My Blog
Someone please come up with a real title for me
Tuesday, December 18, 2012
Why do I always feel like God is disappointed in me? And other musings at 4am.
Having talked to many, many Christians over the years, I know for a fact that a lot of them (like Genna) think that God is perpetually disappointed with them. Maybe it’s time the church spends more energy reminding Christians that God’s love for them is not dependent on what they do or don’t do, but rather on what Christ has done for them. For, as Luther said so well, “God does not love sinners because they are attractive; sinners are attractive to God because he loves them.
Very timely, eh? Not that I shouldn't have spent time alone with God or prepared to go on this trip. But God is not looking at me with a smirk, saying, call me when you've got your crap together. God uses all sorts of screwed up people in the Bible to do great things...so that HE gets the glory, they don't. So that His power is made perfect in my weakness.
Anyway, here are the prayer requests that started this tangent:
* Please pray that our team will have conversational opportunities to share the gospel. Ideally, "Hi, Stranger from the US; can you tell me what you believe?" If it's not that easy, please pray that we are bold!
* Pray that God will open the minds and hearts of everyone we come in contact with so that they see His truth!
* Pray that we will be an encouragement to the missionary we going over to support.
* Pray that my family and fiance (will blog about that soon!) will not miss me too much over Christmas.
* And finally, practically, please pray that we make all of our flights, are rested, don't get sick, are able to use the strange toilets, and that I don't keep my roommate up every night snoring. I'm serious about that. I'm worried.
Thank you all for your support - whether it was monetary, encouragement, or prayers. All mean so much to me. And Merry Christmas! I'll end with an excerpt from a blog post my pastor wrote in the wake of the recent school shooting:
Behold the cross, and see the goodness of God: He is present amidst evil. Oh, the wonder of what we celebrate at Christmas. God Himself enters an evil, sin-sick world and lives among a sin-sick rebellious people. A people who reject Him—who reject Christ, God in the flesh—and nail Him to a cross. And God Himself, in His Son, takes all the payment and punishment due sin and evil in your life and my life upon Himself.
Friday, October 26, 2012
Thursday, October 4, 2012
Can't you just see me in an Indiana Jones hat?
I wanted to trek through jungles sporting an Indiana Jones-ish hat. Or maybe climb mountains to reach remote villages, returning home with a Jillian Michaels body. Oh, the difficult decisions when researching Brook Hills mission trip offerings last year; how would I decide which country I wanted to see the most?
Friday, October 22, 2010
Packing and Poop
I’m leaving for
The problem is, that as the date has gotten closer and closer, I’ve started thinking, maybe I made this whole God thing up. Or, maybe he’s around, but he cares about other people, not me. Or he’s so frustrated by my lack of quiet times and repeatedly dealing with the same sins over and over, that he’s washed his hands of me and is just going to leave me in my spiritual infancy like a baby sitting in his own poop.
Then I remember, first of all, I didn’t even choose to believe all this crazy Jesus stuff. I just heard the Word spoken Sunday after Sunday and God opened my eyes so that I saw it as truth.
And sometimes it’s HARD to be a believer. If it wasn’t true, I wouldn’t necessarily wish it on everyone. It’s popular to go on humanitarian mission trips, but it’s not popular to go tell people Jesus is the only way to God. It’s not easy to practice self discipline when you want to indulge in worldly desires. It’s not easy to wrestle with sin and guilt and faith and grace and the tension between free will and the sovereignty of God. And feeling like prayer is useless, but knowing God uses our prayers as his means to accomplish his will. And not understanding why he uses suffering to bring people closer to him. All of that swirling in your head all the time isn’t EASY. I wouldn’t choose to wrestle with this stuff if it wasn’t true.
So, for me, Christianity isn’t about living my “best life now.” So why do I continue believing? Because once you see the truth, you can’t turn your back on it. Like in John when Jesus tells his followers that they need to eat his flesh and drink his blood, and (not being big Twilight fans) many of his disciples said, this is too crazy, we’re out of here. And Jesus asks Peter if he’s going to leave him, too. And Peter says, (in my mind slightly wearily and with a sigh), Where else can we go? Actually the real words are worth quoting here:
"Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life, and we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God."
That brings me to tears, because it’s how I feel like right now. Sometimes I wish I could turn to someone/something else, but where would I go? I have heard the Word, I have believed, and I know Jesus is the Holy One of God. When I doubt I’m saved, I need to remember this. It’s a done deal for me.
So, I’m afraid I’m making the Christian life sound joyless, which it is not at all. When I compare the freedom and hope I have now with my past endless search for meaning in everything from new age books to boys (and stuff you do with boys), partying, work, travel, etc., then I see how much better life really is. I tried to imagine the other day what it would be like if I could stop believing. If I could go back. And I pictured myself living it up, doing all the things I’m tempted to do sometimes. And I felt that desperation I used to feel…the feeling of…if this life is all there is, then I have to get more, do more, be more. And it was tiring. And unsatisfying. And definitely not peaceful and joyful. And despite the funks I get in now and then, there is an incredible freedom and peace in realizing, this life is temporary. No matter what happens here, it won’t last forever. And then there will be ETERNAL freedom and joy.
And when I feel like I’m stuck in spiritual infancy and God has given up on me, I get little glimpses of how cool he is and how far I’ve come. I recently reconnected with an old friend who has become a believer in the last few years. And I was telling my sister how CRAZY it was that I was talking to him about GOD and JESUS, like it was the most normal thing in the world. We were not believers when he knew each other ten years ago. And now we’re sitting here quoting scripture! What???? And she told me about a time a few years ago, driving home after having dinner with me, thinking how CRAZY it was that she and I had spent the entire meal talking about God. That was not the sister she knew. I love being reminded of the change God has made in my heart. From telling my friends, "I’m not sure there is a God," to telling them I’m going on a mission trip to share the gospel.
I don’t think I could have made this up. And I don’t think he will let me sit in my poop forever. He’s got plans for me. I’m scared. But I’m going to pack and be ready.
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
Gulp. I've committed to Cuba....
So – destination: Cuba!! October 23-30, 2010
We will be going to support house churches over there. No I cannot bring you back any cigars! Well, I could try…we can talk later. (If the US Govt is reading this, I’m just kidding!!) Here is some info from Voice of the Martyrs (a non-profit interdenominational Christian organization that assists the persecuted church worldwide):
Cuba stands as one of the greatest “champions” of communism. Fidel Castro came to power in 1959, threatening Cubans with socialism or death. In February 2008, as his health declined, President Fidel Castro turned power over to his brother Raul Castro. Observers hoped the change in leadership would bring more openness, but some Cuban Christians say it has gotten worse.
Category: Restricted Nation
Religion: Christian 46.88%, Non-Religious/Other 35.47%
Ideology: Communism
Head of State: President Raul Castro Ruz
In the 1960s, Castro promised to rid the country of religion within 10 years. Forty-eight years later, there are eight times more Christians than before. Out of the population of 11 million, nearly one million are believers. Strict regulations against house churches went into effect in September 2005, prohibiting a church from being located within a mile and a quarter of another of the same denomination and restricting meetings to three per week. Other regulations require building permits for constructing new churches, and these permits are never granted. Christians circumvent these rules by building churches without walls. In 2009, 30 pastors were arrested in Santa Cruz del Sur, Camagüey, for planning a convention for 200 other pastors. Pastor Gude Pérez has been in prison since May 2008 on charges of human trafficking. Most people believe, however, that Pastor Pérez is being targeted for his role in a fast-growing Christian organization. The prosecution accused the pastor of “counter-revolutionary conduct and attitudes” and “illicit economic activity.” He faces a seven-year prison sentence.
I am excited and worried. Not because I’m afraid of any physical harm or discomfort. I’m extremely anxious because I don’t know what we will be doing over there…because I feel unprepared…because I don’t know Spanish…because I think other people are more qualified to do this than I am. Therefore, I need your prayers that God will use me to accomplish His will and that I will use my preparation time wisely.
And, of course, I need your money. The trip is $2200. I got my first $25 today from a lovely woman named Shelley who bought my tv. So with that and my $100 deposit, I have $2075 to go! If you feel so inclined (or “led” as we say in Christian-speak) to contribute, you can send me a check to my NEW address of:
2151 14th Avenue South
Apt. 8
Birmingham, AL 35205
Or you can send a check directly to the church. I would love it if you let me know so I can thank you; they do not notify us of individual contributions. Here are instructions on mailing to the church:
Please make your check payable to The Church at Brook Hills. Include a notation in the memo line that states "appealed by [team member's name]" and the trip dates and location. Checks may be mailed to:
The Church at Brook Hills
Attn: Global Disciple-Making
3145 Brook Highland Parkway
Birmingham, AL 35242
I promise I will blog more about last year’s South Africa trip!!!! I am a year behind! Will you also pray that I stop being so lazy?
Thursday, August 13, 2009
Eternity freaks me out
So, the concept of eternity still freaks me out a little, but in South Africa I had a moment where I thought, if this is just a tiny glimpse of heaven, I’ll take it. We are walking down Rhenos Mountain with the beauty of South Africa spread before us, and Annette, Nelson, and Bon Jovi (more on them later) are walking behind me and singing worship songs in Zulu in harmony. And I thought – this is it. This is what it’s all about. Praising God with beautiful harmonies while surveying his handiwork.
If I don’t see my South African friends again on earth, I’ll see them in heaven. And I’ll be harmonizing with the best of them. I can’t wait.
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
Watch out - I may start dancing in church
Worshipping at Refilwe Community Center- the organization we worked with in South Africa. I so wish we would all dance more in church!