What's your motivation?

Ok, I think I've got some answers to the really big questions, well, on second thought I know who has the answers to the really important questions. There was a time when I was a real know-it-all about this God thing, kind of in your face, "I know something you don't know". Not real attractive, actually. I have moved from that place to a place where God has humbled me in my know-it-all attitude more than a few times in order to get me to act accordingly. Instead I now come from a place of one who wants to share Jesus and all that comes with him and that he is available to everyone! There is a difference in motivation here. The former is one of know-it-all, smugness and the latter is one of love and sharing. Which place are you coming from? Before you answer consider this. Someone is dating someone of a different race. This someone's relative is taking a class learning how to share their faith with people with different religious beliefs. Sounds pretty incredible right? This person is so motivated to share their faith that they are taking a class on how to do it with people of different religions. At the same time they have completely rejected and denounced the idea of their relative dating someone of a different race. How do those two things fit together? What then is the motivation for taking this class? Is it sharing Jesus out of love with love? Or is it instead an "I know something you don't know" motivation? This individual, it might seem, thinks that they are better than this person of a different race. What do you make of that?
I tell you all this to say, I have been there. I have been the know it all, I am better than you person. To remind us that we all need to check ourselves and our motivations to see how pure they are. And finally to remember that apart from Him we are nothing!

John 15:5"I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.

I don't deserve my husband...

Seriously, I don't. Put yourself in his shoes, especially you guys. Imagine your spouse telling you that God has called them to seminary and ordination and now basically everything is going to change. First, can you even say no to your spouse if it is God that is calling? Second, if you are the husband and the wife is "called" and you "go along with it" what does that say about you? Marten has asked himself this question. He has verbalized it to me a few times. He cannot decide if it makes him a really weak man or a really strong one. I say the latter. It means, essentially, that we will move several times, that he will possibly have to change jobs, that as a family we will be under a microscope (like it or not), it means he will often be known as "Heather's husband". Now whatcha think fellas?
I think that Marten deserves far more credit than he is given. I think that God is amazing to have put us together. Marten has always supported whatever I have done and although this latest adventure was met with initial hesitation, it is no different. He is my steady no matter what. And yet I know I don't deserve that.
This all makes me think about surrendering our lives to Christ. In a sense it is like jumping off a cliff, but at the same time knowing we will be caught, knowing there is that "steady" there. Man is that a relief! Do we deserve it? No, for we have all fallen short. But still he is there.
This has been a tough journey and I don't expect it to get easier anytime soon (I must be doing something right!). There have been many stops and starts, way too little sleep, and so much love, and lots of strengthening of those faith muscles. God is good. All the time.

Isaiah 35:3 Strengthen the feeble hands, steady the knees that give way;

Left, right, conservative, liberal, evangelical...

I've been letting some things marinate about this whole election and thought I might speak a little truth into things. First, I am having a hard time getting behind either candidate. I don't think either one can do what needs to be done but I am praying that with God's help the man with the greatest vision for the right direction in which to move our country will be in office come January.
This is what I am struggling with...As a disciple of Jesus Christ I believe that God gives us everything we need. What does that mean? To me it means that God has given the planet all we need and we are to share what we have been given...some places and people have more and some have less. Some of us are more capable of accumulating and manipulating resources than others. Some are disabled, some are innocent children born into poverty, some are people beaten down by the world and their circumstances. So do we just ignore them? We earned it right? It's ours. Excuse me? Or is every good and perfect gift from God? Do you have anything that you have not received? As Christians I believe we have a responsibility to help the least and the last in whatever ways we can. I certainly have been incapable of overcoming and acheiving things without the people that God has put in my life and the resources they have shared with me. What about you? Will there be people that take advantage of our generosity? Yes! But does that have anything to do with the dispositions of our hearts? If we are doing what God calls us to do that is what matters. The rest is up to God.
Don't get me wrong I am not necessarily suggesting that our government should distribute our resources, this is truly something we should all be doing in obedience. What has bothered me most is that neither man, with both claiming to be Christian, and no one else for that matter, have called this out. Politically incorrect? Hmmmm.
Why the lack of a sense of social justice on behalf of evangelical Christians? We will fight tirelessly for the unborn, but what about those already breathing air? To him whom much is given much is expected.
I hope I have not offended anyone. I am trying to call things as I see them. As always I look forward to feedback.

Matthew 10:8b "Freely you have received, freely give."

Masks

Halloween is just around the corner. The girls went shopping for their costumes this week. As usual there was lots of talk about what or who they would be and that changed at least once a week since last Halloween! All of this talk about costumes got me to thinking about the masks so many of us wear everyday. Does anyone really know who we are behind those masks? The happy housewife or the desperate housewife? The happily married or just barely holding it together, sleeping in different rooms? The perfect little family or the one with kids breaking curfews, parents avoiding their kids, and no one talking to each other...I mean really talking to each other.
Sounds like we all need to get real with each other! Ya it's hard, no doubt but we have to be genuine, that is part of being in relationship with other people. God knows who you are behind that mask, what is real and what you are acting at. He has put people around that can and will support you and help you move to a place of genuineness. We can only form truly deep relationships when we show people our scars, (or gaping open wounds), admit our weaknesses and frailties and show them who we really are. Otherwise they are forming a relationship with someone who is not you at all! The church, the body of Christ, is a great place to do this and yet I have heard all too often lately that it is the last place people will. This breaks my heart. We are all broken and in need of a Savior. The church is meant to be a hospital for the sick, we are all that. If you are perfect, if you have it all figured out, then give up your seat on Sunday for someone else, help the rest of us, but don't run and hide and pretend to be someone you are not. Masks start to sweat and stink and are suffocating after awhile.

1 Thessalonians 2:4-6 (New International Version)

4On the contrary, we speak as men approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel. We are not trying to please men but God, who tests our hearts. 5You know we never used flattery, nor did we put on a mask to cover up greed—God is our witness. 6We were not looking for praise from men, not from you or anyone else.

Passion...Oh My Dang!

What are you passionate about? I just shared the story about my friend Linda and her passion for "her" Kenya kids. That passion was something she could not keep contained. It had to flow out of every part of her. That passion became so much a part of her life that everyone around her started to grow passionate too. This reminds me of two things; first last Fall, Perry Noble, a church planter in South Carolina, wrote a blog about Starbucks' Pumpkin Spice Latte, mmmmmm. Anyway, he is a regular at SB and he has his regular drink, however last Fall while traveling in and out of Atlanta Airport and stopping off at SB he kept hearing people talking about the Pumpkin Spice Latte and how great it was and wouldn't he like to try one. Everyone in front of him in line was ordering one and he had one of those conversations with himself, "sounds good, but I'm getting my regular. Man everyone is ordering that thing." Well he gets up to the front of the line and they ask him what he wants and as if posessed he says, "Pumpkin Spice Latte", and can't even believe it. Anyway he gets it, drinks it, and exclaims, "Oh My Dang, that's good!" The point is all of these people were very enthusiastic about this silly drink and they talk about it so much that it became contagious, "I think I need to try that". "I'll have what she's having!" What if we were that way about Jesus? What if we were that way about loving each other? What if we were so passionate about him that it was contagious and undeniable for others?
The other thing it reminds me of is Jeremiah 20:9, " But if I say, "I will not mention him or speak any more in his name," his word is in my heart like a fire, a fire shut up in my bones. I am weary of holding it in; indeed, I cannot."

Get passionate about something and then let people get close to you!

Sowing the Seeds of Love...

What a journey! Tonight I had the awesome pleasure of meeting some incredible kids, the Daraja Children's Choir from Kenya. But first things first. There's the kids performing and there is Linda and I, BIG smiles! Some of you know Linda but for those of you who don't let me tell you just how much of a night of celebration this was. Linda became involved with the Youth at our church almost two years ago. While joining the kids on an annual retreat, "Big Stuf", Linda found out about Bright Point, an organization that sponsors children in some of the poorest of countries to provide water, education, and the gospel message. She also found out that some of them were in this choir. Linda came back from that trip absolutely passionate about Africa and these children. For quite awhile she was a one woman show, sharing her vision and talking about these kids. She sought to sponsor four, provide a well in Kenya, and eventually take a trip there. Linda was on fire! She did not take no for an answer. She persevered and she worked tirelessly. Linda had a vision and a passion and she turned to God again and again when things did not look like they were going to work. She trusted God and she reached out to those around her. Tonight was the culmination of all of that.



Marten and I fought tears off and on throughout the performance as did many others. My kids will never be the same after hearing some of their stories, seeing video of the village and the children's home where many of them live. Most are orphaned. So many lives were touched by these kids. But more than that, one woman truly made this happen! Thank you Linda for showing us all just how special these kids are. You are pretty special yourself!

Here we are Sunday night with our small group making preparations for the meal we shared tonight. Thanks Katlin, Samantha, Ansley, and Amanda! You guys are awesome! We missed you Lillie! While we chopped and cooked Linda shared our lesson from Matthew, the parable of the sower. We talked about the seed that is the Word of God, the soil which is our hearts, and the sower, our Father working through the Holy Spirit. I thought about how all of Linda's efforts and the uniting of so many to make this happen, and the kids, and their future. I thought about how all of us were God's instruments, sowing the seeds of love. For all of you that grew up in the 80's with me, yes I thought about the Tears for Fears song...It was a night I will never forget! Thank you sista Linda!

Matthew 13

23But the one who received the seed that fell on good soil is the man who hears the word and understands it. He produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown."

It's all Greek to me...

So, I am taking my first of two semesters of Greek this semester and oh what a challenge! I am making all kinds of new wrinkles in this nearly forty year old brain of mine! Greek is an incredible language full of meaning. It is the original language of the New Testament and to read the words of Jesus in the original language brings depth and understanding that is frankly breathtaking! Along with all of this learning comes a return to our English language as well, subjects, predicates, tenses, and conjugations, interjections, nouns, verbs, etc. This all has made me think about some of the words and terminology we use as followers of Jesus. Some of the stuff we say and talk about must be absolutely foreign sounding to those who do not have a firm foundation in biblical teaching. As a result I think it important that we share our faith in ways that people can understand regardless of background. God is the greatest contextualizer of all time. When we didn't "get it" He came to earth in the form of a man so that we could. That is speaking the same language! The depth can come later. It is something that is best moved toward not jumped into.
Peace to you!

Fully Alive?

"The glory of God is man fully alive". I don't know when I first heard that but it resonated in a deep place within me. It was said by Early Church father Irenaeus, who lived in the late 2nd century, in his writings "Against Heresies, an argument largely against gnosticism. He was bishop of Lyons in what is now modern day France.
What does it mean to be "fully alive". I dare to say that, just like many of us are sleepwalking through life, many of us are far from "Fully alive". Do we let the world determine our steps or are our steps determined by something far bigger than what we see? Are we fully engaged in relationship with the people around us, or do we just do what we need to do to get through the day? Are we reaching out to others? Loving our neighbor? Heck, loving our family? Or are we doing the bare minimum? Where is the meaning? Remember the husband you prayed for? The child you longed to have? The parents that nutured and cared for you? Where are you in those relationships? I admit I am not winning any prizes, I try. I honestly have been so blessed with so many wonderful people in my life I often get frustrated with not getting enough interaction with each and every one of them! We can all do better. Ya, it takes time. But it is so worth it.
More than all of that, there is God, our Creator, who longs to be in relationship with us, so much so that He left His throne in Heaven to come to earth. I dare to say that in relationship with Him we can find all of the fuel we need to nurture those other relationships. More than anything, spend time with the lover of your soul. Read His word, pray, sing, sit and listen, and then with unveiled faces, shine His light into the world. When Moses left God's presence he had to veil his face because it shone. Our world could use all the light it can get. Be fully alive!

2 Corinthians 3:18And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.