Shack

2010-03-13T12:13:00.000-06:00

The Shack.

One of the most polarizing Christian novels to have come along in a long time. You either love it or you hate it.

The story of author William P. Young is a compelling one. Raised as a missionary kid in New Guinea, he endured sexual abuse at the hands of the tribe his parents were serving, suffered untimely deaths and losses, and the result was a faith that was deeply shaken and a life that became a train wreck.

Young originally wrote The Shack as a story for his children. Following an adulterous affair, his wife, Kim, declared that he must change and forced him to confront all the painful issues of his past in order for him to heal and begin to make sense out of tragedy. The Shack is a product of that confrontation.

In The Shack, the protagonist, Willie, endures a painful tragedy called The Great Sadness and, as a result, has a personal encounter with God. The details of that encounter as well as the way Willie deals with his tragedy are met with extreme criticism from many religious arenas.

In my opinion, the book starts a bit slow and the description of The Great Sadness is very hard to read. It is painful and I was tempted to put the book aside. However, once past the graphic description of the tragedy, I was mesmerized and could not put the book down. The end of the book presented yet another twist which was totally unexpected. I pondered it for weeks after I finished it.

You must read the entire book in order to develop a complete perspective. I will wait until comments indicate that several have read the book until I post my comments. I don't want to give away any details that could possibly color someone's interpretation.

Of one thing I am sure: you cannot walk away from the book without a strong opinion.

Prayer=Bible=Prayer=Bible

2010-03-13T11:33:00.001-06:00

LOVE this....it was sent to me by a friend and I have lost the source...I apologize. But read it and ponder.

The Bible is a prayerbook.

You don't read it statically. You read it proactively. As you read, the same Holy Spirit who inspired the writers illuminates the readers. How awesome is that? The Holy Spirit quickens the Word and something gets in our spirits.
I'm convinced that the Bible is the means to just about every spiritual end. I promise you this: if you are reading the Bible, God will convict you of sin that you need to confess. So in that regard, the Bible is the key to purity. You will also find plenty of promises to claim. The Bible sanctifies our expectations so we have more confidence after we read the Word. In that regard, the Bible is the key to faith. And, of course, it's the key to so many other things. What I'm getting at is this: prayer is a byproduct of Scripture.It is the way God talks to us. Then prayer turns the monologue into a dialogue.

My point? I'm not worried about your prayer life if you're reading the Bible. I think the quality of your prayer life will be directly proportional to the quality and quantity of Scripture you're reading.

"Crazy Love" by Francis Chan

2010-03-05T11:28:00.003-06:00

The following review was written by Tim Challies on the Amazon website. It is thorough and one with which I agree. So why re-invent the wheel? Here's what he had to say:

There are many voices critiquing the North American church today. The voices come from both within and without; from those who love the church and those who hate it. We all know that there is something wrong. But what? In many cases the prescription is the same while the cure varies widely. In his new book Crazy Love, first-time author Francis Chan, pastor of Cornerstone Church in Simi Valley, California, regular speaker at Passion conferences and other events, and the guy who recorded that "Just Stop and Think" evangelistic video where he walks for miles holding a surfboard, takes his opportunity to challenge the church. "This book," he says, "is written for those who want more Jesus. It is for those who are bored with what American Christianity offers. It is for those who don't want to plateau, who would rather die before their convictions do." It is a book that is meant to change the way Christians live their lives.

There are two ways of critiquing the church. We can critique out of love or out of disgust. Chan is committed to critiquing the church as an act of love. In a recent interview, when asked about the emergent church, he said this: "As a pastor I hear a lot of emergent leaders talk about what is wrong with the church. It comes across as someone who doesn't love the church. I'm a pastor first and foremost, and I'm trying to offer a solution or a model of what church should look like. I'm going back to scripture and seeing what the church was in its simplest form and trying to recreate that in my own church. I'm not coming up with anything new. I'm calling people to go back to the way it was. I'm not bashing the church. I'm loving it." And his love for the church is obvious throughout this book.

The format of Crazy Love is straightforward and effective. Chan dedicates three chapters to renewing our understanding of the character of God and seven chapters calling Christians to examine themselves. Within the book are two ongoing themes that are going to get people talking.

The first theme is that we must painstakingly examine ourselves. We cannot assume we are saved, or to use the biblical metaphor, we cannot assume that we are the good soil. Chan calls the reader to a serious self-inventory through a chapter that provides a profile of the lukewarm. He concludes, "a lukewarm Christian is an oxymoron; there's no such thing. To put it plainly, churchgoers who are `lukewarm' are not Christians. We will not see them in heaven." God wants all or nothing.

The second theme is deeply counter-cultural, going against the stream of both Christian and secular culture. It is this: live your best life later. Chan wants to see Christians living differently--living in a way that is markedly different from those around them. He wants to see Christians forgoing much of what we consider necessary, what we consider our due, in order to focus on treasures that are eternal. He wants us to get outside the realm of what is comfortable to us and focus instead on radical obedience. "God doesn't call us to be comfortable. He calls us to trust Him so completely that we are unafraid to put ourselves in situations where we will be in trouble if He doesn't come through."

I found that this is a paradigm-shaking book with a message that Christians desperately need to hear. Too many of us are living too safely and too easily. But for the brief moments we spend at church each week, we are practically indistinguishable from the unbelievers around us. This is not the way it is meant to be. The church could use a loving exhortation and Chan delivers well.

Questmiles Book Club

2010-03-03T17:34:00.003-06:00

I have always wanted to belong to a monthly book club.

You know, the kind that everybody reads the same book and then meets somewhere once per month to discuss what they liked and didn't like about it and how they agreed or disagreed with this or that and the thousand different things the author may have meant when he opened with the line, "It was a dark and stormy night..." Yeah. That kind of book club.

Finding time to read the book is not the problem. But having a free evening to get ready, travel somewhere, spend a couple of hours discussing the book, chit-chatting with the other members while drinking a coke and eating cookies, then driving back home....well, THAT is next to impossible.

So...Questmiles Book Club will be our place to gather and discuss books. I will post a review and you can respond with your thoughts and opinions. We will also have a place where you can post any recommendations. We will consider several genres: motivational, inspirational, instructional, thought-provoking, fictional (historical and Christian), etc. I'm not into sci-fi, mysteries, or Westerns.

The only way this will work, however, is if you respond and get involved. It's not going to be much fun to read the book, write the review, and nobody respond to it. That's just work with no feedback.

So. Are you interested or not?

We will start with the book, "Crazy Love" by Francis Chan. Available through amazon.com and on Kindle.

Posting News

2010-03-01T11:27:00.000-06:00

Apologies to all for the lack of posting the past few days. A crazy travel schedule combined with technology gone awry made for silence on my end. :-/ Am playing catch-up today and will post the summary of the Week 2 lesson "Props" within a couple of hours.

Have a great Monday (or Tuesday for the ones across the date line!) everyone!

Eat This Book: Can You Handle the Bible?

2010-02-18T11:51:00.001-06:00

This is a text that reveals the sovereign God in being and action. It does not flatter us, it does not seek to please us. We enter this text to meet God as he reveals himself, not to look for truth or history or morals that we can use for ourselves. . . .We do not read the Bible in order to find out how to get God into our lives, get him to participate in our lives. That's getting it backward.

As we cultivate a participatory mind-set in relation to our bibles, we need a complete renovation of our imaginations. We are accustomed to thinking of the biblical world as smaller than the secular world. Tell-tale phrases give us away. We talk of "making the Bible relevant to the world," as if the world is the fundamental reality and the Bible something that is going to help it or fix it. We talk of "fitting the Bible into our lives" or "making room in our day for the Bible," as if the Bible is something that we can add on to or squeeze into our already full lives.

. . ."Biblical" does not mean cobbling texts together to prove or substantiate some dogma or practice that we have landed on. Rather, it signals an opening up into what "no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man conceived, [but] what God . . . has revealed to us through the spirit" (1 Cor. 2:9-10)

What we must never be encouraged to do . . . is to force Scripture to fit our experience. Our experience is too small; it's like trying to put the ocean into a thimble. What we want is to fit into the world revealed by Scripture, to swim in this vast ocean.

~Eugene Peterson

Eat This Book: Indigestion!

2010-02-15T12:06:00.001-06:00

For most of us, our first experience with the Bible is sweet; we find ourselves in this book, and that is so wonderful. We acquire a taste for the promises and blessings of God, we learn to appreciate the sound counsel and direction for our lives, we memorize a few psalms that we can recite in dark and lonely times and find comfort. There is so much here to delight us...

But sooner or later we find that not everything is to our liking in this book. It starts out sweet to our taste; and then we find that it doesn't sit well with us at all; it becomes bitter in our stomachs. Finding ourselves in this book is most pleasant, flattering eve; and then we find that the book is not written to flatter us, but to involve us in a reality, God's reality, that doesn't cater to our fantasies of ourselves.

There are hard things in this book, hard things to hear, hard things to obey. There are words in this book that are difficult to digest. John got a severe case of indigestion...

It is far too common among us to develop a problem-solving habit of approach to the Bible, figuring out what doesn't seem to fit and then sanding off the rough edges, so that is slips into our ways of thinking more easily. We want to use it for comfort, and if it doesn't work comfortably we reconfigure it so that it will. One good friend warns his students against becoming expert text-nicians. Text-nicians learn this text, master it inside and out, so that they can repair it when we sense it's a little "off," so that it will run smoothly and get us where we want to go with our needs and wants and feelings...

We are fond of saying that the Bible has all the answers. And that is certainly correct. The text of the Bible sets us in a reality that is congruent with who we are as created beings in God's image and what we are destined for in the purposes of Christ. But the Bible also has all the questions, many of them that we would just as soon were never asked of us, and some of which we will spend the rest of our lives doing our best to dodge. The Bible is a most comforting book; it is also a most discomfiting book. Eat this book; it will be sweet as honey in your mouth; but it will also be bitter to your stomach. You can't reduce this book to what you can handle, you can't domesticate this book to what you are comfortable with. You can't make it your toy poodle trained to respond to your commands.

~Eugene Peterson

Eat This Book: The Bible Was Written For ME!

2010-02-14T13:37:00.001-06:00

"...Here's the thing; every part of the [Word of God--every] revelation, every aspect, every form is personal -- God is relational at the core -- and so whatever is said, whatever is revealed, whatever is received is also personal and relational. There is nothing impersonal, nothing merely functional, everything from beginning to end and in between is personal. God is inherently and inclusively personal.

The corollary to that is that I, because I am a person, am personally involved in the revelation. Every word I hear, everything I see in my imagination as this story unfolds, involves me relationally, pulls me into participation, matters to my core identity, affects who I am and what I do."

--Eugene Peterson

I wish I could grasp that fully. I wish I could completely understand that every word matters--to me--personally.

Even the begats.

Even the rules in Leviticus.

Even the details of wars about which I would rather not know.

Even the parts of Revelation that leave me confused.

Everything.

Lord, I believe. Help thou mine unbelief.

Eat This Book: Doing Produces Desire

2010-02-13T21:58:00.001-06:00

Eat This Book is a six-week course exploring How to Study the Bible. I will be teaching 2 one-hour classes each week for six weeks beginning this Tuesday/Wednesday. (They are the same class). Those taking the class are encouraged to participate in this blog discussion as well as any who cannot attend but are following along through the blog postings.

(I do ask that if you are attending the class in person, please do not get ahead of the postings by bringing up a topic that may have been covered in class but has not yet been addressed in the blog postings.)

I will not be posting any of the first lesson until after the Wednesday class has met, but would like to share some interesting introductory material that I may or may not have time to get to in class.

I have compiled much of the material from other sources, and have added my own practices and observations, also. I have tried as diligently as possible to acknowledge any other sources when they have been used.

Disclaimer: I am just a fellow sojourner on this journey toward becoming a disciple of Christ. This study has once again reminded me of how far short I fall. I have convicted my own self through my study and am in the process of practicing what I will be preaching.

I have been reminded one more time that the more I learn, the more I want to learn.

The more I study, the more I want to study.

The more I read the Word, the more I want to read the Word.

Doing produces desire.

And I intensely desire to know His living Word.

Is anybody with me?

Eat This Book

2010-02-13T11:52:00.002-06:00

And I went unto the angel, and said unto him, Give me the little book.

And he said unto me, Take [it], and eat it up; and it shall make thy

belly bitter, but it shall be in thy mouth sweet as honey.

Revelation 10:9

Several weeks ago, I began slowly reading a book by Eugene Peterson entitled Eat This Book: A Conversation in the Art of Spiritual Reading. Reading that book, combined with the timing of several discussions regarding the lack of Biblical knowledge among those who read, ponder, and love the Word of God, prompted the formation of a 6-week class designed to further our knowledge of "How to Study the Bible." The class begins next week. The plan was to limit it to eight people and go from there. Well, it immediately grew to about 12-13 people, we added a second class and that one filled up, and now the classes are closed with a waiting list of 10 more asking to please do another one. There is an intense hunger to know how to really unpack the Word!

So, in putting together the curriculum for the six weeks (I would NEVER just find someone else's curriculum and use it--no, no---that would be too easy!) my soul has been stirred and I have become increasingly convicted that I have not pursued the discipline of ingesting the Word into the fiber of my being like the Spirit intends for us to do. But, instead of lamenting that fact, I am allowing this realization to change me and change my study lifestyle in order to be able to let my time on earth prepare me for eternity AND to allow any knowledge I gain to live on beyond the grave. Hence, the formation of "Eat This Book" -- a study of what/how to fully become one with the living Word of God.

So, for the next few days/weeks, I will be posting snippets of the class. It's where my heart, my mind, and my soul are dwelling right now. I invite you to return daily (sometimes more than that!) as we explore some principles, methods, and treasures of The Book.

Epitaph

2010-01-27T10:43:00.001-06:00

"Crazy Love" by Francis Chan has worked me over.

I could write for hours and describe my reactions to his many valuable concepts, insights, and scriptural nuggets, but will be very brief with this one reaction. I don't want it to become lost in verbal clutter.

If I die today, by what works (or lack of works) will I be judged?

O great and mighty God, whose name is the Lord of hosts ... rewarding each one according to his ways and according to the fruit of his deeds. (Jer. 23:18-19 ESV).

Matters of the heart are crucial. But it doesn't stop there.

It is by my WORKS that men shall know me.

God, forgive me for my dependence upon comfort.

Book of the Week :-(

2010-01-23T16:53:00.001-06:00

In an earlier post, I think I mentioned that my goal for 2010 is to read one book per week...a total of 52 books for the year. I'm not being picky about the genre...just whatever I'm into at the moment. It can be motivational, inspirational, fiction, way-out-there, or whatever.

The Bible is an everyday, all the time, non-negotiable.

Today is the 4th Saturday of the year. I haven't finished my first book yet.

But I'm working on it....Crazy Love by Francis Chan. It's been around a while, but I'm playing catch-up on a lot of life right now.

It keeps me up at night. If you haven't read it, you need to.

I Will...

2010-01-01T00:39:00.001-06:00

On the very cold morning of January 12, 2007, a man sat at a metro station in Washington DC and started to play the violin. He played six Bach pieces for about 45 minutes. During that time, since it was rush hour, it was calculated that thousands of people went through the station, most of them on their way to work.  

Three minutes went by and a middle aged man noticed there was a musician playing. He slowed his pace and stopped for a few seconds and then hurried up to meet his schedule. A minute later, the violinist received his first dollar tip: a woman threw the money in the till and, without stopping, continued to walk. A few minutes later, someone leaned against the wall to listen to him, but the man looked at his watch and started to walk again. Clearly he was late for work.  

The one who paid the most attention was a 3 year old boy. His mother tugged him along, in such a hurry, but the kid kept stopping to look at the violinist. Finally the mother pushed hard and the child began to walk turning his head all the time. This action was repeated by several other children. All the parents, without exception, forced them to move on.  

In the 45 minutes the musician played, only 6 people stopped and stayed for a while. About 20 gave him money but continued to walk their normal pace. He collected $32. When he finished playing and silence took over, no one noticed it. No one applauded, nor was there any recognition.  

No one knew that the violinist was Joshua Bell, one of the best musicians in the entire world. He played one of the most intricate pieces ever written with a violin worth 3.5 million dollars.  Two days before his playing in the subway, Joshua Bell sold out at a theater in Boston and the seats averaged $100 each.

This is a real story. Joshua Bell playing incognito in the metro station was organized by the Washington Post as part of a social experiment about perception and priorities of people.

They wondered if humanity intricately perceives beauty or if it is something dictated to them by peers and media. They wondered if calendars and clocks were more important to thousands of people than what has been defined as some of the best music in the world. They wondered if people are so caught up in their own preoccupations, their problems and pursuits that they don’t even know when they step into the sphere of the uncommon.

Gene Weingarten of the Washington Post initiated the experiment and the article describing the event won him a Pulitzer Prize. But even more impacting than the Pulitzer Prize, is the question that is still resonating from the whole ordeal. Weingarten asks us all: If we do not have a moment to stop and listen to one of the best musicians in the world playing the best music ever written, how many other things are we missing?

We read in the Gospels about others who missed some very important moments.

· A priest and a rabbi missed a wounded man on the side of the road who was dying. A Samaritan—viewed as second class—was the only one who noticed.
· An innkeeper missed the moment in Bethlehem when he turned away an exhausted man and a woman in labor on a donkey.
· A rich, young ruler came close – SO very close – to recognizing the magnitude of the dusty Rabbi. But in the end, his money proved too enticing…and he gave up earthly fulfillment and eternal riches to hang on to what was familiar to him.
· The Pharisees and Saducees studied about Him day and night. They prayed, they expounded, they represented Him 24/7…and when He walked into their temple, they had no clue who He was.

I’ve missed some moments in my life. Some I know about, but I wonder how many I will never know about?

How many angels have I entertained, unaware of who they were?

How many needs have I not seen, nor heard, because I was in such a hurry?

How many times have I bypassed the widows and fatherless--what the Bible declares as pure religion—simply because I had a deadline to meet, or a plane to catch, or a list to check off?

The lesson of Joshua Bell and the violin in the subway station has gripped me.

That’s why 2010 will be different for me.

In 2010, I WILL ---- listen.

In 2010, I WILL ---- follow.

In 2010, I WILL ---- go.

In 2010, I WILL ---- stop.

In 2010, I WILL ---- respond.

In 2010, I WILL ---- give.

In 2010, I WILL ---- rescue.

In 2010, I WILL ---- work.

In 2010, I WILL ---- recognize.

In 2010, I WILL ---- act.

In 2010, I WILL ---- allow.

In 2010, I WILL ---- speak.

In 2010, I WILL ---- be still.

In 2010, I WILL ---- love.

In 2010, I WILL ----

Reading in 2010

2009-12-28T08:20:00.002-06:00

So many books, so little time!

I'm compiling my 2010 Reading List. I usually do this at the beginning of the year in some form or another...but I'm usually not quite as intentional about it as I am being this year. I tend to stack books "to be read." The larger the stack of unread books, the better I feel, because I know they are there waiting for me at any given moment.

When I get the time.

The trouble is, there is so little time.

And when you stack my spare time next to my stack of unread books, it appears the stack of unread books has already far surpassed the stack of spare time I will have in my life ever again. Hence, the intentionality. My goal for 2010 is to read one book a week. Because, as my friend Scott Jones tweeted yesterday, "Men can live w/out air a few minutes, w/out water for 2 weeks, w/out food for 2 months - and w/out a new thought for years on end." -K Ruth (LOVED that!)

However...(and herein lies the catch!)...in my determination and intentionality to consume at least 52 books in 2010, I am more focused than ever before on consuming the Word. It would be interesting as well as scary and horrifying to know how many well-meaning people with an intense hunger to know God were led off the path into the the side roads of humanism, self-adulation, and dependence on abilities and marketing instead of the Spirit, all because of what they fed their mind on a daily basis.

Every book must be processed through the filter of the Word.

Every innovative idea must be processed through the filter of the Word.

Every emphatic re-discovered "truth" must be processed through the filter of the Word.

Otherwise, our souls will soon become a product of of our culture, and the eternal will be swallowed up in the slick, and our lives will become worthless, empty, clanging bells. But there is no way to process all the new books and ideas through the filter of the Word if we don't KNOW the Word. If it isn't hidden in our hearts. If we don't read it over and over and over again to allow the layers of revelation it contains to overwhelm us fresh and new every morning.

I don't agree a lot of Eugene Peterson's doctrinal positions. But there are a few things he is so right on about until it makes me want to hug him. And he can express it so much more succinctly than I. So, I'll just let him sum up my little out-with-the-old, in-with-the-new-year thoughts I am having this crisp, cold morning.

He says, "The blunt reality is that for all our sophistication, learning, and self-study we don't know enough to run our lives. The sorry state of the lives of the many who have taken their own experience as the text for their lives is a damning refutation of the pretensions of the sovereignty of the self. We require a text that reveals what we cannot know by simply pooling the acquired knowledge of the ages. The book, the Bible, reveals the self-revealing God and along with that the way the world is, the way life is, the way we are. We need to know the lay of the land that we are living in.

...Without this text, [the Bible], firmly established at the authoritative center of our communal and personal lives, we will founder. We will sink into a swamp of well-meaning but ineffectual men and women who are mired unmercifully in our needs and wants and feelings."

Exactly right, Rev. Mr. Peterson. I couldn't have said it better myself!