Labels, Determination, and Courage.

So, more on labels. I am pondering the fact that I have spent years trying to figure out who I was when what I really needed to know was who I am in Christ. No one else should define who I am or my worth. This is what I know is true...I am a precious child of God, so are you! He created me, "knit me together in my mother's womb". He has a purpose and plan for me. He is all I need, to know who I am. Know Him, know myself.
I heard these great sermons on determination and courage the other day. We all are determined about one thing or another, right? Maybe it's living up to that label or maybe living in a way that fights against that label. Anyway many of us spend a lot of time trying to figure out that very wonderful purpose and plan God has for us and His will for us like it is a paint by number kind of thing. Not so! God did create us with choices, however IF we are constantly seeking HIM and IF we are determined to be a godly man or woman then it follows that the choices we make daily should fall in line with that goal in mind.
Paul says in Phillipians 3:12-13, "Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. 13Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead,".
I remember a conversation I had with my beloved friend MaryAnn in the midst of discerning how to proceed in obedience to God's call to full time ministry and seminary. I was so fearful of making the wrong decision, especially in light of the fact that Marten was jobless at the time and facing major surgery. She very lovingly told me, "Sweet girl you can't make the wrong decision if you are seeking Him with your life." Such incredible wisdom! Thank you MaryAnn!
The courage comes in when we go against what the world tells us about ourselves. Believe me I never imagined being where I am right now and yet because He called, I feel helpless to do anything but be obedient, so ya I do feel a bit courageous at times. Other times I feel a little bit crazy.
One of my favorities...2 Corinthians 5:13 "If we are out of our mind it is for the sake of God, if we are in our right mind it is for you."

Labels

Mom, Chef, Wife, Sister, Daughter, Christian, Friend, Chauffer, Fat, Thin, Tall, Short, Saved, Believer, Christ follower, Pastor, Reverend, President, Vice President, Muslim, Jew....the list goes on. Labels. We all call ourselves something or let others tell us who we are. Why? Often those labels can create the very barriers I eluded to earlier. A very poignant piece of what I have learned in the last year is just that. Particularly when trying to relate and reach those unlike ourselves those labels can be intimidating, but they can also come loaded with all kinds of baggage and preconceived ideas and notions due to previous experience or broad sweeping generalizations.
For instance in reaching others who don't know Jesus calling yourself a Christian comes loaded! Don't get me wrong, I am not suggesting there is any other way into the Kingdom. What I am suggesting is that instead of that label we think of ourselves instead as Christ followers, disciples, believers. Guess what? Jesus wasn't a Christian! The word Christian itself means little Christ. That is ultimately what we are all called to be as his followers, living our own lives in accordance with his. He is the model. More to come...
Join me in the global initiative to pray for Muslims for 30 days through Ramadan by accessing the link . Broaden your worldview there is a lot of great info here!
http://www.30daysfire.net/pgs/Main.php?INTRO=PLAY

Ready?

By the way...I saw a big canvas sign posted outside the Jewish Community Center today. It said, "Breaking Barriers Daily". Hmmmm. How about that!
Yesterday was CRAZY! I got a call late Sunday night from a real estate agent about showing the house Monday. Weary as I am of this after having the house on the market over a year and just losing a contract, I slipped into high speed making a plan for Monday morning cleaning. Unfortunately the yard needed to be mowed and cleaned up with all of the storms lately. We needed to put our best foot forward! Also quite unfortunate for me was the fact that my hubby had to be at work at 6AM so it was all up to me. As I was mowing feverishly I thought about how this could have been prevented if I hadn't been a slacker about the yard and had made the girls pick up after themselves better, but there I was. It brought to mind our relationship with God too. How many of us put stuff off. We let our calendar fill up with appointments, lunches, meetings, where is God in all that? Maybe you are pretty disciplined in your spiritual life and take time daily to pray, study, and praise God, but like me have slid a bit over the summer. I think I need to do a better job putting my best foot forward in my relationship with Him! How can you grow in likeness to someone with whom you do not relate with daily, several times a day? It also brought to mind this scripture from Matthew 25...let me be wise! And thank God for His grace!
1"At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. 2Five of them were foolish and five were wise. 3The foolish ones took their lamps but did not take any oil with them.

Barriers to peace.

So, more about those barriers. While we were in Jordan we were in a Souk, a market, where local merchants sell their assorted handcrafts. We came to one booth where a girl, probably in her mid twenties, stood with her sister. Both were wearing Hijabs (the wrapped head covering), one was dressed in western clothes, the other dressed more traditionally. We asked her some questions about herself and what she was selling. They were selling handmade bookmarks and small pouches, one contained a small ornate Quran. The girls I was with and I admired the Quran and said we had been studying it. The girl was intrigued and asked where we were from. We told her we were Americans and that we were followers of Isa (Jesus) and we started talking about how we all believed in the One God. She took her sunglasses off and said, "You are good Americans." She had tears in her eyes and was very visibly moved.
The biggest part of breaking down barriers is simply taking the time to show people who you are and to care enough to find out who they are. Everyone wants someone to care enough to ask. Even here in our country amongst people that look like us and speak the same language, the act of truly engaging in relationship with someone in order to better understand them and they us makes all the difference. Don't you think she had a different idea about Americans having had that 10 minute interaction with us? Don't you think we had a different idea about Arabs? This scenario, I am happy to say, repeated itself many times and in many ways during our time there. Another reason why these trips are important.
I can relate this at home in a few ways. But on example sticks out, the difference here is between inviting someone to church and first inviting someone to your home to get to know them and THEN inviting them to church. What do you think?

Blessed are the peacemakers...

Ok, so, we just returned from a mission event at church, people sharing experiences, and stories about trips both local and foreign. I have to say I was encouraged by those who were there but disappointed by the overall turnout. Most of you know I went to Jordan this summer, it was my second foreign mission trip. The wonderful thing about going on one of these trips is that in the great economy of God, while we are reaching out to others, God is soooo working on us. You can't return from one of these trips, local or foreign and not be changed. The great thing about the foreign trips is how much your eyes are opened and your worldview is broadened. Let's face it folks, Jesus died for all of us, including people that don't much look like us or live the way we do or believe the same things we do. What I do know is that we all, no matter what we look like or where we live have a God shaped hole we are trying to fill...more about that later. Anyway before I went on this trip to Jordan I was studying the book of Matthew and landed in the Beatitudes, you know where Jesus is giving his Sermon on the Mount and saying, "Blessed are the..." I got to "blessed are the peacemakers" and stopped. What is a peacemaker? What did Jesus mean? What kind of peace are we talking about? I found myself in Ephesians chapter 2 verses, I think 14 to 16 or 17. Basically this says that Jesus is our peace, that he has broken down the barriers, that he has reconciled all to God through the cross. Therefore bringing Jesus to others is what peacemaking is all about! Breaking down barriers, ours and theirs, is what peacemaking is all about. That is what these trips are all about!

Are you sleeping, are you sleeping...?

Have you ever woken up and forgotten where you were or what day it was? A little disconcerting huh? Maybe you were dreaming a great dream only to be roused by the alarm, ARGH! It takes a minute to realize what is real and what is not. I guess that is kind of what this is all about, me starting this blog, discovering the truth, what is real and what is not. For the greater part of my life I walked around in the semi-slumber of delusion and self-reliance only to be awakened by a VERY bright light, ummmm maybe you know him, his name is Jesus. That wake up call many years ago has led me many places but most notably to the arms of my Savior. He has shone his light in some pretty dark places and he hasn't even gotten to the corners and closets yet! So much to reveal, so much to learn, so much cleaning up to do! Sooooo, in walking with the Godman into those dark corners I thought I would record what He is teaching me so that He might wake me up inside and that He might use me to wake up others!

for it is light that makes everything visible. This is why it is said: "Wake up, O sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you." Ephesians 5:14