Election Day: Finally it's over!

It's election day, 2018 and I have high hopes that after today the onslaught of ugly, hurtful, and mostly unbelievable campaigning will stop.  Anyone else feel battered and bruised by it all? Yes, I do have a race or two that I am watching, hoping that they might be an influence of calm in the chaos.  But in a lot of ways, I just can't watch.

So I am asking myself, how can we respond in a  way that brings life, and hope, and even change?  I am not so worried about our temporal problems.  For me, there is a moral element that is screaming for attention.  I ache for our loss of humanity in the whole affair.

I remember when I moved from my familiar city life to a small town in rural Montana.  I had been trained by my surroundings growing up to never make eye contact with other people in cars.  Cars were simply obstacles to maneuver around.  There was no concept that inside those cars were people, people I might know or that might be waving and offering connection.  People who might need to know you are happy to see them.

It didn't take long for me to be labeled stuck up because I didn't make eye contact or acknowledge their existence when I drove down main street.  It was a wake up call for me.  I started noticing how often I viewed people as obstacles, like when I went shopping, or standing in lines.  I didn't look at people as people at all.

When you see people as obstacles, you can't see their circumstance, or offer compassion.  I wonder, if we opened our eyes to the look, really look at the people around us, would our politics become more civil?

Questions

Do you ever feel like asking ridiculous questions?  Like what did Jesus do while the 12 were gone preaching?

Luke 9: 1-6  "Then He called His twelve disciples together and gave them power and authority over all demons, and to cure diseases. He sent them to preach the kingdom of God and to heal the sick. And He said to them, “Take nothing for the journey, neither staffs nor bag nor bread nor money; and do not have two tunics apiece.

“Whatever house you enter, stay there, and from there depart. And whoever will not receive you, when you go out of that city, shake off the very dust from your feet as a testimony against them.”

So they departed and went through the towns, preaching the gospel and healing everywhere.

 I wonder if He got some much needed rest?  Or was He doubly overwhelmed by people because there was no one there to hold off the crowd?  I can imagine Him just having time with His Daddy for a while.  Time to be filled and nurtured. 

There are so many questions not answered by scripture, what did Jesus enjoy?  What is His favorite color?  Did He have a favorite food?  Why does the earth only have one moon?  Why did you create people in the first place? 

I know that everything important is covered in God's word.  But there is so much not there that I can't wait to ask Jesus someday.  It amazes me that for each and every one of us, there is always room for growth and discovery.  We can never fully know Jesus. But we can discover something new every day

Just in any relationship, it takes time and communication to get to know each other.  If you want to know what pleases Jesus, ask Him!  Ask Him all your crazy questions... ask Him all your hard ones too.  Ask from a place of discovery, not from a place of judgement.  Start with this, "Jesus, I know that You are good.  I know that Your motives are pure.  But I don't understand what good there is in what just happened.  Can you show me?

Incidentally, it's a good way to talk to anyone dear to you.  Hi friend, I believe that your motives are good, but I am hurt by your actions.  Can you please help me understand?

You would be amazed at what we can learn if we don't jump to judgmental conclusions and simply ask and listen.

Rating Hurricanes: Thoughts after Hurricane Florence

We have always rated hurricanes by their windspeed and the damage that wind inflicts on structures and infrastructure.  But perhaps it is time to reconsider?  I am quite sure the people looking at the weather models in the days leading up to the landfall of Florence understood this was going to be a MAJOR flood event.  They tried to tell us that it wasn't the wind but the water that would be life threatening.  Somehow it seems to have fallen on many deaf ears.  Why couldn't they get their message across?

In my opinion, it boils down to language barriers.  We rate hurricanes 1-5 and if you are in a hurricane prone area, you know how important it is to take a 5 seriously.  A level 5 hurricane can blow your house down, period, end of story.  A hurricane that is rated 1, meh... not so much.  If  wind was all we had to worry about with Florence, then who could blame the guy who chose to wait out the storm at home.  It was a big windstorm, but hurricane force windstorms happen all the time.  Here in the north, no one has ever told me to evacuate my house because we were expecting hurricane force winds.  You just stay inside and away from the risk of falling trees.  

The problem is, though Florence was a level one wind event is continues to be a level 5 water event.  Though the storm surges have passed,  it will take days to weeks for thirty inches of rain water to drain off of North Carolina (not to mention other areas) and back into the sea.  

Wouldn't it make sense to give hurricanes two separate ratings, one for expected wind damage and one for flood damage?  What could have been different if we gave people language for what was about to happen to them?  What would people have done if they had heard from weather reporters that Florence was expected to make landfall as a level 1 wind, level 5 water event with all major waterways being effected?  Would people inland have been more prepared?  

I'm not sure how to imagine what a level 5 water event would look like but I'm pretty sure if you gave language to weather reporters, they might start to create visual models to match predictions.  It's hard to imagine what thirty feet above flood stage looks like (yes, some rivers in North Carolina are really that high)  But, given the fodder to try, I'm sure news reporters would accomplish the task.  And perhaps with better language would come better preparations in the future. 

What do you think?

Muslims seeing Jesus in their dreams?

God is so amazing.  And we so don't get it!

Every day, I keep trying to accomplish supernatural things with natural abilities.  In all my trying I have come to understand a few fundamental truths.  Number one, the impossible really is impossible, unless we do it God's way and in God's time.  Number two, if it makes sense, it's probably not God's way.

Basically, if you want to really make a difference in the world, think of the best way you could accomplish that, and then do the opposite.  If you want to be rich, learn to be generous.  If you want to be first, chose to be last, if you want to be truly strong, be meek.  These are the kind of things that Jesus told us.  Even His plan for evangelism was sometimes to charge people not to tell anyone about what He had just done.  Really?  How does that make sense?

Sometimes we have guilted people into evangelism.  "If you don't tell these people about Jesus, they might die without Him and it will be on your head!"  Really?  If the LORD is not willing that any should perish (2 Peter 3:9), then certainly He would give opportunity to anyone who would choose Him.   Wouldn't He?  

Jesus was in no hurry to "save" people.  He just walked, encourage people to follow Him and walked some more.  I don't see Him pleading with anyone.  He didn't push anyone to choose Him.  He simply was, and those who were compelled to follow Him, followed him because they couldn't not follow Him.  It sounds simple doesn't it?  You don't have to be flurrying about trying to set up a program to reach people.  Just be present and ooze love out of your pores.  See?  It's learning how to ooze  love, that is the real task at hand.  God will do the rest.  

Here's a good example of opposites and oozing :)  In the last few decades there has been a concerted effort by Islamic state and others to wipe out Christianity in the middle east.  Many people believed it could be done with news articles giving count downs for when the last Christian would flee.  And who could imagine otherwise? Many, many Christians have been martyred, and many have fled their native countries in fear for their lives,  But... some of the fastest growing Christian populations in the world right now are smack dab in the center of the middle east.  That's right, in response to heavy opposition, more people everyday are turning to Jesus.

The big question is how?  Many start their seeking journey because of a dream.  Over and over Christian missionaries in the middle east are reporting waves of new converts all describing seeing Jesus in a dream.  It's nothing short of a miracle!  It lets me know once again that God will win in the end.  My job is simple (at least in theory).  All I need to do is let God do the tough stuff and learn to ooze :)

Knowing Jesus

1 John 2:3-6
 Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments. He who says, “I know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But whoever keeps His word, truly the love of God is perfected in him. By this we know that we are in Him. He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He walked.

I've heard this passage used as an example of what we are to do as believers in Jesus, almost as if is says, "If you want to be a believer then do what you can to keep His commandments."  But is that what John is saying?  Is this a list of things we now must do since we have come to believe?  Or is this a list of things that naturally occur because we live in Jesus?  Do we know that we know Him because our behavior has changed?  Or is it our heart that has changed?  How can the love of God be perfected in us without divine intervention?

I think it is important to know the answer to these questions because how we understand this passage changes everything.  If this is a list of do's and don't's then getting to know Jesus comes from our effort and success in accomplishing them.  If that is true then where is the freedom in Christ?  But what if this is more of a wake up call.  Check out your life, what are you seeing?  If you aren't oozing love out of your pores, then you are not intimate with Jesus!  The solution to your problem then is not to try to love better, but to run back to Jesus, to seek to know Him better.  Wow, what a switch in motivations!

In our world right now, it is hard to draw away from the distractions.  Now matter where you are you have phones ringing, if not yours then the guy next to you.  There is a constant temptation to dive into the internet and swim around there for hours.  But getting to know Jesus takes time.  Quiet time where you do as much listening as talking, well more listening than talking.  It takes effort to seek Him out and pay attention.  But if you want to be like Him, you must get to know Him!

What's on Your Bucket List?

I listened to a Christian talk radio show a few month ago.  The topic was on aging well.  In it one man suggested that we should all have a bucket lest with at least 50 things on it.  He suggested that you should always be crossing things off and then adding more on so that you continually lived with a sense of future.  He has a point.  As I am nearing the age of retirement, I find myself surrounded by piers who have aged out of there sense of adventure.

So I wondered, what are good ideas for a bucket list?  Did Jesus have a bucket list?  I sort of think He did and that He crossed the last one off His list as He was hanging on the cross.  Hmmm, that gives a whole new meaning to "bucket list" doesn't it?  I believe our lives are full of purpose.  We were created for something... something amazing!  But what is that exactly?  Now that we are looking to less time scrapping for money and more time doing as we please (at least we hope), what is next? And is our time for doing as we please?  That sounds pretty empty and a bit naive to me.  

I have a bucket list but just like my "to do" list, I often don't add something to my list until it has been accomplished.  Does anyone else do that?  Like, Bucket list item number one:  "deliver a baby".  Yup, I've done that, but it wasn't planned.  I just happened to be the one it fell to when the mid-wife came later than the baby.  Bucket list item number two:  Live through a tornado.  Yup,  I've done that too.  I didn't plan on that one either but I did add it to my bucket list just so that I could have the pleasure of crossing it off.

There are many experiences I would like to have before I'm done on this earth.  But the why is pretty important to me as well.  Experiences mean nothing if they do not draw ourselves or others around us closer to God.  (listening) Perhaps that's it.  Maybe my bucket list is about making the time and space to find Him.  Sit at His feet and listen.

Man enough to Marry the Girl. Woman enough to wait.

I have spent a lot of years in ministry serving women who have in some way been hurt.  Most are deeply lonely and longing for a "soul mate".  Digging deeper, many have explained to me of their yearning, desire for a man who loves and understands them and could meet their hunger to feel delighted in.

These same woman have often fallen for the lie that says the way to gain the love of a man,  is to have sex with him.   And so they travel from bed to bed brutalizing their vulnerabilities in hopes of being seen and loved.

My message to women is this:

If he is not man enough to keep his pants on, He is not man enough for you!  Look for a man that wants to protect you and not risk your life for one fleeting moment of passion.  Am I old fashion and unrealistic?... or smart?  It is you, oh woman, who has the most to loose in that moment of passion.  What exactly are you getting in exchange for your risk?

What do you think? Are you horrified? Do you think if you wait for a man who is man enough, no one will ever be interested you?  But, if you don't wait, what motivation do men have to honor you?    Turn to the LORD for your need to be delighted in and be woman enough to wait.

Marriage succeeds when both people live, not to get their own needs met, but to meet the needs of one another.   It is intended to be a sanctuary for building holiness into each other.  Marriage is like an extremely difficult mountain trail.  Without the help of each other, reaching the top is impossible.  It is intended be a protection for all within it's shroud of commitment and trust.  But when marriage is perceived as a place to further cement someone into the role of meeting your needs, it is a trap... and literally hell on earth.  It is especially hurtful for the one most consumed.  No wonder so many have shunned marriage completely!  If you are not in it to serve, you are not in it at all.

My message to men is this:

I am sorry that this world treats men with contempt and disregard.  It grieves me to see men being defined only as selfish and carnal.  You are not an ogre simply because you are a man.  You sir, were never intended to live as a predator,  and you have complete control over your sexual urges.  You do not have to live a certain way simply because others perceive you as such.  Stand up!  Be different!  Live a life of honor!

Learn what it means to honor God with your body and help your woman do the same.  Stand and say no!  No, I am not here for sex, No, I am not here to get my needs met.  I am here to honor you and to get to know you. Yes, I am listening, I want to understand and delight in who God made you to be, but only God can meet your needs as only God can meet mine.

Do not just stop pressing when a woman says no, don't press for sex at all, period!  Press for relationship.  Seek a partner and a treasured friend.  And when you find her... be man enough to marry the girl!  

"Having done all to Stand, Stand"

"Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm. Stand firm" Eph 6:13-14a 

This week I was able to visit with a friend I have not seen in 39 years.  She is from New Zealand and neither she nor I have had the funds to make the trip until now.  She came over to dance and to reconnect with old friends.  

Dancing is a part of who God made her to be.  When I met her, she had been dancing for hmmm maybe 15 years? Add that to 39 and yes... she has been dancing for over fifty years!  I wondered what it would be like see her again.  Who could have ever dreamed that I would have the opportunity to see her dance again!  And what is it like to see an older woman dance?  Is dancing only for the young?

I did get the chance to see her dance this week and I was transfixed.  She has a gift that transcends time.  Oh, I wish I could explain how she calls out to you in her dance and points your face towards the heavens.  But she will be the first to tell you that it isn't her.  It is her precious Jesus!

Years ago her infectious connection to that Jesus of hers convicted me down to my toes.  I had a belief in Jesus.  But my jesus was lifeless, silent and in a tiny box I kept on my mantle.  Her Jesus was alive and vibrant and He gave her strength and boldness beyond her own.  Just watching her and her Jesus, drove me to dispose of mine and whole heartedly embrace hers!

Her Jesus continues to empower her to dance out deep messages of courage, wonder and passion.  Even though she has been through two terrible car accidents one that took her mother from her and left her in a coma for many days and one that took most of one knee.  She has had two hips replaced and her knee completely restructured.  "They said, she could never walk again.  God said, "I have called you to dance!"  

A woman asked her, after her dance this week, "why do you dance?"  Her answer was bold, yet simple.  She said, I am a very religious person.  Dancing is my way of praying.  I can assure you, it is that and much more!

It leaves me asking God, how can I pay it forward?

Climate change vrs climate change

Many years ago, I lived in the Pacific Northwest.  I loved it!  I came from the hot, dry desert and here I found water, and greenery and, something I can't well describe.  I found a people that loved the land more than the styles.  They were rugged, hardy and welcoming.  I was in love with both the land and it's people.  I felt like I had found home.

Much has happened since then.  But I find myself coming to what I once called home and grieving over the change in both the land and it's people.  Before, I loved taking the bus and being amongst people who were on their way to somewhere.  Taking the bus everyday together made us comrades and I enjoyed the many connections that I made there.  Now taking the bus feels dangerous and hostile.  Everyone curls up around their cell phones and ignore that fact that they are surrounded by faces.  Then it was a journey, now it feels like simply transportation.  I can't explain the difference.  It feels like everyone is in a bubble and can not be touched.  

Yes, the climate is different!  It was wetter than history remembers last winter.  This summer hardly saw even a drop of rain.  All that beautiful green has been swallowed up in fires and smoke.  Even without fires the land is brown and brittle.  I see a connection spiritually between the two.  Do you???

I went down town last month.  Something I once loved doing.  There are so many interesting people and so much to see.  This time, the people seemed hunkered down, curled up within their own worlds and thoughts.  Lots of people sitting on street corners with signs that read, "Please Help!" Who could address it all.  I also saw people openly selling what I knew they did not own.  Like whiskey, brand new levi's and who knows what else.

I can not make a huge difference with Climate change.  Oh, I compost, and recycle.  I take public transportation when I can.  I try to use less water and keep the heat to a minimum.  But, at the end of the day,  we have a much bigger problem.  We have lost our connection to humanity.

Before climate change can be addressed we must first begin again to look people in the eye and consider their plight above our own.  Yes, the man on my city's streets crying "Whisky!  Who needs Whisky!"  Is all kinds of out of order.  But what drove him to where he is?  And a better question is am I in some way a part of the problem? Why are so many so desperate?  How can we bring back a sense of community?  In community, you have an understanding of the ripples caused by your actions.  You see how your buying the last apple in the store might effect everyone else who is shopping for apples.

Perhaps the need for this kind of climate change is what Jesus was looking for when He said, "Go into all the world and make disciples of all the nations.  Jesus didn't make disciples in a day.  He lived and breathed 12 men for three years.  Making disciples was a lifetime occupation.  It takes time and connection and commitment.  But oh how He changed the lives of those 12 men.  Could we do the same?

Square Foot Gardening

Well, it's that time of year when those of us who are bit by the gardening bug start shopping seeds.  I have tried many a gardening hack but my biggest success has come from following the Square Foot Gardening plan.  If you have never tried to garden, or if you have tried and failed miserably, I suggest that you consider one more whack at it before you give up.

In a square foot garden you give up the concept of rows and garden in raised beds that are no more than 4 feet wide.  That gives ample room to reach everything that you are growing.  The biggest contributor to the SFG method's success is the dirt.  It consists of 1/3 peat moss 1/3 vermiculite and 1/3 compost blend.  You can cram so much into a small space and you won't believe how such a tiny space can produce so much.