Truth and eggs

To keep my daughter occupied during a meeting yesterday, I let her create a Word document on my laptop. That kept her happy for a full 5 minutes, which is an eternity in 4-year-old time. When she was done, she showed me the ten lines that she had typed and asked me to read back what she had written.

I will freely admit that my daughter is not a prodigy, so this was not Shakespeare. Actually, it was ten lines of gibberish with no spaces or punctuation. I diligently searched for any small words I could find (like Boggle, but without the diagonal) and found two: "eggs" and "truth."

Yes, that's right, even in the midst of random, mindless clatter was a small measure of truth. If I had not searched, I never would have found it. But from now on, I'll look twice even in the most unexpected places.

God's Throwdown

I sat in on the youth Sunday School this past week, and had a great time hearing a fresh perspective on the Bible. They were studying the book of Judges, which was new territory for several. They quickly discovered that it's the same story over and over again: the Israelites do evil in the sight of God; they are overtaken by another king; they cry out to God; God delivers them through the leadership of a judge; all is well; the judge dies; they do evil in the sight of God...
It gets incredibly annoying, as one astute student pointed out.

The question posed in class was how they thought it would all turn out. Would God just keep forgiving and delivering over and over endlessly? Or would He grow tired of it all? My favorite answer, from a very sharp young woman, was," I think God's going to run out of patience, and there's going to be a big throwdown."

She was right, of course. God eventually stops giving them judges and kings, and allows them to be captured and carried off into exile. Although they eventually return to their homeland, the nation of Israel is never the same again.

But God's forgiveness never runs out. The prophets, along with words of frustration, carry God's passionate words of love for God's people. Israel would never again enjoy a human king, but were challenged to return to their one true king, the one who promised to always love them and never die.

So what was Jesus thinking when he accepted the title of, "King of the Jews?"

And what kind of a deliverer dies before the delivering?

Could Jesus have been God's final, final throwdown, in a completely unexpected way?

I Need a Hero

Last week, Aliyah and I watched Nim's Island, a movie about a girl, Nim, who lives on a remote island in the South Pacific with her father and animal friends. Though the only humans on the island, Nim and her father are in communication with the rest of the world through satellite internet.

One day the father, a marine biologist, sails off for a specimen gathering trip, but a storm prevents his return. After a couple of days Nim, frightened and lonely, e-mails her favorite adventure writer, Alex Rover, to come to the island to help her. Little does she know (fans of Stranger Than Fiction should appreciate that phrase) that Alex is actually a fiction writer suffering from agoraphobia, too scared to ever leave her house.

Anyway, Alex finally convinces herself to go to the girl's aid. As she faces one fear after another, she says to herself, "I can't be the hero of my own life story."  Nim, about the same, says the same thing, "I can't be the hero of my own life story."

***warning: spoilers ahead***

Alex finally reaches the island, still wondering how on earth she can help this girl. What happens next is a radical reversal of expected hero roles. Nim discovers Alex washed up on the beach and rescues her, bitterly disappointed in her hero.

Later, as they sadly watch the empty horizon, Alex feels completely helpless. She can not find Nim's father, nor can she assure her that everything will be ok. So finally she puts her arm around Nim and says, "I promise that, whatever happens, you will not be alone." She is Nim's hero simply through her gift of presence.

What does a hero look like?  Do we need to radically adjust our picture of a hero?

Jesus already did that, of course. What kind of a hero is poor, homeless, peace-loving, and faces suffering and death calmly, with open arms even? What kind of a hero brings new life to others simply through sharing a meal with them?

He is the hero of my life story as well as the model of how I can be a hero.

What is your hero call?

Race Day

Today was my first race of the season. I use the word "race" loosely, of course, as I'm more about completing than competing. I am proud to say that I ran, or jogged, the whole distance, and was beat by only one jog stroller.

Today was also my daughter's first race. She made it about 3/4 of a mile before persuading my mother, who was walking with her, to turn around. As they were the first to arrive at the finish line, she's convinced she won. More importantly, she made it to the donuts in time to find one with chocolate icing and sprinkles.

Today's race benefited Oceans of Mercy, a ministry that provides, "hope , life and love to orphans and vulnerable children affected by HIV/AIDS. The popularity of the 5K walk/run as a fund-raiser never ceases to amaze me. Make a general plea for money to benefit a cause, even a very admirable one, and the response is usually lukewarm. Ask people to give money AND show up early on a cold, windy Saturday morning to run further than half of us do in any given week, and willing participants show up in the thousands. In cases like Race for the Cure (my first 5K), by the tens of thousands.

What does this say about us? Do we just enjoy pain and suffering? Do we have nothing better to do on a Saturday morning? Is it really that hard to find a running buddy? Are the free bananas and oranges that enticing?

Maybe we just need to feel the give. For most of us, honestly, $20 is not that big of a deal. Our budget wouldn't even notice the difference. But we need to notice. So if we give $20 in conjunction with an event that requires preparation and training, pulls us out of bed at an indecent hour, and stretches our abilities, then maybe we'll take it more seriously. And we need to take the suffering of millions of children seriously.

So join me for race day on September 27 at Sacred Steps to provide care for hundreds of women and orphans in Africa affected by HIV/AIDS. If you've never run a race before, you can find a detailed training guide that will prep you in just 6 weeks. That gives you plenty of time to talk yourself into it, then find a few good friends to convince, as well. Because crazy new goals are infinitely more fun with friends.

Meeting Agendas

So, yesterday afternoon a large contingent from our congregation met at Roe Park for an intense game of kickball, youth vs. adults. The scorekeeper claimed it was a tie game, but I'm sure I counted at least one more run for the adults... ah, if only I hadn't dropped that fly ball (and Karsen, don't ask which drop I'm talking about).

The best part of the game, and the whole afternoon, was how much we laughed, cheered, and sweat together. We learned things about each other (who knew Shannon was competitive enough to risk his own life?) and we easily forgave each other (ok, back to my dropped fly balls).

I'm struck by how much playing together can create, enhance, and restore relationships. So, I propose that every meeting from now on begin and end in play. It doesn't have to be kickball, though that's hard to beat, but it does need to be fun, lighthearted, and give Shannon an opportunity slide in the dirt.

when it's easy to be a pastor

Tonight was one of those easy to be a pastor times. Our church is going through the Alpha program for the second time, and the leaders invited me to attend tonight, the night where they focus on healing. After the teaching, everyone took a few minutes to listen for God's voice, especially paying attention to any words, images, or impressions that came to mind. Several people in the group then shared what they heard, and we spent time praying for each other in small groups. It was exciting and thrilling to hear and see the Holy Spirit at work in very real ways, using people as instruments of healing and love.

These experiences help sustain me. Though I have seen God's healing touch at work many times in my life, each new instance amazes me. Thank you God, for allowing me to see your power, beauty and love tonight.

Cell phone spirituality

This past Sunday morning, I groggily woke up without the aid of sunshine and reset all my clocks to an hour later. Bedside alarm, microwave oven, living room clock, watch- they all needed to be fixed. When I looked at my cell phone, though, I happily noticed that its time was already correct. Somewhere in the middle of the night it had silently communicated with the closest cell tower, received pertinent information about the time change and adjusted itself. I smiled at my smart little phone and a strange warmth crept through my heart.

Ok, so maybe I'm just slightly too fascinated by technology's little magic tricks. It just got me to thinking. Do we check in often enough?

God gave me a specific direction ten years ago. It was a powerful message, but not the last. If I had just followed that call and never checked back in for redirection, I would be way off course by now. I need to be in constant communication with God: checking for updates, submitting to maintenance, receiving new directions.

So does our church. What God called us to do 20 years ago may not be what God is calling us to do today. In fact, it most likely isn't. Just like a clock that is an hour off is useless, and maybe even detrimental, so is a person or a church that is not constantly listening for God's new direction.

So, let's spring ahead.

P.S. My apologies to those of you whose cell phones didn't work properly this past Sunday, especially Jason and Rob. In no way is this blog meant to discriminate or ridicule. It's not your fault that my stuff is better than yours.