Three months ago my outlook on life completely changed. I had no idea becoming a parent would make me reconsider so many things I held to be true. In particular, I’ve been thinking a lot lately about how Jesus lived his life. On the streets. Hanging out with the rejects. Stirring up trouble. Making all sorts of people angry.

Then I think about his call to each of us. The call to pick up our cross and follow him. The call to leave our family behind. The call to make him our #1 priority.

And then I get scared. Terrified in fact.

Because if I’m completely honest with myself, I’m not sure I want to live my life the way Jesus lived his. I don’t want to live on the streets. In all actuality, I’m not sure I could survive on the streets. And as much as I’d like to say I’m comfortable hanging out with the rejects … well … I’m really not.

Stirring up trouble … now there’s something I can do. But only sort of. Because if getting arrested and making people angry are involved … well, I am likely to draw the line before that happens.

So instead of getting out there and doing it myself, I read stories of people who are doing it. Stories of people giving up everything to rescue the prostitutes on the street. People who take time to really engage in conversation with the homeless on the street. Not just in passing, but lengthy, honest conversations. People who travel across the world to be the gospel to those in third world countries.

I want to want that life. I want to be brave enough to sell all my possessions and move my family to another part of the world. I want to be bold enough to engage in conversation with the homeless mom and her daughter that I see at least once a week.

But I’m not.

Maybe that’s not what I’m called to. Maybe I’m called to be radical in other ways. In the way I spend my money. In the way I cook my food. In the way I tell the stories of those who are doing.

But when I think about Jesus’ life, I just can’t help but wonder what he would think about today’s world. Would he think some of us play bigger roles than others in bringing about the kingdom of God? Or would he see every act, big or small, as just one piece of a much larger puzzle?

We all have different skills, gifts, and talents. And I know that each one of us is called to something different. I used to believe that we were all called to live radical lives. Sell our possessions and minister to the poor. Jump out of our comfort zones and trust that Jesus would protect us.

But I just can’t bring myself to do it anymore.

And I’m left wondering just how I can life a radical life while making sure my family is healthy and safe. What used to seem so obvious doesn’t feel so obvious now that I have someone else to take care of.

I end up going full circle. Thinking about how Jesus lived his life. Feeling like I’m living a life of hypocrisy because I don’t want to live the life he did.

And wondering if I will ever be brave enough to stir up trouble the way he did.

Photo by Roj Smith

I’m frozen in time. Actually, frozen on my couch somewhere between working on a series of paintings and climbing on my elliptical.

I was thinking about inertia—that stuff smart people say when they’re explaining that an object in motion stays in motion, and an object at rest stays at rest.

All these Smart People Words started with the fact that I shouldn’t have plopped down on the couch if it was “exercise time.”

Oh, but here I am.

Sitting still.

No longer moving away from the brushes and canvases.

No longer moving towards the swish swish swish of exercise.

I’m distracted by my toys: twitter and DrawSomething and Once Upon A Time (don’t judge me).

I remind myself that I want to be doing something else; I want to give my energy and attention to something more important. This is the moment where I ask myself if I’m giving my spiritual energy and attention to what is most important to me, or am I distracted? It’s easier to look away sometimes. Comfortable. Non-threatening. I don’t break a sweat.

Wasn’t it Rich Mullins who said he wanted to live like “an arrow pointing to heaven?”

And remember what Elizabeth Gilbert said about prayer? “I am not actively praying. I have become a prayer.”

And then didn’t Paul tell us to pray without ceasing?

So how do these acts of reaching towards God work in our lives? Do we move? Do we bow? Do we run towards things? Do we walk away from things?

The spiritual life is one of both action and rest. There are moments for both. There are seasons for both. There are days for both. What’s important is that we know the difference.

We move and keep moving and let inertia carry us when it’s time to move. We exert effort to reach for God. To serve His people. To care for those in need. To flee from sin. It’s easier to pray for 30 minutes if we’ve already prayed for three minutes. It’s the starting that’s the hardest part.

We rest and keep resting and resist the urge to “do” when it’s time to rest. We cease striving in order to declare that God is bigger than us and He’s got it in His hands and we are small and insignificant and our works are nothing compared to His power in our lives. It’s easier to rest for a day when we did it the week before, we know the day is coming, and we have released all those nagging “to-dos” that will taunt us. It’s the stopping that’s the hardest part.

Both of these states are worshipful expressions—mandated expressions. And in both the moving and resting, we are praying. We are pointing to God.

Most of us are naturally prone to one or the other. Rarely do both states come naturally. I’m a natural “rester” as is proven in the introduction of this post. But what about you? Are you a “rester” or a “mover?” And what can you do to incorporate more of the other state (rest or move) in your worship lifestyle?

Me? I’m going to finish this post, whine through my elliptical time, and then sit back down for some spiritual movement via The Artist’s Way.

The rain splashes against the window like tears. The past creeps in like flickering shadows and I am thinking of it again. I no longer ask why bad things happen. In retrospect, I can see how God turned what others meant for evil to good and my sin into something else. If things had happened the way I wanted them to, I wouldn’t have grown and become who I am today. I would not have been a Christian.

There’s no simple, crowd-pleasing answer to why bad things happen. Just ask Randy Alcorn who wrote, If God is Good: Faith in the Midst of Suffering and Evil. He said…

“Human freedom is a good that justifies the reality of a temporary evil; to argue that God should not permit evil or suffering is to argue against not only human choice, but love. In other words, a world without the choice to hate would be a world without the choice to love.”

It’s 494 pages, and I’m still trudging through it to gain a better understanding of why bad things happen. Ask Job about sorrow. Job could tell you all about sorrow, anger, forgiveness, and grief. He kept his faith through some quite troubling situations. There’s a passage in the Bible where the apostles asked Jesus why the man on the street was blind. Was it his sin or his parent’s sin that caused the blindness? Jesus said it was for God’s glory. The blind man was made to see again. Many of us are still blind, groping in the darkness, oftentimes clinging to the shadows like it’s a security blanket.

It’s like we’re afraid to let it go and move forward into the light where things will be better. Darkness is something we know and for those of us who have endured a traumatic situation, letting go is terrifying especially if you’re still in it. A harmful situation is only comforting because it’s something familiar. Dr. Cloud and Dr. Townsend, in Boundaries, explained it that way too. It’s the way I felt in my situation. If I kept hitting my head against the door, maybe it will open on its own. Maybe if I loved the anger away I could gain acceptance?

Bad things happen. Rain comes on the righteous and the unrighteous, the atheist and the believer. We can’t appreciate candle light without the darkness. Many people will talk about the sin that came into the world, and that’s true, but to someone who suffered it’s a cliché. What they really need to know is, does God love them? Is He still out there?

“For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.” Luke 19:10 NIV

When a stranger asked me, “If God is good, why did that happen to my brother?” I remembered what I learned from Alcorn, but I knew this stranger wouldn’t welcome that information. He wanted someone to blame. Always in grief we seek someone else to blame. It’s easier to accuse God, than to face ourselves in the proverbial mirror, or to see the situation for what it truly is—something that will further God’s kingdom and grow us as Christians like the blind man in the New Testament. He not only had his sight given, but he probably gained some empathy, too. On top of which, Jesus gave Him the sight and everyone knew it. Forgiveness comes, but healing takes the longest.

Each rain drop that hits the window slides down the glass. They say rain is dreary. Rain waters the earth and when the sun comes out we can appreciate the crispness of a new day, how the light falls over the green fields, blinding us until we adjust to see the light because our eyes have gotten used to the gray.

What’s your answer to why bad things happen?

This year, I will celebrate my first Mother’s Day as a Mom. As the day approaches, I can’t help but think about how lucky I am. I am healthy, loved, and my every need is provided for. But not all mothers can say the same thing.

There’s the young mom and her small child who sit outside the post office asking for help because they have no place to live. She doesn’t have a car, speaks very little English, and has no idea how she’ll feed her daughter dinner tonight.

The young woman who takes care of her younger siblings. They will celebrate their first Mother’s Day without their mom. She has unexpectedly become the mother in the family, but she really has no idea what she’s doing.

The old woman in Africa who takes care of all of her grand kids because their parents have all died from HIV/AIDS.

The family in Papua New Guinea with a newborn who lost his mother in childbirth because of unsterile conditions.

And then I think about how Jesus would celebrate Mother’s Day. Would he spend it celebrating Mary or would he spend it caring for those mothers or families who find themselves in need? Or maybe he would do both…

This mother’s day, as I eagerly await my first Mother’s Day, I’m looking for ways to do both. How in the world can I celebrate my own mother, celebrate my life as mother, and remember those who aren’t as lucky all at the same time?

I’ve been praying over this for a couple of weeks now. And here’s what I’ve come up with … this Mother’s Day, I’m donating money in honor of the mothers in my life. My mother, mother-in-law, step mother-in-law, grandmother. Instead of giving them a gift and a card, I’m giving life to a woman who desperately needs it.

After just a little bit of research, I discovered World Vision’s Gift Catalog. And a little more digging showed me that with a suggested donation of just $35 I can make a difference in the life of a woman who has been sexually exploited. This is a cause near and dear to my heart.

There’s no more perfect way for me to celebrate Mother’s Day than to give hope to these women who have none. There’s nothing that I want more than to help every girl and woman know just how precious they are.

So, this is how I will celebrate. By giving away on Mother’s Day. And maybe, just maybe, my gift will allow these women to become mothers one day.

How will you celebrate Mother’s Day?

We use words to compartmentalize, categorize, and define.

For example, I would define my Christian theology (or spirituality) as a Protestant Evangelical Reformed Charismatic Episcopal/Anglican Christian.  Each of these words brings a certain characteristic or understanding to what kind of Christian I am.

Historians and sociologists use stereotypes to categorize groups of people together in order to make sense of the world.  For the good or the bad some people are similar to other people and are placed in a category.

Of course, in our day and age of post-modern individualism the current trend is to stop (or at the very least resist) the over-use of compartmentalization.  When we are placed in a category (i.e. Charismatic) we tend to want resist being defined by that group (i.e. everything that falls under the umbrella of Charismatic).

However, it seems to me that compartmentalization has many positive attributes.  For example, learning concepts and ideas would be much more difficult if we did not lump similar things together.  Understanding differences between people groups is much easier when we can place like-mindedness in the same category.

Categories also help us define who we are.  In my above example you can better understand my theological leanings because of my use of Christian categories.

Nevertheless, I sympathize with the modern push against compartmentalization.  We are individuals and we are all different.  Just because one leans one way on a subject does not mean the person will be the same on a different subject.

In the Christian world we use all sorts of words to define different groups.  Some of these words can bring division (even if this outcome is unintended).  Some examples of these words/categories include:

Spirit-filled – This word is used to categorize people who understand the Holy Spirit in a Pentecostal/Charismatic way.  That is they speak in tongues, believe and practice praying for miracles, and live out a life full of the evidence of the Holy Spirit’s power.  People may use it by asking, “Is that a Spirit-filled church?”  The intention is to define the style and belief in the presence of the Holy Spirit.

However, the usage of this phrase can lead to division in the Church.  One may appropriately ask, “If they are not Spirit-filled then what are they filled with?”  The Spirit is present in every believer.  Distinguishing between who is “filled-with-the-Spirit” and who is not creates two classes of Christians: the ho-hum ones and the powerful ones.  I don’t believe this is helpful in the Church and would suggest using different language (i.e. Charismatic, Pentecostal, etc.).

“Cradle” Lutheran or “Cradle” Episcopalian (etc.) – These phrases are used to describe someone who was born into a particular denomination and never really left the church at any point in their life.  People may use them to express that they understand why and/or how something is done in the church because they are a “cradle” Anglican.  The intention is to express their deep knowledge of the denominational faith because they have been around for so long.

However, this usage can lead to division in the church or parish.  It can come across as arrogant or very possibly making the church members who are not “cradle” Anglicans feel like they are secondary or worse that they don’t belong.  I don’t believe that this is helpful in the church and would suggest using a different phrase (i.e. “From what I understand, this has been the practice of the Anglican Communion…”).

Even the words Reformed, Evangelical, Charismatic, etc. can bring division depending on how they are used.

In your Christian journey what words or phrases have you come across that when used a certain way have brought division or at the very least tension?

“As you make art or write, the process is a container for awareness. Everything that rises up—judgments, blocks, insights—is a reflection of the whole of your life.” Christine Valters Paintner in The Artist’s Rule

I sat in the corner of my kitchen yesterday morning and spent the early hour reading, meditating, and responding. I was asked, by the written words found in The Artist’s Rule, to consider what it is that even draws me to this book—this twelve-week journey of “nurturing your creative soul with monastic wisdom.”

My answer came easily: It’s the contemplations of a soul both finding its voice and hearing A Voice all in the same brushstroke.

Those brushstrokes heal me. I am, at heart, an artist. I have paintings and songs and writings that hold my tears and, at times, have held my prayers.

Oh but not now. The deep-down part of me is silent, waiting. This prayerlessness has led to a homesickness. So I pick up this book because it speaks to my homesick-soul and I hope it will bring me back to those places I’ve long forgotten, where His presence was so real I could feel it on my shoulders.

I didn’t feel it on my shoulders yesterday morning, but I felt something lift during that early hour: Lightness. Slow dawn. Feet on familiar path.

Pilgrimage.

For me, the timing couldn’t be more perfect.

I’m trying to be more intentional about giving (and dealing with my excess). As I write this, it’s possessions month in [the 7 project]. And that means we need to give some things away. More importantly, we need to be intentional about finding where the needs are, and give things away there.

So after publishing my Skype interview with Jen Hatmaker, I head Abby and Fernando from SpiritFM 90.5 talking about this ‘Movers for Moms‘ initiative with Two Men and a Truck.

The idea is simple… 

1. People give items.
2. The folks at Two Men and a Truck deliver them to women’s shelters on Mother’s Day.

I can’t think of a better way to be a blessing on Mother’s Day.

The women in these shelters are victims of domestic abuse or are transitioning from homelessness. This usually means they have very little, and their children lack the means to be able to bless their mothers on this special day.

As many of us participating in [the 7 project] have recently been evaluating our closets, I think of that beautiful dress with the tags still on it that could find its way to one of these shelters. A child searches the items and finds this dress to give to his/her mom. The mom tries it on, and for the first time in a long time… she feels beautiful.

If this is something you want to be a part of, then check out the Movers for Moms page at the Two Men and a Truck website for more information about how you can help. There’s even some contact information for a Movers for Moms team so you can figure out what’s being done in your area.

Happy Mother’s Day!

Creativity, supernatural healing, revival, authentic Christianity, and beauty.

These are some of the themes that I see in this month’s list of books that people in the BibleDude community are buying on Amazon.com. I love to see the focus on the power of the Holy Spirit, and what it means to live a Christian lifestyle. In fact, I can’t help but to think that those two things go hand in hand.

Nonetheless, it looks like there’s some interesting stuff in this list to explore!

Is there anything on this list that looks particularly interesting to you? What else are you reading that’s not on this list?

(Old School-Style) Print Books

• Born to Create: Stepping Into Your Supernatural Destiny by Theresa Dedmon
• Tough Questions Leader’s Guide (TOUGH QUESTIONS SERIES) by Garry Poole, Judson Poling, Ms. Debra Poling
• Blah Blah Blah: What To Do When Words Don’t Work by Dan Roam
• Biblical Healing: Hebrew and Christian Roots by Frank C. Darling
• The Restoration of Christian Healing New Freedom in the Church Since the Reformation by Frank Darling
• The Supernatural Factor In Religious Revivals (1877) by Luther Tracy Townsend

Kindle Books

• The Unlikely Missionary: From Pew-Warmer to Poverty-Fighter by Dan King
• Not a Fan: Becoming a Completely Committed Follower of Jesus by Kyle Idleman (see our book review)
• Surrendered and Untamed by Jason Clark, Joel Clark
• VisionMongers: Making a Life and a Living in Photography by David duChemin
• when Beauty pursues you by Elora Ramirez

(Bonus) Music

• Passion: White Flag by Passion Worship Band (ft. Various Artists)

You are reading [the 7 project]. Read more from this series of articles. the 7 project [an experimental mutiny against excess] [the 7 project] month one: food [the 7 project] month two: clothes [the 7 project] month three: possessions

Have you ever watched that TV show Hoarders? It’s crazy how out of control some of these people get with their stuff, huh?

It’s easy to see the problems when we look at the extreme examples like this. It’s kinda in your face when a person’s inability to let things go means trash is piled up waist-high in their kitchen. The examples we see on TV are there because they’re extreme. But in every situation, they show us someone who has difficulty letting go of the stuff that they’re accumulating.

But what about the rest of us?

Many of us would say something like, “But my house is always clean, I don’t have a hoarding problem.” And I would agree. Well, sort of. And I’m talking about myself here too. 

When I read month three: possessions in Jen Hatmaker’s book 7: An Experimental Mutiny Against Excess, I can’t help but to think of all the stuff I’ve collected in my home. I would kick and scream if someone told me that I had to get rid of some of this stuff. So even though my house is clean and (somewhat) organized, it doesn’t mean that I don’t have a (sort of) hoarding problem. You’ll not likely see me on TV, but…

I have some work to do.

The really cool thing about this month of [the 7 project] is that it’s not just about letting go of things. Being able to let go is definitely important. I believe that we need not be so attached to material ‘stuff’. Clinging to hard on ‘stuff’ may only serve to highlight a greed issue in our lives. (Again, please remember that I’m speaking to myself here too, mostly.)

But the best part of this challenge isn’t just packing a bunch of stuff up in the car and hauling it off to Goodwill. Rather it’s about being intentional. It’s about finding the people who have a need for the stuff you need to let go of.

As I read about what Jen and her council have done, I can’t help but to think of what Luke wrote about the early church in Acts 4:32-35…

The whole congregation of believers was united as one—one heart, one mind! They didn’t even claim ownership of their own possessions. No one said, “That’s mine; you can’t have it.” They shared everything. The apostles gave powerful witness to the resurrection of the Master Jesus, and grace was on all of them.

And so it turned out that not a person among them was needy. Those who owned fields or houses sold them and brought the price of the sale to the apostles and made an offering of it. The apostles then distributed it according to each person’s need. (The Message)

I wonder what that would look like today. I think I have an idea now…

What are you doing? How are taking on this challenge this month?

Are you a participating?

Then we want to hear your stories! Feel free to jump into the discussion here in the comments anytime throughout the month. If you have blog then you can use the banner image below to show people that your [the 7 project] stories are a part of this project, and then use the linky tool to share the links to your blog post (or Facebook Notes) so others can visit and encourage you.

Our hope is that this online community will become a sort of virtual ‘council’ where we can support and encourage each other as we walk this out together!

(Note: Right-click and “Save as…”. Then upload to your blog linking the image back to this or any of the other [the 7 project] posts.)

Used with permission from Jordan McRae

Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. For if they fall, one will lift up the other; but woe to one who is alone and falls and does not have another to help. ~Ecclesiastes 4:9-10

I grew up in the church. Sunday school, Vacation Bible School, Christmas Pageants … they were normal occurrences in my family. As I got older, youth group became a part of every day life and I became involved in regional youth events and committees. As a college student at a faith-based school, I was surrounded by people of faith. We shared life together. Asking questions, celebrating good things, mourning losses, wrestling with doubt … none of it was out of the ordinary.

It wasn’t until I got out of college and began looking for a church community that I realized just how much my childhood and youth shaped me. I had grown up in Christian community and yet here I was, suddenly without it. My life felt empty and God felt just a little bit further away.

I had a hard time identifying what it was I was seeking. Maybe it was just a huge transition time in my life. Perhaps I just had to “find my way” in this great big world.

I don’t remember how it happened, but one day I came across this simple verse from Ecclesiastes. This was it! This is what I had been seeking. This is what church was all about. True community. Life together.

A community where people worship together, serve together, laugh together, cry together. A community who lifts one another up during difficult times. A community that talks about the tough stuff. People who truly live life together.

All too often, this isn’t what church is about. It’s about the perfect children’s programming, excellent worship, great Bible studies, and let’s face it…making the budget. But that’s not what God called us to. He didn’t care about the programming or budget. All he cared about was people loving one another.

What might life look like if we truly lived life together, no matter how messy it might be? How would our churches be different? How would our faith be different? How would our lives be different?

Have you ever experienced true community? How did it shape your understanding of church?

Evangelical Truth: A Personal Plea for Unity, Integrity & Faithfulness (Christian Doctrine in Global Perspective)

The late John Stott had a great ability of explaining complicated ideas in practical everyday language.  This book is a necessary primer for understanding Evangelical theology.

The book has only 3 chapters that are bookended by a longer-than-normal introduction and conclusion.  The three chapters are intentional.  Stott shapes the book by expressing Evangelical theology around the Triune God.

The first chapter concerns the revelation of God through the scriptures.

Chapter two focuses on the cross of Christ through salvation and the Christian message.

The third chapter discusses the ministry of the Holy Spirit through Christian practice and community.

Stott does an excellent job of placing systematic theology in our practical world.  Subjects such as revelation, inspiration, justification by faith, and holiness are discussed along with contemporary motifs like revival, postmodernism, social action, and miracles.

The main fault of the book is that it is too short.  Many of the topics are only talked about on a surface level.  However, Stott scratches the surface deep enough to whet the appetite for further study.

The book would be an excellent read for anyone who is beginning to study theology, or wants to better understand Evangelical theology, or wants a light refresher on Christian essential beliefs.

It would also make a wonderful Sunday school text that would help create many fine discussions.

All in all, I highly recommend John Stott’s Evangelical Truth.