Back in Arizona...

I am back in sunny Arizona...I think I missed most of the heat...it is still warm, but cool enough to enjoy being outdoors! As much as I miss the cool weather and amazing people back east, it is nice to be home too (and out of the car!).

Brooke and I had a crazy week driving across country...it was so much fun. New York City and Chicago are both awesome places, but the atmosphere of the two were both so different. It was so much fun to see the difference between the two cities. Not just the physical difference, but the difference in personalities, paces, and style. Chicago as a whole was so much more laid back then New York...but both places were fun and we met some great people during our travels (In case ya'll didn't already know this...Brooke is a people magnent).

I think the biggest shocker for the week was Kansas City. I never imagined there being such a big inner city in Missouri. I saw more homeless people in the one day I was in Kansas City then in the three days I was in New York and Chicago combined. But it was so encouraging...I was able to meet the pastors of Brook's church, Solomon's Porch, and it was incredible to me how much they are giving to the community. They are feeding the homeless, providing clothes, food, shelter, day care for single moms, a youth center for the kids and teens to hang out in after school and on weekends...but most of all they are pouring out an incredible amount of God's unconditional love. I could have sat and listened to those pastors talk forever about their passion for reaching Kansas City. I love seeing how God is moving the entire body of Christ to meet the needs of this world. Dale, I love what you said in your comment on my last post, "I do think there is something in the kingdom of God that causes the spread of His people. I don't think it an accident that the apostles didn't die in a group but alone and on mission." I love when...on my journey...I am able to cross paths for even a short while and meet people who are, "on mission"...just reminds, encourages, and empowers me to stay on mine.

See you on the field...

You know the sports movies where the team is in this high-tention game...they take a quick time out...regroup, restrategize, then come back and give it their all and win the game? That is kind of what I felt this summer was like. I was extermely blessed to meet some amazing people who live their life like they are in the last 30-seconds of the game. When I talk with my new friends and my wonderful family, it is not like talking to a bunch of people sitting on the side-lines, critiquing the performance of the players...they are the players, and they are passionately pouring their hearts, bodies, and souls into this world. My friends and family here are not philosophers. They don't sit around and ponder how life could be better. They are strategizers. They gather together, swap war stories, and plan the next move. Every time you see them...they have taken new ground.

So, I am leaving in a few hours to drive back across the country... I didn't know it was possible to fall in love with so many people so quickly. I look forward to hearing all about the amazing things that happens in and through each and every one of you. Each of you encouraged me to live a more missional life in a unique and wonderful way. Thank you.

The most exciting thing that happened this week had to be the time I was able to spend with my grandfather...

Victor, my grandfather, has been one of the closest and dearest people to my heart for my entire life. Although he is not a Christian, he has been one of the most influential people in my life spiritually. e is not a hard person about anything in life, except God (of course he picks the most important decision of his life the thing worth being stubborn on). But even though he does not believe in God, God has used him in my life greatly to give me a burden for those who do not have a relationship with Him. I could write pages about what my grandfather has taught me spiritually without ever trying, but that will have to be a different post.

My grandpa lives very close to me in Arizona and for as long as I have been alive I have been praying for him and sharing with him every chance I get about what life is like with a relationship with Jesus. He is always so hard when I bring it up...he will go off about how when he moved to Rhode Island from Honduras the church in town that had the only private school refused to let his daughters in because the were Hispanic. Or he will tell stories about how his father abandoned him and his twin brother was shot while they were hunting together as teenagers—and how could there be a God who would allow pain? We have had hundreds, maybe thousands of conversations of him just pouring out his heart, his hard heart about why God cannot and does not exist. I have often driven home feeling so hopeless and not being able to see any possible way that he would surrender his life to the Lord...I knew it would take a miracle.

Well...I started praying for a miracle when I was at a kids camp in 3rd grade...so about 13 years ago and the week in Honduras was the first glimpse of an answered prayer. When we got to my grandfather’s nephew’s house in San Pedro Sula we all sat around a table and everyone immediately began to share stories. Come to find out, both of my grandfather’s nephews are Christians and my grandfather’s father became a Christian in the later years of his life. Christ changed his life and he stopped drinking and actually raised my grandpa’s nephew’s when their father abandoned them. At the beginning of the week, my grandpa just shrugged it off and made comments like, “na...he was a drunk” but by the end of the week he was telling us story after story through teary eyes about how many good memories he had of his father.

I was sitting at one of my grandpa’s nephew’s houses and they began to share a poem with my grandpa that his father had written shortly before he died. Victor was translating it from Spanish into English for me and he was so choked up he couldn’t finish it. I am going to post the poem in a week or so once I have it completely translated, but a few lines from the poem that I remember were—

Who is this God? This amazing being?
Who can make an egg into a bird
A worm into a butterfly
A lost and soul into a beautiful child?

On the plane ride home I realized that I have developed a poor misconception of God’s love over the years...

I always heard it said and believed it whole heartedly that if we continue to harden our hearts that God will at some point stop drawing us to Him. I have heard it used in altar calls and evangelistic services and while I am sure there is some truth to that, I think it has been taken out of context. God is love. Love is patient. Love is kind. Love always hopes. Love always perseveres. Love endures all things. Love always protects. God’s love is never ending and unfailing. In the past I have often prayed, “Father, I know he has hardened his heart so many times....but please still draw him to you.” As I watched God so intentionally pursue my Grandfather’s heart during that week, I realized that there is nothing that can separate us from God’s love. Eight years old or eighty years old, saint or murderer, God’s love will continue to pursue our hearts and call out to us until the day we die.

I am in Honduras right now. It is so beautiful here. Definitely a unique beauty...not like anything I have ever experienced before. I hope to be posting several stories over the next few days about this past week.

I had no idea what to expect when I got on the plane to come here. I was definitely excited to come to Central America, but I thought it was going to be kind of a ¨puposeless¨week...most people go to third world countries to serve and do missions, and I was coming to spend a week on a beautiful beach. I thought the extent of my opportunity would be to spend time with my grandfather and share with him more about my faith. I could not have been more wrong.

I have more family living in Honduras then I have living in the United States, but I never knew it. I knew I had some second cousins, great uncles, and so forth...but from the moment I have arrived here I have been surrounded by people who treat me like I am their long lost daughter. It has been such a powerful experience for me to get to know all of my family, to walk into a room and see people who look so much like me, and to hear story after story about what my grandfather and grandmother were like growing up. I feel very...at home.

I don´t have time to tell many stories right now...but I will post some soon.

I read this in a book called “Experiential Storytelling” by Mark Miller:

“What if we were to take our message and begin speaking the language of the natives? Instead of telling people Jesus is the light of the world, what if we showed them the stark difference between light and darkness?
What if we removed all the argumentative language, replaced it with beautiful narratives, and let people feel the power of the story? Instead of trying to convince people to accept a list of spiritual laws, how about placing individuals in the story, allowing them to learn and interact with God’s character? What if we told our story in a holistic manner engaging all of the God-given senses? What if...?”

I had to re-read that paragraph a few times. It was very powerful to me. Telling people about Jesus is so powerful and such an important part of pushing God’s kingdom forward. But when you match up telling people, with showing people, I think the impact you make is so much greater.

But as I read that paragraph over again, I could not help but ask how many Christians are able to show the world “the stark difference between light and dark?” Do we even know how stark of a difference it really is? How are we really able to speak in beautiful narratives...in a way that people can feel the power of the story?

I know this is really basic, but it all comes down to knowing and understanding the word of God. We can try as hard as we can to learn the “lingo” of our time and read book after book about all the different cultures in our midst, but if we do not have a love for God’s word, how can we possible tell the Story to those we encounter as if it were real?

I love to read, it does not really matter the genre, but something different happens to me when I read God’s word. I cannot even compare my experience to reading any normal book to my experience of reading the scriptures. The bible is so alive to me. It is almost like a living, breathing organism. As I read different passages of scripture I feel drawn into the stories, into the lives of the men who were used to write the passages. As I read the Gospels, I imagine myself following Jesus around and sitting at his feet, hearing his teaching. I play out the battle scenes and stories in my head like I was watching them in a movie theater. As I read God’s word my heart is captivated and my soul feels so charged, at home, at rest.

We need to speak the language of the natives. Do you know what they want? They want to hear something authentic. Something real. Its time for us to engage the Story with all of our God-given senses. Its time for to fall passionately in-love with God so we can stop talking about God and start talking like we know Him.

So...question for those who want to share. Do you remember a time when reading God’s word shifted from a “to-do” to something that you were passionate about?

The comments from the last post really stirred my heart and mind. I would like to comment on several things said...

Starting with David’s comments. I love that scripture in James, “Pure and Undefiled Religion is this...” I believe with my whole heart that we are called to go and do everything within our means to impact this world for eternity. We cannot leave the job to someone else—God has entrusted it to each of us who desire to follow Him.

It isn’t about “doing” just for the sake of “doing.” It is about living a life devoted to something much greater and more important then “self.” The comment was made that people get busy with church. I love what Dennis (my dad) said in his comment: “Let's not be busy for the sake of business. Let's rather make sure our lives have significance because we are pouring them into the lives of others and reaching the lost with the awesome good news.” Isn’t that what it all comes down to? Are we going to live a life gratifying and fulfilling the desires of “self” or are we going to spend our lives spreading the Gospel?

Here is what it all boils down to for me:

“For to this you were called, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that you should follow His steps.” 1 Peter 2:21

So is it this “must do” approach just part of the “rich and powerful” American mindset? I don’t believe it is. I think that mindset is evident in Christ as He walked His final days on earth. I do not believe that God would have provided a Savior for our souls if in His heart He did not have the “must do” mindset. He loved us so much, that no matter the cost...He was going to give each of us an opportunity to spend eternity with Him. As each of us makes a decision to follow in Christ’s steps we must also choose the same. The more we fall in-love with our Lord, the more we will fall in love for His children. As we “have the mind of Christ Jesus” take shape within our own minds...we will begin to have a deeper and clearer understanding that there is no other option then to offer the Truth to this world, no matter the cost is to self.

I also understand what Madcupmum was saying about the Gate. I think you were saying that Christ is the one who will guide us, like a shepherd gently guides his sheep, through the gate. If the “break down the door” analogy seems too harsh, then the other analogy works just as well. (Just to clarify things...that analogy was never meant to mean we should go Westernize the world...that is the last thing we should do. It just means that whatever barriers exist that we are capable of removing by us being pliable and flexible...then lets move them).

What do you think it is about the shepherd that causes the sheep to trust him? I read once that a shepherd touches each and every sheep as he enters his gate each night and speaks to the sheep. That is why the sheep recognize and now the voice of their master. It is his loving hand, his loving touch. How much more can we follow in Christ’s steps then by offering our loving hand to this world so that through us they might feel the loving and healing touch of their Father?

My “missions trip” doesn’t start when I get off that plane in Tanzania no more then it ends when Allison and Lauren come back from Mexico. My life is a mission...this is a race and I have to decide each and every morning if I am going to run it with all of my heart, soul, and mind. My “mission” is to reveal the heart of my Father to every person who God allows to cross my path...

Why Not...Part 2

I would like to continue the discussion from the previous post.... I would like to focus some things that Dale and Brent said.

Dale said, “When it comes to callings...and doors of opportunities....and all that stuff that we construct to create some valid reason why we don't obey God...well, I just don't believe in those things anymore.”

Pastor Dale told me something along the same lines when I first got to Rhode Island and it has challenged me in every area of my life. He told me that so often we wait for an “open door” but scripture doesn’t really talk about open doors. If the door is not open, then try a window, and if we can’t find a window...then run as hard as we can through the wall and try to break through the wall. If can’t break the wall and we die from the impact of hitting it, then at least the wall is a little weaker and will be a little easier for the next person to break through.

When I first visualized that I thought...wow, how many opportunities have I missed because I had no door to walk through? I mean, I do not even know when I developed the attitude that I needed God to “open doors” but I remember praying from a young age that God would show me His will by opening and closing doors. Imagine what would have happened in the early church if they waited for open doors? They gave their lives to spread the gospel because there were no open doors...they broke through the walls.

Dale also said, “I propose that we all take our lives and hit this world as hard as we can. Yep, it will cost us our lives.” Spending our lives is something that goes completely against the grain of American culture. Our culture is constantly trying to make our lives more comfortable and easier to live. The “American Dream” is defined by many as the ability to acquire wealth. Even within the church, we counsel our kids to pick careers that will help them achieve “success” and often they chose paychecks over passion. If we, as believers and followers of Christ, are not spending our lives to impact this world...then what are we saving it for? Why are we building ourselves into a box with satin cushions...why are we obsessed with comfort? That comfortable, cushioned box I lived in was nothing more then a coffin. A friend of mine recently told me that he wants to “live his life without borders.” That is what I want to do...live my life without borders. I want to take my life and hit this world as hard as I can. Is my life more valuable then others? Is my comfort more important then sharing love and life with others who are in desperate need?
Brent made the comment, (refering to the great commission) “...so why don't we at every opportunity given to us?” I loved that. You know, this opportunity to Africa is not a once and a lifetime opportunity. The opportunity to go into any part of this world is always there (you can always go by yourself or create your own trip), but at what point in our lives are we going to just do it? I want to take every opportunity to share the message of Christ with people. I want to take every opportunity to love those who have never really experienced love. The trip I am taking to Tanzania is something that I know God can and will use me in...I will be able to love on these kids who have grown up on the streets and share Christ with Muslims and people who do not know God—I also know he will awaken my eyes, hands, heart, and soul to what real need is and what I really need to do to impact this world. I want to take, like Brent said, “every opportunity given” to me to change this world.