Have you got the time?

Growing up, I always wanted to be a superhero. Don’t laugh, because you did too! To be clear, I never wanted to be aqua man. There just wasn’t a point to being able to summon sea animals and breath underwater. Seriously, what bad guy is living underwater? I thought the best superhero gifts were having the ability to fly and having superhuman strength. I could see very practical ways I could help people with those abilities. When buildings were collapsing in a city, one who had those abilities could be there to stop the calamity. If a plane experienced engine failure at 30,000 ft., if people were surrounded by flames on a mountainside, if an asteroid was hurtling toward our planet, one who had super human strength and the ability to fly could be there to save the day! (And if the ozone layers were dangerously thin, flying to work would be an earth friendly way to travel.) However, it occurred to me during a recent episode of Heroes this season (yeah, this season is lame by comparison to last year), that these two powers are not the coolest gifts. The character on the show, Hiro, has the coolest gift. His ability to stop time is most impressive to me.

Think about it. How many of you have needed more time? You could play all day and still get your work done. Test taking would be a breeze. You would never be late for a meeting (even if you were late, you could go back in time to when the meeting started. And stopping time really makes light work for all your commutes anywhere in the world. Need to catch up on your sleep? Simple, just stop time and nap away! It would be fantastically freeing not to be bound by timed agendas. You could spend as much time as you wanted doing anything you wanted to do. Just imagine how long your next vacation could be!

When I thought about this, I began to think about the greatest gift we could give each other in a time bound world is our time! There is no substitute for being present with people who need some help, perspective, or encouragement. Looking back, those were the most memorable moments for me in my life. When others surrounded me with laughter, wisdom, honor, or admonishment, I caught a glimpse of community like I had never seen before. Others’ investment in me is something I continue to appreciate through the years. It is the time others spent with me that communicated my value and their friendship.

I think that is why the incarnation is such a powerful act in history that is worth noting for all time. Jesus, could have been anywhere, but he chose to come and spend his days with us leaving behind the glory of heaven to experience the mundane of earth. He chose to be born in humility, in scandal. He chose to give himself fully to an earthly mother and father. He chose obedience in the desert. He chose submission on the cross. Jesus chose to engage and love people through his whole journey of life with us on earth. Jesus spent his time with us, and that is no small gift considering he was someone who was not bound by time, yet submitting himself to it. As a result of the time he spent with us, we now know God loves us and values us more than we could have possibly imagined before. We can trust that God’s offer of salvation is solid, because Jesus walked with us.

This Christmas, celebrate with me the gift of God’s in-breaking presence with us through the very human act of a woman’s birth. Pray with me that we would learn to give others our time, like Jesus gave us his. Who knows...our time spent with others just might lead to salvation.

Perspective Shift

When I was growing up, I worked for my Dad. He owned and operated a vending and catering business. I held several jobs during my tenure on staff. I was a JAR (Junior Assistant Repairman), ASA (Associate Stockboy Assistant - to the Manger of Shelving), ASM (Assistant Sandwich Maker), and CBO (Chief Broom Operator).
When I got my license, I was able to move up the food chain a bit. I became a Route man. I delivered the food to all of the local cafeterias in the city. And as I became good at my route, I found that I finished my duties earlier than 5pm. One day my Dad saw me goofing off, so he charged me with the most important job in the business – CA (Cash Runner). I was responsible for taking the cash to the bank.

Each day, I would go into the cash room around 4:30pm with my hand truck, and fill up 5 or 6 milk crates with bags of coins and cash. When I entered that room, I became a different person. I was a man on a mission.

Each deposit would vary anywhere from $10,000 - $20,000. It was more money than I could begin to fathom. When I left the cash room, I was alone, and I was the most alert person on the planet. The way I figured it, everyone knew how much money I was carrying, and that meant everyone was looking for a way to take me out. My job was to safely deposit the money in the bank – unarmed!

It was uncanny how aware I became of my surroundings. When loading the milk crates full of money in the back of my truck, I just knew where everyone was. I heard every conversation around me. I saw exits and evaluated common items for use as weapons just in case someone tried to jump me.

Even when I was driving down the road, I thought about what I would do if someone tried to grab the cash while in transit. Who was driving next to me? Did they look at me in any unusual way? Were cars getting to close? Was there anyone following me? I changed up my route to the bank each day just to make sure no one’s dastardly plans would come true.

When I pulled up to the bank, my entire nervous system was on edge. Extra adrenaline was ordered to every muscle in my body. The real un-nerving process was unloading all of the cash on to my hand truck on the sidewalk. When someone would walk by as I was unloading, I told myself, “Just be cool. That’s just a person minding their own business walking on the street.” The process took about 30 seconds, but in my opinion that was about 29 seconds too long. I never felt safe until the cash was in the vault and the deposit slip was in my hand.

For me, having that kind of money changed how I thought about everything. My view of the world was colored. I saw the money as something to protect. As a result, everyone around me was a potential threat. For me, even though this money wasn’t mine, just being around it changed my relationships with others. I saw how my mind started to shift away from loving my neighbor to being mastered by this money.

Pray with me that we would be a community that understands money as a resource to exercise kindness and grace to one another. Pray that our use of money would lead us to a deeper pursuit of God and his kingdom.

Trick or Feed: Results Edition

Even though it has been a while since we did Trick or Feed, I continue to reflect on the experience with you. Given that it was Halloween, I was all set to take my kids around to get their fill of candy (and believe me, they were all set as well!-). Yet, the addition of collecting can goods for the NC Food Bank on Halloween moved me into the world for a different purpose.

As I knocked on doors with my daughters in tow, we said, “Trick or Feed,” instead of the usually greeting on Halloween. We had gotten word out the week before, but many of them needed a reminder about what we were up to. We were able to talk to our neighbors about what the NC Food Bank does for the hungry in our state, how our church was involved in helping the hungry, and that we were doing this because we believe that Jesus loves hungry people.

They were surprised to hear that over 100 young adults and college students were spending Halloween caring for the hungry because they were convinced Jesus loves hungry people. Collecting can goods was just a practical way that we could show them God’s love. When they heard that so many were involved in neighborhoods throughout Durham and Chapel Hill, five of my neighbors invited us into their homes so they could load us up with more food and supplies! They were happy to contribute, and thanked us for including them in the mission.

Samantha wrote a follow-up email to all those in our neighborhood listserv to thank them for participating with us and being so generous. She received an email back from one of our neighbors asking why we had to wait for next year to do this again!

At the end of the day, we were able to raise over 2,300 lbs. of food for the NC Food Bank. Many more were able to engage in conversation with those who gave about Jesus’ care for the hungry. NC Food Bank estimates that this amount will offer 2,720 meals this year. All this was done in about 2 hours of collecting from 100 people.

This simple mission engaged countless numbers of our neighbors, proclaimed God’s love & mercy for the hungry, and provided 2,720 meals that will feed people all over central and eastern NC. I almost feel ashamed to be so surprised by the impact of 2 hours of intentionally using our resources to engage God’s mission, but I am.

This mission reminds me how wealthy we are, and what a joy it is to spend our resources on those who have none. Pray with me that we will be a community that uses all our resources to demonstrate God’s love to our neighbors. Who knows what God is capable of doing through us, but it is fun to think about!

Trick or Feed

Even though it has been a while since we did Trick or Feed, I continue to reflect on the experience with you. Given that it was Halloween, I was all set to take my kids around to get their fill of candy (and believe me, they were all set as well!-). Yet, the addition of collecting can goods for the NC Food Bank on Halloween moved me into the world for a different purpose.

As I knocked on doors with my daughters in tow, we said, “Trick or Feed,” instead of the usually greeting on Halloween. We had gotten word out the week before, but many of them needed a reminder about what we were up to. We were able to talk to our neighbors about what the NC Food Bank does for the hungry in our state, how our church was involved in helping the hungry, and that we were doing this because we believe that Jesus loves hungry people.

They were surprised to hear that over 100 young adults and college students were spending Halloween caring for the hungry because they were convinced Jesus loves hungry people. Collecting can goods was just a practical way that we could show them God’s love. When they heard that so many were involved in neighborhoods throughout Durham and Chapel Hill, five of my neighbors invited us into their homes so they could load us up with more food and supplies! They were happy to contribute, and thanked us for including them in the mission.

Samantha wrote a follow-up email to all those in our neighborhood listserv to thank them for participating with us and being so generous. She received an email back from one of our neighbors asking why we had to wait for next year to do this again!

At the end of the day, we were able to raise over 2,300 lbs. of food for the NC Food Bank. Many more were able to engage in conversation with those who gave about Jesus’ care for the hungry. NC Food Bank estimates that this amount will offer 2,720 meals this year. All this was done in about 2 hours of collecting from 100 people.

This simple mission engaged countless numbers of our neighbors, proclaimed God’s love & mercy for the hungry, and provided 2,720 meals that will feed people all over central and eastern NC. I almost feel ashamed to be so surprised by the impact of 2 hours of intentionally using our resources to engage God’s mission, but I am.

This mission reminds me how wealthy we are, and what a joy it is to spend our resources on those who have none. Pray with me that we will be a community that uses all our resources to demonstrate God’s love to our neighbors. Who knows what God is capable of doing through us, but it is fun to think about!

The American Dream…It Ain’t All That

As my wife and I were taking inventory of our finances last week, we came upon a realization. We had yet one more month of dipping into our savings to pay the bills. Both cars had to go into the shop, and that produced large unexpected bills to be paid out to the mechanics who serviced our vehicles. None of which we anticipated. As we talked further about our finances, we both grew tense and uncomfortable with the reality that it was difficult, near impossible, to make ends meet. As a result, we began talking about whether the direction of our lives was focused more on fulfilling the “American Dream” than it was in living out the gospel. What came out of this discussion was freedom.

I always imagined it to be different that’s all. All my life, I dreamed about what it would be like to launch out in my career, marry the woman of my dreams, buy a house, and start a family. Yet, my conversation with my wife last week about finances was the wake up call. I realized that I finally got all the things I was shooting for in life, but none of this was enough for me. No slam intended on my wife, family or job because she she felt the same way. I love them all. I just realized that these things that I have longed for all my life, though fantastic in many ways, were not intended to fill the mission of my life.

Samantha asked me, “What if our lives were headed in the wrong direction? What if all our resources were not for our betterment, but for the betterment of others? What would we do differently as a result of this mission?” As she asked these questions, we both came alive. We began to move away from concentrating on our own needs, and began dreaming about fulfilling the needs of others. I was alarmed at the freedom our discussion gave me from spending energy on myself. It was a relief to talk about caring for others instead of ourselves, and it was a whole lot of fun to dream about the ways we could live differently in America. The hard part was that all of our speech included a presupposition. We had to renounce upward mobility and instead take on a downwardly mobile approach to life. Yet, as we weighed the costs of such a shift in pursuits, we continued to think that this was our only option if we were to believe in Jesus and have life in his name.

Just agreeing to pursue a downwardly mobile life, has freed us from worry, self-protection, and what’s next to get in life. So, now our conversations are more about courage, than about discernment. I think we know what to do. We just pray for the courage to step out in faith…so we can really live.

Will you pray with us? Will you pray with us that the young adult community would find its freedom in living for others, and find the courage to follow through on that conviction?

Advocacy

Last night, I heard Peter Bell speak at Antioch Church for our Faith Teams Dinner and Discussion. Peter is an ex-offender who is currently working for the city of Durham. He told us he has been in two state prisons and one federal prison. In his last go round, he spoke of his longing to see change in his life, and he prayed that God would help him make that change. As he was preparing to be released, he was told of an opportunity to join a Faith Team, and he said, “Yes,” to it without even knowing what it was. That one opportunity changed his life. For the first time in his life, he had someone who could be an advocate for him. A group of people, now in relationship with him, were able to stand up and speak on his behalf as he pursued better jobs, cleared his driving record, found safe housing, and re-entered social contact outside of prison.

As he told his story, he kept repeating that his Faith Team never gave him any money. He said they gave him something much better than money…love, support, encouragement, and advocacy. His team of people from all walks of life decided to befriend him and speak up for him whenever he faced problems he couldn’t handle. It was amazing to hear how Peter grew in strength of purpose as each time he came to his Faith Team with a problem, someone in the group had a solution (a personal contact to connect with, an opportunity to give, a recommendation on his behalf). The simplicity of advocacy was astounding to me as God used this one act of kindness over and over in Peter’s life to redeem him.

Last night, I was reflecting on my own previous status as a convicted criminal. The one thing that brought me out of death to life was the advocacy of Jesus. He not only advocated for me on the cross, but every day he speaks to the Father on my behalf. My record is made clean every day I confess to Jesus the problems that are too big for me. He somehow always has a solution to bring me back around.

Pray with me that we would become a community of advocates, like Jesus, for those who are struggling in this world.

Thirst

My experiment in cultivating a “garden of Eden” in my backyard has taken on new challenges this summer as we have been in an extreme drought. Today marks the first official day of mandatory water restrictions that Durham residents must adhere to or be kicked out of North Carolina (ok, that might be an exaggeration, but they will cut off all water to my house if I break the restriction).

All year, I have worked really hard to give the plants their proper nourishment and water they need to grow deep, strong and healthy roots to survive our in our climate. I even have adhered to the voluntary water restrictions that our Governor has requested up until this point. However, on Wednesday as I was leaving my house, the boxwood bushes that we planted in our front yard had changed from green to completely brown. Not a leaf on them was green. They were literally dying of thirst even though I had been watering them. The stress of 100+ degree days without water meant the ground was so parched around the plants that the soil soaked up the moisture before the plant could. My heart sank, as I saw my investment drying up before my very eyes.

My boxwoods made me think about the state of my own soul when it faces stress. When life gets busy, I often find that I can survive for a while going through the motions spiritually, but eventually I wake up to find my soul withered and dry, like I found my boxwoods this week. When life gets busy, that’s when I really need God’s nourishment, yet the temptation I have is to put my spiritual life on the back burner. God can wait, because what I really need to do is get ______ done. After the busyness, I can get back to attending my soul to let God restore me by his quiet waters. Yet, this is always a lie. When I neglect my soul, when I keep it from drinking in God, I am choosing to die of thirst. That parched feeling in my soul during the stress and busyness of life is an indication that I am thirsty, and I need to drink deeply from God’s well.

Pray with me that we will be a community that learns to act on our thirst. Pray that we will be a people who learn to drink deeply from God’s well…especially during the most stressful times of life.

Incarnation: God With Us

My daughter, Claire, is on the move. Last month she found her walking skills, and every day since she has been getting better and better at them. If you remember the alien in Men in Black, then you will have a vivid picture as to how she walks around the house. Like the alien, she is not quite comfortable in her skin yet, but she is totally committed to a more mobile lifestyle. This new stage in her life has caused me to change my parenting style. I have gone from asking, “How are you doing, sweet Claire?” as she stays in the location I have put her to “Where in the world is Claire?”

When the room gets quiet, I know she is up to something elsewhere, so I begin my parental ritual chant, “CLAIRE? Come out come out wherever you are?” I find myself repeating this over and over…not because I am particularly found of these words, but because she typically doesn’t respond to them. Off I go searching the rooms in the house to find where she has gone (and what trouble she might have gotten into!).

When I do find her, she turns to me and gives me a great big smile. Then, in an innocent fashion, she hands me whatever she has been playing with as if to say, “Dad, I just came in here to go get this (substitute anything breakable or harmful to children here) for you.” I reach down, pick her up, and redirect her to more children friendly pursuits.

It dawned on me this week as I was calling for Claire repeatedly one evening that the Lord calls out to me. Often, I treat the Lord as if he is in one room of the house, and if I choose to leave the room I am out of God’s presence. I can go see him if I want, but it is up to me to go to him. The gospels teach something completely different.

In John we read that the “word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.” It is Jesus who came looking for us! He desires for us to be in his presence. The action is on God’s part, not mine. Jesus’ pursuit of us, his call for us to come into his presence, is an invitation to me to take part in life. He calls me from my self-destructive ways, and teaches me to live, really live, in his presence.

Celebrate, part 2

This week, my wife pointed out one of my more “unique” traits. I have this most uncanny ability to notice new things. For instance. I notice when my wife gets a haircut. I notice when she is wearing new clothes. I notice when my kids do something new, or reach a new stage of development. I notice when my co-workers take risks in serving others. I notice when many of you take steps of faith. I am even aware of mundane things like new patches on the pavement on the streets that I drive. I find myself keenly aware of my surroundings and changes…yet what I didn’t necessarily know, was that I don’t verbalize the value of these changes.

So, when I notice that my wife gets a haircut, I say to her, “You got a haircut didn’t you?” Then she would reply, “Yes, I did.” And then I would move on to other subjects internally thinking that I have done my job. Internally, I am celebrating these notice statements as victories. I noticed! I pointed out! I am aware of others! I am conquering selfishness! All the while, my wife is left wondering whether I actually like her haircut or not. She is left vulnerable, and in the dark as to how I feel about her and her new haircut. I am finding out this happens all the time with my observations about life. I notice, and then I move on. I fail to tell others why I noticed. Your hair looks good. I like your new shirt. Thanks for cleaning up your toys. Thanks for being an example to me in the way you serve others. You helped me worship today by letting me see the steps of faith you are taking in your life. Thanks for taking care of the pot holes!

My particular illness of noticing without following up that observation with words that express encouragement to the other, has caused me to see all of the opportunities I have missed to celebrate others. As a result, I realize that withholding my praise, or assuming there is praise in making my observation verbal, does not lead to blessing in other people’s lives. It can actually have the opposite affect.

Pray with me that we would be a community that is moved in our observations of God’s work in other people’s lives to express it with words of blessing…liberally and without holding back.

Celebrate

Dinner time in our family is not the best part of my day, usually. It is a time of survival, really. Just getting through the meal is a test of willpower and perseverance.

It is the end of the day, and we are all tired from the day’s pursuits. My kids have short fuses because of their weariness and hunger. My wife has carried the responsibility all day to care for our little ones, and when I get home I take over and she works on trying to get a meal (or more likely meals) on the table that everyone will eat. When it is ready, we usually have to coax and cajole our kids into eating what has been prepared. I never would have imagined a kid refusing to eat macaroni and cheese, spaghetti, or potatoes, but that is where we are right now in child development. If more food goes in the stomach than reaches the floor, we call it a moral victory, even if my daughter substitutes the hot dogs for the ketchup as the main course. However, my wife, Samantha, introduced a new tradition in our dinner time routine that has gone a long way to change my attitude about meal times.

This summer, my wife asked each of us, “What was the best part of your day?” This is a simple question, but each time we ask it, I am surprised by what affect it has on me. This meal time question makes me look forward to dinner, yes it is still hard, but everyone’s answer to the question of “What was the best part of your day,” has been redeeming. I move from thinking about the labor and work of the day, to the joy and the opportunities the Lord has given to me in the day. Not only does it change my thinking about my day, it helps us delight in the joy of other people’s experiences in the day as we share them with each other. Many times the best part of our day involves one another, and so it becomes a time to affirm each other. This simple question has taken a hold on our family in a great way. It has helped us move from enduring the day, to celebrating the day together.

Pray with me that we would be a community that would take time to find ways to creatively celebrate what God is doing in our midst so that we might gain strength and encouragement to persevere when life gets hard.

A Matter of Trust

This week we looked at the Christian Practice of Study. Most, if not all of us, have learned the concept of study from our teachers in the academy.

When I was in school…cue the Scooby Doo flashback scene…I distinctly remember the feeling of writing papers and taking tests. Unfortunately I don’t remember the papers or the tests, I just remember the feeling of having to write the papers and take the tests. That might sound odd to have remembered a feeling of doing these things, but for me it is as memorable as a song that lodges in our brain and every time we hear it we are transported back to a particular place in time. The same goes for me when someone mentions having to write a paper or take a test. The process of writing and test taking really wasn’t all that big a deal to me, not that it was easy. Rather, it was the review of these papers and tests that gives me that such distinct memories.

Every class period I would get my paper or test back, and my eyes would be filled with red from the ink my teacher used to make notes on my work. The red ink formed phrases like:
1. Why didn’t you include______?
2. What about this _____ point?
3. Why didn’t you make _______ connection here?
And so it went from there. It was as if my teachers read only to look for the mistakes, not for the value of what I wrote. It was an odd way of reading. It was a reading that was inherently filled with caution, always looking to highlight the mistakes in what I had to say.

We don’t do anything else in life this way. We eat at restaurants, but we never go back to the kitchen and grill the chef on how he prepares his food. We drive on the streets without investigating everyone’s ability to drive. We put our money in the bank, and never demand to see the security system that the bank has installed. Yet, when it came to study in the academy, I was taught to lead with distrust at the helm. It was how I was taught to learn.

The reason I know this is because one teacher didn’t read my work that way. He read it to receive what I had to say, and then respond to it. Oddly enough, he didn’t leave red ink all over my papers. He used blue ink instead, and this ink formed phrases like:
1. I like how you tied these two points together. I haven’t thought of that.
2. What you are saying relates to ________ author. Have you read this book?
3. From what I am reading you are integrating the material well from class.
Now, I can’t say I got better grades in this professor’s class, but I could tell from his comments that he actually read and received what I wrote, then he evaluated it. In fact, he interacted with what I had to say in my papers and essays. It was a thoroughly different way of learning, and I actually learned a great deal from it.

This one professor changed the way I studied the Scriptures. Instead of being consumed by questions of what’s not included, I began to interact with and receive what is included in the pages of Scripture. Before I read the Scripture, I had to be prepared to receive it as truth. The reason is simple. What one relationship do I have where I led with distrust at the helm? That’s not to say, people can’t break my trust. It’s just that I have never had a friendship that was based on distrust. I could never begin a relationship with someone else if I were constantly evaluating him/her for what he/she didn’t give me. I think the same is true with our relationship with God.

At the core, our study of God’s word must be trust. Trust that God will speak to us. Trust that God will reveal himself to us. Trust that his words are for our benefit. When we receive and interact with God’s words in this way, we are choosing the blue pen over the red. That doesn’t mean we will not have questions. What it means is that the knowledge we receive will be imbedded in relationship. That is the kind of study that never wears us out, but renews and refreshes us.

Pray with me that we would be a community that would study God’s word well by receiving it as truth and interacting with it as we would any relationship.

Words of Love

How many of you remember your first love note? I distinctly remember mine. It was to a girl I had a crush on when I was in the 5th grade. Well, to be honest, I don’t remember the content, I just remember the process of writing. I believe the year was 1978, and I was “in love” for the first time. Thanks to a just released hit love song, I was given the fuel to pen my very first love letter in the 5th grade. I listened to this song a 1000 times before actually writing the note so my heart would be filled with the proper passion. Here was my inspiration:

Some say love it is a river
that drowns the tender reed
Some say love it is a razor
that leaves your soul to bleed

Some say love it is a hunger
an endless aching need
I say love it is a flower
and you it's only seed

It's the heart afraid of breaking
that never learns to dance
It's the dream afraid of waking that never takes the chance
It's the one who won't be taken
who cannot seem to give
and the soul afraid of dying that never learns to live

When the night has been too lonely
and the road has been too long
and you think that love is only
for the lucky and the strong
Just remember in the winter far beneath the bitter snows
lies the seed
that with the sun's love
in the spring
becomes the rose

The Rose, by Bette Midler

There is no telling what I actually wrote (and for everyone’s sake, let’s hope it never resurfaces), but I do remember writing with all of the passion and tenderness a 5th grade boy could muster. At the time, I thought I was writing the most important words of my life. Looking back, well it was probably the cheesiest thing I have ever written in my life! But for this 5th grade boy, they were words of life as I tried to express to someone for the first time that I liked them.

Thinking back on this process of writing my first love note, I find many similarities to what I think the journaling process is all about. Writing to record life is fine, but I don’t sense there is any formation of our spirit in that type of writing. To me it is a way to track time, and impute some meaning into our daily experiences by metaphorically or physically passing our experiences on to others in the form of written words.

When I think of the process of journaling as a Christian practice, the context is all about love. It is not much different than trying to write a love note to someone whom you like! The songs that fill our hearts with inspiration are the very words of God himself. He has been revealing his love for us generation after generation. As we read the Scriptures, we find his words fueling us with his compassion and love. Our words, by comparison, are just attempts to love him back. And this process of loving God back, no matter how trite our words of love for him might seem by comparison, is an essential act of worship. God no doubt receives and cherishes every word we can come up with to love him back.

What if Song of Songs was the primary text for us to learn to journal? What if this vivid description of romantic love in the Scripture is to teach us to pray like we are in love – with passion and anticipation of connection with God? At first pass, that concept makes me blush. Can I really think of God as my “lover?” Yes, I can. And when the context for my journaling becomes words to express my love to him, there is much in my heart to be transformed. I guess I am learning that if God really loves me, then I can start anywhere in my journaling, even if I don’t particularly want to love him back at the moment. The process of talking to my “lover” usually woos my heart back to him even if it has wandered away. Love is like a flower, and God its only seed. When we speak to our lover, our hearts are usually transformed. Therefore, we can pray song of song style:

Song 1:2 Kiss me—full on the mouth!
Yes! For your love is better than wine,
3 headier than your aromatic oils.
The syllables of your name murmur like a meadow brook.
No wonder everyone loves to say your name!

Pray with me that we would be a community that would learn to pray like we are in love. May our words shine as we find ways to love God back.

Practicing Solitude

These past two weekends, Samantha and the kids have been gone to visit family and friends, so they have left me home alone. Knowing I would miss my family these last two weekends, I was still looking forward to some alone time. I was actually looking forward to practicing solitude. As an extrovert, these are troubling words to write, but in my world now with two young kids my time is not my own. There are very few moments anymore when I can choose to spend my time however I wish. So I went into last weekend with purpose to do what I wanted to do.

The first thing I noticed was how efficient my weekend was. I wasn’t waiting on anyone, and no one was waiting on me. Food prep and was minimal as I was only cooking for one, and since there was no food spilled on the floor to wipe up, the clean up duty was a snap! If I wanted to go somewhere, I just hopped in the car to go, no wrestling children in car seats and gathering snacks for the journey, etc. I was also able to accomplish some projects around the house as well. I was streamlined, and I was firing on all cylinders. However, by Friday night, I became restless.

While I was able to get a lot done, I was still restless. I wanted the weekend to be a practice of solitude, but in actual fact I was practicing accomplishing tasks and celebrating the to do lists that I was able to get through. I wound up tired from the day’s activities, and I lacked the rejuvenation I was expecting from such accomplishments. The fact is, I wanted to share my accomplishments with my family, but they were not around. Instead of taking advantage of these desires to connect with others through prayer, I turned on the television to numb the longing and tune out my heart’s cry.

Saturday was much of the same thing as Friday. It took me till Sunday for me to start paying attention to God’s knock at the door of my heart. While alone, I was not practicing solitude because I was filling my time with tasks and busy things to do. I was not taking advantage of the solitude I was afforded. The truth is it is hard to face your soul when you are alone. But it is in that confrontation that the Lord met me.

The fear I had in coming to God during my weekend at home alone, was transformed into an expression of joy with God. I will spare you all the details, but one thing in particular was, as always, unexpected. I was captured again with the communion of God…the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. In finally being able to willingly put aside the to-dos and the distractions, I was able to enjoy the presence of God in my life. Again, He revealed the ways he has been at work in my life. I left last weekend with a deep appreciation that I am indeed not alone in this world and that the things that happen in my life are not random but purposeful, kingdom events in which I am called to participate with God.

I share this with you because solitude is counter-intuitive. Not many of us have the stomach for it. Practicing solitude seems to be self-destructive when everything in our hearts is crying out for community! Yet, it is the very thing that helps us to understand that we are indeed not alone in this world and that all of our life is meaningful.

Pray with me, that we would be a community that takes such bold risks in our faith as to intentionally make room in our lives for solitude so that we can hear God’s voice above the rest of the voices in our lives.

Watering

As I have said before in past news updates, I am being schooled in the art of gardening. This past week, I have learned another valuable lesson from the little corner of earth I am called to shepherd.

This spring I was able to rescue my grass and plants from the evils spirits of dandelions, crab grass, and a host of other unnamed weeds. It took a great deal of work, but my grass started taking off in late April and early May. The grass was actually becoming a thick, rich green turf! My plants started showing signs of life again as new buds and shoots started to appear on my bushes and plants! This was exciting, and I said to myself, “Son, you might just have a green thumb after all!” So, I stopped tending the yard and plants so intensely. I kicked back every evening in May to play with my children when I got home from work in the beautiful grass. After they went to bed, I would sneak back outside in the cool of the evening to watch the sun set on my prospering plants. This feeling of joy, serenity even, I took from the beauty I had created lasted a solid three weeks.

However, at the beginning of week 4, I looked out my window to soak in some of the beauty I created at the start of my day only to find my grass withered and brown and the new shoots on my bushes and plants decimated. Needless to say what I felt was not serenity, it was desperation.

Once more, I had to consult my plant and grass physician. I demanded to know why my plants stopped growing! I accused him of selling me grass that was of some lesser quality! I was angry that someone or something had taken away my little corner of beauty! His answer was shocking. He said, “Scott, you are the one who took away your little corner of beauty.” He went on to explain to me that the plants and grass, though they look really good and show signs of maturity, are not mature at all. Their roots will take a good three years to sink deep into the soil for their nourishment. It was my job to provide them with the nourishment they need now. So with those words, I was called back into my corner of earth, not to gain serenity from, but to shepherd and tend to maturity.


I don’t know about you, but I am so much like my young grass and plants. I get to a place that looks like maturity in my faith, and then I stop pursuing the things that nourish my soul. I expect that I have gotten what I have needed to live a life of faith, and I should just be able to naturally walk in faith from here on out. Mark’s sermon this past week on rest reminded me that it is not my body alone that needs rest, but it is my soul. My soul needs rest from the punishment and hits it takes throughout the week from bosses, agendas, marketing, disappointments, workload, friends, family, production, and burdens. I need to carve out time in my life in order to nourish my soul on good things, otherwise I will wake up one morning and wonder why my soul is so withered and brown like my plants and grass was after not watering them for three weeks.

It takes a lifetime for us to develop deep roots in the Spirit. We should not leave our transformation to chance or happenstance. Pray with me that we will become a persevering and patient community as we take advantage of the Sabbath not to rest our bodies, but to rest our souls on the very words of our Creator.

Sending & Going

This week I would like us to focus our encouragement on three young adults who are leaving tomorrow to go to Kenya. For many of you who have been fortunate enough to leave this culture to minister in another area of the world, the experience can be life changing. However, when one comes back from seeing God at work in another part of the world, it can often be hard to adjust because life back in one’s home country has not changed all that much.

I would like us to focus our encouragement on Khou, Jana, Mary Beth and Jacey because they are not going to Kenya to have a personal experience. They are going as representatives from the Young Adults as well as our church body. Let us encourage them by engaging in prayer for them and the team as an effort to send them, support them and receive them when they come back from their mission.

Here is what you can pray for:

• Pray for the safety of the team and that God prepare our hearts, minds, and souls for the experiences they will encounter there.

• Pray that they go with a posture of humility and humbleness, quick to use their gifts and abilities when needed, but with wisdom to discern cultural sensitivity.

• Pray that their hearts are open to receive all the great lessons our Kenyan/Tanzanian brothers and sisters are willing to teach us.

• Pray for unity amongst the team, that they will experience true community with each other.

• Pray for Beacon of Hope, praise God for the numerous ways Boh has been able to build up their community. And pray that Boh continues to shine His light in a place darkened by diseases and poverty.

• Pray with Kyama for his church and his vision of reaching the middle and upper class Kenyans so that they will in turn, overflow their resources and love onto the rest of Kenya.

Memory's Place

I love the concept of Memorial Day. I love the fact that people stop to pay attention to those that gave their lives to serve us and those that came before us. However, I don’t think many people take the time to actually remember the sacrifice of others. I don’t think many actually take the time to remember because deep down we are all really calloused hearted people. I think cultivating a thankful/grateful heart is a foreign concept.

We are trained to be reflective and grateful people. CNN is great at centering us on the present. They report the breaking news that is geared to disturb, interrupt, and dominate your thoughts for the day. Advertisers cultivate a discontent by creating needs for us that will be fulfilled when we buy their product. Movies and television overwrite our own stories, so when we do gather we end up talking about fictional lives, not our own lives. Ok, I am not down on the media, but if I am not careful, I can let the media dominate my thought life to the point where it squeezes every once of reflectivity out (if that’s a word).

This Memorial Day, I wonder if you would join me in not only reflecting on those that gave their lives for this country that we live in, but also those that gave their lives to pass on the faith to us. Reading Paul’s very personal words at the end of his letter to the Colossian church, has made me grateful for his life given for the sake of the gospel. Somehow his encouragement worked, because his words and life has been passed down to me.

I look forward to this weekend as good excuse to cultivate a grateful heart. Join me by reflecting on the God of Abraham, Isaac, & Jacob…

"No Thanks"

This past week in Sunday Class, Paul encourages the Colossians to just say, “No,” to those who were showing them the myriad of ways to develop their spirituality beyond the work Jesus. We too, need to hear Paul’s encouragement and employ the word, “No,” rightly in our life.

So often I use this word incorrectly. I use it in a manner to turn down things that are good for me and things that I would enjoy. I don’t know if you do this, but often when I am over at someone’s house and they offer me a drink, I usually respond by saying, “No thanks,” even when I am thirsty. For some reason, my knee jerk reaction is to deny the offer. Therefore, I end up denying the giver of the gift and deny his or her pleasure in giving it (not to mention the denial of my parched throat the joy of a cool drink!).

In thinking about why I typically respond negatively to the hospitality of a drink offered, I have come to the conclusion that what I am really saying is, “No thanks, I would rather deny my basic need for water than to be indebted to you by taking you up on the offer of a free drink.” This is very foolish, I know, but I think there is some truth to it. In saying, “No,” to the offer, I am also unconsciously saying, “Yes,” to my self-sufficiency. By saying, “No,” to these offers of hospitality, I am also saying, “No, to the joy of living in community with others. I could go on, but this little use of the word “no” has massive ramifications on the development, or underdevelopment, of my spiritual formation.

Is it any wonder then, when I hear God’s invitation to come, my knee jerk reaction is to say, “No thanks.” Pray with me that we might use the word “no” rightly. Pray that we would use the word in order to clear out the clutter in our lives so that we can hear God’s call to come to him.

“If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink.
Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him.”

(John 7:37-38, NIV)

Antarctica, Emperor Penguins, & Sacrifice

I don’t know about you, but I confess that I am a Discovery Channel junkie. I like almost everything that they put out. Recently, they have put together a television series entitled, “Planet Earth.” Their 1 minute trailer still gives me goose bumps even after seeing it 100 times. Two nights ago, I watched the episode entitled, “Ice Worlds.” This episode highlighted what’s going on at the poles of our planet. What I saw, was amazing…but then again, I do have a low wonder threshold.

The Emperor penguin was the key animal that they were following throughout this episode. I confess that I didn’t know much about penguins before the show began, and I guess I can’t say that I know that much more now; however, their existence on the part of our planet that is completely inhospitable to mammal life as we know it was inspiring.

The emperor penguin females lay their eggs before the winter season begins. It takes so much energy for them to lay their eggs, that they can’t possibly incubate them and survive the harsh winter. When winter hits, they pass their eggs off to the daddy’s of their eggs. They must successfully pass off their eggs to their husbands quickly because apparently it only takes seconds for an egg to freeze in the Antarctic. The fathers then hold the egg on the tops of their feet and squat down so their lower abdomen surrounds the egg. The mothers, exhausted from laying the egg, all head off to the ocean in search of warmer waters and food. The fathers stay behind for 3-4 months to endure the harsh winter without food and sunlight in temperatures that reach 60 below with winds up to 100 mph. How do the males survive you ask? They form a huge huddle.

Hundreds of emperor penguins stand together, forsaking all personal space, to share their body heat. Those late to the scrum take the brunt of the harsh conditions, but they need not fear being frostbitten to death. They eventually make it to the center of the huddle because each penguin shares the burden of the wind and cold. They are constantly rotating in and out of the center of this mass penguin huddle.

When the light returns to that dark world, it signals the end of winter and the beginning of spring. The ice melts, allowing the mamma’s to come back to reclaim their egg so the fathers can grab a bite to eat themselves. Each parent shares the duty of raising their young emperor penguin after it is hatched.

Trust me, I am not making this up! The teamwork that these penguins display in order to survive is incredible. Watching this 1 hour episode detailing the life of emperor penguins in the Antarctic inspired me to think about the role of sacrifice in our lives. These penguins are not able to survive without sacrifice. I wonder if the same is true for us. In a world where we can maintain the illusion of self-sufficiency, the truth is that our lives are found in sacrifice. From worship, to work, to family, and even to friendships, our sacrifice is required; however, in sacrificing ourselves for others we oddly enough find life just like the emperor penguins.

Therefore, I urge you, friends, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship. (Rom. 12:1)

Pray with me this week that God will help transform our sacrifice into life giving acts for others.

Soul Fertilizer

Last July, my wife and I moved into a new place off Garrett Road. One of the selling points was the yard. It wasn’t nearly as spacious as the farm my wife grew up on, but considering properties in Durham, it was at least a yard with space for kids to run and play. It wasn’t much to look at. In fact, the only things green in our backyard were the weeds and the poison ivy. I considered what kind of effort it would take for me to have our then year and half old daughter realize the dream of being able to play in our backyard without the ill effects of the overgrowth. I think Samantha and I settled on the time it would take as the year she was to go off to college. Agreeing this was unacceptable, I took the plunge…I hired an expert to tame my jungle and kill my weeds.

Within a week there was a three-man crew out at my house getting busy creating my vision of a yard – my little paradise! The first day, they got to work cutting back trees, pulling out the overgrown bushes, and edging in the clay an outline of what would become a yard. These guys knew what they were doing, and at the end of the first day, they had transformed my jungle into a workable blank slate. Day two was more remarkable as they built up beds in which my bushes were to be planted. They also spread some topsoil into my clay so that the grass seed roots had something to grow into. Day three was the craziest of all as the foreman showed up with all kinds of bushes and shrubs for me to choose which ones to be planted in my little slice of earth. By the end of day three, everything was in place, and the transformed was almost complete.

Yet, the ground surrounding the bushes still needed work. I had to wait for the grass seeds to germinate in the soil before I could call this paradise. It took a good 3 weeks of watering my new dirt before I saw any signs of progress. What came after that was a slow, but steady, stream of bright green spikes emerging from the ground. After that is was two months of consistant watering and tending these tiny blades of grass. During the fall, I had to keep the leaves off the tender grass, almost by hand, so as not to have them suffocate my lawn. However, this tedium was worth it because when November came along, I had a thick carpet of dark green grass without one hint of the former weeds. I was proud of the transformation. Success at last! The kids can now play freely! Then came the month of March.

Almost overnight, there was not a place in my yard that didn’t contain a weed. The grass was no longer think and green. It had faded from glory over the winter months, and I was sure that one of my neighbors had dumped a truck-load of weed seed on my yard. I was crushed to see my yard disappear each day only to be replaced by more weeds! My wife encouraged me to call the expert again. He asked what was wrong, and I told him that the seed he put down must have been some sort of annual grass. He asked me one question, “Did you put down any pre-emergent fertilizer over the winter months?” I sheepishly confessed that I didn’t put down any fertilizer. He told me, “Just because we killed the weeds that lived in your soil when we planted the grass, doesn’t mean we killed the seeds that those weeds left behind.” My heart sank. I wasn’t prepared for that battle.

This little story of trying to grow grass in my yard replays again and again in my heart. God plants his word over and over in my life, but I need to tend it in order for it to grow and bear fruit in my life. I have patterns of living my own life without trusting God, and even though those actions are removed, those patterns leave seeds that can grow up later. I need a good fertilizer. The Hebrews used to meditate on God’s word in order to fertilize his word in their life. Psalm 1 is a good example of this use of meditation.

As Jesus plants his word in our lives, pray that we as a community might be diligent to fertilize it, by meditating on his words of life.

Becoming Human...Again

This week I am preaching in church, and I am going to be continuing on the theme of "Express." I will save the sermon for Sunday, but what I have been digging into has been the overwhelming sense of conflict that expressing Jesus causes in our lives. Though I think we like to speak otherwise, it is just not safe to speak of Jesus.

Depending on where I live, even today, I could lose my life for speaking of Jesus not to mention receive jail time, beatings, loss of relationship, loss of job, poverty and estrangement from others. To be honest, none of the above sounds appealing to me. In fact, it is all stuff I would like to avoid in my life. So, why should I speak of Jesus?

The answer, though I like to avoid it is simple: Jesus makes me human again. Every time I try living without him, I become like a brute beast bullying, lying, cheating, and stealing my way through life. In order to live in “freedom” without Christ, I must live guarded and prideful – never letting anyone see any chink in my armor. I must be all that and a bag of chips, which, contrary to popular opinion, I am not.

However, when I bend my knee and submit my ways to Jesus, I become human again. He shows me what it is to be created like God. I can begin to be comfortable in the skin that he designed for me. To be clear, being truly human does not afford me any rights or privileges here on earth. My life won’t be magically better than it was before. Jesus won’t make me win the lottery, give me what I want, or save me from suffering. Jesus makes me human. And for that, I can speak of Jesus freely and openly no matter what others have to say about me or what others do to me. To live otherwise is to deny my very purpose, my life.

Pray with me that we would be a community that speaks openly and freely about Christ, because he has made us human.

Real Passion

This week we find our identity in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. My encouragement to you this week is simple. Let the passion of Christ move you closer to him.

We are intentionally not providing specific Young Adult opportunities this week in order for us to join together with the whole body to worship Jesus. I want to encourage you to take advantage of the Maundy Thursday service and the Easter Festival. These are two of the best things we do as a church.

May you drink in the love that was poured out on us this Good Friday, and join the feast of life on Sunday.

Watch TV

This week’s encouragement is simple. Watch TV. I mean it. I don’t just mean sit down and veg out with any ol’ program. I mean tune in and turn on to the spectacle that is college basketball’s NCAA tournament.

There is no doubt in my mind that you have filled out your brackets, monitored Davidson’s challenge to Maryland this afternoon, and predicted the 5/12 upset of the tourney (Go ODU! Who is up by one at the half by the way). If you haven’t spent the time, why haven't you?

You might rebut with:
1) “Scott, it is just too foolish of me to waste so much precious time.”
2) “My team isn’t even in the tourney.” (Sorry Clemson, State, & WFU)
3) “I don’t even like sports, anyhow.”

Well, I say, “Hogwash!” to all of these excuses. The NCAA isn’t about sports anyway. It’s about possibilities.

Who would have predicted last year that GW, an 11th seed, would wind up in the final four? No one! Who would have predicted Florida to win it last year? Nobody! (And they are not going to win it this year as a 1 seed.) The NCAA Tournament is all about the opportunities that we have in life and what we do with them. Anything is possible, and that’s why we watch because we are drawn into the idea that anything is possible.

If you are like me, you will always be tempted to settle for an ordinary life. However, this is not what the Scriptures tell us. They tell us that when we receive Christ in our lives everything changes. We become whole, full with life, caught up in kingdom of possibilities never before imagined. Followers of Christ get to join God’s mission of extending forgiveness, healing the broken, and loving the unlovable. This is no ordinary life. It is full of possibilities that have God at the center. You say, “No”? Check out what Jesus had to say to a man who questioned whether or not he could heal his son of a demon possession.

“But if you can do anything, take pity on us and help us!”
And Jesus said to him, “‘If You can?’ All things are possible to him who believes.”
(Mark 9:22-23, NIV)

Now the NCAA Tournament is nothing compared with God’s work, but if you need help sparking that possibility in your own life, check it out. God might use it to help dislodge that disbelief yet.

Dealing with Blemishes

For the last couple of weeks I have been thinking about my conversion to Christ. I am not talking about the story of my start to the Christian faith. I am talking about the total transformation of my life into God’s image. It might seem strange to you (quite frankly, it seems strange to me, too), but I have been sensing the Spirit asking me, “So Scott, how’s it going with your conversion?”

The question pops up at random times. I am not necessarily doing anything overtly spiritual – just picking up items at the store or driving down the road in the transit of life. Yet, the question keeps popping up, “Scott, how’s it going with your conversion?”

Today I read these words from Paul’s letter to the Colossians:

Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior. 22 But now he has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation— 23 if you continue in your faith, established and firm, not moved from the hope held out in the gospel.

Again the question came to me, “Scott, how’s it going with your conversion?” As I read these words again, it hit me that I think I am more comfortable living as an alien to God than I am as living as one reconciled to him. Don’t get me wrong, I love the fact that I am reconciled to God through Christ, but I am not sure that I completely understand how to live “holy... without blemish and free from accusation.” Somehow my blemishes still show up and the accusations continue to fly at me. The encouragement that Paul gives to the Colossians is “if you continue in your faith.”

I think this is what the Spirit is trying to get at in the question that keeps popping up. “Are you continuing in your faith, or are you letting the gospel be uprooted in your life by all the accusations?”

It may seem strange, but what if we said to each other, “How is it going with your conversion,” rather than simply, “How’s it going,” when we greeted each other? In a small way, could this be a helpful way to remind each other of the power of God’s reconciling grace in our lives?

Pray with me that the Spirit would mark our community by the gospel – holy, without blemish and free from accusation.

Simply Paying Attention

This week the 20’s heard from the prayer team on the topic of listening/contemplative prayer. The prayer team confessed across the board that this type of praying was especially difficult. I too confess that this type of prayer has been more of a discipline than a natural part of my relationship with God.

Contemplative prayer is difficult for me because it involves my paying attention to God’s activity over against my own activity. For some reason I continue to live out of a lie that what really matters in life is what I am doing. Therefore, when I sit down to listen to God, the temptation I face is that I am wasting my time. I am tempted to ask, “Isn’t there something better I could be doing to accomplish something?” Yet, this temptation serves as a reminder as to why I need to practice contemplative prayer. I need help seeing God at work in our world. When the work of redemption, mercy, grace, and love are up to me to fulfill on my own, then the greater temptation I face is one of despair and hopelessness. But when I spend time listening to God, I get a different picture altogether. God reveals the ways he is at work doing those things, and he invites me to participate with him in his work. Therefore, my contemplative prayer leads to freedom and hope. It transforms my discipleship into an act of joy.

Pray with me that our community would take the risk to engage in contemplative prayer. Pray also that when we come to God our main activity will be to cease our activity so that God can tell us what he is up to in the world around us.

Suffering's Good News

This week in the 20’s Sunday class, the Prayer Workshop Team shared with us about the prayer of the forsaken (based on Richard Foster’s book, Prayer). Many, if not all of us, have felt forsaken at one time or another in our lives. What has encouraged me during the week is to know that Jesus himself went through such a time on earth.

About the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?”—which means, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Matt. 27:46, NIV)

Now I don’t wish the experience of being forsaken by God on anyone, but the fact that Jesus went through this time tells me that there is hope for us as we undergo such a walk in the desert. Contrary to my experience during those times, I can gain some comfort in the fact that Jesus, the God-man, also when through this experience.

In the passage above in Matthew, Jesus is quoting from Psalm 22. This is David’s prayer of his own feelings of abandonment by God. In the psalm, he describes in detail his proximity to death. Yet in verse 22, there is a shift. Something happens to David, but we are not let in as to what. David just begins to praise God.

I will declare your name to my brothers;
in the congregation I will praise you.
You who fear the LORD, praise him!
All you descendants of Jacob, honor him!
Revere him, all you descendants of Israel!
For he has not despised or disdained
the suffering of the afflicted one;
he has not hidden his face from him
but has listened to his cry for help.
(Psalm 22:22-24, NIV)

I have come to appreciate this psalm for its vivid description of suffering and for what it leaves out. I am thankful that I can pray along with David and Jesus when I too feel forsaken by God. There is affirmation for me to pour out my heart to God no matter how bad it gets. It is an act of faith.

I am also thankful for the rescuing part being left out of this psalm. If it were included, I am afraid that I would be tempted to spend my time praying that God would change my circumstances in the same way as he did for David. The second half of the psalm simply praises God for his care and presence with those who are suffering and afflicted. I think this is the point. Our experience of forsakenness is not without purpose. Somehow it will lead to God’s praise; however, David nor Jesus understood how there suffering would end up glorifying God. This is the good news for me as well. Neither do I know how my suffering will end up glorifying God, but in this I have good company.

Pray with me that we would be a community that can pour our hearts to God and wait in expectation for him to answer us.

All Covered in White

Today I was surprised to see the snow fall on the ground. The first thing Samantha said to me this morning was, “Finally, winter is here!” In looking out the window early this morning, I was struck by the silence and calm that the snow brings to the landscape. We took full advantage of the morning by getting the kids up and ready to go outside to experience play in the snow. After several unsuccessful attempts to get Lydia’s winter gear on (esp. her boots), we walked out onto our back porch to experience the snow.

I don’t know if you are like me, but there is something about the snow that draws me outside into it. Maybe its because I grew up in the north, and I have a ton of memories about playing in the snow. Maybe its because snow is so rare these days in our part of NC. Either way, I have to go out in it. I love to feel its coolness to the touch of my skin. To reach down in the snow and create a snowball (which Samantha is an expert at I might add), is so natural. Our backyard just seemed to invite us to come and play as we were the first to make any footprints in the pristine snow.

In reflecting on this sight of new fallen snow in our backyard, I am reminded of a similar invitation in Isaiah:

“Come now, let us reason together,”
says the LORD.
“Though your sins are like scarlet,
they shall be as white as snow;
though they are red as crimson,
they shall be like wool.
(Is. 1:18, NIV)

To me, God’s grace is like my backyard – inviting me to come and play. Just as the fresh snow allows me to make new footprints, so does God’s grace allow me to begin again after wandering away from him. This morning’s scene of fresh snow covering my yard was again a reminder of the power of God’s work in transforming our lives. It is a reminder that confessing my sin to the Lord drastically changes the landscape of my soul. This change leads me to say,”Finally, grace is here!”

Pray with me that we would let God’s reason win out so that our sins might be transformed from the color scarlet to that of white – white as snow.

A Thorough Conversion

Hypothetically speaking, what would you do if your car was towed from a restaurant on Franklin street to which you were a patron? Before you answer, what if you were in said restaurant trying to encourage people to follow the Lord, and in general be God’s witness in the world while people were scheming to take your wheels and hold them hostage for $150 cash? Let’s say you spoke with the manager of this restaurant, yet the manager was not willing to consider that you are a regular? Every week you bring one or two people with you to his establishment to have breakfast or lunch, but still you were told to deal with it by calling the towing company. How would you feel? What would you do? (Remember this is all hypothetical of course.)

Let’s just say I experienced a “similar” wrong-doing as I described above earlier this week. I hate to say it, but I wished for a special dispensation to not be a Christian at that moment. There were words I wanted to utter that do not lead to Paul’s encouragement in Eph. 5:19, “Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord…” Needless to say, there was no music making in my heart that moment…only revenge for the violation.

Yet, the question remains, “What would you do?” Would you boycott the establishment? Would you call to tow the manager’s car? Would you go back, buy some coffee and then proceed to “spill” it on the manager? I am sure that none of you would do such vile things.

However, after much reflection, and cooling off I might add, these words came rolling into my mind (I will highlight them in red because they come straight from Jesus himself):

Luke 6:27 “But I tell you who hear me: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, 28 bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. 29 If someone strikes you on one cheek, turn to him the other also. If someone takes your truck, do not stop him from taking your money. 30 Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back. 31 Do to others as you would have them do to you.

32 “If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even ‘sinners’ love those who love them. 33 And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even ‘sinners’ do that. 34 And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even ‘sinners’ lend to ‘sinners,’ expecting to be repaid in full. 35 But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. 36 Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.

Now, let’s be honest, my little made up example is not something to be compared with what Jesus has in mind here. I would not say that there are “enemies” at that restaurant, but an example like this could have the effect of a hot iron being pressed upon one’s soul testing to see just how far one’s heart has been converted to Christ’s lordship.

Pray with me that our hearts would be thoroughly converted to love those who might mistreat us this week.

The Holy Dance

I know Christmas is over, but I can’t stop thinking about it. What I love most of all about Christmas is the anticipation of celebration, rest, good food, and generosity (to friends, family and even strangers, esp. in lines at the mall). Yet for me this year, Christmas was a return to something I think I had forgotten (or at the very least, something I have ignored for a while).

This Christmas was a big Christmas because it was the first time our two year old daughter, Lydia would be cognizant of all the spectacle that is Christmas for kids. I must say, that I was anxious about how Lydia would react to all of the gifts Santa, and her extended family, would give her this year. Would she be demanding? Would she be overwhelmed? In the end, I was surprised about how the gifts really weren’t the main thing that caught her attention. It was her cousins that she most delighted in, and it was her cousins that most delighted in her!

My brother has 4 kids (believe me I am going somewhere with this) ages 12, 10, 8, and 6. -- three girls and one boy. For some strange reason, they have decided to love her with all their kid might. Each one of them vying with each other to play with her and her toys on Christmas day, not their own. They all wanted to get in on the action of playing with my daughter. I don’t really know why exactly. They just did, and they were giddy about it.

When they turned on the music and began to dance around together, I saw a glimpse of joy in my daughter’s face that I have never seen before. As they danced in a circle holding hands, my daughter’s face came into view. It was full, a smile from ear to ear leaving no tooth hidden, and her throat projected her childlike giggles across the room. As she looked up at the other kids’ faces all delighting in her, it hit me. This is Christmas joy! God coming to earth to dance and delight with his creation!

The shear joy and delight of Christ’s eyes meeting my own has been something hidden from my view of late. I guess I have been too preoccupied and worried about other things that seemed important at the time. However, this new year, I find myself praying to have the courage to join hands with the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – to join their dance - so that the core of my relationship with God is not book knowledge, but one of mutual delight and joy.

My mind’s eye imagines that it was with this kind of joy that Zechariah sung his song after John was born. He sang:

“Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel,
because he has come and has redeemed his people.

He has raised up a horn of salvation for us
in the house of his servant David

(as he said through his holy prophets of long ago),
salvation from our enemies
and from the hand of all who hate us—
to show mercy to our fathers
and to remember his holy covenant,
the oath he swore to our father Abraham:
to rescue us from the hand of our enemies,
and to enable us to serve him without fear
in holiness and righteousness before him all our days.

(Luke 1:68-75, NIV)

Pray with me that we as a young adult community will join this holy dance in ’07.