If Life Were Easy...Part 2

Dave and I have generally been posting on this blog only once a week, but I felt today’s experience merited a follow-up to this week’s post. It was another somewhat “hard” day. I spent three hours trouble-shooting and fixing our car today…which was three hours too long according to what I had hoped to accomplish today. So, bedtime with the kids was later than usual. It was another struggle to get them to stay in bed. Myah threw up because she got the hiccups after she and Silas had played “sneak-out-of-bed-and-run-back-as-fast-as-you-can.” Which meant another load of laundry. By the end of it all, I felt like a horrible mom and still hadn’t packed a single box. It was 10:30 p.m.

After packing the Russian tea set in multiple layers of bubble wrap, I decided I could call it quits and thought I’d check my email really quickly before heading to bed. There were two messages from our Communitas accountant, giving an update on our financial support. I read the emails and then reread them and then sat down in the floor and cried. God just met me right there on the kitchen floor. We are at 14% of our monthly support! It blew me away. God is faithful and he will do it (1 Thessalonians 5:24). He captures my weak and failing heart and reminds me that He is good and powerful and loving. I was overcome with thankfulness for our Christian brothers and sisters who are making sacrifices so that we can go where God is leading. It really is amazing. Hard. And beautiful.

If Life Were Easy...

It has officially begun!! The packing, that is! I was a lot more excited about it this morning. Now, having packed 21 boxes worth of books, more books, craft supplies, games, stuffed toys, and a few more books, I’m beginning to wonder if a week is enough time to pack up everything in this house. Dave is in Detroit this week on a mission trip with our youth. My mission this week is to get everything in our house in a box. One thing is for sure—I need more boxes.

I think my excitement began to wane just a bit mid-day when I realized this task is going to require a lot more time and energy and effort than I thought. In other words, I had hoped it would be easier. I think that I often hope for LIFE to be easier. But I don’t know if it ever is, or if it is ever supposed to be that way. I think I just want life to be easy. You know, the life where you pack lots of boxes and you can actually see a difference. (My house looks like I haven’t moved a thing yet.) The life where your car doesn’t die right after you get gas and require that you get a stranger to jump it for you. (Yep, that happened today too.) The kind of life where your kids go to bed without a fight. The life where you never have headaches. The life where your house sells the day you put the sign in the yard and your support comes in without having to make a single phone call.

Come to think of it…maybe I don’t wish life was that way. If it was, I probably would have missed the fourteen trips I took down memory lane while packing those boxes today. I would have missed the blessing of the lady who was right there at just the right moment to jump my car…and how perfect that it happened at the gas station where lots of cars come by all the time! I would have missed the wiggles and hugs and time with my kids. I would have missed Myah saying, “Mommy, you want me to kiss your head?” I would have missed the journey of trusting and waiting for God to provide. I would have missed the many blessed conversations and countless words of encouragement every time we talk to people about supporting us.

You know, it’s like the Bible story I read to the kids tonight about Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. I might have been easier if there was never a king who made crazy laws about bowing down to a statue and then throwing people into a fire if they didn’t. Or it might have been easier if those three guys had just bowed down. But they would have missed God being with them in the fire. They would have missed the power of obeying the one true God. They would have missed the exhilaration of God doing more than they could ask or imagine. What I really hope for is faith like Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego had. I want to live life, following God all-out and especially when it’s hard. So, what does that mean for you today? What does it look like to embrace the “hardness” of life with a faith in the God who is even stronger? For me, right now it means planning a Sunday School lesson even though it would be easier to go to bed!

Why Do We Suffer...

C.S. Lewis said this - "The real problem is not why some pious, humble, believing people suffer, but why some do not."

Jen and I were talking the other night about the fear and anxiety that we feel about this new way of life that we are embarking on. We were praying that God would give us the grace and joy to walk into this new adventure ready to give up "our" schedule, "our" security in things, "our" comfort of "our" own space and "our" own time, or even in giving up "our" own life and what we have known. We love people, we love God, we love serving, but to this point we have loved all that within the comfort of owning "our" own house and having a secure and definite income. This new lifestyle of faith and following God challenges all of "our" paradigms and yet we know that God promises peace and faithfulness if we just trust. We have this sense that God is going to allow us as a family to experience the Kingdom of Heaven in a brand new way this year. In light of this new adventure God is calling us to... please read this passage from Luke. Let it challenge your hearts as it has our hearts.

LUKE 17:20-33

The Coming of the Kingdom

²⁰ One day the Pharisees asked Jesus, “When will the Kingdom of God come?”

Jesus replied, “The Kingdom of God can’t be detected by visible signs. ²¹ You won’t be able to say, ‘Here it is!’ or ‘It’s over there!’ For the Kingdom of God is already among you.”

²² Then he said to his disciples, “The time is coming when you will long to see the day when the Son of Man returns, but you won’t see it. ²³ People will tell you, ‘Look, there is the Son of Man,’ or ‘Here he is,’ but don’t go out and follow them.²⁴ For as the lightning flashes and lights up the sky from one end to the other, so it will be on the day when the Son of Man comes. ²⁵ But first the Son of Man must suffer terribly and be rejected by this generation.

²⁶ “When the Son of Man returns, it will be like it was in Noah’s day. ²⁷ In those days, the people enjoyed banquets and parties and weddings right up to the time Noah entered his boat and the flood came and destroyed them all.

²⁸ “And the world will be as it was in the days of Lot. People went about their daily business—eating and drinking, buying and selling, farming and building—²⁹until the morning Lot left Sodom. Then fire and burning sulfur rained down from heaven and destroyed them all. ³⁰ Yes, it will be ‘business as usual’ right up to the day when the Son of Man is revealed. ³¹ On that day a person out on the deck of a roof must not go down into the house to pack. A person out in the field must not return home. ³² Remember what happened to Lot’s wife! ³³ If you cling to your life, you will lose it, and if you let your life go, you will save it.

Giving up security, giving up the comforts of this world and following God brings challenges and fear, but we believe that God is calling us to follow Him to New Orleans and we also believe that what God promises, He always upholds. Therefore, friends, we want to live in God's promise that, if "we" cling to "our" life, "we" will lose it, and if "we" let "our" life go, "we" will save it. Pray that we continue to walk boldly into this new way of life and pray and ask what God would have you do with "your" life.

We love you and appreciate your prayers.

He Cares

“MYAH!” I (Jen) screamed as our sweet-but-incredibly-daring 2-year-old stepped off the sidewalk, about to place her foot on the street. I wouldn’t have shouted quite so loudly had I known that the speeding car I heard from behind me had actually not turned onto our street. The coast was clear and she was safe, but I had to be sure. Admittedly, I sometimes wish my personality did not have such a strong cautious streak. I strive not to be an “overly” protective parent. I don’t want to shield my children from what they need to learn. On the other hand, I do not want to carelessly place them in danger, ill-equipped for what may lie ahead.

In our community group this week, I shared something of my fears for my children with this transition we are encountering as a family. It’s not just a physical protectiveness for their safety that wells up in me and too often turns to worry. But rather, a deep-seated desire for their overall well-being. After I voiced this as a prayer concern, my wise brother Trent said that perhaps the sense of protection and care I feel toward my children is evidence of how the Lord cares for His children. God has put that in us as a reflection of the deep concern He has for us. Trent said it better than that, but it really struck me. Mainly, I realized in that moment that I had “forgotten” how much God cares for me. And that any worry or fear I might have is erased in the knowledge and understanding of His love for His children. Please feel free to remind me of that in the coming weeks. I may have a tendency to forget…God loves us. He desires what is best. He is perfectly capable of watching over us—and our children. So, this week I pray that we—and you—take daring steps to follow freely the Father who loves us so deeply.

A Movement

Isaiah 56:1-3 - The Lord says, "Be just and fair to all, do what is right and good. For I am coming to rescue you and to display my righteousness among you. Blessed are they who do this. Blessed are those who keep the sabbath day holy and keep themselves from doing wrong. Do not let the foreigner who commits his way to the Lord say, 'The Lord will never allow me to be part of His people.' And do not let the eunuch say, 'I am a dried up tree with no children and no future."

When St. Patrick began evangelizing Ireland, he said, "I want the one who visits us to observe more of a movement than an institution, with small provisional buildings of wood and mud, a movement featuring laity more than clergy. We want it to be more imaginative and less cerebral, closer to nature and its creatures. A place that emphasizes the immanence of Christ and the providence of God rather than His transcendence."

This passage of scripture is one that I have been memorizing and meditating on this past week. Through this step of faith that we are taking as a family, I have had a new appreciation and longing to be close to God and in His word. As I meditated on these verses this week, I noticed a few things that have challenged me and thought I would share them with you.

1. What we are to do as God's people is simple and not rocket science.

~He simply wants us to be just and fair and do what is right and good.

~He then wants us to simply do what He does. The very first thing God did after creation was rest. All through the scriptures, God gives us an example and He simply says do this... Do what I do.

~Keep life simple... don't make it harder than it has to be.

2. Live among people

~He talks about the two extremes of people in the Jewish culture.

a. The Eunuch - the most devoted to Christ and the one who sacrificed the most for Christ

b. The Foreigner- the one who was not accepted because he was deemed detestable

~Both are accepted in God's eyes and have just as much right to the inheritance of the kingdom. Do you treat all people that way?

3.Living among people provides opportunity to serve and love.

~Both examples are found questioning things about how God views them and what their future looks like. They are both wrestling with purpose and acceptance. When we live among people, doing what is just and fair, and what is right and good, and living like Christ lived, people will come to us with life's tough questions and we can point them to the hope that lies in the next verses of Isaiah 56. Read it for yourself.

As I think and pray about what our future holds, I get excited amidst the fear because we are hopefully stepping into something that is not just something we do, but it is a movement that helps all people see that there is a hope and a future. Read God's word. Pray for us in this transition. Live among people and follow Christ's example.

I Just Want To Be Like You

Have you ever been around someone you wanted to be like? Someone you watched and you wanted to get to know and be more like? The more you watched them the more you grew confident that you wanted to be just like them and do what they did? It didn't matter if the people around you were doing it or not or even what they may think about you, you were willing to do what they did. The people you want to be like are usually set apart by a few distinct qualities: they are passionate, hard-working, and want others to get involved.

Why do I bring this up you may ask. Well, it has to do with the picture at the top. It is Silas at Bible School this week and he is sitting in the large group time that was led by some of the 6th graders. When he came home he was always so pumped about the songs he learned and the motions they taught him. He started the week by just watching with wide eyes, then Tuesday it was doing a few of the motions and songs at home, to Wednesday and Thursday he was up and doing the motions with the group. Then Friday he was debating about going up when they asked for volunteers. What a transformation of attitude that was all based on those who were on the stage. The 6th graders had worked hard for the last few months learning the songs and motions, they were passionate and excited about what they were doing, and they were constantly challenging those watching to get involved. Today ended with Silas saying, "I should have gone up on the stage, I won't have another chance cause VBS is over."

Here's the takeaway: I was challenged this week by my son to live for Christ passionately, to work hard at everything we do, and encourage others to get involved. It would be a shame to live out this new adventure and at some point find myself saying, "I wish I would have done more, but now its too late." When I live like this, I hope people will want to follow and imitate me. And if I am imitating Christ then they too will be imitating Christ and that is our one hope and prayer as we go on this adventure.

1 Cor. 11:1 - "And you should imitate me, just as I imitate Christ."

Eph. 5:1 - "Imitate God, Therefore, in everything you do, because you are His dear children."

Thanks Silas for continuing to teach me so much about life.

Happy Birthday Jen!!!

An Invitation

As we sat on the floor this week sticking labels and stamps on envelopes, I joked with Dave that it felt like we were sending out wedding invitations all over again. The thought came back to me as I was stuffing the letters into the blue slot at the post office yesterday. Actually, this whole thing of sending out support letters is a lot more like wedding invitations than I first realized. I still remember how Dave and I (eight years ago) made lists of who to send invitations to. And then we added to the lists and then we added some more. We were excited to have them a part of the ceremony, but more than that we wanted the people we knew well and loved to be a part of this new life we were beginning together. And the wedding was just that--a beginning. That ceremony was a mere 25 minutes, but this marriage is still going strong!! So it is with support letters for this new missionary life we are starting. The leg-work of writing the letter and taking the picture and labeling the envelopes is just the beginning. As we stuck each address on an envelope, we talked about and prayed for the people who would receive it. We are excited for people to not just hear about what God is doing, but we want the people who know and love us to be a part of this journey and be blessed by what God does. In my little logistical mind that loves checking things off lists, it was great to see the stacks of letters stuffed and to seal them up and to mail them off. But in my heart that is still learning to trust God, it was a big week of faith. Believing that God will provide, realizing this is His journey that we are on, releasing my drive to work it all out, and trusting the US postal service to deliver letters...that was the real work of this week! We hope you read the letter and enjoy the picture. But we pray God shows you how to trust Him more and follow Him deeper. It's harder to check off those kind of boxes, but that's the kind of stuff that really matters.