A Prayer for You

I pray that you would know the greatness of God's love and that His passion would wrap itself around you, as strength in your place of weakness. I pray that you would learn from every trial that you face and allow them to shape you into one who seeks the face of God in all of its forms. I pray that your heart would be lit with a fire for justice and that your spirit would be soothed by His peace, knowing that He is with you.

-- Anonymous

Every Problem is a Knowledge of God Problem

One of my professors likes to say that, "Every problem is a knowledge of God problem."

He means that, at the root of every issue or annoyance in our lives there is a basic misunderstanding of some facet of God's character. If we are anxious, it might be that we don't truly understand God's peace, that we are afraid to trust Him because we don't really understand that He is good, or any number of other reasons, but, somewhere, there is something about God that we do not understand.

The fact that our youth group or church is dull or listless is a knowledge of God problem. The fact that we are afraid when we think of loosing our job or getting sick is a knowledge of God problem. The fact that our spouse/child/sibling/parent/friend irritates us to the point of anger or frustration is a knowledge of God problem.

So often, what we need is not a better solution or a different plan. What we need is an encounter with God and His glory.

The glory of the LORD shall be your rear guard. (Isaiah 58:8)

God promises us that His glory will follow us, steady, constant, and comforting, if we act in the name of His justice. It is that simple (and the complicated). We act in the way that He would if He were here in the flesh, and He follows us with His protective glory.

God comes in His glory to places where His justice is lived out through human lives, and that glory brings a greater knowledge of Him.

If every problem really is a knowledge of God problem, then justice is just as much an act of self preservation as an act of compassion. And, that is okay. God designed it that way, so that justice for the poor could be justice for the rich as well. We don't seek justice out of pity for anyone. We seek justice because our God is just.

Random catch up

Two more weeks of class and then our senior year ends (and I'll be about a week after that). Of course, the professors and work study supervisors would never want the last few weeks to be boring...or for there to be much room left for breathing...so, in between many, many papers that have still to be written, and plenty of work to do, we're all running around like chickens with our heads cut off, trying to line up housing, vehicles, and jobs for our post BCOM life.

Of course, this being the decade that it is, running around like a chicken with your head cut off tends to look a little more like disappearing behind a computer screen, with a couple dozen tabs open, and sifting through search results until your eyeballs are ready to pop out of your head. I'm not really sure if it counts as running per-say, if the only things that are doing the running are your fingers...

Every once in a while we still find a boring moment at work, and then things like this happen...the individual roasting of every mini marshmallow on top of the s'mores bars that we served for dinner that night.

Not that we would ever find an excuse to play with fire at work...
We did manage to make it to a Paper Tongues concert in between serving at a missionary barbecue and waking up early the next morning morning to watch MKs. Because, some things, like hearing a friend's brother play on tour, are worth not sleeping.


And, so long as you can have enough energy to chase them through a zoo/lake/library/Mall of America/etc and act as a human jungle gym all day, who really cares how much sleep you got. Right?

Our final "outing" before their parents finished up furlough seminar was a trip to the free zoo, where my girls were thorough uninterested in seeing the Asian animals, thought the flamingos were cool, loved the seals, and were disappointed not to see the polar bear.

We did, however, determine that we could not hold our breath for anywhere near as long as a polar bear, learn that newborn polar bear cubs are tiny, and chase a family of ducks back into their fenced in lake. (The fact that all three girls knew how to herd a duck exactly where they wanted it to go seemed a little telling of the fact that they have not grown up in urban America.)

One of my classmates decided part way through the first week that, based on his observations, "95% of MKs have dark hair." In my world, two out of fifteen being blond doesn't equal out to 5%, but, close enough. :)

His

Haha. I feel a little like a door to door salesperson lately, always trying to jump into the shoes of the one "selling" the Focus Month project to people that I talk to. At which point, the Lord always manages to give a reminder, sometimes more firmly than others, that the project is not mine to sell, and never has been.

None of this belongs to me.

The idea was not mine to begin with, but His. The timing of putting it all together is not mine, but His. The people who will be involved with the project are most emphatically not mine, but His. The glory that is intended to come is not mine, but His.

Really, I have everything to gain and nothing to lose, because all that I am doing is jumping on board with what He is already carrying out. With or without me, His purposes will be fulfilled.

In some ways, it reminds me of a poem that I had to memorize my Sophomore (??) year of high school. (Yes, Mom. I do still remember some of those, even with the apparent lack of effort put into working on them.) Martha Snell Nicholson wrote the following:

When I stand at the judgment seat of Christ
And He shows me His plan for me,
The Plan of my life as it might have been
Had He had His way, and I see

How I blocked Him here, and I checked Him there,
And I would not yield my will --
Will there be grief in my Savior's eyes,
Grief, though He loves me still?

He would have me rich, and I stand there poor,
Stripped of all but His grace,
While memory runs like a hunted thing
Down the paths I cannot retrace.

Then my desolate heart will well-nigh break
With the tears that I cannot shed;
I shall cover my face with my empty hands,
I shall bow my uncrowned head...

Lord of the years that are left to me,
I give them to Thy hand;
Take me and break me, mould me to
The pattern Thou hast planned!

Redefining Normal

As I've been searching for materials to use during the Focus Month, one of the goals has been to incorporate things from a variety of sources, with a variety of backgrounds and worldviews.

Politics are different, strategies are different, but, at the core, everyone wants to do one thing. Human beings seem to know innately that there is something not right about the way that things are, that things are not the way that they should be, but, we also seem to be under the impression that by simply redefining the way that we respond to our world, we will be able to change it.

Everyone is trying to redefine normal.

What if? What if I could talk or type enough words to redefine normal, to create a world where it wasn't a frightening thought to let your teenager do something for a month outside of your direct supervision? What if I could redefine normal to the point where injustices, as we know them now, were no longer a part of our world?

Would I really be fixing the world's problems, or just changing them?

I'm all for questioning the way that things are, in fact, I hugely encourage it, but we can "redefine" until we are blue in the face, and still find that there is no way to define willful human behavior out of the equation.

Still, that doesn't mean that we stop trying.

Normal states that my body uses up calories and I get hungry, but that doesn't stop me from trying to redefine normal three times a day by putting in more food and masking the "normal" of hunger. Normal states that burning calories makes my body tired, but that doesn't stop me from using sleep to try and redefine the "normal" of tiredness.

Normal states that humans will care for their own needs, even if it leaves others in want, but that doesn't stop me from giving, from using my resources to try to redefine that "normal." And, normal states that those in power will abuse it, but that doesn't stop me from acting justly.

Think about it. How many times a day do you redefine the "normal" of a fallen world?

Golden Sticks and Rubies

For the next week and a half or so, there are about half a dozen missionary couples on campus for furlough seminar (meetings /training that takes place during their "break" in the States), so I have been able to hang out with the kids and help entertain them while their parents sit in meetings.

In Bethany speak, "get to" means that I, and the rest of my class, were volunteered to help with furlough seminar months before we even knew that there was going to be a furlough seminar -- at which point, it becomes less of a "get to" thing and more of a requirement. But, hey, so long as we are talking about kids, I'm okay with that.

Yesterday, on the way to and from the gym, we played follow the leader, sneaking through the building like ninjas (Ninjas are quiet, after all!) and then searching for "treasure" as we walked across campus to the gym. True to form, when I announced that we were searching for treasure, I didn't really have any idea what I meant by that (not that I would ever make things up as I go...), but the kids figured it out, and, by the time Chris "inspected" all of the treasure outside of the gym door and then "hid" it in the corner (away from anyone who might try to take it!), they had picked up enough "treasure" to fill his hands with dandelion gold, rose petal rubies, leaf emeralds, sparkly rock diamonds, and even a sick made of pure gold.

To the kids, they were just about as cool as the real thing, at least in that moment, and I have to think that God would agree.

The funniest thing about working with a bunch of missionary kids (MKs), though, is the things that come out of their mouths in those random kid moments. For instance, in the middle of story today, I asked the kids a question, got an answer or two, and then called on one of the third graders, only to be informed, very matter of factly, "In China, they laugh at you when you fall down, even if it really hurts."

Umm...yes. Yes, they do. (It's a way of saving face and preventing shame, kind of like how an American might pop up and try to make a joke out of their own clumsiness.) Now...about Jesus and the feeding of the five thousand...

It's the equivalent of the, "My Aunt Susan's neighbor's daughter's best friend has a bunny," that you get from kids anywhere, but, generally, a little easier to follow than trying to figure out who, exactly, owns the bunny!

Participant Application

If you are at all interested in the Focus Month, I would encourage you to start filling out the application and see where the Lord leads you from there. Feel free to either copy paste this text into an email and send it to me at celticross89@yahoo.com or to shoot me an email asking for a printable PDF version of the file.



Looking forward to hearing from you.

Focus Month Participant Application

Name:

Grade:

Age:

School:

What about social justice intrigues you or brings forth your passions?

What about the Focus Month makes you want to join us?

What is one example of a an injustice, large or small, that you have personally seen played out?

Briefly, share your testimony:

What part of living communally for a month do you think will be the most difficult for you?

What is one American comfort that you think it would be the hardest for you to live without?

Is there anything that you feel might hinder you from participating fully in the Focus Month?

How can I pray for you?

List three references (one parent, one teacher/youth leader/other adult, and one friend):

Name: Email:

Name: Email:

Name: Email:

Focus Month Reference Form

Name:

Name of student:

Relation to student: parent friend other adult

How long have you known the student?

In your experience, does this student have a passion for justice, or a strong sense of fairness and rightness?

Explain:

What strengths might this student be able to offer in a community setting?

Do you have any reservations about this student's ability to participate in the Focus Month?

Social Justice Focus Month

Hey,

I blogged about the Focus Month over on my other site, and I would love if you would pop over to check it out and let me know what you think.

God bless!

Social Justice Focus Month

For those who many not have received my newsletter, I want to give you the same information that has been passed on to others regarding things that are happening in the fall, namely, the social justice focus month. Beware; it is lengthy…
Disclaimer: None of this is what I would have planned as the way to spend my first few months back home, but I feel strongly that to not go through with this would be an act of direct disobedience to the voice of the Lord, so I prayerfully submit the following.
From September 28th to October 29th of 2010, a “ministry trip” opportunity will be open to students from sixth grade and up (all the way through college students!), as a chance to work and learn together about social justice issues and the ways that they impact our lives, or perhaps, ways that they ought to impact our lives.
The trip will take place almost exclusively within the greater Tri-Cities area, but we will be constantly on the move, staying in the buildings of different congregations who are willing to let us sleep on their floors for a night or longer, and it will be different from summer ministry trips in a number of other ways (the main one being that it will take place during the school year).
The main purpose is to grow in our understanding of God’s heart for social justice issues, as well as our knowledge of situations where there is a need for Christ followers to be a voice calling out for justice and hands acing to right wrongs.
Secondarily, the purpose is to awaken the Church in the Tri-Cities to the need to act and pray.
The “service project” portion of the trip will be entirely student led, ie Jessica is not sitting in her dorm room coming up with a list of things for us to do. Rather, we will approach God each day with the assumptions that He has a plan for us, is willing to tell us that plan if we are wiling to listen, and that He could just as easily tell that plan to a twelve year old as He could to a twenty-one year old.
There will also be a learning component, where I do my best to introduce a balanced view of any number of different issues and then provide a chance for individuals to come to their own conclusions and discover their own passions. God’s glory is made manifest in places where His justice is lived out, but, until we know what it means to seek justice, it is almost impossible to really live it out.
In order to escape some of the dangers of a short lived, mountain top experience, participants will be required to completely commit to the focus month (no outside jobs, extra curricular activities, etc). This is purely to sustain our intentional community for long enough that new habits are built and life change has a chance to take root.
I am currently neck deep in putting together a hands on curriculum that will tie day to day life within the community into school assignments (math, language arts, science, social studies, etc) that we will send back to parents to grade as they desire. Basically, we will become a month long homeschool co-op, and, therefore, avoid breaking any truancy laws, so long as all of the Intent to Homeschool forms are filled out and in their proper locations.
(Ha! Staying out of jail would be a good thing…)
We will do our best to live simply, justly, and sustainably in an intentional community, while still participating in the American context, in order to explore what it really means to live as Christ followers wherever He sends us.
I know that it all sounds crazy, so, for now, I am asking you to ask questions and pray about it. Pray that God would light a fire for justice in the hearts of those who He wants to participate, and…check with Him to see if He wants you to be somehow involved.
:)