Speaking from our Heart

People speak the things that are in their hearts (Lk 6:45 NCV)

What is in your heart today?

As followers of Christ we are promised that our outward behavior does not determine our identity, but rather our identity in Christ determines our eventual behavior. Thank God! This is a very reassuring reality for me because I often struggle with the "behavioral aspect" of my faith walk.

I have learned however, that my behavior and my words provide a pretty realistic indicator of how healthy I am in Christ, and perhaps how submitted I am to God in some areas.

There are times when I struggle with the words of my mouth.

This week, on a day when I was particularly tired, I was sassy with my husband to which he responded, "Grumpy-Monkey!" and made a face at me. Immediately upon hearing John's loving confrontation, I realized I was snapping at him and began the process of internal self-correction so that he did not become the object of my impatience again.

I do this because I love John. I also do this because I love God, I know that I am in Christ, and with that new Identity I bear responsibility for how I behave in public and in private. I have learned that it is no longer my name alone that I carry with me, it is also the name of my Beloved, Jesus Christ. Now that I am married, my behavior also reflects on John and though I know (and John can attest to as well) that I am not anywhere near perfect, God honors as "perfect" my attempts to display self-control as a fruit of His spirit working through me.

Psalms 51:10 Create in me a clean heart, O God, And renew a steadfast spirit within me.

Often I find my prayers circulating back to this scripture. I do this because I know that I have historically been an expert at verbally-fire-bombing friends and then realizing my mouth has gotten ahead of my brain.

Daily I have to leave my attitude with my Father in heaven so that my words and actions do not intentionally or unintentionally hurt those around me. It has been a life-long healing process and though I am much better than I used to be, cut me off in traffic and my mouth starts running faster than the speed limit!

I value my friends because they risk holding a mirror up to my behavior.

The friends who have made the most impact in my life are those who are willing to give me the hand and say "Stop" when I am behaving in a way not befitting to a follower of Christ. People who have risked stepping into a situation with me to say, "You know, I hear from your words that you are angry, but I still love you anyway. Is there a better way of communicating so we do not continue to hurt each other?"

It is these friends that demonstrated that real love, Christ's love living through us, is for keeps. That just because I may say something careless does not mean the relationship will disintigrate too. They have showed me that if I value the relationship, I will also honor and value them by watching the words of my mouth.

They have challenged me to realize that I carry Christ with me wherever I go and people are watching how I behave - because they cannot readily see Christ-in-me through any other means than my words and actions. It is these friends who have given me the courage to face where my heart was bruised from difficult life-events and much in need of healing and find the road to health.

I have made the choice to find this healing and pursue it.

Healing did not find me, I had to seek it out and be committed to working the program of change. With God's help, I have learned that living the Christian life is not just about getting my way in life, it is about giving away my life. Especially when it is inconvenient. Especially when it is painful as it is often in those times when I want to be sassafras Sue, when I want to spout off rather than submit to God that I am growing the most.

What are your words saying about your relationship with Christ and your investment in the lives of others around you?

Keeping first things first: Psalm of Reflection

As I was pondering Revelations 2.4-5 today (I seem to be running into this scripture a lot this week - yikes!), my prayers turned into a psalm

Psalm of Reflection

I love you Lord for you saw my pain
You did not leave me where my feet would slip
Instead, you reached out and delivered me to a smooth pathway

People watched how you rescued me.

They saw your hand lovingly restore me.
They observed your redemption in my life.

Now I am new.
You have brought me to a good land.
This is a land of promise and here you allow me to rest secure in You.

May my heart ponder Your goodness all of my days
As I reflect on the good path you have chosen for me.

May others see Your goodness and stand in awe of You.
May I be found faithful in all my ways

May my life be a reflection of Your abiding Grace and Love.

So as I have been reflecting on Revelations 2 and pondering what God might have me to learn through the scripture which states "You have lost your first love," I realize my heart's desire is to keep God first in my life. Some days I do this better than others, so for today, I simply ask that God honor my desire, meet me where my will is presented to Him as a gift, and help me get the rest of the way to Him through His abiding Grace.

How thankful I am for God's goodness and love to me today.

Afghan Cup and the Greatest Gift

It is early Sunday morning. I am not at church but ministry is all around me. I am watching the Afghan Cup soccer semi-finals and thoroughly enjoying being immersed in a culture outside of my own.

The beginning of the game starts when both teams huddle to boisterously shout, "Allah-Akbar!" (God is great!) It is as if soccer is their own form of worship! Their shouts of worship stand at odds with the silent symbol of worship I wear that recognizes Elohim - Creator God - the One who created and sustains me.

It is the contrast of these two worldviews and two approaches to the Divine that have me intrigued. If given the chance, how would this beautiful middle-eastern culture - rich in history, robust in its expressions of family and loyalty, melodic in its language - share about their understanding of the Divine with me? What would they highlight about Allah and what would they downplay? Would anyone even try? Or have we Americans been branded as hopeless infidels no longer worthy of evangelization?

In contrast, what is it that I could share about my God that would help each Afghan, albeit, every middle eastern person know that they are loved, valued, and held in the arms of Grace by the One who gave His heart for all humankind at Calvary? How could I transcend our cultural barriers and reach across the divide of history and faith to create a caring connection with these families seated all around me? Would they even listen to me? Have I earned the privilege of being heard?

Traditions of Worship

There is a tradition in Muslim culture that is similar to followers of Christ. Both religions take time to reflect on the names of God. Muslims have 99 names for Allah. One of these names - Al-Ghaffor - (the "All Forgiving" one) - has captivated me for years. How can the Muslim faith tradition worship an "all forgiving" deity if that deity's mercy has to be earned through such things as daily prayers, trips to their holy lands, and other such requirements?

When I think of an "All Forgiving" God, I think of one who is merciful from everlasting to everlasting and his mercies have no end. They are new every morning! One who IS all forgiving because He knows us inside and out. He knows that by no power of works of our own can our humanity share the same space as His Perfect Divinity. One who provides every opportunity to create a bridge of love for His created ones to find Him and One who leaves behind footprints of Himself on the earth so we can know Him and enter into a healthy relationship with Him that brings freedom, not bondage, light, not darkness, life, not death in body, mind and spirit. This - to me - is an all-forgiving, Grace-full God.

In my own reflection and study I have found this all-forgiving God to be Elohim Himself - God of Creation - living through Isa (Jesus). Because of Isa, I am forgiven of Elohim. All of what separates me from the Divine Love has been removed by the action of Isa.

And as I ponder the journey that has brought me to this realization about Isa, I realize that I have a Middle Eastern family to thank.

The Impact of One Family

There is something - to me - that is very special about Middle Eastern Cultures and it can be traced back to one Muslim family that invested in my spiritual journey fifteen years ago. This family saw my spiritual curiosity and took the time to encourage me to seek for answers. They invited me into their home, their lives, and their own "sacred space" as I watched them pray, read their holy Qu'ran, and discuss spiritual matters. I was a constant presence at their dinner table while I struggled to find answers to my questions about God. Their patience and acceptance of me during this journey resulted in my desire to know God to soar to new heights!

When this family provided me with a copy of the Qu'ran (in English), I read it from cover to cover before my finger cracked the pages of the sacred Book of my culture, the Bible. I read about Isa in the Qu'ran. I read about Abraham. I read about Mary. I wrote twenty pages of questions! Then I sat with the family to ask questions about the stories. Once completed with the Qu'ran, I stepped beyond my fear of the Bible, picked it up and began reading. My life has not been the same since!

Perhaps this is why I have a very special place in my heart for Middle Eastern families and at times like today - when I am surrounded by Afghan families - I am reminded of how special each one of them is. One Middle Eastern family's greatest ministry to me was giving me the best gift of my life - my faith in the All-Forgiving One, Isa.

If you want to see a more "soccer-like" description of what the game was like, click here for a great blog on Afghan Cup 2007.

Conversations with God

If God provides for the needs of all of His children, why am I watching so many of my friends suffer right now?

In this past year, difficult situations in the lives of my friends have caused my theology to cramp. I tend to be pretty simple when it comes to life - just tell me how things work and I'll follow the procedure, tell me what to do and I will do it, if there is a process or standard for the way things should progress - just let me know! I want to know how to get from point A to B the simplest way possible, skip all the drama, and just GET there for goodness sakes. I am a Git-er-done kinda gal.

Most of my girlfriends have the same mentality too. Thankfully, I do not have a lot of drama-queens in my life. They are functional-whiners, which I can live with. If they whine, its for a purpose, it has a finite-duration, and they are quickly focused on a solution. No kicking-legs-lazy-summer-afternoon complainers in my camp!

At work, I am blessed to work for a group of male leaders who focus on solutions to problems and do not hover around the problem staring at it. So as I reflect on the extraordinarily difficult situations of some of my believing friends, I am perplexed.

Their real-life pain is bumping up against my theology and I want my simple theology back!

I have a girlfriend who has been out of work for a year. A YEAR! She has stellar skills, is a Godly woman who loves Jesus with all of her heart. She is extraordinarily good to those around her. I have watched her seek Him for answers to real-live needs (not just wants), and yet her prayers and the prayers of others around her seemingly have gone unanswered.

Other friends of mine have faced homelessness due to a lack of steady income over the past three years. By no fault of their own, their business, home, and life was first slammed by 9/11, then again as they got it back up and running - by Katrina, then a third time - by the economy. Every time they have tried to put hard work into getting their lives on track, something outside of their control knocks them backwards again.

These are simply two stories but there are literally thousands of people out of work right now facing these exact circumstances.It just seems so unfair. So many of my friends who are God's children seem to have real needs in their lives right now, and I'm seeing these needs go unmet. My friends are past the stage of want and are in need. I don't get it.

But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness; Set your mind on things above, not on earthly things (Matthew 6:33; Colossians 3:2)

A shift in perspective from my friends' circumstances back to God's word helps, but also provides a sometimes even more disturbing theology for me to swallow!

• Isaiah 30.26: The light of the moon will be as the light of the sun, and the light of the sun will be seven times brighter, like the light of seven days, on the day the LORD binds up the fracture of His people and heals the bruise He has inflicted.
• Isaiah 45.7: I form the light and create darkness, I bring prosperity and create disaster; I, the LORD, do all these things.
• Lamentations 3.38: Is it not from the mouth of the Most High that both good and ill go forth?
• Deuteronomy 32:39: See now that I, even I, am He, and there is no god with Me; I kill, and I make alive; I have wounded, and I heal; and there is none that can deliver out of My hand.
• Deuteronomy 30:1-2: When all these things which I have set before you, the blessings and the curses, are fulfilled in you, and from among whatever nations the LORD, your God, may have dispersed you, you ponder them in your heart.
• 2 Corinthians 1:8-9a: We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about the hardships we suffered in the province of Asia. We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired even of life. Indeed, in our hearts we felt the sentence of death.

Ugh! That is even more depressing than looking at the circumstances! God is there any hope?

We are promised affliction, but also deliverance:

• Psalm 140:12: I know that the LORD will maintain the cause of the afflicted, and the right of the poor. But my friends have need Lord, real need!
• Psalm 39:19: Many are the afflictions of the righteous, But the Lord delivers him out of them all. When God? When will you deliver them? Why must the righteous suffer so?
• Deuteronomy 2:7: For the Lord your God has blessed you in all that you have done; He has known your wanderings through this great wilderness. These forty years the Lord your God has been with you; you have not lacked a thing. Is it just a matter of sight Lord? Heal the eyes that cannot see your blessing... if it is there, help us to see it!
• Luke 4:16-21: He went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom. And he stood up to read. The scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written: "The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor." Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him, and he began by saying to them, "Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing."

Knowing that there are two sides to every coin helps somewhat, but my theology remains cramped. I know God says He will never leave us or forsake us, but what about when His presence does not pay the water bills? I know God promises to provide a way out, and declares that He is the way, but what happens when the power company will not take Jesus as viable payment on an account? And as a friend, how do I minister God's wisdom and healing into these situations?

I find comfort in this old story.

A mother sends her twelve-year-old son out on an errand and it takes him a long time to come home. When he finally gets back, the mother says, "Where were you? I was worried about you." The son says, "Oh, there’s this little kid down the street whose tricycle broke and he was crying ‘cause he couldn’t fix it. And I felt really bad for him so I stopped to help." The mother said, "Are you trying to tell me that you know how to fix a tricycle?" And the son replies, "Of course not, Mom. I sat down and helped him cry."

Maybe it is enough just to show up in the lives of my friends and leave the theology to God.

For the Love of the Game: US vs. Honduras - Gold Cup 2009

I attended my first international professional soccer game last night.

Or as the rest of the world calls it "football." My Gumpie was the referee liaison for the CONCACAF Gold Cup tournament and I was invited to tag along.

John has been involved in soccer from a wee age - first as a player, now as a referee for various leagues from highschool through professional. If you know John, you know that he is passionate about his soccer! It was fun for me to get a taste of his world.

The Haiti/Grenada game was fun to watch, but it seemed as if most people were anxiously awaiting the Honduras/US game. As the crowd filtered in, they came in one of two flavors - blueberry & vanilla striped or red cotton tees (with the occasional bare-chested, lipstick-red-chest painted onlooker). I noticed the blueberry/vanilla stripers were considerably louder than the cotton-red ones - at least at first.

Fans filtered in carrying streamers, wearing flags, and blowing horns, with the occasional bass drum strapped to their chest. As they awaited their team to arrive on the field, shouts of Hon-Du-Ras mixed with U-S-A in a frenzied cacophony that made everyone sound as if they were rooting for the same team!

What I noticed about the game officials, administrators, and referees is that they were all in coat and tie. I observed that though the fans were rowdy and excited for the games to start - no one cursed at the players or muttered expletives at the coach or the referees. I came to discover that the game moved so fast that if you spent too much time analyzing the last thing that happened in the game (or chose to yell about it), chances are, you would miss the next play.

The players for the US and Honduras were notably more agressive than the Haiti/Grenada crew.

Both the US and Honduras players burst onto the field out for a win, and they strategically (and regularly) took down whomever stood in their way to achieving their goal. It was exciting to watch their skill and "strategery" - but even more intriguing to me was how both teams seemed to move as a unit - working together to move towards the goal line. Individual aptitude was important, but what was paramount was how that individual aptitude served the team.

The fans during the US/Honduras game were a blast to watch. Most did not sit for the entire game and whether or not their team was doing well or poorly - they were on their feet cheering. At one point during the match, John and I could feel the entire section shaking because the fans were so rowdy.

Unlike American games where fans will take their seats during frequent time outs and instant replays - International soccer tends to move much faster. It seems as if you sit down, or whine and complain you may miss something, so fans stayed standing. And jumping. And yelling. And waving flags. And cheering. The entire game!

The After-Party

Once the game was over, John and I walked down to the field and had the opportunity to see the players walk off. We were so close to some of them, I could have reached out and shook their hand. The US team walked off with smiles on their faces, but what struck me was that the Honduras team did also! And even though the game had finished, the Honduras fans were still chanting and shouting their praises of the team! (Of course, there were the occasional beers and sodas jettisoned at those of us on the field, but overall, everyone had a cheerful attitude).

For the love of the game.

The whole experience left me wondering - how often in life do I show up to play just for the love of the game? How often am I "in the moment" when I am playing versus trying to analyze what I have just done or where I am going next?

During the games I was left wondering about the abject poverty that some of these players undoubtedly came from, and some may return to. I concerned myself with how long of a soccer-life-expectancy most of them had (John told me once they hit late twenties to early thirties their soccer-life-span is done) and if it was short, what did they do next? (How miserable to be thirty-four and have your main life goal behind you!) I was attempting to assess the psychological and mental health of the players both now and in the future - and they were just there to play the game because they love to play it!

Judas Asparagus: The Children's Bible in a Nutshell

A child was asked to write a book report on the entire Bible... this is too cute not to share!

Through the eyes of a child:

In the beginning, which occurred near the start, there was nothing but God, darkness, and some gas. The Bible says, 'The Lord thy God is one, but I think He must be a lot older than that.

Anyway, God said, 'Give me a light!' and someone did. 

Then God made the world.

He split the Adam and made Eve. Adam and Eve were naked, but they weren't embarrassed because mirrors hadn't been invented yet. 

Adam and Eve disobeyed God by eating one bad apple, so they were driven from the Garden of Eden .....Not sure what they were driven in though, because they didn't have cars. 

Adam and Eve had a son, Cain, who hated his brother as long as he was Abel. 

Pretty soon all of the early people died off, except for Methuselah , who lived to be like a million or something. 

One of the next important people was Noah, who was a good guy, but one of his kids was kind of a Ham. Noah built a large boat and put his family and some animals on it. He asked some other people to join him, but they said they would have to take a rain check. 

After Noah came Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Jacob was more famous than his brother, Esau, because Esau sold Jacob his birthmark in exchange for some pot roast. Jacob had a son named Joseph who wore a really loud sports coat. 

Another important Bible guy is Moses, whose real name was Charlton Heston . Moses led the Israel Lights out of Egypt and away from the evil Pharaoh after God sent ten plagues on Pharaoh's people. These plagues included frogs, mice, lice, bowels, and no cable. 

God fed the Israel Lights every day with manicotti. Then he gave them His Top Ten Commandments. These include: don't lie, cheat, smoke, dance, or covet your neighbor's stuff.

Oh, yeah, I just thought of one more: Humor thy father and thy mother. 

One of Moses' best helpers was Joshua who was the first Bible guy to use spies. Joshua fought the battle of Geritol and the fence fell over on the town. 

After Joshua came David. He got to be king by killing a giant with a slingshot. He had a son named Solomon who had about 300 wives and 500 porcupines. My teacher says he was wise, but that doesn't sound very wise to me. 

After Solomon there were a bunch of major league prophets. One of these was Jonah, who was swallowed by a big whale and then barfed up on the shore. 

There were also some minor league prophets, but I guess we don't have to worry about them. 

After the Old Testament came the New Testament . Jesus is the star of The New. He was born in Bethlehem in a barn. (I wish I had been born in a barn too, because my mom is always saying to me, 'Close the door! Were you born in a barn?' It would be nice to say, 'As a matter of fact, I was.')

During His life, Jesus had many arguments with sinners like the Pharisees and the Democrats. 
Jesus also had twelve opossums.

The worst one was Judas Asparagus. Judas was so evil that they named a terrible vegetable after him. 

Jesus was a great man. He healed many leopards and even preached to some Germans on the Mount. 

But the Democrats and all those guys put Jesus on trial before Pontius the Pilot. Pilot didn't stick up for Jesus. He just washed his hands instead. 

Anyways, Jesus died for our sins, then came back to life again. He went up to Heaven but will be back at the end of the Aluminum. His return is foretold in the book of Revolution.

The Glory of God

Glory. Glorified. Bring Glory To.


What does it mean to glorify God? This concept of God's glory is something I have been circling around this week and am wondering what God is trying to teach me.

Sunday a teaching I heard circled around Isaiah 6.1-8 and a devotional.
Monday another devotional talked about God's glory in Isaiah 6:1-8.
Yesterday I was sent an email that talked about God's glory descending into a crowd of ministering people.

Today, THREE readings pointed back towards scriptures highlighting this concept of God's "Glory"

• John 11:4: That the Son of God may be glorified through it.
• Isaiah 40:5: The Glory of the Lord shall be revealed and all flesh shall see it together.
• Luke 2:30-32: My eyes have seen your salvation which you have prepared in the sight of all people. A light for revelation to the gentiles and for glory to your people Israel.

I know I can be a little slow at times, but I'm really beginning to see a pattern here.

At the very least, God has piqued my curiosity! So I decided to take a journey...

Glory of the Lord: "Kavod Yehovah" כְּבוֹד יְהוָה

(3513) Kabad (verbal root) = to be heavy, be weighty, be grievous, be hard, be rich, be honourable, be glorious, be burdensome, be honoured (Qal): to be heavy; to be heavy, be insensible, be dull; to be honoured.

This sense of "heaviness" or "weightiness" is what I described sensing in my last post about God's holiness. This concept of God's glory is all throughout the scriptures. Scriptures are replete with the intersection of God's Glory with common humanity:

• Ephesians 1:6 says that we were created "for the praise and glory of His Grace"
• Isaiah 43:6-7 says that we are "created for His glory"
• Colossians 1:16 says that all things were created BY God FOR God and find their purpose IN God to bring Him glory.
• 1 Corinthians 10:31 tells us to "do all for the Glory of God"

So my marriage can "bring God glory"? My work can "bring God glory"? Being who I am, as created being can "bring God glory"? As if I am "gifting" God (who is the creator and sustainer of all things glorious) with some type of something that He did not have before???

How can we, as un-glorious human beings, possibly "bring glory" to God?