Choosing to See

I want to recommend a book that I read this weekend because even though it is about a woman's journey to healing after her 5 year old adopted daughter from China died in tragic accident, it is more about Choosing to See God's perspective on life. She had her own plan for life when she was 19 and it has turned out completely different. She talked about "choosing to see" God's perspective instead of her own and how freeing that has become.  Read it. I think you will be encouraged by it! Let me know what you think.

Trust and Waiting

A couple of weeks ago, my son (who is slightly OCD and has some adoption issues)got fixated on a cheap version of some travel computer game at CVS.  He asked me if he could have it. I told him I would be happy to give him a few extra chores to earn some money. He curled up his nose and with a grimace on his face, walked away. I knew we weren't done with this but waited to see what he would ask next(he likes to push things).

A few days later I got up and was trying to get everyone else out of the house on time(hubby had already gone to work)and as I was checking everything, I noticed that the $40 that hubby left on the table was missing. I called him to see if he had laid it somewhere else and he said no, he had left it there. I KNEW then what had happened. Son#2 had stolen it. When I confronted it, he denied it. He then decided to blame his older brother(whose M.O. is NOT stealing but crying to get what he wants)and then proceeded to make up various stories. (In our house, if you tell the truth and fess up about the crime....the "time" is less than if you continue to deny something and we find out later! ) He continued to deny it and then finally after a stare down, he went and got the money and handed it over. I gave him the consequence, I told him it was wrong and he went off on me. He did what he usually does when he doesn't get his way...scream, holler and run around like a 3 year old(he is 14!!) Well, we finally got off and although everything was crazy..we made it out of the house.

Later that day..he came and apologized. We talked some. He told me he had prayed about getting the money. I told him God had actually answered him in two ways. 1. I had offered him a way to earn the money and  2. I had actually by the end of the week decided to stop by CVS and get it for him as a gift(the day he stole the money). He threw his hands up and was very embarrassed. He had decided to take things into his own hands and "take" the money that did not belong to him to get what he wanted instead of taking the honest way out. We talked about trust and waiting (neither of which is his forte').

I thought about that. When we have a need, how often do we "take things into our own hands...only later to see that there was a better way"?  If Son#2  had waited, he would have been pleasantly surprised and would have enjoyed the game as a "gift" rather than stealing the money AND had no bad consequences. He didn't think and he didn't trust.   I wonder what would happen if we "thought and trusted" before we did things that end up getting us painful consequences? I see that a lot in ministry. People come to us at the ministry centers or at church AFTER they have made some painful mistakes and are reaping the pain! They had acted impulsively and not "waited" for what could have been a more pleasant ending.

But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.
Philippians 4:19

Encounter with God

So, Hubby  and I are sitting down watching TV a little while ago and someone knocks on the door. (It is 9pm). A small, very attractive 65 year old Thai woman is standing there and she tells Hubby  her family has thrown here out for swatting the baby(she is a nanny, I am assuming).

She then proceeds to squat down in a very humble position. She needs a ride to her friends house. So, we invite her in. She says she is from Bangkok and her boys are there and she is here(she came here with a sister and her sister is dead now). She was so sweet. Her name was Mei Lee. She says she attends a Christian church but is also Buddhist. She said they are very kind to her.

Hubby  got his shoes on and took her to her brothers house. They stopped by to get her stuff at this family's house and picked up her things. They were out on the porch. He then took her to her brothers and he was grateful Hubby had brought her.

A friend who is a missionary IN Thailand happens to have an older Christian friend here near where we live who is FROM Thailand. We hope to connect them and maybe she can help Mei Lee. 

I felt humbled because she told us she sees us outdoors when she goes walking and felt safe coming to our door! What a God thing...  Pray that if we have contact with her again we can minister to her more if needed.

When things like this happen....I am in awe that God chose us to help....his followers who are completely broken and spilled out...

Pro Life

from an article written by Wade Burleson (pastor Emmauel Baptist Church, Enid, OK)
"We Christians are "pro-life-that is-we believe in the sacredness of every human life. Our pro life arguments however, ring hollow when we remove churches from inner city neighborhoods where our presence could help those with poor quality of life; when we leave our states backlogged with tens of thousands of foster children on the rolls, forcing states to often give multiple foster children...;and when we do little or nothing for those lives that are trapped in hospitals and prisons... The blessings of a culture and community might soar more when God's people put more money, more focus and more energy into caring for the lives that are already here..."

I am proudly Pro Life. I though must clearly state that I am fully pro-life. What I see in scripture is that I must believe that ALL life is sacred to God....no matter what your actions have been. God longs for ALL people to know Him intimately and no person is less in His eyes than the other. Those who are already here are JUST AS IMPORTANT as those who are not yet born.

My prayer is that all my friends who call themselves Pro Life will take a stand for ALL LIFE. No one deserves death. Everyone deserves dignity and respect as everyone is God's creation. When we disrespect another human beings life...we are disrespecting the Creator of that life.

Just my thoughts today.

Invite the Uninvited.......

From a newsletter article I wrote back in Fall 2009.

     As I scanned the local newspaper yesterday, there were several articles that jumped out. One was an article on elder abuse, another on the problem of prostitution, another about the angst of finding a new school superintendent to come in and solve all the problems of public school education in our city. There were also the other typical articles we see often …crime, taxes, legislation. These problems could become overwhelming to those of us who are believers and it would be easy to skim the article and not think very much about it. The social problems here tend to make us feel helpless, like a turtle wanting to retreat into its shell and wait for Jesus to come back. Like it or not, for now, Jesus is keeping us here. I believe He is doing that for a purpose. All through the Bible, we hear about reaching the poor, healing the brokenhearted and feeding the hungry. I could write a list of scripture that would be a mile long. We read it, we know what the Bible says we are to do…..so are we?

    I was at my former church in New York City this past Sunday celebrating the end of 20+ years of fundraising to pay for a building that has become the center of activity for the neighborhood. There are adult literacy classes, job training, children’s tutoring clubs and many other things that have made an impact on the neighborhood and the city. They have gone on to help start new churches in the city and will continue on until the Lord’s return. The one underlying theme for everything that they do is this…. “Invite the Uninvited,” based on Luke 14:13-14 where Jesus talked about inviting those who you would not normally invite to your table….those who can’t repay you for your service to them.

    I sat in this celebration service and wondered about we Christians...here..in our city. Do we, as believers in Jesus, invite the uninvited? Could that mean our churches too? Do we pursue the “uninvited,” the “unclean” to be with us at our table? We can take that both literally and figuratively because in all that we do, according to scripture, we are to reach out to those who are not necessarily the best dressed, the best athlete, the best academic or the cleanest. Jesus said basically that it is really easy to invite your friends, colleagues and neighbors who are pleasant and can give back. It is very hard to sit with someone who has no table manners, who may smell funny or not know about the latest plummet in the stock market. Someone who can’t give back what you gave them.

Jesus says ….do the hard thing…invite the uninvited to your table. You will be repaid far more than pleasantries. You will see that reward on the day of his return! A beautiful blessing is in store for you. Try it…you may just be pleasantly surprised at what happens...to you!!

Life Abundant

I had just been at my son's school. The teacher I was consulting with that day got an email while I was there telling  him that someone close to where he lives house had caught fire. It was a street where some of the kids from our church lived so I hopped right over to see if it was their home. I had hoped not...they had had so many struggles and this would just add to it! It wasn't.

I stopped to talk to the firemen(all firemen have been special to me since living in NYC during 9-11-01). I had asked if the chaplain had been there and they said yes. I asked if the occupants were ok and they said that no one had been at home but that the grandma was sitting in the yard.

I approached her and she was crying...holding her grandson in her arms. Her daughter had left something burning on the stove. Her daughter had some mental challenges but was independent. Grandma was desperate. She had over and over again tried to teach her daughter some safety rules. Daughter didn't get it. Everything now was destroyed.

What to do?  I ended up referring her to one of our ministry centers in town and she will be able to restock her clothes and furniture eventually. Someone at the center reached out to her, prayed with her and sent her to where she is staying with clothes, food and hope! She will be followed up with a pastoral visit and hopefully connect with a particular church in that neighborhood.
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I have often struggled with the line between enabling/ rescuing people.  Because of that struggle, I have used scripture as my model. I have noticed as I have read that every time Jesus helped someone, He EMPOWERED them! He didn't just give them something physical. He gave them spiritual, physical and emotional empowerment.  He even said in John 10:10..." I have come that you may have life and have it abundantly."  In Christs' teachings, "abundant life" has a deeper meaning than just the physical. It is talking about experiencing Christ to the fullest...to be content, to be at peace.  I have experienced that over the last 37 years of my life.

Each day I pray that I will be able to offer the hope of the abundant life of Christ. I have certainly seen it in my own life....and know it is true!

Pray for K as she rebuilds her life. Pray that she will find HOPE in Christ through the tragedy that she has experienced.

Lisa