The Drought
Days without rain turn to weeks, months;
The thirsty land withers under the scorching eye.
All is straw, vulnerable to a stray spark.
My God, have you forgotten us?
Biblical imagery, archetypes embedded in mankind's memory
Become reality. We need days of refreshing from the Lord.
Drought shows our fragility, unmasks our complacency.
We are not magicians - able to conjure up neccessities.
No, every good and perfect gift is from above.
Sometimes we are reminded of this as a people.
Saturday, June 30, 2012
Monday, April 9, 2012
Guatemala Trip
I'm so thankful to be back home with all the privileges that I daily enjoy, but I am also so much more acutely aware of those blessings.
Our biggest blessing of the trip was the team we got to experience it with. I knew no one from the team but my parents but when you are with Christians that hardly matters because of the holy communion of the saints. I love how God's people have the same Spirit wherever they are from!
Our trip to Guatemala was wonderful and sweet and challenging. Many of you know that I get so anxious about traveling that I make myself physically sick. Deciding to say yes to this trip was an act of faith and obedience for me, and I trained myself physically and spiritually for months so that I could do this with my family.
During the month of March, I memorized the first two chapters of James and those chapters comforted me and also came alive in a personal way during my trip.
When we faced days of 104 degree temps and traveled with no air conditioning on very mountainous roads, I prayed to "consider it pure joy" and that my persevering would make my faith "mature and complete" -- that I would learn to trust that God could take care of me in all circumstances.
Often groups of people come to the missionaries with petitions for various needs and the missionaries are sorrowed that they can't meet the needs at that time. And with tears, they tell the people that they must pray earnestly for God to place it on someone's heart to meet the need. When I saw the utter neediness of the people, James' rebuke to those who show favoritism to the rich was so pertinent for "hasn't God chosen the poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom He promised to those who love Him?"
The times I was ill and I wondered why on earth I had come, I was reminded "What good is it, my brothers, if you have faith but no deeds. Suppose a brother of sister is without clothes or daily food and you say, "Go, I wish you well, keep warm and well fed, and do nothing for his physical needs, what good is it?"" And it is not that we did much for these dear people, but just that when I stepped way out of my comfort zone, I was learning to care with my presence and not just my pocket book.
I delighted in having my children there. They interacted with the kids so beautifully despite the language barrier and I was so proud of them for never complaining during the tough parts of the trip. Our team brought soccer balls for the schools and Adam played with all the boys. Katelyn and the other girls made bracelets out of colorful floss with the children - probably around 300 bracelets.
Anna was like a museum specimen to the indigenous children. She was the youngest girl and was picked up by them often. They pinched her white skin, braided her blond hair, and pulled apart her eyelids to giggle at her blue eyes. She smiled at them all! Many of the rural Mayan children had never seen a Caucasian child before. They called are girls "gringitas" - little white girls.
How humbling it was to drive into a remote village and have 300 children waiting for or running with our bus, some jumping onto the back, shouting so excitedly, "Gringos!" They were so eager for a blessing but they blessed me far more.
How humbling it was to accept a hot lunch, prepared by the teachers to thank us: their sacrificial best when they had so little and we so much.
And how humbling it was to accept communion from the hands of our missionary leaders, who with tears in their eyes said: This is Christ's body broken for you.... This is Christ's blood shed for you.... They are my heroes!
And now I must go and tackle the dirtiest pile of laundry I've ever seen and check each piece for stowaways. We had tarantulas, scorpions, and cockroaches in our rooms last week and I do NOT want to find one in my house!!!! Thanks all for reading and for those of you who prayed for us last week - blessings on you!
Our biggest blessing of the trip was the team we got to experience it with. I knew no one from the team but my parents but when you are with Christians that hardly matters because of the holy communion of the saints. I love how God's people have the same Spirit wherever they are from!
Our trip to Guatemala was wonderful and sweet and challenging. Many of you know that I get so anxious about traveling that I make myself physically sick. Deciding to say yes to this trip was an act of faith and obedience for me, and I trained myself physically and spiritually for months so that I could do this with my family.
During the month of March, I memorized the first two chapters of James and those chapters comforted me and also came alive in a personal way during my trip.
When we faced days of 104 degree temps and traveled with no air conditioning on very mountainous roads, I prayed to "consider it pure joy" and that my persevering would make my faith "mature and complete" -- that I would learn to trust that God could take care of me in all circumstances.
Often groups of people come to the missionaries with petitions for various needs and the missionaries are sorrowed that they can't meet the needs at that time. And with tears, they tell the people that they must pray earnestly for God to place it on someone's heart to meet the need. When I saw the utter neediness of the people, James' rebuke to those who show favoritism to the rich was so pertinent for "hasn't God chosen the poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom He promised to those who love Him?"
The times I was ill and I wondered why on earth I had come, I was reminded "What good is it, my brothers, if you have faith but no deeds. Suppose a brother of sister is without clothes or daily food and you say, "Go, I wish you well, keep warm and well fed, and do nothing for his physical needs, what good is it?"" And it is not that we did much for these dear people, but just that when I stepped way out of my comfort zone, I was learning to care with my presence and not just my pocket book.
I delighted in having my children there. They interacted with the kids so beautifully despite the language barrier and I was so proud of them for never complaining during the tough parts of the trip. Our team brought soccer balls for the schools and Adam played with all the boys. Katelyn and the other girls made bracelets out of colorful floss with the children - probably around 300 bracelets.
Anna was like a museum specimen to the indigenous children. She was the youngest girl and was picked up by them often. They pinched her white skin, braided her blond hair, and pulled apart her eyelids to giggle at her blue eyes. She smiled at them all! Many of the rural Mayan children had never seen a Caucasian child before. They called are girls "gringitas" - little white girls.
How humbling it was to drive into a remote village and have 300 children waiting for or running with our bus, some jumping onto the back, shouting so excitedly, "Gringos!" They were so eager for a blessing but they blessed me far more.
How humbling it was to accept a hot lunch, prepared by the teachers to thank us: their sacrificial best when they had so little and we so much.
And how humbling it was to accept communion from the hands of our missionary leaders, who with tears in their eyes said: This is Christ's body broken for you.... This is Christ's blood shed for you.... They are my heroes!
And now I must go and tackle the dirtiest pile of laundry I've ever seen and check each piece for stowaways. We had tarantulas, scorpions, and cockroaches in our rooms last week and I do NOT want to find one in my house!!!! Thanks all for reading and for those of you who prayed for us last week - blessings on you!
Friday, March 23, 2012
The slim trees don their bridal garments fair
All blushed with love for the returning sun,
And the world's stately mothers brood and flare,
Dab glad and misty eyes with green aprons;
Sweet, honeyed air, O gallant pageantry!
Whimsical, wild, hue of color and song,
Sap quickened, banishes long winter's ennui,
O holy beauty, renewal proves strong;
Now, spring's glories show a reflection poor,
A glimpse of wonders behind the facade,
Soon the wedding toast of the Lamb will pour,
All ecstasies will then be of our God.
So long the tilting sphere circles the sun,
Spring's feast will remind of the Coming One.
All blushed with love for the returning sun,
And the world's stately mothers brood and flare,
Dab glad and misty eyes with green aprons;
Sweet, honeyed air, O gallant pageantry!
Whimsical, wild, hue of color and song,
Sap quickened, banishes long winter's ennui,
O holy beauty, renewal proves strong;
Now, spring's glories show a reflection poor,
A glimpse of wonders behind the facade,
Soon the wedding toast of the Lamb will pour,
All ecstasies will then be of our God.
So long the tilting sphere circles the sun,
Spring's feast will remind of the Coming One.
Thursday, February 23, 2012
Ignoring the Master for the Mundane
A man sat at a metro station in Washington DC and started to play the violin; it was a cold January morning. He played six Bach pieces for about 45 minutes. During that time, since it was rush hour, it was calculated that thousands of people went through the station, most of them on their way to work.
As the story goes, only 6 people stopped to watch. The one who was most interested was a three year old child whose mother pulled him away in her hurry. The man made about $30 dollars from people throwing money in his case, and received no applause or recognition when he finished playing.
The violinist was Joshua Bell, one of the best musicians in the world. He played one of the most intricate pieces ever written with a violin worth 3.5 million dollars.
Two days before his playing in the subway, Joshua Bell sold out at a theater in Boston and the seats averaged $100.
This is a real story. Joshua Bell playing incognito in the metro station was organized by the Washington Post as part of a social experiment about perception, taste and priorities of people. The outlines were: in a commonplace environment at an inappropriate hour: Do we perceive beauty? Do we stop to appreciate it? Do we recognize the talent in an unexpected context?
If we do not have a moment to stop and listen to one of the best musicians in the world playing the best music ever written, how many other things are we missing?
Video and audio of the performance are available on the Washington Post website.
“No one knew it,” explained Washington Post reporter Gene Weingarten several months after the event, “but the fiddler standing against a bare wall outside the Metro in an indoor arcade at the top of the escalators was one of the finest classical musicians in the world, playing some of the most elegant music ever written on one of the most valuable violins ever made.” Weingarten wanted to see how ordinary folks would react to his experiment. And how did they react? For the most part, not at all.
The story above, penned by an unidentified author and circulated via blogs and email, has been abbreviated by me. But the analogy to the Christian is obvious. Our Master is at work among us, orchestrating unmatchable events. He would gladly play beauty and purpose into our souls if we would but sit at his feet and listen. He would do it at no cost to us and in the most mundane of situations. Good grief, I must stop being so busy with my “agenda.” This idea always brings me back to the story of Mary and Martha. I always want to defend Martha. Trying to serve the Lord because someone has to step up and do it. Food isn’t going to make itself and the house won’t be neat and tidy without constant vigilance. Except of course, with Him, food very well could make itself. Jesus knew Martha’s heart wasn’t in the right place; maybe she was hoping to impress him with her service. Maybe she was a bit of a martyr. But Mary reacted to the glory in front of her and nothing else mattered. She wasn’t going to miss a moment.
As the story goes, only 6 people stopped to watch. The one who was most interested was a three year old child whose mother pulled him away in her hurry. The man made about $30 dollars from people throwing money in his case, and received no applause or recognition when he finished playing.
The violinist was Joshua Bell, one of the best musicians in the world. He played one of the most intricate pieces ever written with a violin worth 3.5 million dollars.
Two days before his playing in the subway, Joshua Bell sold out at a theater in Boston and the seats averaged $100.
This is a real story. Joshua Bell playing incognito in the metro station was organized by the Washington Post as part of a social experiment about perception, taste and priorities of people. The outlines were: in a commonplace environment at an inappropriate hour: Do we perceive beauty? Do we stop to appreciate it? Do we recognize the talent in an unexpected context?
If we do not have a moment to stop and listen to one of the best musicians in the world playing the best music ever written, how many other things are we missing?
Video and audio of the performance are available on the Washington Post website.
“No one knew it,” explained Washington Post reporter Gene Weingarten several months after the event, “but the fiddler standing against a bare wall outside the Metro in an indoor arcade at the top of the escalators was one of the finest classical musicians in the world, playing some of the most elegant music ever written on one of the most valuable violins ever made.” Weingarten wanted to see how ordinary folks would react to his experiment. And how did they react? For the most part, not at all.
The story above, penned by an unidentified author and circulated via blogs and email, has been abbreviated by me. But the analogy to the Christian is obvious. Our Master is at work among us, orchestrating unmatchable events. He would gladly play beauty and purpose into our souls if we would but sit at his feet and listen. He would do it at no cost to us and in the most mundane of situations. Good grief, I must stop being so busy with my “agenda.” This idea always brings me back to the story of Mary and Martha. I always want to defend Martha. Trying to serve the Lord because someone has to step up and do it. Food isn’t going to make itself and the house won’t be neat and tidy without constant vigilance. Except of course, with Him, food very well could make itself. Jesus knew Martha’s heart wasn’t in the right place; maybe she was hoping to impress him with her service. Maybe she was a bit of a martyr. But Mary reacted to the glory in front of her and nothing else mattered. She wasn’t going to miss a moment.
Saturday, December 17, 2011
Dilly
This is Dilly the duck. She is the beloved rag of my daughter Anna.
Dilly used to be perfect and plush, but the longer she was "alive", the more beat-up she became. She was dirty, smelly, riddled with holes and just pathetic to look at. Dilly was so depleted of stuffing that she couldn't even hold her head up.
I tried to cover her up with yarn and a dress, but those measures weren't enough. Dilly was going to disintegrate and soon.
But what to do? Dilly was BELOVED and Anna's heart would break if Dilly couldn't be saved.
BUT... there was a perfect duck sitting on a shelf. And this perfect duck was not too proud to give its skin for Dilly.
And so the operation began. Here is Dilly in her hospital bed! It took six hours of careful stitching. Amazingly, Dilly still looked like Dilly. She was full and whole again and Anna was very pleased indeed!
As I was doing the surgery, I couldn't get away from how this was a picture for my daughter of the salvation story. In our sin, nothing could save us. The dress of the law couldn't get to ugliness underneath. And we were so beloved that something had to be done and was!
"I delight greatly in the Lord; my soul rejoices in my God. For he has clothed me with garments of salvation and arrayed me in a robe of righteousness." Isaiah 61:10
Dilly used to be perfect and plush, but the longer she was "alive", the more beat-up she became. She was dirty, smelly, riddled with holes and just pathetic to look at. Dilly was so depleted of stuffing that she couldn't even hold her head up.
But what to do? Dilly was BELOVED and Anna's heart would break if Dilly couldn't be saved.
BUT... there was a perfect duck sitting on a shelf. And this perfect duck was not too proud to give its skin for Dilly.
And so the operation began. Here is Dilly in her hospital bed! It took six hours of careful stitching. Amazingly, Dilly still looked like Dilly. She was full and whole again and Anna was very pleased indeed!
As I was doing the surgery, I couldn't get away from how this was a picture for my daughter of the salvation story. In our sin, nothing could save us. The dress of the law couldn't get to ugliness underneath. And we were so beloved that something had to be done and was!
"I delight greatly in the Lord; my soul rejoices in my God. For he has clothed me with garments of salvation and arrayed me in a robe of righteousness." Isaiah 61:10
Tuesday, December 13, 2011
Need God
My sister went to a website called Wordle which will take the words most used in your blog and make an image of them. She was so moved (and so was I) to find that the words NEED GOD were dominant.
It has been very hard on Amanda and Craig to watch their little daughter Sophie endure so many surgeries. It has been excruciating for them to be the ones inflicting pain through daily injections and cleaning of wounds. And yet they have an awareness of God and His mercies through the very need of Him.
The problem of pain and suffering and evil conflicts many people about the goodness of God. And yet, Christians' testimonies through the ages have always proclaimed that they would rather suffer with Him and see His provision then live halcyon days with little awareness of His presence. Our hurts can be a severe mercy from the heart of a God who also suffered so that He could be near to us.
Joy cometh!
Sunday, October 16, 2011
Reunion
You knew me when
I was less and more
Myself in nature
Virtues poor.
But Someone has been unmaking me,
Refining and restoring me.
He wrestles out the self will be
Immortal through eternity.
Years have passed
With many griefs,
And much joy,
Refined beliefs.
Blessed to find
I know you still.
Re-united by
His holy skill.
The Someone at the heart of me,
Dwells also in the source of thee.
I was less and more
Myself in nature
Virtues poor.
But Someone has been unmaking me,
Refining and restoring me.
He wrestles out the self will be
Immortal through eternity.
Years have passed
With many griefs,
And much joy,
Refined beliefs.
Blessed to find
I know you still.
Re-united by
His holy skill.
The Someone at the heart of me,
Dwells also in the source of thee.
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