Producing Good "Fruit"

Mommyhood is not for the faint of heart. Sometimes we get so caught up in the day to day that we forget just how important our job really is. We are responsible for raising the next generation. And as dangerous as it is for us to forget that fact, I think sometimes we are most overwhelmed when we remember it.

As we are surveying the seeming chaos around us, the state of the world we live in, and often the state of our immediate surroundings, we suddenly realize the magnitude of our calling and inadequacy sets in. It cripples us. We see the obstacles and think "I can't even get the kids to sit still and eat their dinner, I don't stand a chance in getting them to be productive citizens."

It makes it even worse when we see mothers around us struggling with issues with their children. Our hearts break as a rebellious teenager tramples the heart of a mother that we have admired. We think, "She's a wonderful mother! Far better than me! If her kids went astray, what chance do mine have?" And we worry and we stew and we want to bury our heads in the sand or throw our hands up and surrender the fight for our childrens' hearts because it is too hard and there is too great a chance for hurt.

Lately I have been blessed to have been given a different perspective on these things, and I'd like to share them with you. I recently purchased a book called "Loving the Little Years: Motherhood in the Trenches." I've added it to my blog store if you'd like to purchase it. It only cost me $6 for the Kindle edition. It's not a very big book. It has very short chapters, easy to read when you just catch a couple of minutes in your day, and the encouragement is wonderful. I highly recommend it! The author of this book brought something to my attention that I had never before considered.

As mothers, and really as believers in general, we are called to bear good "fruit." When we think of the word fruit in Scripture we think of the fruits of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Our "fruit" is our offering to God. Our work that we do, day in and day out, completely committed to God. It's doing the very best that we can with what we've been given.

Often, our greatest problem with producing good fruit is that we become obsessed with what happens to that fruit. In "Loving the Little Years," the author explains that fruit trees produce fruit whether or not that fruit ever gets used for anything. It produces the fruit regardless of whether it will all fall to the ground, unappreciated, or if someone lovingly collects it and makes wonderful goodies from it. It's' job is to produce the fruit. Period. She states,

"It's kind of funny to think about, but God does not tell us to necessarily be strategic with our fruit. Will someone check on it every day? Harvest the best to make a pie? Or will there be a junior high kid sweating around among the yellow jackets trying to pick it all up- wishing we were not quite so bountiful? What happens to all of our fruit is not our problem. That doesn't mean we are not to care about the fruit. While it is on our branches, it is our life work. It is an offering to God, and we ought to care intensely about the quality of our fruit. But the branches are our responsiblity; the ground is not."

How freeing is that? God determines what happens to the fruit once it leaves our branches. We are simply to produce the best fruit possible. A fruit tree is judged by the fruit it produces. The fact that the fruit is left on the ground, or made into a cider instead of a pie has no bearing on whether or not the tree is a good tree. If you attempt a new homemaking or business venture and it doesn't go the way you think it should, that doesn't mean you failed. If you offered your best to God, you succeeded. What He, the owner of the tree, decides to do with that fruit is completely up to him. It was only our job to produce it.

In the same way, the things we watch our children struggle with, the horrible choices we see them make, are not our responsiblity. Our children are their own vine, their own tree. They are responsible for the fruit that they produce just as we are. And their fruit production has no bearing on the quality of our tree. We are simply required to faithfully commit to raise them the very best that we can, in a way that is God honoring...to train up a child in the way he should go. We are wrong to consider ourselves failures due to the shortcomings of others...even if those "others" are our children.

But even if some of our fruit isn't being used the way we had hoped, here's a little encouragement from the author of the book.

"But the chances are good that the more fruit you make the more fruit gets used. The more you throw yourself into heavy branches, the more inviting the fruit, and the more inviting the fruit, the more people it is likely to feed.

Some of those apples will fall to the ground and rot. But God uses rotten apples- to fertilize the ground, to start more apple trees after little animals plant them, and just to make the air smell sticky sweet. You cannot know the depth of His plan for your fruit. So throw it out there on the ground when you have no plan for its future. Waste it. Waste homemade pasta and the mess it makes on your family. Don't save cloth napkins for company only- sew a dress your daughter doesn't really need. Be bountiful with your fruit, and free with it. The only thing you can know for certain is that God will use it."

Now, this little life lesson was made even sweeter for me by our Sunday School class this week. Pastor John talked about how in the Psalms we are refered to as trees, planted by the streams, fed by the Law of the Lord. Only good trees produce good fruit. A withering tree produces nothing of value. So bury yourself in the Word, momma. It's your life-source and the only way you have any chance of producing the quality fruit that will feed the masses and be used by the Master. Take in the breath of God, and use it to create the most wonderful, bountiful fruit you can...then let go...and let God decide how he will use your fruit.

Leaving Our Legacy

I don't usually discuss politics in this blog unless it's relating to something else. I try to just stay away from it altogether on here, simply put- because it tends to alienate people. People automatically assume you are a certain kind of person based on your political affiliation. I want this blog to be helpful, encouraging, edifying. Not a sounding board for politics.

However, with the current events that have been unfolding with this shooting in Tuscon, I think it's important, and I'll explain why in a minute. First, I want to be completely upfront. That way those who are going to shut me off because of my beliefs can do so without wasting their time by continuing to read. I am a 26 year old female conservative. I am not a republican. I am not a democrat. I am an independant and always vote according to issue and candidate. Always. However, I am both a social and fiscal conservative.

I'd like to think I'm a fairly easy person to get along with. I'm a mother of three...soon to be four. I have a bachelor's degree in Communication. I grew up blue collar, married white collar and can relate to just about anybody. I love my God, my family and my country. So that pretty much sums me up.

When elections rolled around last November, I was only too happy to get out and vote for individuals that I thought would actually represent me. Last time I checked, that was the whole point of democracy. I don't care if the person who is elected is white, female, or young...I don't care if they LOOK like me...I just want them to represent my values and defend the things that are important to me.

When Gabrielle Giffords and several other individuals were shot this past weekend, I was stunned. Just like everyone else in America. Then, sadly, I turned to my husband and said, "How long do you think it will take for conservatives to start getting blamed?" As it turned out, it had already started. They didn't even wait for the dust to settle. They didn't have any idea who the guy was who had done this or what his motives were. It didn't matter. It was an opportunity to push an agenda. "It's all those crazy right wing conservative's fault...obviously since it was a democrat who was shot."

The ignorance in making statements like these while completely uninformed is profound. A wounded group of politicians with a vicious hatred for an empowered right was only too happy to begin mudslinging in an attempt to "not let a crisis go to waste."

We later find out that the man was a wacko. Just plain and simple- a wacko. He was not a right-wing conservative. In fact, quite the opposite. He was a "philosophy" junkie. He was probably further left than Gabrielle Giffords in all actuality. But regardless of his political affiliation, there is NO evidence that politics had ANY part in his motive. His friends have said he never watched TV, he never listened to talk radio. So why the accusations against these media outlets? The man had a personal issue with Ms. Giffords. And he was mentally disturbed. The end.

Is it devestating? Yes. Tragic? Yes. A reason for the country to get all up at arms over right vs. left? No. Not even close. At a time when the country should be uniting to support these families, instead they're trying to pass new policies, "remake" the President, show Barack Obama's "magic" as one reporter referred to it. The American people are sick to death of the game playing and name calling. You can be passionately for or against something without inciting violence or doing anyone any harm whatsoever.

Obviously those who are leading America are unable to do so without acting like a bunch of junior highers. Was it wrong for people to come out right after the incident and baselessly blame the right? Yes. Was it wrong for the right to get caught up in defending themselves (as if it matters, they already hate you, you're not going to convince them otherwise) and play the politics game? Yes. Is it absolutely ludicrous that those who are accusing the right of inciting violence with their vitriol are making death threats to those individuals? Hypocrisy that boggles the mind. 

Here's where I stand. I'm a mom. A mom lost her nine year old little girl that day. She let her go to a political rally because the little girl loved politics. She had just gotten elected to student government in her third grade class. What a precious, smart, wonderful little life that was needlessly snuffed out by a lunatic. From what I can see, families who lost loved ones in that accident did just that. Lost loved ones. They need love. They need support. They need to be able to grieve. They need someone to come alongside them, to show them that the nation mourns with them.

When I've lost loved ones, I didn't need a pep rally. I didn't need a Presidential Cabinet Member reading a piece of Scripture. I didn't need more controversy in my life. And I'm pretty sure they don't either. It's time to step away from the political fray and be human for awhile. We're all just human. We all hurt, we all bleed the same. It could have been any one of us. I hope that we can all be a little more compassionate toward one another. Especially those who have lost so much in this.

As mommas, let's try to look deeper this year. Let's try to meet people where they are, instead of talking about them as if they're a number. Because a whole crew of mommas is a lot more powerful than congress could ever hope to be. The government doesn't get to determine the kind of country our kids grow up in...we do. We are raising the next generation of leaders who can either see a need and meet it, or pass the buck in favor of personal gain. Our children are watching us. They're watching how we react to these and all other situations.

For instance, when I was a child I knew my parents were not fans of the current welfare system. They thought it inspired people to do absolutely nothing with their lives. According to some, that would make them calloused and uncaring. And perhaps, had they done things differently, someone could have convinced me that they were. But I knew better. I had seen over and over when my parents had helped someone who truely needed it. I distinctly remember sitting in a Pizza Hut on a Friday night. It was near closing time and a homeless man came into the restraunt to ask for the food they would be throwing away. They told him they didn't have anything, and he quietly left. Without saying a word, my dad packed up the rest of our pizza and followed the man out the door. That moment of watching my dad hand that pizza box to that homeless man was a make or break moment in my life. I saw compassion in action. No, it wasn't a big gesture. It didn't have to be. My father saw a need and he filled it, and I've been trying to do the same my whole life.

That's what we're supposed to be doing. Leading by example. If we start taking care of each other, meeting the needs of those in our communities and our nation- all the while pointing to the God who enables us to love extravegantly, we'll be on our way to rewriting history for our children's children. Throughout the year as I see a need arise, I'll let you know on here and we can do our best to meet that need together. I won't be equipped to meet every need. You may be better fit to do some things. But for goodness sakes, Mommas, we have a legacy to write. Let's get going.

Oh to grace, how great a debtor...

My devotion this morning was on graciousness. Ah, the sting of conviction. This week has been one challenge after another. I've been exhausted and the children have behaved so terribly that I believe they could have driven Job to the brink. And God decides to have a chat with me about graciousness...oh, of course. 

There's been plenty of literal and figurative dirty laundry around here this week. My attitude has been...well...really bad. Every time I would remind myself of how precious my children are, they would remind me of why I love bedtime. In fact upon leaving my bedroom after reading my devotional I find my darling two year old emptying her advent calendar of all the chocolates. Nothing like a "what have we learned today, Lindsay" pop quiz 30 seconds after the lesson. Sigh. 

Graciousness is not an easy thing. Not for anyone, let alone someone who spends their entire day with small children. (or cantankerous adults) But it is a necessary attribute to cultivate. Our responses to our children are shaping their relationships with us, themselves and their God. That's a whole lot to be riding on our reactions. 

So here's hoping that I can let the Gospel remind me today (no gentle whispers here, we're talking Mack truck, God.) that the grace that has been shown to me far outweighs the grace needed for me to respond to others in love. Because it's up to me to show my babies the importance of love and grace.  

This excerpt from a hymn was included in my devotional: 

Gracious Spirit, dwell with me! 
I myself would gracious be;
And with words that help and heal
Would Thy life in mine reveal.

By Our Love

"While knowledge makes us feel important, it is love that strengthens the church."- 1 Corinthians 8:1

We spend our lives amassing knowledge. We take class after class, read book after book, we play trivia games, google information and attend seminars.We can't seem to get enough knowledge. And we are only too happy to share our wealth of information with the "less informed" around us. We think that we're doing the world a favor by sharing all we know and prodding along those who are "obviously misled."

However, it may be that we are misled if we are more willing to share our knowledge than our love. When is the last time you shared your opinion? When is the last time you truely helped someone in need? Where are your priorities?

What good is your knowledge if you've damaged the person you thought you were "helping"? This is all too often the case with Christians. We are called to exemplify Christ, but we love to know it all.

We insist that we are right and those who disagree with us are wrong. And often, we may indeed be right- but what's the point? We may believe we have doctrine and theology completely figured out. But Scripture doesn't say they will know we are Christians by our knowledge of doctrine, but rather by our love. If we tear apart another person, Christian or otherwise, for their "lesser knowledge" we are doing a huge disservice to the Savior who commands us to love.

The church is supposed to represent Christ. When we attack others in the church for disagreeing with us, when we name-call, gossip, or simply give the cold shoulder we are in direct violation of God's command for us to LOVE. It doesn't matter how right you think you are. But when we love one another despite our disagreements- when others can see the love of Christ in us, they are more likely to be willing to listen to our "knowledge" without being defensive.

It's hard to love those who disagree with us, (I don't mean "be nice to" or "smile to their face"- but really love. Really want the very best for that person. Listen instead of talking. Find things in common instead of focusing on the differences. Love them as Christ would have you to love them.) but we must work to learn how to do just that, with the same enthusiasm that we attempt to learn everything else.

The world is watching. Are we going to tear eachother apart in the name of knowledge or are we going to swallow our pride and show them a love far deeper than human understanding? "The greatest bit of knowledge is knowing how to love."

How can you show love to someone you disagree with today? How can you give to your church body expecting nothing in return? Try asking God to change you, rather than always asking Him to change them. None of us has reached perfection. We all have ways that we need to grow. Be respectful of the place in life that others find themselves in and realize that apart from the grace of God you are lost as well. You can always learn from those around you, even the most unlikely of individuals. If you fail to have the humility to see where you can learn in a relationship you have missed a great blessing.

Be less critical, smile more often, talk a little less, listen a little more, look for understanding rather than simple knowledge, apply Biblical truths rather than simply preaching them, be more concerned with the flaws in your own life than those in the lives of those around you, show the world the unconditional, overwhelming, undeserved love of Christ for "they will know we are Christians by our love."

The State of Things

The following was the Scripture passage from my devotions this morning. I realize that this passage will be highly unpopular to some of my friends, so I will refrain from adding any of my own thoughts to it at all. I will simply put the Scripture itself out there and you can see for yourself.

Romans 1:18-2:6

For God's [holy] wrath and indignation are revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who in their wickedness repress and hinder the truth and make it inoperative.
For that which is known about God is evident to them and made plain in their inner consciousness, because God [Himself] has shown it to them.
For ever since the creation of the world His invisible nature and attributes, that is, His eternal power and divinity, have been made intelligible and clearly discernable in and through the things that have been made (His handiworks). So [men] are without excuse [altogether without any defense or justification], [Ps. 19:1-4.]
Because when they knew and recognized Him as God, they did not honor and glorify Him as God or give Him thanks. But instead they became futile and godless in their thinking [with vain imaginings, foolish reasoning, and stupid speculations] and their senseless minds were darkened.
Claiming to be wise, they became fools [professing to be smart, they made simpletons of themselves].
And by them the glory and majesty and excellence of the immortal God were exchanged for and represented by images, resembling mortal man and birds and beasts and reptiles.
Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their [own] hearts to sexual impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves [abandoning them to the degrading power of sin],
Because they exchanged the truth of God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, Who is blessed forever! Amen (so be it). [Jer. 2:11.]
For this reason God gave them over and abandoned them to vile affections and degrading passions. For their women exchanged their natural function for an unnatural and abnormal one,
And the men also turned from natural relations with women and were set ablaze (burning out, consumed) with lust for one another- men committing shameful acts with men and suffering in their own bodies and personalities the inevitable consequences and penalty of their wrong-doing and going astray, which was [their] fitting retribution.
And so, since they did not see fit to acknowledge God or approve of Him or consider Him worth the knowing, God gave them over to a base and condemned mind to do things not proper or decent but loathsome,
Until they were filled (permeated and saturated) with every kind of unrighteousness, iniquity, grasping and coveteous greed, and malice. [They were] full of envy and jealous, murder, strife, deceit and treachery, ill will and cruel ways. [They were] secret backbiters and gossipers,
Slanderers, hateful to and hating God, full of insolence, arrogance, [and] boasting; inventors for new forms of evil, disobedient and undutiful to parents.
[They were] without understanding, conscienceless and faithless, heartless and loveless [and] merciless.
Though they are fully aware of God's righteous decree that those who do such things deserve to die, they not only do them themselves but approve and applaud others who practice them.

Therefore you have no excuse or defense or justification, O man, whoever you are who judges and condemns another. For in posing as judge and passing sentence on another, you condemn yourself, because you who judge are habitually practicing the very same things [that you censure and denounce].
[But] we know that the judgement (adverse verdict, sentence) of God falls justly and in accordance with truth upon those who practice such things.
And do you think or imagine, O man, when you judge and condemn those who practice such things and yet do them yourself, that you will escape God's judgement and elude His sentence and adverse verdict?
Or are you [so blind as to] trifle with and presume upon and despise and underestimate the wealth of His kindness and forbearance and long-suffering patience? Are you unmindful or actually ignorant [of the fact] that God's kindness is intended to lead you to repent (to change your mind and inner man to accept God's will)?
But by your callous stubbornness and impenitence of heart you are storing up wrath and indignation for yourself on the day of wrath and indignation, when God's righteous judgement (just doom) will be revealed.
For He will render to every man according to his works [justly, as his deeds deserve]: [Ps. 62:12.]



There is so much in that passage...what stands out to you today?

Having Eyes to See

Have you ever noticed how very little we see with the eyes God gave us? In fact, many days we think we see the exact same things and, in fact, miss so very much that we could- and should- be seeing. We see the sun streaming in the window and shut our eyes tighter wishing the darkness back for a few more minutes of sleep. We see ourselves in the mirror and immediately critique all the things we dislike. We see chaos and miss the beauty of life in action. We see the bills and miss the blessings. We see the gas tank near empty and miss the gift of having a vehicle to drive. We see kids getting dirty and see extra laundry and the extra effort of yet another bath, and we miss the wonder in their eyes as they discover the world around them. We see the toys scattered around the floor and miss the evidence of their active little imaginations at work.

What would happen if we woke up in the morning and saw the wonder of a day where God's mercies were new and having been given the gift of a day we weren't promised? What if we looked in the mirror and saw the smiles that made the lines, the blessing of a body that carried our children, the arms that hold our loved ones. What if we realized that we aren't really running out of money? We have so very much in comparison with most of the rest of the world. We could always adjust our way of living and be just fine if we were willing to make a few "sacrifices?" What if we saw the world through our babies' wonder-filled eyes?

The problem is focus. We tend to let life spin our heads around. We need to be focused. "Be sober. Be vigilant." Life takes on a whole new light when we hone our abilties to focus on the important and eternal. I've found we can endure and thrive in nearly any situation when we can focus on something more significant than what's being flashed before our eyes by our latest distraction.

My devotional yesterday was on the story of the stoning of Stephen. Stephen was in a horrible situation. He was hated for speaking the truth to those who didn't want to hear it. They had decided to kill him. We tend to separate ourselves from the realities of these stories as we read them, but imagine what it must have felt like to Stephen. Put yourself in his shoes for a minute. He had simply obeyed. He had not said a single thing that was untrue. Yet, he had no one to help him and he was at the mercy of an angry crowd. Or so you would think. But it says in Acts 7:55 "But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, gazed steadily upward into heaven and saw the glory of God..."

There is no sugar-coating what happened to Stephen. He was brutally and viciously murdered. He felt those blows just as we would have. He felt the pain of rejection, desperation, the physical and emotional wounds that would have been inflicted on anyone in that circumstance. Stephen was human just like you and I. But he had something playing in his favor. He "gazed steadily upward into heaven and saw the glory of God." Yes, he was still killed, but as he breathed his last he shouted "Lord, don't charge them with this sin!" His final, agonizing moment a testimony to his Savior. Oh, to have that kind of focus in our trials!

How different would your current circumstance look if you took this page from Stephen's playbook? What if you spent your days gazing steading upward and seeing the glory of God? Does not all else pale in comparison? If we measure the events in our lives up next to the glory of God we see which things are important and which are not. We see the immense gifts we have been given by a merciful God. God is absolute perfection. He cannot be improved upon. And He cares enough about you to orchestrate the events of your life. Can you not trust him to lead you through the valleys?

And so, my precious friends, "fix your eyes on what is unseen"- make those around you wonder what on earth you could be looking at- and watch your life become a beautiful account of the glory of God.

Framing My Dirty Laundry

Ah, dirty laundry. We all have it. It sits in piles and lurks in dark closets. It hides away from public scrutiny and makes us feel overwhelmed and just generally lousy. It tends to taunt us. It's never ending, never goes away and therefore always makes us feel as though we don't quite have it all together, that our work is never quite accomplished and that we've failed somehow to do our job.

But dirty laundry is there for a reason. It's there because life is happening. It is not a sign of our failure to subdue it, but rather of our continued blessing and growth. I know I go through a ton of laundry in our house because I have a husband and three little ones (one of whom still spits up on himself on a regular basis and is in cloth diapers). My dirty laundry is a sign that I have been blessed and that life has been lived in those clothes.

Here's a laundry room epiphany for you. We all have dirty laundry in a figurative way too. You know, those things that people don't readily see. Things that keep you from appearing to have it all together. Maybe you don't talk about it because it makes you feel shame. Maybe you just don't talk about it because you prefer to focus on the "nicer" things about yourself. And I'm not for any second suggesting you tear yourself apart, much less in public. However, here's something to consider.

In the past few months I have had many people ask me how on earth I have it all together. How do I do all that I do. I've even been called "supermom". If for one second you have thought that I have it all together, please let me ephatically state that this is incredibly untrue! I don't intend to decieve anyone, but I suppose it's only human nature to not immediatly discuss your shortcomings.

However, just as with literal dirty laundry, our figurative dirty laundry serves a purpose as well. Our shortcomings, failures, shame are all a sign of life happening. There isn't a single one of us who doesn't have it. We are continually stumbling, failing, picking ourselves back up, dusting ourselves off just in time to fall flat on our faces again. But each time we fall and pick ourselves back up, we've learned. We've lived one more day of life. We've gained a bit more experience and we're a bit more valuable to the world around us.

This is because God is shown most powerfully in our weaknesses. When we see our "dirty laundry" for what it truely is, a sign of life- a blessing of another day lived and experienced, we are able to better understand God's grace to us in saving us and continually making us more like Him through our struggles.

If we hug our struggles to save ourselves embarrasment we are cheating others and ourselves. For instance, I struggle with getting up in the morning. I am NOT a morning person. I have the best of intentions. I give myself incentives to get up early. I KNOW that it makes life far easier when I do get up early. I know that I could get a lot more accomplished if I started earlier in the day. I have tried different routines, different tactics to pursuade myself to get up. Nothing doing. I hate it.

Oh, the agony of the proverbs about the dangers of sleeping in. Now, mind you, I don't often get to sleep IN. But oh how I want to! There are mornings that I drag myself out of bed only to spend the entire morning looking for an opportunity for a nap, or daydreaming about bedtime. What an awful way to waste your life!
Sometimes I am just downright lazy. I just don't want to put forth the effort to finish cleaning before bed. I'm too tired to workout. My bed is too warm and cozy to put my feet on the floor and make a good breakfast for my family.

Yes, I'm getting better, a little at a time. But only because of God's conviction in my life and my desire to perform my duties to the best of my ability-to bless my family and glorify my God. This desire is the only thing that can possibly drag my sorry rear end out of bed in the morning.

Now, you've seen a teensy tiny portion of my dirty laundry. And chances are, someone reading this also has the same stinking pile in their own closet. Maybe they're seeing getting up early differently since reading about my struggle. Maybe they're seeing some hope. Or maybe they're way past me in overcoming their laundry pile. Maybe they have some valuable insight into conquering my sleepies and would like to share. Or maybe we can just encourage each other in our fight against supercomfybed-itis.

So in hopes of sharing the way that God is working in my life, I will attempt to reveal a piece of my dirty laundry every so often. It won't be easy. No one likes to put themselves out there or make themselves vulnerable. But I truely believe that I'm not the only person in the world that has things they wrestle with. Your struggles may be different from mine, but they are there just the same. Sure some people may think less of me, but that's alright. If you find me to be undeserving of your admiration, respect, love, friendship- at least find my God to be loving, merciful and all the more amazing for His willingness to redeem me. After all, my life is nothing if not in Him.
So if it means His glory, I will frame my dirty laundry and hang it on the wall. May all who see it see the mercy and grace of Him who saved me and sanctifies me a bit more each day.

Think on these things...

And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.- Phil. 4:8 (NLT)


Those of us raised in church-going families are undoubtedly familiar with this verse. Usually it was used to complement the old saying "garbage in- garbage out." Almost always it was used to instruct us in how to handle media. It always seemed to me a way of "Christian culture." We were commanded to do these things because we were "different" from the world. Of course, this should be true, but I've realized that this command is about far more than that. It's about the love of God and the unneccesary burdens we place on ourselves.

I'm one of those people who cannot watch OR listen to anything remotely violent...not even anything that IMPLIES violence or I have horrible nightmares. I've never really had the desire to watch anything scarey or gorey because I knew I'd be up all night for weeks. I can distinctly remember moments from my childhood when I saw or heard something scarey or violent and never got the image out of my head.

Once when I was at a friend's house her older brother was watching a horror movie. We were playing in a different room, but walked through the room he was in once. I couldn't have been in there more than 30 seconds- the scene that played in front of my eyes is burned into my brain now some 20 years later. Everything from movie trailers to books, news reports to creepy jokes are filed away somewhere in my subconscious.

Now, a little more about me...I'm a total 'fraidy cat. I am the person who lays in bed for hours awake because I heard a little noise. I'm the one who for years could not handle being alone after dark. I can tell you exactly what I'd do if my car ran off a bridge with my babies in it, if someone attacked me in a Target parking lot, if someone broke into my house (for the record: you break into my house, I shoot first and ask questions later- I wouldn't recommend it). I've watched families struggle through the horror of watching their child get very sick and worried myself half to death that it would be my child next. It was bad before I had children, but becoming a mommy gave me a million new things to worry about.

Now I realize that I was never intended to live that way. Yes, bad things do happen. Yes, people suffer unspeakable tragedies on a daily basis. Yes, I should do all I can to sympathize with them and help them in their time of need. But there is no need to borrow trouble where there is none. God is not a God of fear. We don't have to be afraid...of anything.

All those moments of my life I've spent worrying needlessly. Yes, bad things have happened to me. Some things that I worried about did happen. I worried about losing my grandfather. I did. I worried about miscarrying a child. I did. But worrying about it did not keep it from happening, nor did it make it any easier when it actually occurred.

I have realized that I need to step back and look at the big picture. It's so easy to get completely overwhelmed by the death and destruction we are constantly fed in our society. But where I stand, things are good. I have incredible parents who love me unconditionally, gave me a wonderful upbringing and are two of my very best friends. I have an amazing husband whom I adore and can trust completely. I have three beautiful, healthy children. I have an awesome little brother who I could have lost a few years back, but God was merciful. I have amazing family who have always supported me and gave me something wonderful to belong to. I have the most incredible church family. My husband has a great job, we have a beautiful home, I've never been attacked, driven off a bridge or been in a housefire. Maybe someday I will be, but what on earth is the point of worrying about it now? Will it spare me the pain then if I start worrying now?

 Yes, I've felt pain- physical and emotional- agonizing pain. We each experience life a bit differently and no one can completely know your sorrows. But like attracts like. If you focus continually on the negatives in life, you will make yourself miserable, ushering in more negativity. There will always be a sad story that makes your heart hurt. There will always be a situation that makes us wonder why. And if we concentrate on those things the world becomes a dark and scarey place.

But our Creator knows what a scarey place this world can be. He knows we have a tendency to worry about things beyond our control. He knows that we can make ourselves paralyzed by fear. And He wants more than that for us. And so He says, "Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise."

Take a look around you. Strive to see the fingerprints of God in your day to day life. Seek them out. They're everywhere. And the more you focus on seeing the works of His hand, the more you can rest in the fact that that Hand will hold you through whatever this world throws at you.

Following the Rabbi

I was going back through old posts on my blog and found that I never finished recording my notes from RVL's teaching on the Kingdom of Heaven. In fact, I never even came close. So I thought I would go back over those notes to refresh my memory. It all came rushing back and leaves me so blown away by the God that I serve that I felt I should go over them a bit more in depth yet again. So I will attempt to record a few more on here, mostly for my own benefit, but I hope they will speak to you as well. And if I slack off in continuing the notes...nag me. :)

(ps...RVL's site is http://www.followtherabbi.com/ and I highly recommend it.)

RVL never begins a session without the Shema...so I always begin reading or recording my notes from them with it as well. It's sad how quickly you get out of the habit. But at any rate, it's always a wonderful way to begin.

Shema Israel, Adonai elohenu- Adonai echad
Ve' ahavata et Adonai eloeikah
b'khol levavkah,
uve'khol naphshekah,
uve'khol m'odekah
ve' ahavata l're'acha comocha. Amen.

One of the sections that really stood out (among many) in the teachings was the Jewish commitment to their faith. They KNEW what they believed. Really knew it. One of the things that we, as a Western, modern society do not understand was the way of a disciple and a Rabbi. We hear those words tossed around in the New Testament frequently, but do not truely grasp their meaning. We take Rabbi to simply be a teacher and disciple to simply be someone who follows them. The word translated "disciple" is Talmidim or Talmid. The Rabbi-Talmidim relationship was a very familiar one to the Jews of Galilee. Jesus used this relationship to bring about his ministry.
In Jewish culture the Rabbis were the authorities on the Jewish teachings. Most of the Rabbis of the time were given authority to teach Torah using already approved interpretations. However, there were a few who were given the authority to actually make their own interpretations and pass judgements. Many times in Scripture it says that the people were amazed by Jesus because he "taught with authority" referring to the authority exercised by only a small group of Rabbis. Many religious teachers questioned his authority. But it was obvious that he was in fact accepted as a Rabbi (having completed the necessary schooling as a Jewish child.)
When Jewish children had finished their early education in Torah, the best of those were able to attend a "secondary school" or Beth Midrash. Here they would continue their religious studies. And the very best (only a few) of those would attempt to gain permission to follow a Rabbi. In following the Rabbi they would eat, breathe, live for the Rabbi's teaching. They watched his every move wanting to imitate him in every way. The ultimate goal was to become exactly like the Rabbi.
This was an intense committment. They were willing to follow the Rabbi no matter where he led, though they often did not know the destiation or what would await them. They trusted that he would lead them to the place where they would be able to best learn from his teaching and become more like him. As is stated on http://www.followtherabbi.com/ "there is much more to a talmid than what we call a student. A student wants to know what the teacher knows for the grade, to complete the class or the degree or even out of respect for the teacher. A talmid wants to like the teacher, that is to become what the teacher is."
Once the Rabbi felt the Talmid had become like him, he would commission him to make his own disciples who would, in turn, pattern their lives after them. This is what Jesus did as well. It seems odd to us that the disciples would say "do what I do" because we certainly don't have that kind of faith in our own actions or motives. But these men had devoted their lives to striving to become just like Jesus. They had mirrored his every action.
We put so much empahsis on putting our faith IN Jesus, but we forget the importance of having the faith OF Jesus. We fail to pattern our lives after our Rabbi, living and breathing his teaching. If we are truely followers of Christ, true disciples, Jesus will show up in our lives every day. When I consider the amount that I know about the faith OF my Savior, of the teachings and Scriptures that he found to be crucial, I realize that I have thought it enough to claim him without claiming what was important to him. They really cannot be separated.
I really must learn more about who Jesus was when he walked this earth to be able to truely pattern my life after him. Because what he wants for me is to become like him, to follow where he leads, to love like he loves, to give like he gives, to live and breathe him...to follow my Rabbi.

Uncut Diamonds

"Many individuals have, like uncut diamonds, shining qualities beneath a rough exterior."- Juvenal

One of the greatest things that my parents taught me is "don't judge a book by it's cover." It's so easy to flipantly quote. It's much harder to live it. Some people just don't appear to be the kind of people we want to be around. We decide that we obviously have nothing in common with them based on the way they present themselves, whether by look or by action. But that just isn't true.

We all have something in common. We're all out of the same human mold. We all have struggles. We all have weaknesses. And does it matter what those weaknesses are? Not really. We all know what it is to lose, to fail, to hurt. As the saying goes, "we all bleed the same."

I have found that I can relate to just about anyone. From the standoffish teenager, to the wheelchair bound elderly lady in the nursing home, farmers, executives, cashiers, doctors...
Everyone walks the same earth that I do. None is better or worse as far as I can see. But sometimes, other's actions are very difficult for me to get my head around. I want so badly to hold people at arms' length whose behavior is hurtful or irritating. But sometimes my behavior is hurtful and irritating as well. Am I really any better? I'm so thankful God doesn't hold me at arm's length when I'm frustrating. Instead he draws me close and sees past my "rough exterior" to the shining diamond He created me to be.

If only we would put ourselves aside, and deny ourselves our right to "not be irritated," we could see the shining qualities under the surface of the rough exteriors around us. We were all made in His image. We were all loved enough that someone was willing to give His life for us. If we take the time to dig a bit deeper, get closer than we would usually find comfortable, and see with our hearts instead of our minds, we may find that it's much easier to get along with the world around us. We may find that people all need a Savior, all need a friend, all need love and grace.

So when you venture out of your home this week, take a minute to really look at the people around you. Look past the "rough exterior." You may be just the person that they need to meet. And you never know, the person next to you may be just the person YOU need to meet.

You're never too old to learn...

You'd think after nearly two decades of formal schooling you would have a pretty vast array of knowledge. And I suppose that I did in a lot of areas. But the past few months have been the most incredible, challenging and educational of my life thus far. I think it's safe to say that I see myself, my children, my husband, nearly everyone in my life, my calling, and my God in a totally different light. It would take me forever to put into words the things that have been challenging me of late.

It's amazing how far we, even as believers, fall into the traps of cultural norms. I have seen the way that society has entrenched itself in my mind and have been painstakingly attempting to extract those pieces and replace them with what I now know to be true.

If I were to flipantly address many of the issues that I have wrestled with and the conclusions that I have come to, I would probably be dragged out and burned at the stake. I have learned that following my Savior is to go completely against nearly everything that our culture teaches, even the seemingly harmless, widely accepted parts.

But as painful as the transformation of ideas would seem to be, I can honestly say that I have found a peace such as I have never before known. I have fallen in love with life. Just a different kind of life, found hidden away in my Lord. My husband, my children, my home are pure joy to me. I have found a gratitude, contentment, and happiness that most would assume to be purely fiction. I am so thankful for this continuing journey and hope that others will see the beauty of turning from the comfortable to follow the unchanging truth.

Kingdom of Heaven: Part 4

Shema Israel, Adonai elohenu- Adonai echad
ve' ahavta et Adonai eloeikah,
b' khol levavkah, uve' khol naphsheka, uve' khol m' odeka.
ve' ahavta l' re' acha comocha. Amen.

So Galilee was chosen by Jesus for several reasons. Community was one, the intense commitment of the people there to the text was another. Yet another was their close proximity to the pagan world. The main road of the time ran right through the areas in which Jesus taught, so there was constant contact with the outside world. Galilee itself was located just across the sea from the Decapolis, which was considered one of the most pagan cities in the world by the Jews of that time. False gods, idolatry, sexual perversion and the likes ran rampant among its people. In Matthew 7:13 Jesus said "Enter through the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and spacious and broad is the way that leads away to destruction, and many are those who are entering through it." This is most likely a reference to the Decapolis and the temple. The actual road leading to the Decapolis was huge, even, very well paved while the road to the temple was extremely narrow, rocky and difficult.

Jesus himself visited the Decapolis three times. Devout Jews would never travel there. One of Jesus' most well known miracles, the feeding of the multitudes, took place at the Decapolis. It is possible that the reason for the leftovers from that miracle are because the disciples, being devout Jews, would not eat food from the child who was from the Decapolis for fear that it was unclean.

In Matthew 4:35-5:20 we see Jesus going to the Decapolis. It's important to pay close attention to the text here...so I will put the passage in this blog and go through it verse by verse with my own words in italics.

35 On the same day, when evening had come, He said to them, “Let us cross over to the other side.” (referencing the Decapolis)

36 Now when they had left the multitude, they took Him along in the boat as He was. And other little boats were also with Him. (the term "as He was" implies that perhaps there was hesitation on the part of the disiciples and he insisted they leave RIGHT NOW)

37 And a great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that it was already filling. 38 But He was in the stern, asleep on a pillow. And they awoke Him and said to Him, “Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?”
39 Then He arose and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Peace, be still!” And the wind ceased and there was a great calm.
40 But He said to them, “Why are you so fearful? How is it that you have no faith?”[a] 41 And they feared exceedingly, and said to one another, “Who can this be, that even the wind and the sea obey Him!”
(The Hebrew says that he stills the storm to a whisper...and whisper is the same word used to describe what Elijah hears on the mountain)

(Please note in this next section that I will bold words you need to pay attention to!)

1 Then they came to the other side of the sea, to the country of the Gadarenes.[b] 2 And when He had come out of the boat, immediately there met Him out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit, 3 who had his dwelling among the tombs; and no one could bind him,[c] not even with chains, 4 because he had often been bound with shackles and chains. And the chains had been pulled apart by him, and the shackles broken in pieces; neither could anyone tame him. 5 And always, night and day, he was in the mountains and in the tombs, crying out and cutting himself with stones. (So He gets out of the boat and the first man he encounters is the bottom of the barrel. This man is filthy, terrifying, naked and demon possessed)

6 When he saw Jesus from afar, he ran and worshiped Him. 7 And he cried out with a loud voice and said, “What have I to do with You, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I implore You by God that You do not torment me.” 8 For He said to him, “Come out of the man, unclean spirit!” 9 Then He asked him, “What is your name?” And he answered, saying, “My name is Legion; for we are many.” (James 2:19-You believe that God is one; you do well. So do the demons believe and shudder [in terror and horror such as [a]make a man's hair stand on end and contract the surface of his skin]!)

10 Also he begged Him earnestly that He would not send them out of the country. 11 Now a large herd of swine was feeding there near the mountains. 12 So all the demons begged Him, saying, “Send us to the swine, that we may enter them.” 13 And at once Jesus[d] gave them permission. Then the unclean spirits went out and entered the swine (there were about two thousand); and the herd ran violently down the steep place into the sea, and drowned in the sea.
(remember that the sea was a place closely correlated with hell in the Jewish mind)

14 So those who fed the swine fled, and they told it in the city and in the country. And they went out to see what it was that had happened. 15 Then they came to Jesus, and saw the one who had been demon-possessed and had the legion, sitting and clothed and in his right mind. And they were afraid. (note that the man is now calm, clothed, sitting with Jesus long after the miracle has happened. the people had time to go and tell friends and come back and Jesus was still there...He stuck around.)

16 And those who saw it told them how it happened to him who had been demon-possessed, and about the swine. 17 Then they began to plead with Him to depart from their region. 18 And when He got into the boat, he who had been demon-possessed begged Him that he might be with Him. (those who realize what a horrible state they have been in realize how much they have been saved and long to follow Him.)

19 However, Jesus did not permit him, but said to him, “Go home to your friends, and tell them what great things the Lord has done for you, and how He has had compassion on you.” 20 And he departed and began to proclaim in Decapolis all that Jesus had done for him; and all marveled.

Now...as you can see there's a lot to learn from this passage, but perhaps one of the most overlooked and yet most profound is what you learn by reading the words that I put in bold. If you pay close attention to those words you make a startling discovery- the disciples never got out of the boat! They were so insistent on staying away from this pagan place and it's unclean people that they would not follow their Rabbi into the Decapolis.

Jesus makes a huge point in this story. The Kingdom of Heaven is a portal for the unclean to join us! Praise the Lord that He draws a line between the sin and the sinner! The disciples didn't realize that without God they were no better than the filthy pagans and that after their redemption the pagans were just as forgiven as they were. There is no one who cannot be forgiven. Jesus wasn't just out looking for those who were already following God- He was searching for the naked, crazy, demon possessed man that other people had chained up somewhere to keep him from hurting anyone. There is no room for "holier than thou" attitudes in the Kingdom of Heaven. Everyone is welcome.

Kingdom of Heaven: Part 3

Shema Israel, Adonai elohenu- Adonai echad
ve' ahavta et Adonai eloeikah
b'khol levavkah, uve' khol naphshekah, uve' khol m' odekah
ve' ahavta l' re' acha comocha. Amen.

This next section has been a bittersweet one for me. Being an "all-american" "miss independent" kind of girl in every sense makes it difficult to come to terms with, and yet amazed at the way our God has provided for us. So put aside your politics and everything you've been taught and step into the vision of the Kingdom of Heaven.

Everything that Jesus did was for a reason. Including settling in Galilee. There were many reasons he may have chosen Galilee all of which involve the Kingdom of Heaven. The first of these reason is that the Community was strongest there.

Much in the way that the Amish today live together with their extended families, the Jews in Galilee shared their homes with all of their family. All relations were gathered under one roof or around one courtyard. The term is "insula" or "household of faith". The community cared for one another in every way. Every woman in the community cared for every child as their own. Every father worked for well being of the entire community. There were no motherless children, no hungry people. Possessions were sold or shared and given to those in the community who were in need. The shared everything they had...nothing belonged to them, but to the community. They cared for each other and met each others needs in the most basic ways.

The Kingdom of Heaven happens in Community. This is exactly the example Jesus wanted us to have for how His church and the Kingdom of Heaven operate. So now we have a different view of a popular verse often taken out of context in our modern society. "Matthew 6:33- But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness,and all these things shall be added to you."

We often use or think of this verse as meaning that if you seek God's will or follow him he'll give you what you want. But if you read the previous few verses, you see what "all these things" referes to. "Matthew 6: 31-33- Therefore take no thought, saying, `What shall we eat?' or `What shall we drink?' or `Wherewith shall we be clothed?' (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek.) For your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. But seek ye first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you."

So it isn't saying that you will get whatever you want, but that you will have whatever you need. Now re-read in the context of what we now know about Jesus' view of the Kingdom of Heaven you find that it makes perfect sense. To seek the Kingdom, which IS community, you automatically have all of those things. To attempt to pursue them all on your own is foolish. You'll never be able to do it and you will have missed the blessing of community with others.

This is a VERY difficult for "little miss all-american girl born-and-raised a capitalist" to grasp. Many of you will be saying...but that sounds like that dreaded C word...communism! Well...I suppose that's because it is. Bear with me here.

Throughout the years communism has seemed so appealing, especially to those who were poor or hurting or needing protection or provision. This is because we have a basic yearning for this kind of community. We were MADE for this kind of community. And yet every time communism is established, brutality, starvation, human rights violations and other horrors seem to take place.

But here's the difference. In the Kingdom of Heaven, God is in charge. He's perfect. And He genuinely wants what's best for his people, which is why He wants us to experience the love and fellowship of other individuals. Humans are imperfect. Our sin nature is greedy, self-centered and power hungry. (don't believe me, turn on tv for about five minutes...that's all it takes) And so a communist government cannot handle having that much power over the people. It becomes almost instantly corrupt and the people have no way to get out from under it because they've given everything in hopes of achieving this wonderful utopia of community.

And so, in my own humble opinion, communist governments will never work, because humans are in charge and humans are imperfect. But it's time for us Christians to stop shuddering at the thought of communism in it's purest form. The system DOES work if God is in charge and if the community is actively pursuing Him and His will and loving each other with His love.

We are blessed when we meet the needs of those around us. Today we are taught from the time we are children that it is an admirable quality to be able to do it "by myself". We're "grown up" when we don't need help anymore. This is not how we were intended to live. We were given certain flaws and certain strengths to enable us to create a community dependant on one another. You will never have all it takes to be all that you should be by yourself. You NEED other people. You were never intended to walk this life alone.

We are told that those who help others receive a blessing. To deny someone the chance to help you is to steal from them a chance to be blessed. And we all know "thou shalt not steal". ;-) We are taught that to admit a need for help is to admit inadequacy, but for those who understand the Kingdom of Heaven, to admit help is to highlight God's divine provision.

So turn everything you've ever been taught about society on its head. Communism is good (with God at the center), life isn't about accumulating things (it's about giving them away to meet the needs of others in your community), you aren't strong if you do it by yourself (you're stupid. haha), it's not shameful to admit needing help (it's a way to highlight God's goodness and to allow someone else to be blessed by helping you). Whew.

Now that's life changing.

Kingdom of Heaven: Part 2

Shema Israel, Adonai elohenu- Adonai echad
ve' ahavta et Adonai eloeikah
b' khol levavkah, uve' khol naphshekah, uve' khol m' odekah.
ve' ahavta l' re' acha comocha. Amen.

In our western churches and in Christianity in general we tend to give the Jews a very hard time for being so stubborn and defiant. We see them whine in Egypt and are quick to judge. We see them struggle with Jesus' message and we question their love of God or their devotion to him. But very few of us know what was actually going on at these times. After reading the following horrors, you may find yourself less quick to judge the commitment of the Jews and definately wondering if you would have had the kind of commitment that even they did.

In 722 B.C. Assyria conquered the North. As Isreal married with them the Samaritans came about and the Isrealites were exposed to pagan religions. Babylon then conquered the South and exiled them. So the Israelites were forced to leave their homes. When Persia conquered Babylon they allowed the Jews to return. Under Alexander the Great the Jews were forced to become hellenized (adopting Greek religion and culture). They were persecuted relentlessly for their intense commitment to God. The Maccabee Revolt took place in 167 B.C. The Jews fought in guerilla warfare at times against each other in an attempt to restore religious freedom. They did eventually win those series of battles (the reason for the Hanukkah celebration) and gained their religious freedom- but obviously at a high price. War had become all they knew and they were accustomed to death and devestation. But they returned to Jerusalem and ritually cleansed the temple. However, in 45 B.C. Herod and Rome took control and attempted to once again take away their religious freedom. The Jews resisted, knowing that defeat was likely. There were several intense battles. The men would hide and fight in guerilla warfare, as that was the only chance they had. However, Herod decided he had enough and killed the women, children and elderly while the men were hiding. So the men took the women, children and elderly up into caves on a mountain to hide them from Herod. But Herod found them. His army would light fires in the opening of the caves and when the people rushed out hoping to be saved, they would push them off the edge of the cliff to their deaths.
So the typical male Jew of this time period had fought in guerilla warfare against the Romans, had witnessed horrible atrocities committed against his buddies, may have seen his mother nailed to a tree outside his home, his wife raped, his children burned and pushed to their death off a cliff. Jews were tortured in ways we cannot even imagine for their faith. They were beaten severely. They would get cut from the top of their head to the sole of their feet and their skin peeled off in strips. And yet they stayed true to their faith. In fact a story goes of a group of young people who stood in the center of town and began reciting Genesis (an act that was forbidden) and as the first was being tortured in front of them, then next would step up to take his place and begin where he left off.
I have a feeling we would be hard pressed to find that level of commitment in our churches today. How convicting! Would I have been willing to go through what the Jews did for my faith? How much easier it would have been to just go along with whatever god they were pushing on me at the time! And we're worried about hurting someone's feelings or offending someone or being considered "insensative" of "politically incorrect" and that in and of itself is enough to get us to shut our mouths and abandon our faith.
The Jews were not wishy washy in their faith. They were devout. They didn't always get it right, but who on earth are we to judge them when we've caved for far less. Now imagine a man comes along who is supposed to save you. You've been anxiously waiting your whole life, enduring suffering the likes of which few have ever seen, for this promised one who is supposed to bring peace. And finally he is here. And you want war. It's time to give those Roman's what's coming to them. They killed your parents, your children, your spouse. And now you think you'll be able to finally get out from under them and what does he say?
Love your enemies.
Yeah, we might have had a bit of trouble with that message too. Their hatred of Jesus' message was not due to stubborness or lack of faith...it was a natural reaction to centuries of persecution. But Christ knew that forgiveness and the Kingdom of Heaven are the only ways to survive. The disciples desperately wanted war, but the kingdom comes with the love of God.

The Kingdom Of Heaven Part 1: Importance of the text in Messianic claims

Shema Israel, Adonai elohenu- Adonai echad
ve' ahavta et Adonai eloeikah
b' khol l evavkah, uve' khol naphshekah, uve' khol m' odekah
ve' ahavta l' re' acha comocha. Amen.


Throughout the following posts, the resounding question is "what is the kingdom of heaven"? RVL argues that the Kingdom of Heaven makes its first appearance in the Exodus. But in order to see why he makes that claim, we have to first look at who Jesus was...not to us now, but to the people he walked among.
Jesus was from Galilee. Galilee is an agricultural region positioned on the sea. Fishermen were not common in this area because fishing was not a job that most people wanted. As a general rule, the Jews are not fans of the water. In fact the "sea" is most often used in descriptions of chaos and hell. For most Jews, the sea was not somewhere they wanted to be. However, the prophet Ezekiel had seen a vision (recorded in chapter 47) in which the Dead Sea (which is aptly named as nothing lives in it) would become fresh and pure due to a river that would flow from the temple. The water would be "redeemed" so to speak and the chaos would be overcome. This prophecy was well known by all the Jews of Jesus' time. In this prophecy, it is said that fishermen would line the banks of the Dead sea from En-gedi to En-eglaim. So fishermen already have a place in "kingdom of heaven" prophecy.
So when 5 of the 12 disciples (again, not a common occupation) were fishermen, the Jews took notice...could he be claiming to be Messiah? As RVL said, this would be as if someone chose 12 people to be their disciples nowadays and 5 of the 12 were nuclear physicists. Very rare and would definately draw attention.
Many Westerners assume that Jesus chose fishermen because they were brave, or strong...but that's not how Jesus worked. Jesus always used to text to make his point, not logic. He chose fishermen because he knew they would be associated with the Kingdom of Heaven and he was claiming to be Messiah.
Why 12 disciples? There were 12 tribes in Isreal. 12 sons of Jacob. In Messianic prophecy, the Messiah is known as the 2nd Moses. Moses led the 12 tribes out of Egypt. He was drawing the correlation between himself and Moses, and in so doing he was claiming to be Messiah.
The New Testament is devoid of meaning if not read and understood through the lense of the Old Testament because Jesus always used the Old Testament and his audience's understanding of the Old Testament to teach and to prove his Messianic claims. Understanding of the Old Testament and the Jewish culture is imperative to understanding our Savior and His message.

RVL series

We spent Memorial Day weekend this year at Gull Lake. Over the course of three days we got 15 hours of intense Bible teaching. In the words of my father-in-law it felt like we'd been "drinking out of a firehose and got our lips blown off". I have over 20 pages of notes from that weekend and feel a need to rewrite it all out so that I will go back through it all and hopefully get even more from it if that's even possible. I have decided to go through my notes here on my blog (though obviously not all at once) since I've had so many people say they wanted to hear what we were taught. It's lengthy. It's in depth. And it will, without a doubt, change your life...possibly multiple times like it did me over the course of the weekend. But if you're feeling brave feel free to join me as I re-learn all the amazing things we were taught that weekend. Please note that nearly all of the information I'll be giving does not come from me but from RVL and numerous other sources that he used. I'll add my own thoughts to some of it, but mostly it's just his. He's absolutely amazing and his knowledge blows my mind. I'll begin each blog the way we began each session and the way that I've begun each day ever since...

Shema Israel, Adonai elohenu- Adonai echad
ve' ahavta et Adonai eloeikah
b' khol levavkah, uve' khol naphshekah, uve' khol m' odekah
ve' ahavta l' re' acha comocha. Amen.

Hear O Isreal, the Lord is our God- the Lord alone
Love the Lord your God
with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your might
And love your neighbor as yourself. Amen.

Honestly...

Why is it that honesty is such a hard trait to come by? Why do we constantly hide and create a facade to hide behind? What is it that we're so afraid of? Do we not live in a fallen world? Is there any one of us that is perfect? Of course not. So why are we so afraid that people may find out that we aren't perfect? Isn't that already a given?

There are so many areas of life in which I have been confronted with this lately. For one, of course we have been following the political world. It's constantly one candidate accusing the other of this or that and the other trying to refute the claims and save face. We were watching a special last night in which they were investigating Obama's ties to various radical individuals. Basically they were trying to find out if indeed he was a radical sympathizer, as his relationships seem to indicate or if it was all, as he insists, just coincidental and simply being used as smears. So they were looking into information on his college years. Or should I say, the lack thereof. He has hidden EVERYTHING about his college years. They can't find a single person who will admit that they knew him in college. And the one person who he did admit to knowing, he had used a nickname or something and he had radical ties as well. They could not even find his senior thesis and could not get access to his transcripts. Now, I'm not saying that he's a radical. I don't know that he is. What I do know is that IF he is completely innocent of these charges and has absolutely nothing to hide about his college years and associations, then he could easily alleviate all fears by simply releasing the information for the public to see. If there's nothing to hide in your senior thesis, why not show it? It helped you graduate did it not? So why wouldn't you be proud of it? Why hide it? Dishonesty is never attractive and always makes people assume the worst. What I CAN admire about Obama is his willingness to admit to at least some faults, such as drug use and poor choices in his younger years. And I believe that honesty is attractive to most all people. We know darn good and well that no person, politician or celebrity or whatever, is perfect. So any attempt to appear perfect only comes off as fake. This is why Sarah Palin has been so popular among common folks. Because she willingly admits to being one of us. She's aired her dirty laundry for the whole world to see and scrutinize because she's comfortable enough with herself to acknowledge that she isn't perfect and she doesn't have to be. THAT is attractive and appealing.

I know a person who constantly lives two lives. They are one person around some people, and completely another around other people. For some family and more religious friends they appear kind, responsible, hard-working, loyal and selfless. Around more "rowdy" or laid-back friends, they are foul-mouthed, inappropriate in their relationships, not loyal at all and completely selfish, always looking for a party or another drink. You can't have it both ways. At least not for very long. "You can fool all of the people some of the time, and some of the people all of the time, but you can't fool all of the people all the time." I'm not exactly sure why this person is so dishonest. But I do know that they are not the only one. It happens all the time. Why? What are they trying to prove? We already know that they are not the perfect, responsible, wonderful people that they are trying to be. How do we know this? Because none of us are! So why not be honest with your struggles and problems? Why hide everything from the very people who would accept you regardless of your failures and shortcomings? Are you afraid that the irresponsible, disloyal, partying you would be lessed liked or frowned upon? Well then maybe you have a conscience issue. Perhaps you KNOW what you're truely like is wrong and are ashamed of it. But you aren't truely ashamed because other people have a higher standard. You're ashamed because God has a higher standard. And you know it.

Sneaking around may get you different reactions from different people. You may be able to deceive some people for awhile or gain (or keep) a few friends. But God knows exactly who you are ALL of the time. You can't pick and choose what HE sees. You can't hide away secret friendships, relationships, webpages, pictures, etc. from Him. And He is the one that matters. What I think of you amounts to nothing in the grand scheme of things. And what other people think of you amounts to nothing. But if there is one thing God cannot stand, it is dishonesty. He already knows when you're mad at Him, when you're frustrated, when you fail, when you're sad, when you don't want to talk to Him or even believe in Him. And He's OK with all of that. What He isn't OK with is you lying about what you're feeling or doing. And unlike humans, He ALWAYS knows.

So perhaps we should all re-evaluate the way that we live our lives and who we are trying to impress. I pray my life will be an open book for all to see. Because my failures show God's grace. And my humanness shows His glory. I am a failure. I am a sinner. I am selfish, lazy and have no self-control. But through His mercy I am accepted. I am forgiven. I am compassionate, hard-working and disciplined. I am able to love extraordinarily because I have been loved extraordinarily. I cannot claim any success of my own. It is only God through me that has made me who I am, and I am a constant work in progress. However, I believe that by allowing others to see my weaknesses, I am able to show them that I am no better than them, that they too can be loved and accepted beyond any act of their own doing.

So I will always strive to be honest and open in all that I do, knowing that I will fall flat on my face for the whole world to see more times than I would like to acknowledge...but trusting that in my struggles, God will be glorified.

Daddy's Little Princess

Sometimes the most profound things occur completely unnoticed and in the most unexpected of places. Last night we were eating at Joe's Crab Shack. It was busy and once we were seated it got even more busy and people were standing at the door waiting for tables. As we were eating, I noticed a father come into the restraunt with his daughter. She was probably 11 or 12, and she was very excited. Her and her dad laughed and talked obviously greatly enjoying each other's company. Watching them made me smile inside because it reminded me of when my daddy would take me on "dates". We would go wherever I wanted to go, just me and him and I had his undivided attention for the evening. I loved those nights, just me and my daddy.

But as I watched them, and felt so happy for her, and hoped she enjoyed every minute of it...I saw something slightly different. I saw the way her daddy looked at her. She was his world. You could see it in his eyes. Daddy's little princess. Only then did I actually look at her. She was a bit on the scrawny side...caught in that not a child, not a teenager, odd kind of years. She was tall for her age, had glasses and braces and hair that looked like maybe she brushed it every couple of days. She was wearing a purple sweatsuit and the pants were about three inches too short. In all brutal honesty, she was not a very pretty little girl.

Then I looked back at her dad, and I realized that you could see her, but if you saw her reflection in his eyes, you saw someone totally different. Or maybe not. Maybe you saw who she really was. Because looking at her daddy eyes, she was the most beautiful little girl on the planet. She was adored. She was his entire universe. Who the world saw was completely different that what you saw when you saw her through the reflection of her father's eyes.

Then I realized, that's exactly the point that God tries to make when he calls us his children. It doesn't matter how the world sees us. It doesn't matter if we're poor, or disfigured, or ugly or fat, or scrawny, or have clothes that don't fit, or have glasses and braces. Too often we view each other without taking time to see one another through the eyes of our Father. If we look to him for the reflection of who we really are, we see a precious, perfect and completely adored child, who he loved enough to die for.

I could only imagine someone telling that father last night that his daughter was actually ugly. That she was too skinny, too tall, too odd looking. He may have been angry, but most likely he would have looked at them as though they were crazy. "THIS little girl? MY little girl? Have you seen her?? She's the most beautiful girl in the world! Look at her! She's perfect! You should have seen her when I held her for the first time, or when she took her first step, or when she tried on her mommy's makeup, or when she played dress-up in her mommy's dresses, or when I got her that puppy, or when she was in the school play! I'm so proud of her! She's absolutely perfect! You must be crazy!"

And then I can see what God must be thinking when we become arrogant enough to tell him where he messed up with one of his children. "That person's too fat, they're too skinny, they're just goofy looking, they're slow, they're not good at sports, they're ugly, they're deformed, they're so handicapped...wouldn't the world just be better off without them? Shouldn't they have to change to be accepted? Do we really have to hang around with them?" Sadly, I've heard people say those things. People even try to reason with God and say "They'd never be able to live a normal life anyway (as though we were the standard of "normal") we're just doing them a favor." And God, in his awesome wisdom says "My child, what are you talking about??? They're PERFECT and I LOVE them."

Ah, profound lessons learned in the most unsuspecting of places...

1 John 2:1-6

My dear chidren, I am writing this to you so that you will not sin. But if you do sin, there is someone to plead for you before the Father. He is Jesus Christ, the one who pleases God completely. He is the sacrifice for our sins. He takes away not only our sins but the sins of all the world. And how can we be sure that we belong to him? By obeying his commandments. If someone says "I belong to God," but doesn't obey God's commandments, that person is a liar and does not live in the truth. But those who obey God's word really do love him. That is the way to know whether or not we live in him. Those who say they live in God should live their lives as Christ did.

Amazing Grace

While my husband was in Saudi Arabia in March, my mother-in-law and I attended an Audio Adrenaline and Mercy Me concert. It was a wonderful show with several moments that stood out to me. But one in particular has stayed with me. When Audio Adrenaline performed their song about being the "hands and feet" of Christ, the lead singer spoke for a moment about what that meant. He said that so often people talk about being Christ's hands and feet, and it gives you "warm fuzzies" and you feel good about such a claim. But what we forget is that Christ's hands and feet were nailed to a cross. They have holes in them, experienced great pain and bled. There were severed nerves. So before we go around saying that we'd like to be the hands and feet of Christ, perhaps we should realize what we're saying. Life is not easy. And living for Christ doesn't automatically make it easy.

There are times when we feel a lot like those "hands and feet". People are cruel. They say and do horrible things. They disrespect us as people. They lie to us and say awful things to or about us. Some of us have been verbally or emotionally abused by people we tried to love. Some of us have been physically abused as well. I know as well as anyone the pain that these cause. I know how horrible it is to have someone question your integrity, your motives, your entire being based simply on what they believe and not any truth. I know how cruel some people can be, saying things they know will cause the most pain possible, and deliberately taking your sadness and compounding it by adding their own ridiculous accusations. We live in a fallen world, and we are often battered. No matter how much we try to live the way we should, to be Christ's hands and feet, we find that people are taken from us, leaving gaping holes, we experience great pain, we bleed and are broken, and often our nerve is severed.

And yet we are called to forgive. Not only to forgive, but to love. Christ's sacrifice enabled us to be forgiven. He endured the pain, the holes, the shame, the false accusations, the cruelty, the lies, the disrespect. And then he forgave us...and loved us. Grace is being given a free gift that you don't deserve. We know that the people who have hurt us leave us with the feeling that they don't deserve to be forgiven. And quite frankly, they don't. But then again, neither did we. And we are called to forgive others the way that Christ has forgiven us. That's a tall order, because Christ doesn't just forgive, he loves. He bestows grace upon the undeserving. And we are called to do the same.

I have a song that's been in my head for weeks now. And it speaks volumes to how I feel about people who have wronged me, past relationships, and just life in general. I thought I would include just the first verse and another small part as they speak so much to the forgiveness we are only able to bestow by the changing of Christ and what grace is all about.

"I wish you could see me now.

I wish I could show you how

I'm not who I was.

I used to be mad at you

A little on the hurt side too

But I'm not who I was.

I found my way around

To forgiving you

Some time ago

But I never got to tell you so"

"Well the thing I find most amazing

In amazing grace

Is the chance to give it out

Maybe that's what love is all about."

(song by Brandon Heath)