Nigeria Bound!!!

So, it's official! I'll be spending a month this summer in Jos, Nigeria! I am both nervous and excited to begin preparing for what I'm sure will be one of the most amazing and stretching times in my life. I am not sure about all I will be doing while there, but the main thrust of Back2Back (the organization I'll be going with) is the "care for today, hope for tomorrow" for the word's orphans. I have been taking my high school students to Mexico with this ministry for 4 years now and have loved every minute of it. And I will have the opportunity to head to Mexico for one last time in June with my students before I head off to Nigeria for a month.

I feel completely blessed for many reasons...one of which is my church, Horizon, has agreed to give me the month off so that I can have this experience. Who does that?

Right now I'm having a hard time putting into words the way I'm feeling. It's actually kind of surreal to think about going that far from home and having the opportunity to participate in God's kingdom work on another continent.

I'm sure I will post more as I process the idea of going and how God prepares my heart for this trip. For now, pray with me that the funds I need to make the trip will come.

Snow Days...and other random thoughts...

Today was a snow day. So was yesterday. It's funny how that happens at least once or twice per year in Cincinnati. I am not good with snow days because I'm not good at sitting still and being "locked in." Typically I put on my snow gear and head out into the white death looking for something fun to do. Not this year. This year I'm stuck because I'm still in a cast and on crutches from my recent ankle surgery. Nothing says "America's Funniest Home Videos" like crutches on ice. So, I decided to save my body (and my ego) and stay inside the last two days. The problem is, it's been really hard allowing myself to get quiet and just be still.

In Scripture it says, "Be still and know that I am God." I really wanted to do this over the past few days. But I can't say it happened for too long. Lately, something about being really quiet and listening for God has been tough. It might be my current predicament. I really am not worth all that much after a month of not being able to run or work out or do anything athletic. I think I've come to realize that as my stress reliever. But still, I know the only place I can find the LORD and His complete attention is sitting quietly at the foot of the cross.

And so this is where we all must go...to really hear our LORD. And isn't it nice that every so often He provides us with unique opportunities...sometimes even forced opportunities...to meet with Him. And when we do, we are able to forget about the day and all the mess that is going on in our lives and just remember what life is really about.

Thank you Jesus for a snow day...a day where, although I didn't use it to it's fullest, was still able to help me to connect with you!!

Gator Nation

So, I know it's been a few weeks, but I want to give a quick shout out to my Florida Gators for winning the national championship, yet again! I can't tell you how excited I've been about their success. And I can't tell you how impressed I've been with Tim Tebow, who has not only proven himself to be a force in college football, but has also proven that he can do it with integrity and a pure heart. I thank God for his witness and for the lives he's impacting on one of the biggest stages in our nation.

It's great to be a Florida Gator!!!

The Lord's Boot Camp....really?

Last night there was a special on CBS called "The Lord's Bootcamp." It was a documentary on 3 teenagers as they attended this summer program called The Lord's Bootcamp, which was intended to prepare them for missions. I only caught the last half of it, but I can't say that I was impressed. It doesn't surprise me to see that the media made these teenagers look a bit like nutjobs, but I think what bothered me the most was the approach of one of the teens. In this particular mission, the teens were trying to give a survey to people at a county fair in hopes to stir up a conversation about faith. However, this 13 year old girl was telling people they were going to hell without Jesus and that they should accept Him right now. True? Yes. Effective? Probably not. This girl, and this mission had no intention of listening to someone's story and really walking with them. At one point, she got into a conversation with a Mormon girl and her mom and essentially told them they were wrong in the 3 minute conversation and then proceeded to push the girl into accepting Christ as her savior, never stopping to ask the girl any questions about who she was or about her story. And then when the girl walked away, with a pamphlet in her hand (which probably ended up in the next trash bin), this 13 year old turned, pumped her fist and said, "I got another one." As if she was hunting and just shot another deer.

What makes me so frustrated about this is that it was broadcast on national television, where many people were able to reinforce their false ideas of what it means to be a Christian and share faith with others.

In Matthew 28:19 Jesus says, "Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the aname of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you." I really do believe in order to make a disciple and to teach them what God says in his word requires relationship. It requires more than a survey and someone pushing Jesus on someone else. Jesus never pushed himself on anyone. He simply was who he was, loved as he loved, and shared truth with the people around him. He offered himself up as a servant.

Why can't we do it the way Jesus did? Why can't we just walk alongside and serve our neighbors and share with them as we walk why we are serving? Why can't we simply love?

I want to challenge anyone reading this in regards to two things. If you are a Christ follower, how do you share with others? Are you able to love them into the kingdom? And if you are not...what is your idea of a Christ follower? How has that been reinforced and does it look anything like Jesus?

Christian culture??

Ok, so just a quick random thought...the Bible tells us we should be "in" the world and not "of" the world. But it seems to me that, as Christians, we have created a sub-culture that is no less "of" the world than the market culture of our day and age. So instead of having book stores, we have Christian book stores. But they are still stores with someone making a load of money off of books, cd's, etc. Instead of having concerts, we have Christian concerts, where at least the name of Jesus is mentioned in the midst of merch sales and all the rest. Sometimes I just have a tough time because it seems as if we, as Christians, aren't much different than the general population...

Blackout 2008

So, I never thought I would say that we experienced hurricane force winds in Cincinnati, Ohio. On Sunday we go the remnants of hurricane Ike, which just days earlier wreaked havoc on Houston and the surrounding areas. I cannot believe the amount of damage a storm like that can do days later, hundreds of miles north. The wind kicked up around 2pm on Sunday and by 4pm tree limbs were down all over the place, power was out to more than 500,000 people in the tri-state area, and there was a mob at the one gas station in the area that had power...cars lined up 15 deep to fill up...not sure where those people were going to be driving since everything was closed.

But with all the inconvenience over the last two days, I have found it a blessing to be forced to slow down and regroup. Sunday night I spent the evening sitting on my couch reading by candlelight. No computer or tv to distract God from speaking. Then I headed to bed early and got my first good night's sleep in a week. On Monday, I found that there were a few places with power, so I headed to Bruegger's Bagels in Blue Ash to get some work done. There were tons of people there from all walks of life, just hanging out, eating and working on computers.

What I found out, is that when things don't go as we plan them, people can be generally nice. The place was packed, but I found a nice guy who was willing to share his booth, his power outlet and some great conversation for a few hours. I'm sure that not everyone was as laid back as the people I met at Bruegger's yesterday, but it was a glimmer of hope in a world that is generally self-seeking. I saw people out helping neighbors with their downed trees. I saw friends walking around together just having conversations.

It seems that it is good to slow down. I wish it would happen more often so that we could re-connect with each other without the distraction of all the technology that has made our world super efficient but has bled us of the depth of relationships that only happen when we slow down long enough to have them.

Grace-filled ministry??

I have been challenged recently by a book I'm reading. It's called The Grace Awakening, by Charles Swindoll. I was encouraged to read this book by my senior pastor when he found out I had been taking a seminary course on the doctrine of grace. Throughout this read, I have been challenged to take a good look at my life and ministry and ask the question, "is my life and ministry filled and fueled by grace?" I think it's probably one of the most important questions we can ask ourselves. The opposite of grace is legalism and shame. After counseling many teenagers over the years, I'm finding that shame is one of the major causes of depression, substance abuse and anxiety that drags them down. Why? Because there are many grace-killers in this world who want to impose their expectations and standards upon all of us. And when we don't live up to those standards that they felt we "ought" to have reached we feel we have somehow failed in life.

I have felt this shame and grace-killing in my own life (unfortunately too many times from those within the church) and at times it has left me paralyzed...feeling anxious and afraid to step out in faith. But there is a different way to live life and relate to others. Living a grace-filled life starts by letting go. It's a process of letting go in our own lives and recognizing that the cross is enough to cover even the worst failures.

It's also a process of letting go of others. We have to let them fail. We have to let them be different than we are. We have to let go of the responsibility we feel to make them into something. We have to allow them the room to become the unique individual God has created them to be...without looking over their shoulder and pointing out every mistake. Our job in life is not to fix others messed up lives, it's to rely on God to fix our own messed up lives and then to love and support others as God works in them. But the key is to let go...allow others the freedom to be themselves. We won't always agree with their choices or even their personalities, but God doesn't call us to agree, he calls us to love.

So, as I sit here I ask myself these questions...is the ministry I am entrusted one of grace giving? Do students feel welcome to be themselves regardless of who that is? Are they able to trust that we will not judge them, but that we will love them? Are we praying for them to become "good kids", or are we praying for God to grab hold of their hearts and transform their lives in whatever manner he feels is best? Are students able to take off the masks they wear the rest of the week when they are around our leaders?

I pray that the answers to these questions lead me to a more grace-filled life and a more grace-filled ministry. Have you asked yourself these questions lately?