On Noah's Dedication

To Noah

     On Your Dedication
     From Your Parents

Noah,

Before God placed you in your mommy’s tummy, you were the desire of our heart and the prayer on our lips.  When we found out we were pregnant with you and saw your little beating heart at your 8 week check-up, we instantly fell in love with you.  Mommy cried with joy when she saw and heard your heart beat and then cried every time we saw you on the doctor’s screen until you were born.  It was amazing to see God knitting you together in your mother’s womb.  We were so excited to welcome you into this world.  Your birth was quite an adventure unlike anything we had ever experienced.  Finally after 9 months and one very long week of waiting for your arrival, you were here with us to hold and love.  You immediately became our greatest earthly treasure!

Quickly after you were born we started answering the question of who you look like more: your mommy or your daddy?  Most people think you look like your daddy.  But, Noah, you need to know that above looking like your daddy or mommy, you bear the image of God.  This gives you great worth and value.  It also gives you great responsibility to represent God well.  This is very hard to do without some help.

The good news is that you were very blessed to be born into a Christian family.  There are many families in this world who are far away from God, but, by His grace, He has drawn your mommy and daddy to Himself through his Son, Jesus Christ.  Our deepest desire is to raise you in such a way that you understand God and how to bear His image.  It comes through knowing Jesus.

 
     Today, Sunday March 17^th, 2013, you will be “dedicated.”  What this means is that we are making a commitment  to  God to use our lives to point you to Jesus Christ.  We pray that our lives – the way we love each other and love you – would be a reflection of Jesus.  It doesn’t mean that we have it all figured out.  Nor does it mean that we are perfect, because, as you will soon come to realize, we are a work in progress.  There will be times when we will not love you well and we will need to ask for your forgiveness.  But we pray that God would use our mistakes to show you forgiveness and grace.  We pray that our love for you will be a picture of God’s love for you.

This dedication is happening in front of several hundred people who are part of your church family.  You see, Noah, you have your birth family that consists of your mommy and daddy, your grandma and GG, and so on, but God has given you a massive faith family.  These are people who also believe in Jesus and have committed to share life together.  You are doubly blessed because both your birth family and faith family know Jesus.  Part of your dedication is to entrust you to your faith family so that they may be a part of your care and discipleship.  There are so many special people in this family that will feel very much like your aunts and uncles, your grandmas and grandpas.  This is a great gift God has given you.

Our prayer for you Noah is that you will come to know Jesus early in life.  We pray that you will be taught about God and what it means to walk with him.  We pray that you will understand that God created everything and know how life works best.  We pray that you will trust Him and live in obedience to Him.  We pray that you will have a hunger for God’s word and that it would bring you great wisdom.  We pray that you would have a deep love for serving others as you remember how Jesus served you by going to the cross.  We pray that you would understand that there is a world much bigger than what you can see with many different kinds of people who need to know Jesus.  We pray that your life would point many to Jesus.

 Look to Jesus, Noah, and follow His example!

We love you with all our heart,

Daddy and Mommy

XOXO

A Prayer of Consecration and Worship

Consecration and Worship

My God, I feel it is heaven to please Thee, and to be what Thou wouldst have me be. O that I were holy as Thou art holy, pure as Christ is pure, perfect as Thy Spirit is perfect! These, I feel, are the best commands in Thy Book, and shall I break them? must I break them? am I under such a necessity as long as I live here?
Woe, woe is me that I am a sinner, that I grieve this blessed God, who is infinite in goodness and grace! O if He would punish me for my sins, it would not would my heart so deep to offend Him; But though I sin continually, He continually repeats His kindness to me.
At times I feel I could bear any suffering, but how can I dishonour this glorious God? What shall I do to glorify and worship this best of beings? O that I could consecrate my soul and body to His service, without restraint, for ever! O that I could give myself up to Him, so as never more to attempt to be my own! or have any will or affections that are not perfectly conformed to His will and His love! But, alas, I cannot live and not sin.
O may angels glorify Him incessantly, and, if possible, prostrate themselves lower before the blessed King of heaven! I long to bear a part with them in ceaseless praise; but when I have done all I can to eternity I shall not be able to offer more than a small fraction of the homage that the glorious God deserves. Give me a heart full of divine, heavenly love.

A Prayer of Confession and Petition

Confession and Petition

Holy Lord, I have sinned times without number, and been guilty of pride and unbelief, of failure to find Thy mind in Thy Word, of neglect to seek Thee in my daily life. My transgressions and short-comings present me with a list of accusations, but I bless Thee that they will not stand against me, for all have been laid on Christ. Go on to subdue my corruptions, and grant me grace to live above them. Let not the passions of the flesh nor lustings of the mind bring my spirit into subjection, but do Thou rule over me in liberty and power.

I thank Thee that many of my prayers have been refused. I have asked amiss and do not have, I have prayed from lusts and been rejected, I have longed for Egypt and been given a wilderness. Go on with Thy patient work, answering 'no' to my wrongful prayers, and fitting me to accept it. Purge me from every false desire, every base aspiration, everything contrary to Thy rule. I thank Thee for Thy wisdom and Thy love, for all the acts of discipline to which I am subject, for sometimes putting me into the furnace to refine my gold and remove my dross.

No trial is so hard to bear as a sense of sin. If Thou shouldst give me choice to live in pleasure and keep my sins, or to have them burnt away with trial, give me sanctified affliction. Deliver me from every evil habit, every accretion of former sins, everything that dims the brightness of Thy grace in me, everything that prevents me taking delight in Thee. Then I shall bless Thee, God of jeshurun, for helping me to be upright.

Nourished by Prayers of Old

Welp, it's been a whopping 6 months and 21 days since I've blogged.  Can I even call myself a blogger anymore?  I'm embarrassed, but would like to get back on the blogging saddle, because I hope these next several blogs will encourage you as they've encouraged me.

Much has happened over the past six and a half months, most notably the conception of our first child, a boy, who is slated to join us mid November.  We are thrilled.  And sobered.  But also over the past several months I have been discouraged by my response to circumstances.  It's easy to rejoice when life is good, but the challenge is the response to the hardships of life.  We have been working through a sermon series at church on the book of James, which has been great.  We have talked about trials, temptations, faith and deeds, and the tongue among other topics.  Ironically I have felt like a big fat failure in most of these areas as we've been talking about them.  I thank God for pastors who remind us that in our failure Christ was perfect.

My failure - the fresh look at my own sin - has caused a deep hunger to look at Christ.  And so I turned to several sources for divine vision, one being an online version of the Valley of Vision: A Collection of Puritan Prayers.  I've been so nourished by the rich words of these prayers as they really get to the heart of so many fundamental issues of the Christian life.  As a result, I thought I'd share a prayer a day (or so) with you with the hope that you too will be encouraged wherever you find yourself in life.

The Valley of Vision

Lord, high and holy, meek and lowly, Thou hast brought me to the valley of vision, where I live in the depths but see Thee in the heights; hemmed in by mountains of sin I behold Thy glory. Let me learn by paradox that the way down is the way up, that to be low is to be high, that the broken heart is the healed heart, that the contrite spirit is the rejoicing spirit, that the repenting soul is the victorious soul, that to have nothing is to possess all, that to bear the cross is to wear the crown, that to give is to receive, that the valley is the place of vision. Lord, in the daytime stars can be seen from deepest wells, and the deeper the wells the brighter Thy stars shine; let me find Thy light in my darkness, Thy life in my death, Thy joy in my sorrow, Thy grace in my sin, Thy riches in my poverty, Thy glory in my valley.

Beauty for Ashes

"For unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he might be glorified."—Isaiah 61:3.

February 14th - 19th is the hardest time of the year for me.  My dad passed away on February 14th, 2009 and would have celebrated his 64th birthday on the 19th of that same month.  Today he would have been 67.  Happy Birthday Dad!

Each year for the past two years I have anticipated this time of year with great heaviness and grief.  Being that the anniversary of my dad's death falls on Valentine's Day each year, it's hard to muster up romance when I'm grief-stricken.  Usually what ends up happening is I sabotage any attempt Ron makes to be caring and romantic, because I'm an emotional wreck.  This is what I anticipated this year, but the reality turned out differently. 

The Sunday before Valentine's Day I felt the fog of grief descending.  It became thicker as we approached VDay, so I braced myself (and Ron) for a repeat.  It was all I could do to get Ron a card and write some sweet sentiments down.  I had the card ready for him when he left for work on Tuesday morning, but he didn't see where I left it (fumble on my part).  With his card still laying on the counter and nothing there for me, I went to work feeling pretty depressed.  I was in that "thin layer of tears lining the bottom lid and could burst into tears at any given moment" mood. 

Ron called mid-morning and asked if he could take me out to lunch.  Almost immediately my mood changed.  He let me choose the restaurant, so we met at Chilis and I was greeted with a beautiful bouquet of roses and tulips.  We had a great lunch that ended with Chili's Chocolate Molten cake and all of a sudden I knew that - in the midst of chocolaty bliss - life was going to be ok.  The flowers became a beautiful and fragrant addition on my desk.

The early evening of Valentine's Day was spent at MLKU, the tutoring program with which I help on Tuesday and Thursday evening.  Seeing the sweet faces of children that I love and receiving their Valentine's Day affection and candy warmed my heart.  I mean, how can you not love a face like this:

Thursday night Ron was honored as one of "40 Leaders Under 40" by the Triad Business Journal.  If you know Ron, you know he's not one to "toot his own horn."  With that being said, it leaves ample room for his wife, mom, mom-in-law, and 10 co-workers to toot it for him and celebrate this award with him.  The event gave us a reason to dress up, be with family and friends, network with some uber interesting "under forty folks" and enjoy great food.  Plus they gave us heart shaped clappers, which were too much fun (especially for Susan Milner)!

 

Oh, I forgot to mention that Ron's coworkers made badges with Ron's face plastered on it and decided to wear it to the event.  They gave my mom and his mom one too.  It was great and of course Ron really loved (READ: HATED) the badges.

The next day I was able to enjoy the morning with the best mom and mom-in-law a girl could ask for!  We went to Breakfast Of Course for a delectable brunch: breakfast burrito, french toast, organic yogurt, fruit and what I'm affectionately calling "Heaven's Dew."  For those of you who know me personally, you know that my tea of choice is 99.9% of the time ____________?  If you guessed Earl Grey (with milk and sugar), you guessed right.  I asked for the tea menu at BOC and was intrigued by the Lemon Mango Tea.  I ordered this tea and found heaven's dew!  After going to Piedmont Craftsmen Gallery and Baby's R Us (no, NOT for us), we drove right over to Angelina's Tea and purchased the dew of heaven.  Thanks Mom!

                                    

My all time, hands down, one hundred percent favorite play is Les Miserables.  There are few other stories that so clearly speak to the freeing power of grace and the crippling power of the law than this play (except of course THE story of redemption found in the Bible and which culminates in Christ.  THIS story is from where all other redemptive stories flow).  Ron had been looking for months to see when the play was touring in the U.S., and finally he discovered it was playing in Raleigh the week of Valentine's Day.  Could the heart shaped stars aligned more perfectly?  We got tickets for each other for Christmas and had eagerly anticipated this weekend for months.  In preparation I had been listening to "Les Miserables" Pandora at any opportunity possible.  We drove to Raleigh on Friday afternoon and after several nail-biting bouts with Friday traffic we made it to 518 West for a delicious dinner before the play.  We drove to the theater, found FREE parking (SCORE), and entered into the wonderland that is Les Mis.  I don't think I am exaggerating to say I was as giddy as a chubby kid in a candy shop.  Here's proof: when Ron was in the bathroom, this was what I did.

Mildly creepy?  Yes, I know.  There's a Les Mis anonymous out there somewhere, I'm sure.  The play was every ounce as wonderful as I anticipated and I was thrilled to experience it with Ron as it was his first time.  I left loving the gospel even more!  Grace frees and the law binds!

We stayed with dear friends, Justin and Sarah Leonard, in Holly Springs on Friday night.  On Saturday we enjoyed a long brunch with them catching up on the past several months.  They are special folks, and it was a treat to see them.  From Holly Springs, we went on to Greensboro to visit with some more great friends, Noah and Tina Forlines.  We hadn't really connected with them since our wedding, so it was great to spend a couple hours hearing about each other's life over an Earl Grey Tea.  After meeting with Noah and Tina we drove back to Winston-Salem, unpacked, took a power nap, and met up with some friends to bowl in preparation for "Bowl for Kids Sake" next weekend.  It was great fun! 

And today I was able to worship with my church family at Calvary hearing Will Toburen faithfully and passionately preach about God's design for the family as well as talk about "The Day of the Lord" with the college ministry.  After several errands, Ron and I ended up having an unexpected night indoors due to the raging snow storm (READ: light dusting that causes any Southerner to panic, stock pile food, and stay home at all costs).

God's grace!  By His grace, the dreary fog between February 14 - 19 turned out to be an incredible week.  I finished this week feeling more blessed than I possibly deserve.  Truly God turned my ashes into beauty, my mourning into gladness, and my spirit of heaviness into praise!

I know you thought this blog would never end, but let me close with one last thought.  I don't mean to imply through this blog that good circumstances equal beauty, gladness and praise.  It is the hope of the Christian faith that even in the midst of great adversity, that one can have deep comfort and peace.  More than rejoicing in good circumstances, I want to join Job in saying, "The Lord gives and takes away; blessed be His name." And with Paul who learned to be content in whatever the circumstances, whether in need or in plenty.  The beginning of the Isaiah passage with which I started this blog points to this unwavering hope: the Spirit of the Lord.  The great gift given to believers at the point of repentance and faith.  It is through the power of the Spirit of the Lord at work in the heart of Christians, that one can enjoy the good circumstances but hope in the bad too, because Christ has beaten death and one day ALL THINGS WILL BE NEW!  That is the hope of this little lady and the purpose of this blog.  So may I be like a tree firmly planted bringing great glory to the Lord!

"For unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he might be glorified."—Isaiah 61:3.

The Morality of Eating Meat

My last post was about a tremendous ministry in Charlotte called the King's Kitchen.  Unexpectedly, the blog started a conversation between a friend and me about the morality of eating meat.  You can read the blog post here as well as her comment.

After some dialogue, Kat graciously sent me a DVD to watch called Farm to Fridge.  I watched the DVD, did personal research, study, and came to the following conclusion.  Below is my response to Kat.

When I posted my blog about The King’s Kitchen I certainly didn't imagine that it would spark a discussion about the morality of eating meat or cause me to deeply discern whether I wanted to continue eating meat.  I did watch the video that sent me (Farm to Fridge); it was horrible. 

There seem to be two issues at play.  First, is it morally wrong (Biblically speaking) to eat meat?  Second, should inhumane industry practices towards animals raised for slaughter deter the eating of meat?

As I’ve studied the first question, I cannot find a compelling Biblical reason to not eat meat.  In fact, it seems that the opposite is true.  Starting in the first chapters of Genesis, God creates a distinction between humans and animals, namely creating humans in His own image and giving them the responsibility to “rule” over the earth as God rules over all.  With that being said, animals are created beings and, like the environment, I think they should be stewarded with care and concern.  And yet there is a sense that creation is meant to be used (not abused) and cultivated for human flourishing and God’s glory.  There is a higher order for man compared to animals.

You are right that there is no explicit command to eat meat in Genesis 1 and 2, but on the other hand there is no explicit command to not eat meat.  It is not mentioned.  The only prohibition is to not eat the fruit of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.  Perhaps God’s ideal was for Adam and Eve to be vegetarians in the Garden of Eden, but there is ample Bible text post-fall that suggests that, while eating meat may not be ideal pre-fall, it is minimally permissible post fall. 

The fact that God’s first act of redemption or covering was to slaughter an animal and use it to cover the nakedness of disobedient Adam and Eve I think suggests that there is a permissibility in the functionality of animals even when it means their death.  This continues all throughout the Old Testament with hundreds of years of animal sacrifices that God ordained to cover the sins of the Israelites.  While these animal sacrifices could not suffice for the continued sin of God’s people, Jesus, the ultimate sacrifice, is called the Lamb of God, who had to die to take away the sins of the world.  There is a profound spiritual truth in this physical reality.

Biblical wisdom states that “everything is permissible, but not everything is beneficial or constructive (I Cor. 10:23).  This passage is directly linked to a passage about eating meat.  The issue in this text was not the morality of eating meat itself, but eating meat that had been sacrificed to idols, which I think transitions nicely to the second issue of whether we should eat meat that has been produced under inhumane conditions.  This is really where I have wrestled.

The practices that are highlighted in the video you sent me are deplorable.  Certainly I think they should cause us to question the industry.  When I started to process the images I saw in the video, I was left with a lingering question.  How standard are these practices?  The reason for this question stems from a concern to know how normative these practices are in the meat industry.  Every endeavor of human hands is going to be tainted in some way by sin.  Every industry is going to have some stain of sin, sometimes large sometimes small.  Do we throw away the baby with the bathwater? Do we throw out the entire industry because of isolated malpractice?  For example, do I reject the public school system because there are perverted teachers and administrators who use their position to prey on students?  While I hate the practice, I can understand that there is still good in the industry at large.  I think the same can be said for the meat industry. 

The conclusion that Paul makes in I Corinthians 10 is telling:

1 Corinthians 10:23-32
²³ “All things are lawful,” but not all things are helpful. “All things are lawful,” but not all things build up. ²⁴ Let no one seek his own good, but the good of his neighbor. ²⁵ Eat whatever is sold in the meat market without raising any question on the ground of conscience. ²⁶ For “the earth is the Lord's, and the fullness thereof.” ²⁷ If one of the unbelievers invites you to dinner and you are disposed to go, eat whatever is set before you without raising any question on the ground of conscience. ²⁸ But if someone says to you, “This has been offered in sacrifice,” then do not eat it, for the sake of the one who informed you, and for the sake of conscience— ²⁹ I do not mean your conscience, but his. For why should my liberty be determined by someone else's conscience? ³⁰ If I partake with thankfulness, why am I denounced because of that for which I give thanks?  ^{31 32} Give no offense to Jews or to Greeks or to the church of God

Several conclusions from this passage:

-          The earth is the Lord’s and everything in it.  He has given human’s authority over the earth as He has authority over us.  This is God’s premise for allowing man to eat meat.
-          Eating meat is an issue of conscious.  I would say it’s inappropriate to make a matter of personal conscious or a wisdom issue a matter of conviction for everyone.
-          Where it would be offensive to eat meat (or not eat meat), you should oblige out of care for others.
-          Whatever we do, whether eating meat or anything else, we should do it with a mindset of bringing great glory to God.

This is a Biblical defense of the morality of eating meat.  I understand that there could be other motivations to eat or not eat meat.  I simply wanted to lay out a Biblical motivation, because that is what motivates me personally.

So where do I land on this issue.  While I do think it is Biblically permissible to eat meat, I do question the treatment of animals that are raised to slaughter.  I’m still investigating the nature of mistreatment in terms of whether these are commonplace practices and standards or isolated instances of abuse.  While I do not have a problem eating meat, I have substantially limited my meat consumption unless it is served to me or I have purchased the meat from a humane butcher or local farmer. 

Christmas and the King's Kitchen

Christmas 2011 was very different for Ron and me.  I have a very small family.  My only brother and sister-in-law, James and Catharine, were with her family for Christmas, so that left me, Ron, and my mom.  Mom decided that since we had room at the table, we should invite some families from the Salvation Army Family Shelter who had no where else to go.  (I know, she is a lot like Jesus)  So here's a run down of how our Christmas panned out.

My mom, Ron, and I woke up early to share breakfast and open up gifts together.  We got ready and headed to the Salvation Army to pick up the families that were paired with our family.  Talk about a humbling experience, walking into a facility filled with people who have no where else to go on Christmas day when they had a free pass to leave and go wherever they wanted.  We were supposed to connect with three families; one of those families had been discharged so we connected with the two other families.  Our first guest a middle class woman who was left homeless when her husband left her and her son.  As a result she was not able to pay her mortgage and keep up with family expenses.  She ended up at the Salvation Army.  Our second guest left homeless after the parent's with whom she lived and for whom she cared passed away.  As a result her and her son ended up at the Salvation Army.  After exchanging introductory pleasantries, we headed to church.

Mom had told me that she went to a homeless church on Sunday mornings.  While I thought the concept was intriguing, I really had no frame of reference until I entered "Restoration Place Church."  Unlike most churches, this congregation meets in a restaurant, "The Kings Kitchen."  The Kings Kitchen is owned by Jim Noble of Nobles Restaurant in Winston-Salem and Charlotte (among other hugely successful restaurants).  Jim Noble, a Christian chef and restaurant owner, started a non-profit restaurant with the following vision and mission:

Vision:

“The King’s Kitchen” is a ministry operating as a not for profit restaurant to raise funds to feed the poor and to train and equip those previously unemployable in the restaurant trade.

Mission:

“The King’s Kitchen” will operate as a public restaurant, serving local, healthy, Southern cuisine and the profits and proceeds from “The King’s Kitchen” will go toward feeding the poor. In addition, The King’s Kitchen will also operate “The King’s Kitchen Restoration Program” as a four part training program to employ, train and minister the gospel of Jesus Christ to homeless, the poor, troubled youth, rehab graduates and other members of our community who are in need of employment. The King’s Kitchen will operate in the spirit of excellence by training and equipping the whole man (spirit, soul and body) thereby sending out developed leaders into our community. This will be done by working together with other local ministries, businesses, non-profits and people of faith.

Yes, I know.  Unbelievably beautiful.  And hugely captivating for this community development girl.

We walked into the restaurant-turned-church and were greeted by about two dozen of Charlotte's homeless community - many of whom had their life's belongings close to their side.  Regardless of their lot in life their hearts were full and their voices loud as they praised the Christ of Christmas that Sunday morning.  We found some seats and joined in the chorus.  And who do you think the pastor is of this beautiful congregation?  None other than Jim Noble himself.  Unfortunately his wife was sick, which meant the associate pastor opened God's Word and encouraged the congregation from the book of John.  After the message, we entered into a time of prayer and testimony.  The "have-nots" have a knack for knowing their need and recognizing God's provision; us "have it alls" are not quite as knowledgeable.  We have deep needs too and an equally gracious Provider; we just like to cover our needs and claim our own ability to provide.  Hmmm.  Regardless, I was moved by the humility of many who came forward for prayer and touched by the testimony of those who shared of God's power in their life, namely in salvation. 

Each Sunday after church, "The Kings Kitchen" provides boxed lunches of their own cuisine for those in the congregation who could use a meal.  That's the vast majority of folks.  Because it was Christmas, the pastor announced that everyone would not only receive a meal, but that they were encouraged to eat at the restaurant together enjoying added fellowship.  Another thing about "have it alls" is that we don't like to be on the receiving end.  When the pastor invited us to eat with the group, my initial thought was, I'm absolutely not eating food that could be served to those who don't have food to eat."  But as I thought about it, receiving the meal and being served by the congregation was a way to level to field and unite us as one.  So I received the delicious meal of beaf brisque, green beans, corn, and corn bread.  We pulled some tables together and sharing a wonderful time of fellowship.  I sat next to a handsome, middle aged man named Lee.  As we began to talk, Lee shared that he used to work the ports of Charleston loading and unloading cargo ships.  He moved to Charlotte to follow his fiance who soon became his wife.  After several years of marriage, his wife left him leaving him severely depressed.  His depression led to his homelessness.  He mentioned that he had tried to call his family earlier in the day to wish them a merry Chirstmas, but was unable to reach them.  I realized I had my phone, so I offered him the phone to call his family.  He called his mom and when she didn't answer, he left a message that began, "Merry Christmas Mom.  This is Lee.  I'm still alive..."  Wow!  Another humbling moment.

As we finished our meal and got ready to leave, Mom invited one of her friends from the church, Angel, to come to our home for Christmas dinner.  He agreed to come with us and our other guests and so we headed back to the house for the rest of the day.  But that's another post...

...until then pray for the Nobles and the ministry of "The Kings Kitchen."  And if you live in the Triad area, support Nobles Restaurant.

The Coming of a Rescuer (As told by the Jesus Story Book Bible)

God's message spoken through the prophet Isaiah regarding His Son (as told by The Jesus Storybook Bible):

“My people have wandered away from me, like sheep in an open field.  You have been running away from me.  And now you’re lost.  You can’t find your way back.  But I can’t stop loving you.  I will come to find you.  So I am to you a Shepherd to look after you and love you.  To carry you home to me. 

You’ve been stumbling around in darkness.  But into your darkness a bright light will shine.  It will chase away all the shadows like sunshine.  A little baby will be born.  A royal son.  His mommy will be a young girl who doesn’t have a husband, because God himself is His Father.  This baby will be Emmanuel, which means “God has come to live with us.”  Yes!  Someone is coming to rescue you!

He will be a King, but he won’t live in a palace.  And he won’t have lots of money.  He will be poor.  And he will be a servant.  But this King will heal the whole world.  He will be a Hero!  He will fight for his people and rescue them from their enemies.  But he won’t have big armies, and he won’t fight with swords.  He will make the blind see, he will make the lame leap.  He will make everything the way it was always meant to be when he first created everything.

But people will hate him, and they won’t listen to him.  He will be like a lamb – he will suffer and die.  But this is my secret rescue plan I had made from the beginning of the world.  It’s the only way to get you back.  My son won’t stay dead – I will make him alive again.  And one day when he comes back to rule forever, the mountains and trees will dance and sing for joy!  The earth will shout for joy.  His fame will fill the whole earth – just like the waters cover the sea.  Everything broken will be healed.  Yes, the rescuer will come.  Look for him.  Watch for him.  Wait for Him.  He will come!

And at just the right time, true to His word, God sent His Son, the Rescuer. This is the One we celebrate this Christmas season.

Galatians 4:4 - 5 "And at just the right time, God sent His Son, born of a woman, subject to the law.  God sent him to buy freedom for us who were far off, so that he could adopt us as his very own children."

 
Merry Christmas 2011!!!

Helpful Resources for Mercy Ministry

For anyone interested in helpful resources in the world of mercy ministry, here are some books and organizations that have been useful in shaping my theology and practice.

A Christian Perspective:

Ministries of Mercy: The Call to the Jericho Road by Tim Keller

Generous Justice: How God's Grace Makes Us Just by Tim Keller

When Helping Hurts: How to Alleviate Poverty without Hurting the Poor or Yourself by Steve Corbett and Brian Fikkert

To Live In Peace: Biblical Faith and the Changing Inner City by Mark Gornik

Beyond Charity: The Call to Christian Community Development by John Perkins

A Theology As Big As The City by Ray Bakke

Additional Resources:

A Framework for Understanding Poverty by Ruby Payne

Whatever It Takes: Geoffrey Canada's Quest to Change Harlem and America by Paul Tough

Same Kind of Different As Me by Ron Hall and Denver Moore

Community and Economic Development Organizations:

Christian Community Development Association - www.ccda.org

The Chalmers Institute for Economic Development - www.chalmers.org

Broken

Broken.  This world is broken.

In God there is wholeness.  In sin there is brokenness.  There are some weeks that the reality of the broken world weighs on me like a ton of bricks.  This past week I felt that weight to a degree that I haven’t felt in some time. 

Broken.  This week brought an end to a very difficult and emotionally draining situation at work.  I won’t go into detail; just trust me that the 3 month long issue has been very taxing to witness.  Yes, even in the church, relationships can be broken.

Broken.  On Thursday in the midst of simultaneously running to a meeting and trying to feed 80 people at one of our tutoring programs, my car broke.  Something about the engine overheating, the pistons melting, no compression.   No warning signs – at least none that I picked up on.  It was a shock to go from having a car to not having a car unexpectedly.  I’ll tell you what else shocked me: the price it is going to cost to get it fixed.  My car is broken.

Broken.  Ron has been sick for several weeks (literally), but last week seemed to be the worst.   Perhaps the only reality harder than watching your spouse physically suffer is watching your child.  Since Ron and I do not have children, his suffering has been about as hard as it gets to watch, especially when I feel helpless to provide relief.  His body is not working as it should; it is broken.

Because of the second and third situation, I did not go to Boone on Saturday to spend the day with my brother and sister in law for Appalachian’s homecoming game against my alma mater, Samford.  My heart was broken.

While all the brokenness above has been very hard, perhaps the most difficult part of my week was the thread of steady reminders of our broken society.

Tuesday while tutoring a fifth grader, I happened upon a paragraph he had written.  He was embarrassed for me to read it; that was written all over his face.  He knew it was a mess: misspelled words that were on the kindergarten sight word list and grammar that was horrendous.  How could he get to fifth grade and not know how to spell kindergarten words?  How could he not know how to write a basic sentence?  Our education system is broken.  Add a brick.

Thursday I had lunch with one of the mothers from our tutoring program, and she was telling me about a situation she is going through involving her boyfriend.  Again, I won’t go into details, but I was acutely aware that God’s intention for marriage and family is broken.  I see that all across our city.  Mothers trying to raise their children with no father.  Fathers who have idolized their career so much that they are all but absent.  Parents who have divorced.  The family is broken.  One more brick.

Saturday I was at Barnes and Nobles, because our internet was broken (how very fitting).  As I was leaving I was approached by a couple asking of money.  When I asked about their need, they said they were homeless and were hoping to buy a night at the Express Inn.  I asked them how much they had and what they still needed.  They needed $15.  I gave it them in Jesus name.  Perhaps I should have gone with them to the Express Inn and paid in person, but honestly I didn’t have it in me.  I gave them the money and prayed that the act of compassion would somehow be used by God to not only provide for a physical need but draw them to God.  As I drove away and wrestled with my cynical heart, “I thought no one grows up aspiring to be a beggar.”  The fabric of our society is broken.  Yet another brick.

The brokenness is evident all around us.  Do you feel the weight of it?

What is our response?  It’s easy to play the blame game.  It’s the poor person’s fault.  It’s the government’s fault.  It’s the fault of unjust systems.  I’ve found that most people who respond through blame are the least likely to proactively respond to brokenness. 

Poverty and oppression are ultimately a theological issue.  In God there is wholeness; in sin there is brokenness.  The humbling reality is that we are all poor beggars broken because of sin and not functioning as whole people.  Instead of living in harmony with God, ourselves, others, and creation, our relationships in all these areas are fragmented.  This brokenness manifests itself in countless ways, one of which is poverty and oppression.  Since poverty and oppression are theological issues, it needs a theological response.  Thanks be to God that he has reconciled us to Himself through Christ and has given us the ministry of reconciliation.  God’s reconciled people should be the ones who are at the forefront of addressing issues of brokenness and pointing people to the Great Reconciler.  So if you are reconciled to God and a part of the Church, what are you doing to address issues of brokenness, of poverty and oppression?  Let me know if you’d like to talk through some suggestions.

"Oil to the Head"

Rebuke . [ri-byook]

Here is the world's definition straight from Merriam-Websters: to criticize sharply; to reprimand.

The Biblical definition is so different, so richer, so much more beautiful. But we'll get to that later.

I have recently been reminded of the necessity of rebuke in the life of a believer in the context of a healthy community. Because salvation (justification) does not equal perfection, we need brothers and sisters who are willing to point out our weaknesses. The reality is that there are blind spots in our lives where we do not see our sin and many times God uses those in our community for our refinement (sanctification).

Why then do we so often shy away from rebuke? Several reasons come to mind.
1. "I've got a whole heap of issues in my life; I'd be a hypocrite to point out someone else's mess." If "for all have sinned" is coupled with "there is no condemnation in Christ," then we recognize that we all have sin in our lives and we do not come to a brother or sister thinking we have it all together, condemning them for their sin. Instead we come humbly as a fellow sinner offering hope in the gospel and desiring refinement.

2. "It's not my place to correct someone else." If you are a Christian and you are in community with other Christians, it's your place. Period. If you are in a position of authority (parent, boss, pastor, etc.), it is your responsibility to shape the character of those under your authority through rebuke. But don't let that be an excuse if you are not in authority over someone. If you are in Christian fellowship with someone and you see that they are in sin, you should offer rebuke.

3. "Someone else will do it." Everyone else is probably thinking that too, so if God has placed a person on your mind and heart, I would say that's a flashing neon light stating, "(Insert your name here) is the person to offer rebuke."

4. "Confrontation is really not my thing." That's a cop-out. Plain and simple. Biblical rebuke should be the regular habit of every believer.

An unwillingness to offer (or accept) rebuke unveils one or more of the following issues:
1. A lack of understanding of the role of other believers in the sanctification process.
2. Selfishness. You are choosing your own ease and comfort over your brother or sister's sanctification.
3. Cowardice. You don't have the courage to confront another person and address the issue head on.
4. A lack of care for the person you see in sin. If you understand that sin leads to destruction and death (James 1:15), then to not point out sin is to not care about that person and to watch them walk towards destruction without uttering a peep.

Here's what the Bible has to say about rebuke:
- As a father disciplines the son in which he delights, so the LORD rebukes us. Proverbs 3:11,12
- Rebuke from a righteous man is an act of kindness, of "oil to the head." Psalm 141:5
- To not rebuke a person in error is to share in their guilt. Leviticus 19:17
- If you are wise, you will love the person more because they confronted you. Proverbs 9:8b
- Rebuke is life giving. Proverbs 15:31
- Rebuke is a tool to gain knowledge. Proverbs 19:25b
- Jesus commands us to rebuke a brother in sin. Luke 17:3
- Rebuke should lead to repentance. Revelation 3:19

Here is where we see the stark contrast from ole' Mirriam-Webster's definition. MW connotes the idea of rebuke as stern, cold scolding that is critical and divisive. Au contraire MW! Rebuke is likened to "oil to the head." Oil was a sign of healing and life in the Old Testament. To rebuke a brother or sister is to confront him or her with an attitude or behavior that is making them "sick." By offering rebuke, you are raising the knowledge of the sin, giving them the opportunity to repent, and sparing them from the inevitable destruction of that particular sin. You are leading that person towards LIFE.

So here are some suggestions. Rebuke should be consistent, humble, and gentle. We should be equally as willing to receive rebuke as we should to offer rebuke. In other words it should go both ways. Rebuke should feel more like "oil on the head" than a "reed on the back." It will if it's done out of love at the first sign of sin. The problem comes when we overlook sin and allow it to become a habit in the life of a fellow christian. Woe to the christian who has to answer the question, "Why didn't you point out that sin in my life? You could have spared me from great pain and hurt." Woe to that christian because scripture says that you share in the guilt by failing to rebuke. But when rebuke becomes a regular pattern of our interaction with our brothers or sisters, it doesn't build up tension and feel like an explosion. Instead it feels like soothing, healing, life-giving words of love.

Feathers Ruffled!

“Cable TV,AC, and an XBOX: What is Poverty Today?”  This is the name of an article sent to me recently.  As I read the article, I became increasingly troubled by its content and concerned about what would be read between the lines.  The premise of the article is to question the material possessions of the 43.5 million people that the 2010 census deemed to be in poverty in America.  Poverty, according to the author, insinuates destitution and the majority of those in poverty enjoy “amenities” such as air conditioning, a stove, a refrigerator, a microwave, and a washer/dryer.  Many in poverty even enjoy “luxuries” like cable TV, a car (or two), gaming systems, DVD players, and (gasp) a flat screen TV.  It was thought that the homes of many of the American poor are in good repair and are not over-crowded.

The conclusion of the article is that “a family in the US that has a decent, uncrowded house or apartment to live in, ample food to eat, access to medical care, a car, cable TV, AC, and a microwave at home should not be considered poor.”  The author closes the article stating, “grossly exaggerating the extent and severity of material deprivation in America won’t benefit the poor, the economy, or society as a whole.”  I would say to the author, grossly underestimating the extent and severity of material deprivation in America as well as grossly misunderstanding of poverty won’t benefit the poor, the economy, or society as a whole.

Let me be clear that I am not writing this response with political motivation.  My goal is not to represent a democratic or republican stance; I’m actually registered as an independent.  If, however, being liberal in defending the poor makes me look liberal politically, I’ll be a liberal on this issue!

So why were my feathers ruffled by this article?

One reason is that it grossly simplifies poverty as merely a lack of material possessions.  Ruby Payne, in her bestselling book “A Framework for Understanding Poverty,” defines poverty as a lack of resources.  Certainly those resources include one’s finances, but they also include emotional, mental, spiritual, physical, and relational resources.  Additionally Payne points to resources such as support systems and a knowledge of hidden rules as resources often absent for those in poverty.  These resources overlap and really cannot be seen independently.  To isolate one resource and say that people are not poor because they have the means to afford material possessions is a misunderstanding of the complexity of poverty. 

Payne goes on to explain the “hidden rules among classes,” which shape expectation and behavior.  When talking about money Payne says,

“One of the biggest difficulties in getting out of poverty is managing money and just the general information base around money.  How can you manage something you’ve never had?  Money is seen in poverty as an expression of personality and is used for entertainment and relationships.  The notion of using money for security is truly grounded in the middle and wealthy classes.” 

Another reason I was troubled by this article is that it breeds implicit stereotypes and assumptions about the poor.  Stereotypes included in the article include a mismanagement of money, an unhealthy lifestyle, among others.  Even where there might be truth, there is no effort to explore underlying reasons.  Perhaps behind mismanagement of money or unhealthy lifestyles are a lack of education and a lack of role models.  Ruby Payne points out that the two most significant factors in a person rising above the poverty line are education and positive relationships.  Where those are lacking, poverty will persist.  Instead of discounting the reality of the poor, it might serve them better to establish relationships and teach impoverished neighbors about finances and health. 

To say that the overwhelming majority of the poor in the United States are well-housed, have one (or two) cars, are able to obtain necessary medical care, and have ample food does not line up with what I have experienced as I lived on the Westside of Chicago and what I see on a daily basis with low income neighbors in Winston-Salem.   Admittedly this is a personal and subjective observation, but my heart has been pierced by neighbors who have empty kitchen cabinets.  I have seen bedrooms with no beds.  I’ve picked up the kids whose parents had no personal mode of transportation.  I’ve received phone calls from neighbors who are desperate for dental care because their teeth are literally falling out.   I could go on.

While I have no political motivation in my response, there is a deep theological motivation.  This world is broken.  Sin has distorted God’s intention for all of creation and created a chasm not only between man and God, but also man and others.  Great disparities exist between the haves and the have nots.  Those in both groups are subject to the fall and the sin bends that come with each socioeconomic group.  There’s nothing inherent about being poor that makes a person view money incorrectly.  Sin affects everyone!  Mis-spending can happen just as easily for a middle class neighbors straining for the American dream as it can the poor (mis)managing their meager amount of money.

I am disheartened by this article and the mentality behind it because it shows an insensitivity and lack of compassion towards the poor or the lower rungs of our society.  For the Christian this should troubling for two reasons.  One, it reveals a lack of grasping the central message of Christianity.  That Christ - who possessed all wealth - became poor so that through His poverty I might become rich (II Cor. 8:9).  I should have a care for the poor because the physical reality of the poor points me to my own spiritual reality.  Two, the language of the Bible insinuates that a mark of true worship and faith is a person’s concern and care for the poor.  Repeatedly God says that true worship and faith inevitably will translate into caring for the poor and oppressed (Isaiah 58, Matthew 25). 

When I am guided by my own theology, I would rather be liberal is caring for the poor than not.  I would rather broadly care for the lower rungs than tightly hold onto resources questioning whether someone is poor or not.  That’s just me.  What do you think?

Marriage is "Dynamic, Not Static"

Holly Hinshelwood, a friend who served with me this summer, let me borrow a book entitled "Let Me Be A Woman" by Elizabeth Elliot which was written to her only daughter as a wedding gift.  It holds great wisdom and has been timely truth as Ron and I navigate the waters of our first year of marriage.  I was reading this morning and the following passage really hit home so I thought I would share it.

"Marriage is a dynamic, not a static relationship.  It gets either better or worse.  As people either grow or deteriorate, relationships between them must grow or deteriorate.  A common explanation offered for marital incompatibility is 'we outgrew each other.' It's been said that if a couple doesn't grow together they grow apart.  But for the couples who have in all seriousness said their vows before God and in the presence of witnesses the possibility of growing apart need not be allowed.  It need never be something which 'happens to' them, as though they were bystanders injured by some force which they were powerless to protect themselves from.  They have willed to love and live together.  They stand, not helpless, but in relation to God, each responsible to fulfill the vows to the other.  Each determines to do the will of God so that together they move toward the 'measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ."  And, if God is viewed as the apex of a triangle of which they are the two base points, movement towards Him necessarily decreases the distance between them.  Drawing near to God means drawing near to each other, and this means growth and change.  They are being changed into the same image of glory to glory.  There is no such thing as stagnation or that relatively innocent-sounding word 'incompatibility.'
There are tensions.  The strength of the great cathedral lies in the thrust and counterthrust of its buttresses and arches.  Each has its own function and each its peculiar strength.  This is the way I see the dynamics of a good marriage.  It is not strength pitted against weakness.  It is two kinds of strength, each meant to fortify the other in special ways.  It is not weakness for the boat to submit itself to the rules of sailing.  That submission is  her strength.  It is the rules that enable the boat to utilize her full strength, to harness the wind and thus take to herself the wind's strength.  It was not weakness in the Son of God that made him obey the will of the Father.  It was power - the power of His own will to will the Father's will."

Alexandra Gaskins: The Triathlete???

Those who know me know that I don't swim, bike, or run.  In fact I tried swimming when my ankles swelled to the size of grapefruits, got half way down one lane, and decided to switch over to senior water aerobics.  A logical question is "why in the world is someone who doesn't swim, bike, or run doing a triathlon?"  Two simple responses: 1. Someone believing in you is powerful!  I never considered doing a triathlon until Annah Matthews suggested I participate and told me I could do it.  She didn't just say it once.  She said it several times, and I started to believe that she really thought I could be a triathlete.  That was a strong motivator!
2. This is a baby or "sprint" triathlon designed for beginners.  The Rambling Rose is a 250 yard swim, an 8 mile bike ride, and a 2 mile run.  And somehow I'm told that this is a baby race.  I'm not gonna lie; any one of these activities - swimming 10 laps, biking 8 miles, and running 2 miles - would seem daunting to me separately, let along put them together back-to-back.  But I figure if I'm ever going to do a triathlon, this is the one to do.
I started training July 18th.  I began by seeing where I was athletically.  I could swim about one lap without stopping, I could run one mile, and I could bike about 2 miles.  With only five weeks to train, I wasn't sure how I was going to complete the race without hyperventilating.  But I have been so encouraged by the endurance gained over the past 4 weeks. 
Several observed motivators:
- Train with a group.  There are a whole host of us training together and we have been each others cheerleaders.  For those who are uber competitive (I can be that person), there is an inner-satisfaction of beating a teammate.
- Have benchmarks.  When I first started running, I tracked the mileage in my car driving down Darwick (main road off of our neighborhood).  Cash Lovell Stables is about a mile down the road, Triad Christian Fellowship Church plant is about a mile and a half down the road, and then the end of Darwick is about two miles.  I started by trying to run to the stables (about died!).  When I reached the stables, I slapped the mailbox in victory.  Gradually I was able to run to Triad Christian Fellowship and slap their mailbox (no damage done...promise). And then finally I was able to run all the way down Darwick and slap the stop sign (happy to stop, thank you.).
- Have a theme song(s).  Is it strange that I have the "Chariots of Fire" theme song, "We Are The Champions," and the "Rocky" theme song playing in my mind when I train?  Well, I do.  And it helps.  And it's fun.
The race is this Sunday.  I don't have a time goal; I just want to complete the race.  Completion will be a great accomplishment for me, especially having a chronic respiratory condition that has been at the forefront of my mind and has kept me sobered throughout the training.
Our tri-coach queen, Annah, posted this verse at the end of one of her emails and I thought it was perfectly fitting.  "Train yourself for Godliness; for while bodily training is of some value, Godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come." I Timothy 4:7-8  As much as I have enjoyed training for the Rambling Rose (honest!), I hope that I am more zealous for training myself in Godliness.

And the dog came to us...

There have been many exciting events over the last month that I have been slack about posting.  I thought I would work backwards in recounting those events one blog post at a time.  Be patient with me; I don't have a great track record of uber-consistent blog posts.  Hey, it's quality, not quantity, right!? :)

Ron and I have been looking for a dog for quite some time now.  We agreed that we wanted a medium size dog that has some body to its hair.  Some might call that a fluffy dog, but for Ron's sake, we'll just say that we want a dog with full bodied hair.  We were open to getting a dog from the pound or the humane society.  We poured over websites, made dozens of phone calls, even filled out an application complete with references (seriously!?).  But we have had no luck. 

An unexpected turn of events this week may have led us to our newest family member.

I'm training for a triathlon.  I just heard your gasp of surprise.  Yes, it's crazy, but that's another blog post.  On Friday I was running and all of a sudden I heard a dog chasing me from behind.  I looked back and braced myself to be tackled by a fury beast, but this is what I saw instead:

(except picture her running behind me tongue out just as happy as could be)



At first glance it was clear that she was no threat to me, but it quickly became clear she was a threat to her own jolly self.  I was going to keep on running and not pay her much attention, because I didn't want her to follow me, but as I looked back to check on her, I noticed that she was running in the middle of the road.  At one point she was literally stopped on the double yellow lines with cars stopped on both sides.  At that point I decided I better go back and check on her.  Walking back it became obvious that everyone thought I was her horribly irresponsible owner who didn't care to put a collar and leash around her neck.  Despite their stares of judgement I continued towards little lady because I knew she needed a rescuer.  She was a danger to herself.  Unfortunately she had no identification on her, so I made a conscious decision to encourage her to follow me so that she wouldn't be in the road. 

When we got to the house, I rang the doorbell and Ron came to the door just a puzzled as ever.  I never come through the front door, let along ring the doorbell and let alone with a furry (and wet) friend.  When I explained the situation, Ron agreed that we should let her stay with us until we could find her owners.  She grew on us from the beginning with her long scruffy snout and her big black eyes covered by her floppy bangs.  She was playful and sweet, and we were excited to have her with us as long as the LORD saw fit.

A problem quickly arose: what to feed little lady??  What was the closest food I had to dog food?  Honey Nut Cheerios!  Hey, it was the best I could do and she seemed to love them.

Worried about her owners concern, we took pictures of her (and laminated them I might add) and made poster to put up along Darwick Rd.  When Ron went to put up the signs in the neighborhood, he noticed a cardboard sign that said, "Missing Scottish Terrier...Very Old and Deaf...Her name is Maxee...call ###-####."  BINGO!  Ron called the number and sure enough we had Maxee, their Scottish Terrier.  Despite her age and lack of hearing, apparently Maxee is quite the escape artist.  We were glad that she escaped into our hands and that we could now reconcile her with her owners.  But not for a week.

We found Maxee on Friday and her owners went on vacation on Saturday before we could bring them their pooch.  They told us to take her to Cash Lovell Stables and she was to stay in a stall until her owners returned...IN A WEEK.  Wanting to respect their wishes, I put the bone we got her and her stout self in my car and off we went to the stables:

I called Ron on the way to take her and we both were uneasy about our new friend staying in a stall for a week, especially with it being blazin' hot!  We agreed to offer our house for the week if the owners so desired.  When I got to the stables I met up with Cash Lovell of Cash Lovell Stables and told him that we were more than willing to take her back to our house for the week.  He jumped on that idea; apparently he wasn't overly excited about keeping Maxee with him for the week.  He called her owner and with a brief conversation we were headed back home for a week of caring for Maxee.

Even though Maxee has had several "accidents" in our house, gets up at 6:30 am and starts scratching at the bed and wants to get up on the bed with us (we're not quite ready to have someone else's dog all up in the bed with us), we have really fallen for this little lady.  So much so that we decided last night that we would like to get a dog just like Maxee.  Ron searched the web for regional breeders of Scottish Terriers and found one in South Carolina.  We put our name on the waiting list and sent in a deposit.  So it looks like we'll have a little Maxee either late October or around Christmas time (depending on the number of pups in the next litter).  We hope our expected pup is as special as our new friend, Maxee:

On a side note, I couldn't help but reflect on Maxee's oblivion to danger when she left her owners, started chasing me, and then proceeded to stop in the middle of the road.  I couldn't help but think of my own sinful self, so prone to not stay close to my Creator and wander forgetting the safety that comes with staying under His authority.  Thank you, Maxee, for the reminder to cling to my Creator!

Psalm 91:1, 2

 ¹ Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High
   will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.^[a]
2 I will say of the LORD, “He is my refuge and my fortress,
   my God, in whom I trust.”