Thursday, December 10, 2015

Serving God in the Hallway




Over the last few years I’ve developed a tradition of sorts in which I watch the Lord of the Rings trilogy at the closing of each academic semester as I work to finish up final assignments and prepare for exams.  One of my favorite lines from Tolkien’s infamous writings is a word of wisdom from Bilbo Baggins: 


“It's a dangerous business, Frodo, going out your door. You step onto the road, and if you don't keep your feet, there's no knowing where you might be swept off to.”

A dangerous business….When it comes to following Christ, we associate danger and risk with leaving; going from the known and comfortable to the unknown. We are often guilty of loving the Lord, but still wanting control of our lives.  We hope and pray that God won’t call us to hard things; to leave our families, our homes, our comforts-to do what we consider a dangerous, risky business. 

We fear the unknown. But culturally speaking, risks are associated with adventure, excitement, and adrenaline. We seek out risks and are willing to financially invest in “risky” activities such as skydiving, whitewater rafting, racing….there’s a pride and honor that comes within the territories of risk.  

We live in a society that constantly tells us to chase the latest and greatest, to change ourselves along with the seasons. To always be on the lookout for the next opportunity.  What if the riskier thing to do for God is to keep doing exactly what we’re doing for the time being?

It is so easy to get bogged down in day to day life.  Going to school, walking the dogs, preparing dinner, driving the kids to their activities… maybe God’s overarching desire is for us to stand firm.  To be present.

Missionary and martyr Jim Elliot once said “Wherever you are, be all there! Live to the hilt every situation you believe to be the will of God!”. 

If we are living out God’s will for our lives, who are we to determine if it is mundane?  Maybe we should be allowing our feet to sink in a while and keep at the hard, dirty, messy work in which we’re involved.  I’m sure you’ve heard the phrase “When God shuts one door He opens another”, well maybe the second door has not opened yet.  Perhaps for right now the riskier option is to praise and serve God in the hallway; in the waiting.  

May we stand firm and embrace the mundane risks of the present.

Wednesday, September 9, 2015

Josh Duggar, Kim Davis, and All Things Controversial



I’ll be the first to admit that I was devastated when public light was shed on Josh Duggar’s private sins involving the molestation of some of his sisters.  I grieved for his family, his wife, and the Church.  Sin always seems to be multiplied and magnified when a known Christian’s lack of perfection is revealed.
 However, I think it’s good for the world to see that we too make mistakes, occasionally lack good judgment, and are constantly in need of grace.  It hurt my heart to read of further criticism and scrutiny heaped upon the Duggar’s once the entire country was slammed with the ‘Ashley Madison’ leak.  It was estimated that over 400 pastors and ministry staff members would resign as a result of being found on this forsaken list. 
I get it, the Duggar’s have been splayed out on national television for years now and regardless of what happens off camera, the family is viewed as a well-rounded, Christian home. Yet for some reason “Christian” in our culture means that when you make a mistake, make someone uncomfortable, or stand for what you know to be right-you are immediately a target for criticism, judgment, and are inherently wrong. 
Over the past decade or so I have watched our nation shift from being one nation under God to a nation that desires anything but God.  When studying God’s characteristics in His Word, you will see that He is loving, but he is also just.  He is the Righteous Judge and the Redeemer.  He is the God who sees us and knows us.  Guys, God knows us and loves us anyway. 
There is redemption for Josh Duggar and there is redemption for all of us who fall short of His glory on a daily basis.  That’s right, we all mess up; Josh Duggar’s mistakes just so happened to be aired on national television…and I don’t know about you, but I’m thankful that my sins have been cast as far as the east is from the west. 
Aaron and Melissa Klein of Oregon caused quite the uproar when they refused to bake a wedding cake for a lesbian couple. As a result of the Klein’s stand, people spent the following days pondering if Jesus would bake the cake.  Well to be honest I do not know the answer to that.  We know that Jesus spent a good chunk of his time with the lowest of the low-including tax collectors, thieves, scandalous women, and liars.  BUT he never approved of their forbidden choices.
 What does this mean for Kim Davis?  Should she be a hero to the Christian world for taking a stand against what she knows is not God-ordained?  Should going against the law of the land or going against her own convictions be of greater value?  As the media blasts Davis and her refusal to sign off on gay marriage, I do not envy her predicament.  Davis could not justify condoning gay marriage even if it meant jail time and the potential loss of her job. 
What are we trying to prove here?  From a Biblical worldview, we can solidly say that homosexuality is wrong-that it is a sin.  Does that mean that Christians do not sin?  No, no, and no.  Pursing Christ is a process and none of us have ‘arrived’. All Christians, even the Duggar’s, the Klein’s, and Kim Davis are constantly in need of forgiveness and grace.  However, as believers we are instructed to ‘hate what is evil and cling to what is good’ and that is what I hope we do-no matter the cost.  


Lord, make me an instrument of Thy peace;
where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury, pardon;
where there is doubt, faith; where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light; and where there is sadness, joy.
O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console;
to be understood, as to understand;
to be loved, as to love;
for it is in giving that we receive,
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned,
and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.

Instrument of Thy Peace
St. Francis of Assisi

Monday, May 11, 2015

Jesus, We Are Broken: A Much Overdue Reflection on my Brief Return to Uganda.


In Fall of 2011 I had the privilege of a lifetime.  God, in all His greatness, worked it out for me to spend the first semester of my senior year of college in Mukono, Uganda.   While my love for Africa was first sparked years prior to this adventure, my time in Mukono ignited a joy deep in my heart. 

As anyone would expect, a semester in a different context changes you.  Uganda scarred me in more ways than I can explain.  I travelled to that beautiful country with great dreams and expectations of how I was going to change the world, but Uganda shattered all of that.  Instead, Uganda taught me the value of presence, people, and reconciliation.  I quickly realized that Africa didn’t need me, but oh, how I needed Africa. 

In all honesty, I was hesitant to return to Uganda.  I loved the time I had there previously and feared that returning to a place that I loved so deeply would only result in discontentment when I returned to the States.  Surprisingly, our 10 day trip to Uganda resulted in anything but discontentment.  It was still just as hard and disappointing to leave the country that I love, but lessons were still learned. 

It’s funny how God teaches us sometimes.  The biggest lesson from my return to Uganda did not come in the form of some glorious revelation, but through a toddler.  Good Shepherd’s Fold, the orphanage that we worked with, is home to children of all ages.  While our team was there, we were welcomed in any of the children’s homes during our free time-so any time I was free you were most likely to find me in the baby house (shocking, I know). 

On one of our last mornings at GSF I made my way down to the baby house, took off my shoes, and sat on the floor to spend my morning playing with a handful of the little guys that had stolen my heart.   One little man kept bringing me a small plastic egg.  He would run up to me with one piece of the egg in each hand saying “mommy it is broken!”.  I would put it back together for him over and over and over again.  He found so much joy in the restoration of that egg….and that was it.  That’s when everything clicked. 

We enter into 3rd world countries as arrogant Americans thinking that we have it all together…that we can fix anything for these people….that these poor people need our help; that we can be their saving grace, but the reality is: We. Are. Broken.  All of us.  And broken people cannot fix other broken people, but God can. 

Jesus, we are broken. 

Tuesday, January 20, 2015

Parenthood: Preparing is Greater Than Protecting


Like many little girls do, I started picking out baby names at a young age.  One of the names that has stuck with me as I’ve gotten a little bit older is Corban.  Children are often described as a gift from above, but this 'gift' comes with a tremendous responsibility. In the Bible corban is not a name, but a word describing something that is dedicated to the Lord or set apart for His use.   What better description is there for a child of godly parents than one dedicated to the Lord and set apart for Him? You see, we've gotten it wrong, children are indeed a gift, but this gift is not for us to keep.  

While children are a gift from the Lord and parents are blessed with the responsibility of training them up in the way they should go, we have somehow lost sight of the overarching goal.  We more often than not become so consumed with keeping this gift of the Lord to ourselves that we miss out on the greatest task of parenting: preparing them for service. 

I’ve witnessed many baby dedications in my day in which the parents and child stand before the Church and commit to raise their child in a God-honoring way with the Church’s support. Have you truly committed your child to the Lord?  What if that commitment means doing hard things? What if that commitment means allowing your child to face hard things without you there to protect them? 

Parenting is about so much more than protecting your child from the world; parenting is about preparing your child to be a servant of the Lord and a light in this dark world.   Preparing calls for risk. Preparing requires trust and obedience. 

Children are a gift and being entrusted with the task of raising this part of God's creation is a high calling.

Love your child, for he belongs to the Lord.  Prepare your child, for he is set apart for the Lord's use. 
Preparing>Protecting