It was bound to happen sooner or later because I travel so much for work. I got stuck in New York City due to a major winter storm at the end of February. Hundreds of flights were cancelled coming into and going out of the New York area airports. Thousands of people were stranded for two days. I was just one of them.
On day two of the storm, I was just one of hundreds in Terminal A, waiting 12 or so hours for a flight out with one airline. The experience was being repeated all over the New York area airports in every terminal.
We fought the weather and the weather won. We just had to wait it out.
You know the saying “misery loves company?” It is a mean kind of comment, implying that if you are miserable, you want others to suffer too. It can, unfortunately, be true of we faulted humans.
But sometimes it applies only because you already are suffering together and you want to acknowledge it – here is something we are sharing, a story we have in common. That is how it felt at La Guardia on that weather-bound day. All of us were tired. All of us were looking for electrical outlets so we can call, text and e-mail the outside world. We were trying to nap in uncomfortable chairs or standing in line for coffee to wake us up.
In the end, we went our separate ways, but for that day we were comrades in the fight to have a meaningful day in spite of it all. We talked to each other when under normal circumstances we would not. We gathered news of flights coming in or getting out and shared the hope and joy it brought.
Jesus came to the earth and took on the experience of being human – of getting hungry and tired, of sweating, bleeding, laughing and crying, of living in a body that decays and of being hurt by the ones you love. While here on earth, He prayed to the Father in solitude and worshipped with brethren. He worked with His hands six days and ceased His physical labor on the Sabbath. And He faced His own mortal death, as we all will, and experienced resurrection to eternal life, as we have to potential to do as well.
Because of that, He knows what we are going through. He has been through it. Hebrews 4:15 says, “For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the felling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.”
Although he now resides at the right hand of the Father, when life trials and troubles come – things like lost jobs, betrayal, terrible illness and the death of loved ones – we know that He is still with us, sharing our suffering, dwelling in us and helping us work through it, if we are Christians.
Misery needs company if we are to bear it, handle it properly, survive it and thrive in spite of it. God provided Jesus for that – our High Priest who shares in our sufferings.
He isn’t just sharing it theory. He has been there. He doesn’t just see our suffering. He shares it with us. If you are miserable and need company through it, you can find that in Jesus. What a fantastic plan. Jesus is our comrade in our daily fight -- even if we are just losing a battle with the weather.
Love,
Nancy
Saturday, February 27, 2010
Saturday, February 13, 2010
IDENTITY CRISIS
In the musical “Jesus Christ, Superstar” the character of Mary Magdalene asks Jesus, “Do you think you’re who they say you are?” You can’t find that anywhere in the scriptures. However, Jesus actually asked His disciples who the people said He was and who they thought He was. Although there were several theories out in the community, those closest to Jesus were able to identify Him as the Messiah, the Son of God.
Do you look the same up close as you do from a distance? Who are you, really?
With the 2010 Winter Olympics just beginning in Vancouver, I was reminded of an article I’d read in the New York Times several months ago that had me thinking about identity. The article was about a recent case of the South African runner, Caster Semenya, who competes as a woman but whose gender identity is somewhat blurred. The article explained that once drugs were ruled out (steroid-driven performance enhancements are often the culprit in these cases) the discovery process is very thorough and intimately invasive. It involves checking everything from organs to chromosomes.
How easy is it to tell who YOU really are? Is your Christian conviction apparent in everything you do and say?
In the movie “Alice in Wonderland,” the Cheshire Cat asks Alice repeatedly, “who are you?” I always assumed the cat was not getting the answer he expected, which is why he kept asking, “WHO are you?” “Who ARE you?” “Who are YOU?”
Although you might be many things and play many roles in this life - a parent to your child and a child to your parents, a sibling, an employee, an athlete or a couch potato, and more - the answer to who you are across all those roles should always be “a Christian.”
In every aspect of your life, all indicators should point to the fact that you are an ardent follower of Jesus. If there is any nook or cranny of your life or behavior not in sync with that, then people are going to wonder “is she/he really a Christian? Are you really who you say you are?”
The people whose lives you interact with on a daily basis should not have to undertake a difficult and thorough search to figure that out. It should be what enters the room before you and exits after you – like the Cheshire Cat’s smile.
Do you, does your life, reflect who you say you are?
Do you look the same up close as you do from a distance? Who are you, really?
With the 2010 Winter Olympics just beginning in Vancouver, I was reminded of an article I’d read in the New York Times several months ago that had me thinking about identity. The article was about a recent case of the South African runner, Caster Semenya, who competes as a woman but whose gender identity is somewhat blurred. The article explained that once drugs were ruled out (steroid-driven performance enhancements are often the culprit in these cases) the discovery process is very thorough and intimately invasive. It involves checking everything from organs to chromosomes.
How easy is it to tell who YOU really are? Is your Christian conviction apparent in everything you do and say?
In the movie “Alice in Wonderland,” the Cheshire Cat asks Alice repeatedly, “who are you?” I always assumed the cat was not getting the answer he expected, which is why he kept asking, “WHO are you?” “Who ARE you?” “Who are YOU?”
Although you might be many things and play many roles in this life - a parent to your child and a child to your parents, a sibling, an employee, an athlete or a couch potato, and more - the answer to who you are across all those roles should always be “a Christian.”
In every aspect of your life, all indicators should point to the fact that you are an ardent follower of Jesus. If there is any nook or cranny of your life or behavior not in sync with that, then people are going to wonder “is she/he really a Christian? Are you really who you say you are?”
The people whose lives you interact with on a daily basis should not have to undertake a difficult and thorough search to figure that out. It should be what enters the room before you and exits after you – like the Cheshire Cat’s smile.
Do you, does your life, reflect who you say you are?
Friday, January 1, 2010
HAPPY NEW YOU!
It’s a brand new year and a brand new decade. Doesn’t seem that long ago that we began a brand new century, nervously watching lest our world fall apart due to short-sighted programming code for dates. In the last 10 years we survived the 9/11 terrorist attacks, a major recession, presidential campaigns, war, Bird Flu, Swine Flu, and scores of personal tragedies, like broken marriages, the death of a loved one, loss of a job, that plague the human race every day.
It is a time when many who celebrate the calendar change make resolutions to be thinner or smarter, to get more organized, to be less stressed, to save money, to drink less, to give more, and so on. New Year’s resolutions fail more than they succeed. But people will try again next year. On 12/31/10 at 11:59 p.m., they’ll be firmly committed to fresh start with a brand new year.
Luckily, as a Christian, I know that I can have a fresh start every single day. Each morning when I wake up, it is a new chance to be better than I was the day before. I can be a bigger person today. I can reunite with a lost friend. I can reconcile with a brother. I can give more. I can worry less. And if at the end of the day I find that today has not turned out to be my best day yet -- if I have fallen on my face again – if I have broken my resolutions before my morning coffee got cold -- I can start again tomorrow.
If I sin today, forgiveness awaits. If I accept it, I start with a fresh slate. I don’t even have to wait for tomorrow. Because God’ forgiveness is always there for me, I can confess my sin, repent, and start fresh with God at any moment, completely untainted by the failure of the moment before.
Psalm 51, especially verses 7-13, show the path of a sinner, through repentance to restoration – renewed to snow white purity by the forgiveness of God and reconciliation by the blood of Jesus – right then and there. Because God renews us, WE are new every day. Praise God that each day is a new opportunity in Him.
With His forgiveness and the support of the Holy Spirit within us, let’s start each day with new resolve and celebrate it as a fresh, new start to a better tomorrow. Nah, don’t wait for the new day, start each moment new in Him.
With that thought in mind, I say, Happy New Minute AND Happy New You!
Love, Nancy
It is a time when many who celebrate the calendar change make resolutions to be thinner or smarter, to get more organized, to be less stressed, to save money, to drink less, to give more, and so on. New Year’s resolutions fail more than they succeed. But people will try again next year. On 12/31/10 at 11:59 p.m., they’ll be firmly committed to fresh start with a brand new year.
Luckily, as a Christian, I know that I can have a fresh start every single day. Each morning when I wake up, it is a new chance to be better than I was the day before. I can be a bigger person today. I can reunite with a lost friend. I can reconcile with a brother. I can give more. I can worry less. And if at the end of the day I find that today has not turned out to be my best day yet -- if I have fallen on my face again – if I have broken my resolutions before my morning coffee got cold -- I can start again tomorrow.
If I sin today, forgiveness awaits. If I accept it, I start with a fresh slate. I don’t even have to wait for tomorrow. Because God’ forgiveness is always there for me, I can confess my sin, repent, and start fresh with God at any moment, completely untainted by the failure of the moment before.
Psalm 51, especially verses 7-13, show the path of a sinner, through repentance to restoration – renewed to snow white purity by the forgiveness of God and reconciliation by the blood of Jesus – right then and there. Because God renews us, WE are new every day. Praise God that each day is a new opportunity in Him.
With His forgiveness and the support of the Holy Spirit within us, let’s start each day with new resolve and celebrate it as a fresh, new start to a better tomorrow. Nah, don’t wait for the new day, start each moment new in Him.
With that thought in mind, I say, Happy New Minute AND Happy New You!
Love, Nancy
Monday, June 29, 2009
THE KING IS DEAD. LONG LIVE THE KING!
Michael Jackson, the king of pop, is dead at 50. Whatever the autopsy finds, Jackson died a victim of his own insecurities, obsessions and phobias. Mutilated by surgeries of choice gone wrong, Jackson lived his last decade or more in constant pain created by his desire to end some internal pain on the inside by recreating the arrangement of his outside.
Jackson died in debt to the tune of $400,000,000. The good news is that sales of Michael’s records and Michael Jackson memorabilia skyrocketed the minute his death was confirmed. With every radio station playing Jackson tunes and many TV channels running videos, retrospectives, interviews with friends and movies about the family, money is pouring into the Michael Jackson Corporation.
Without Jackson around to spend the money that debt could be cleared in days. Ironic, but good news for Jackson’s three children, who won’t be saddled with debt – in addition to the strange legacy of their father. Of course, the custody battle could be epic.
Michael Jackson made and spent billions when he was alive. But Jackson left something lasting behind – both in his work and in the contributions he made to pop culture for at least four decades.
Maybe because I am the same age as Michael Jackson – maybe because I listened to his music for the last 40 years – maybe because I wish I still had that Off The Wall LP record I gave to good will 10 or so years ago – the death of Michael Jackson – icon, father, train wreck – has me thinking about living beyond the three score and ten years God give us.
The best news of all at a time like this isn’t that Jackson’s work will live on, but that this is not the end for Michael or you or me. There is a future, after death. This temporary life is just that – temporary – but it is only the beginning. God promises to give His children eternal life in His everlasting kingdom.
Even better news is that this eternal life promised to us is one without pain or sorrow, without abusive parents and low self-esteem, without money woes and misguided body image. Eternal life in God’s kingdom begins with this phrase record in advance for us in Revelation 21:4: “And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying; neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.” Yeah!
Of course, the process to that eternal reward starts now for the body of believers. Right now, we are learning, training, growing toward that incredible, eternal future. For those who hear and obey now, life as a spirit being will start just that much earlier. It will start with helping others to understand what they lived this physical life without comprehending. You see, knowing God exists, believing that Jesus died for our sins – these things represent only the start of all God has to teach us – just like THIS life is only the start of what awaits us.
Jackson will live on for decades, much like Elvis, in the music he created and the children he fathered.
Jesus Christ – the true King – lived a life as a human being and died for our sins centuries ago. He was resurrected and sits on the right hand of the Father right now. He is anxiously awaiting the opportunity to return to the earth and set up the Father’s kingdom. He is our King of Kings and Lord of Lords.
The (real) King WAS dead. Long live the King! (He does and we can too.)
Love, Nancy.
Jackson died in debt to the tune of $400,000,000. The good news is that sales of Michael’s records and Michael Jackson memorabilia skyrocketed the minute his death was confirmed. With every radio station playing Jackson tunes and many TV channels running videos, retrospectives, interviews with friends and movies about the family, money is pouring into the Michael Jackson Corporation.
Without Jackson around to spend the money that debt could be cleared in days. Ironic, but good news for Jackson’s three children, who won’t be saddled with debt – in addition to the strange legacy of their father. Of course, the custody battle could be epic.
Michael Jackson made and spent billions when he was alive. But Jackson left something lasting behind – both in his work and in the contributions he made to pop culture for at least four decades.
Maybe because I am the same age as Michael Jackson – maybe because I listened to his music for the last 40 years – maybe because I wish I still had that Off The Wall LP record I gave to good will 10 or so years ago – the death of Michael Jackson – icon, father, train wreck – has me thinking about living beyond the three score and ten years God give us.
The best news of all at a time like this isn’t that Jackson’s work will live on, but that this is not the end for Michael or you or me. There is a future, after death. This temporary life is just that – temporary – but it is only the beginning. God promises to give His children eternal life in His everlasting kingdom.
Even better news is that this eternal life promised to us is one without pain or sorrow, without abusive parents and low self-esteem, without money woes and misguided body image. Eternal life in God’s kingdom begins with this phrase record in advance for us in Revelation 21:4: “And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying; neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.” Yeah!
Of course, the process to that eternal reward starts now for the body of believers. Right now, we are learning, training, growing toward that incredible, eternal future. For those who hear and obey now, life as a spirit being will start just that much earlier. It will start with helping others to understand what they lived this physical life without comprehending. You see, knowing God exists, believing that Jesus died for our sins – these things represent only the start of all God has to teach us – just like THIS life is only the start of what awaits us.
Jackson will live on for decades, much like Elvis, in the music he created and the children he fathered.
Jesus Christ – the true King – lived a life as a human being and died for our sins centuries ago. He was resurrected and sits on the right hand of the Father right now. He is anxiously awaiting the opportunity to return to the earth and set up the Father’s kingdom. He is our King of Kings and Lord of Lords.
The (real) King WAS dead. Long live the King! (He does and we can too.)
Love, Nancy.
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
YOU JUST DON’T UNDERSTAND
Early in his career, Will Smith, the actor/father/singer, was just Will Smith, rapper, and he had a song called “Parents Just Don’t Understand.” It was a comic look at the decisions that parents make (mild things like discount, un-cool clothes) that cause teenagers to groan. No, parents don’t always understand what is important to our children (especially when it comes to fashion); but the reverse is even more true – children do not understand the decisions parents make. How can they? Until you’ve had children of your own, you just cannot understand the concern, responsibility and love that go into parenting.
Is it any wonder that we (the children of God) cannot understand God and the decisions He makes?
I’m reading The Shack by Wm. Paul Young. Seems like on every trip I take these days, I’ll see one or two people reading it. It is Young’s attempt, through a fantasy encounter between God and Mack (the father of a murdered child), to explain the nature of God’s love for us and the decisions He makes. I’m not finished the book; but, while I completely disagree with Young’s Trinitarian view of the nature of God, I’m finding quite a few thought-provoking nuggets.
The fact of the matter is that we are not going to understand God while we are still human. We can’t. Our minds just don’t stretch that far. But the joy, the peace and the life come in trying, and in gaining ground through the effort.
If you read about George Washington, you learn about him. If President Washington could appear in your home and be interviewed by you, you would gain insights that just reading about him could not provide. If you could go back into Washington’s time, experience what his life was like – the culture and climate of his time, you’d be able to understand him even better. But, if, somehow, you could get into Washington’s head, hear the thoughts, work through the issues and decisions, feel the exhilaration and the pain -- if you could actually somehow live through a portion of Washington’s life in the person of the man himself – think of the kinds of insights you’d get! Did his wooden teeth cause blisters on his gums? Did he really love Martha? How did he feel about his role in the birth of this nation? Did he ever despair of it coming together? What was going through his head as he snuck across the Potomac River? You get the point.
The process is the similar in our efforts to get to know God. We read about God in His word –The Bible. We talk to (interview) others about God’s interaction in their lives through fellowship and it expands our understanding. We interview God in prayer. But if we could live as God…
We can’t, of course, get inside God’s head exactly. He tells us that our thoughts are not His thoughts. BUT, He can get inside us through the Holy Spirit. To the extent that the Holy Spirit lives in us we can begin to better understand God and the decisions He makes. We can expand our comprehension of His eternal, all-encompassing, unfathomable love.
The Bible explains that we “see through a glass darkly” now. We will see more clearly at Christ’s return, when the Kingdom of God inhabits the earth. It inhabits us now by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.
Little by little, more and more each day as we get and stay connected to God and Christ through the Holy Spirit, we can grow in understanding. For now, God must sometimes look at us, shake His head and say, “my children just don’t understand.” We don’t. However, we should keep trying.
Pentecost is less than a week away. It pictures the giving of the Holy Spirit to the New Testament church. Let’s all spend the week asking for more of God in us, so that we can better understand our incomprehensible Father.
Love, Nancy.
Is it any wonder that we (the children of God) cannot understand God and the decisions He makes?
I’m reading The Shack by Wm. Paul Young. Seems like on every trip I take these days, I’ll see one or two people reading it. It is Young’s attempt, through a fantasy encounter between God and Mack (the father of a murdered child), to explain the nature of God’s love for us and the decisions He makes. I’m not finished the book; but, while I completely disagree with Young’s Trinitarian view of the nature of God, I’m finding quite a few thought-provoking nuggets.
The fact of the matter is that we are not going to understand God while we are still human. We can’t. Our minds just don’t stretch that far. But the joy, the peace and the life come in trying, and in gaining ground through the effort.
If you read about George Washington, you learn about him. If President Washington could appear in your home and be interviewed by you, you would gain insights that just reading about him could not provide. If you could go back into Washington’s time, experience what his life was like – the culture and climate of his time, you’d be able to understand him even better. But, if, somehow, you could get into Washington’s head, hear the thoughts, work through the issues and decisions, feel the exhilaration and the pain -- if you could actually somehow live through a portion of Washington’s life in the person of the man himself – think of the kinds of insights you’d get! Did his wooden teeth cause blisters on his gums? Did he really love Martha? How did he feel about his role in the birth of this nation? Did he ever despair of it coming together? What was going through his head as he snuck across the Potomac River? You get the point.
The process is the similar in our efforts to get to know God. We read about God in His word –The Bible. We talk to (interview) others about God’s interaction in their lives through fellowship and it expands our understanding. We interview God in prayer. But if we could live as God…
We can’t, of course, get inside God’s head exactly. He tells us that our thoughts are not His thoughts. BUT, He can get inside us through the Holy Spirit. To the extent that the Holy Spirit lives in us we can begin to better understand God and the decisions He makes. We can expand our comprehension of His eternal, all-encompassing, unfathomable love.
The Bible explains that we “see through a glass darkly” now. We will see more clearly at Christ’s return, when the Kingdom of God inhabits the earth. It inhabits us now by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.
Little by little, more and more each day as we get and stay connected to God and Christ through the Holy Spirit, we can grow in understanding. For now, God must sometimes look at us, shake His head and say, “my children just don’t understand.” We don’t. However, we should keep trying.
Pentecost is less than a week away. It pictures the giving of the Holy Spirit to the New Testament church. Let’s all spend the week asking for more of God in us, so that we can better understand our incomprehensible Father.
Love, Nancy.
Sunday, May 17, 2009
GRANDE, NO WHIP, TRIPLE SHOT, SKINNY, NO FOAM, EXTRA HOT, SOY…
Yep, I’m THAT person – the one who takes ten words to describe my drink choice at Starbucks. The franchise is struggling and the lines do seem shorter in the airport cafes, but that means I don’t have to wait so long for my venti, triple shot, skinny, cinnamon dolce latte or sugar-free, skinny, venti, London Fog. But, hey, at Starbucks it is all about ME – my particular cravings, likes, wants. I have my own, personal coffee niche.
But what I wonder is: has the independent church of God movement turned into a niche market church culture? Is church the way I want it, when I want it, with only the music I like and the types of sermons that interest me, really the right next step in church evolution? (Or is it church creation?)
When did church cease to be about fellowship with like-minded people (not exact same minded people) and worshipping God together and become just another thing we special order? How can this happen?
My personal opinion, which, if you couple with $4.50 will get you a latte at Starbucks, is that this occurs because we don’t drink enough coffee together – figuratively speaking.
When was the last time you got an invitation to the HOME of a fellow believer? Potlucks at church do not count. Going out to dinner does not count. Talking on the phone does not count.
Nothing, I mean, nothing at all, compares with getting together in your home (or theirs) with brethren. Don’t even try to tell me you keep in touch with blogs, Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn, etc…
When you have people over to your home (or go to their home) for coffee, dessert, breakfast, lunch or dinner, it creates an entirely different atmosphere for conversation. In a setting where you don’t have to leave until you are so sleepy you are afraid to drive home and no waiter will be pestering you about the check or a refill on tea when you are making an impassioned point, true connection occurs. You can cry openly, laugh without being shushed, kick off your shoes, and toss aside your reservations.
Maybe it is because having people over to your home, were you stuffed things under the bed and into closets at the last minute in preparation for the visit – where a guest could open the medicine cabinet and find out that you have athlete’s foot or toe fungus treatments – where someone could notice (gasp) that you haven’t dusted the mini-blinds lately – is already a act of trust.
I’ve gotten away from that. I’m busy. I travel a lot for work. My house is small, cramped. I don’t dust as often as I should. The yard needs mowing because it has been raining so much. I could go on. You probably have reasons of your own.
I believe that the connections forged by gathering in the privacy, the intimacy, of home, will help us get back to the focus of worshipping, studying, learning, in a spirit of togetherness at church. I believe it will help us pray more intimately for each other. You might actually pray right then and there, in your home, at the moment your guest brings up a need. I bet you wouldn’t do that at a restaurant. I believe it allows us to open up and confess our sins to one-another.
So, I encourage us all to lay aside any excuses and take the plunge – invite someone over to your home this week. Leave all the bedrooms messy and just close the doors. Shove stuff under the kitchen sink. Clean only one bathroom (so the guests can us it). It is okay to start small. Just serve coffee or water.
After all, unlike a custom Starbucks drink, it is about you. It isn’t about the food, the dust bunnies or the state of the yard. It’s about getting back to a sense of “us.”
Love, Nancy
But what I wonder is: has the independent church of God movement turned into a niche market church culture? Is church the way I want it, when I want it, with only the music I like and the types of sermons that interest me, really the right next step in church evolution? (Or is it church creation?)
When did church cease to be about fellowship with like-minded people (not exact same minded people) and worshipping God together and become just another thing we special order? How can this happen?
My personal opinion, which, if you couple with $4.50 will get you a latte at Starbucks, is that this occurs because we don’t drink enough coffee together – figuratively speaking.
When was the last time you got an invitation to the HOME of a fellow believer? Potlucks at church do not count. Going out to dinner does not count. Talking on the phone does not count.
Nothing, I mean, nothing at all, compares with getting together in your home (or theirs) with brethren. Don’t even try to tell me you keep in touch with blogs, Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn, etc…
When you have people over to your home (or go to their home) for coffee, dessert, breakfast, lunch or dinner, it creates an entirely different atmosphere for conversation. In a setting where you don’t have to leave until you are so sleepy you are afraid to drive home and no waiter will be pestering you about the check or a refill on tea when you are making an impassioned point, true connection occurs. You can cry openly, laugh without being shushed, kick off your shoes, and toss aside your reservations.
Maybe it is because having people over to your home, were you stuffed things under the bed and into closets at the last minute in preparation for the visit – where a guest could open the medicine cabinet and find out that you have athlete’s foot or toe fungus treatments – where someone could notice (gasp) that you haven’t dusted the mini-blinds lately – is already a act of trust.
I’ve gotten away from that. I’m busy. I travel a lot for work. My house is small, cramped. I don’t dust as often as I should. The yard needs mowing because it has been raining so much. I could go on. You probably have reasons of your own.
I believe that the connections forged by gathering in the privacy, the intimacy, of home, will help us get back to the focus of worshipping, studying, learning, in a spirit of togetherness at church. I believe it will help us pray more intimately for each other. You might actually pray right then and there, in your home, at the moment your guest brings up a need. I bet you wouldn’t do that at a restaurant. I believe it allows us to open up and confess our sins to one-another.
So, I encourage us all to lay aside any excuses and take the plunge – invite someone over to your home this week. Leave all the bedrooms messy and just close the doors. Shove stuff under the kitchen sink. Clean only one bathroom (so the guests can us it). It is okay to start small. Just serve coffee or water.
After all, unlike a custom Starbucks drink, it is about you. It isn’t about the food, the dust bunnies or the state of the yard. It’s about getting back to a sense of “us.”
Love, Nancy
Monday, May 4, 2009
POT LUCK CHURCH OF GOD
I’ve mentioned many times in my blogs that I work in an industry that supports magazine publishers and that publishers are in trouble. This week, in a publishing-industry e-newsletter, I found a quote about why magazines are failing that I think applies to the current struggles of many churches.
In explaining why a particular magazine failed, an industry leader said that the title “never had a chance” to succeed, because of where it started – New York City. (Most magazine publishers have their home offices in New York City.)
He explained, "Somehow, for all sorts of reasons, there has grown up in Manhattan, in media, finance and culture--and in what passes for "society"--a narrow establishment so ingrown, so inward-looking, so self-congratulatory, so self-regarding, so gossip-fixated and so all-in-all provincial that it would take the imagination of a Balzac or Flaubert to get it right.” (Emphasis mine.)
It strikes me that this is a very real problem with many church groups today. Look around you next Sabbath. What is the average tenure of your group? Are there any new people? When was the last time a new person walked in your doors – not a visitor from another Sabbath-keeping church, not someone who’d moved back into the area, not a former believer who shows up at Passover time – but a really, truly NEW convert?
You know what the answer should be. Welcoming new people should be a routine fact. And if it is not, then ask yourself if any or (gasp) all of the points above apply to your group. Some of the purpose of the church is to feed the flock, no doubt about it. You can’t maintain a healthy congregation and you certainly can’t grow one if you are only looking outward for new converts. But I can’t say that I know of a single group that has that problem.
When asked what New York publishing is all about, this same industry leader replied: "Lunch.” Is your church guilty of being more about pot luck meals than anything else? Do you attend one of the many “Pot Luck Churches of God?” Now, I love a good potluck meal, don’t get me wrong. There is nothing wrong with pot luck meals. So, please bear with me while I explain further.
Is your church more focused on internal programs – more focused on getting together and visiting among yourselves – than it is focused on outreach? Is attending your group too much about lunch – too ingrown and inward-looking? Is your group so self-regarding that it can’t move beyond licking its wounds to salving the wounds of the sick and hurting society around us?
What exactly is the risk of this “all-in-all provincial” behavior?
The industry leader’s final shot is this: “At the risk of being called a bad guy, let me just say that I have long thought that a shoulder-fired missile dispatched into any or all of those (lunch) establishments of a weekday lunchtime would do as much to advance the quality and decency of Western civilization as any other act I can imagine."
God is patient beyond what we as humans can even understand. But He will not continue to “beat a dead horse” forever. He won’t sit by forever while we “do lunch” – while we pot luck ourselves to stagnation. He has been known to wipe the slate clean and start over.
Any group can be tempted to spend too much time internally focused. It feels warm and fuzzy to hug the same people every Sabbath – like a family reunion. But that is not the entire purpose of Christian congregations.
But we can’t allow ourselves to get so stuck in that rut that we make it look good to God to wipe out the (church, fellowship, Bible Study, meeting) group and start over – the way He did with the Noachian flood – the way He offered to do with Israel, beginning again with Moses. Get outside yourself. If your group won’t do it, then YOU do it by whatever means you can.
If you put forth the effort, God will bless it. Then, maybe at the next pot luck you will at least have some new dishes on the menu – brought by the new members of your group.
Love,
Nancy
In explaining why a particular magazine failed, an industry leader said that the title “never had a chance” to succeed, because of where it started – New York City. (Most magazine publishers have their home offices in New York City.)
He explained, "Somehow, for all sorts of reasons, there has grown up in Manhattan, in media, finance and culture--and in what passes for "society"--a narrow establishment so ingrown, so inward-looking, so self-congratulatory, so self-regarding, so gossip-fixated and so all-in-all provincial that it would take the imagination of a Balzac or Flaubert to get it right.” (Emphasis mine.)
It strikes me that this is a very real problem with many church groups today. Look around you next Sabbath. What is the average tenure of your group? Are there any new people? When was the last time a new person walked in your doors – not a visitor from another Sabbath-keeping church, not someone who’d moved back into the area, not a former believer who shows up at Passover time – but a really, truly NEW convert?
You know what the answer should be. Welcoming new people should be a routine fact. And if it is not, then ask yourself if any or (gasp) all of the points above apply to your group. Some of the purpose of the church is to feed the flock, no doubt about it. You can’t maintain a healthy congregation and you certainly can’t grow one if you are only looking outward for new converts. But I can’t say that I know of a single group that has that problem.
When asked what New York publishing is all about, this same industry leader replied: "Lunch.” Is your church guilty of being more about pot luck meals than anything else? Do you attend one of the many “Pot Luck Churches of God?” Now, I love a good potluck meal, don’t get me wrong. There is nothing wrong with pot luck meals. So, please bear with me while I explain further.
Is your church more focused on internal programs – more focused on getting together and visiting among yourselves – than it is focused on outreach? Is attending your group too much about lunch – too ingrown and inward-looking? Is your group so self-regarding that it can’t move beyond licking its wounds to salving the wounds of the sick and hurting society around us?
What exactly is the risk of this “all-in-all provincial” behavior?
The industry leader’s final shot is this: “At the risk of being called a bad guy, let me just say that I have long thought that a shoulder-fired missile dispatched into any or all of those (lunch) establishments of a weekday lunchtime would do as much to advance the quality and decency of Western civilization as any other act I can imagine."
God is patient beyond what we as humans can even understand. But He will not continue to “beat a dead horse” forever. He won’t sit by forever while we “do lunch” – while we pot luck ourselves to stagnation. He has been known to wipe the slate clean and start over.
Any group can be tempted to spend too much time internally focused. It feels warm and fuzzy to hug the same people every Sabbath – like a family reunion. But that is not the entire purpose of Christian congregations.
But we can’t allow ourselves to get so stuck in that rut that we make it look good to God to wipe out the (church, fellowship, Bible Study, meeting) group and start over – the way He did with the Noachian flood – the way He offered to do with Israel, beginning again with Moses. Get outside yourself. If your group won’t do it, then YOU do it by whatever means you can.
If you put forth the effort, God will bless it. Then, maybe at the next pot luck you will at least have some new dishes on the menu – brought by the new members of your group.
Love,
Nancy
Saturday, April 25, 2009
UNPLUGGED OR UNHINGED!
Does anyone else feel overwhelmed with the job of reporting on every second of your life or is it just me? I’ve got FaceBooks, MySpaces, LinkendIns, Twitters and Blogs – not just one, but multiple accounts for most of them – personal, DCM and work. I tweet. I blog. I post. I can’t keep up with all the telling of all the things I’m supposed to be telling or reading about all the people I’m “connected to” on all the places we are connected.
I’ve got calls to make, thank you notes to write, introductory letters, you name it – if it is a way of communicating, I owe someone a reply using that method. If I could, I would hire a full time assistant to take care of keeping the world at large informed of my every thought, deed or feeling.
With all the communication media needing to be feed – and often – is it any wonder I feel like yelling “leave me alone!”? Sometimes I feel like if I don’t get unplugged I’m going to come unhinged!
There is no doubt in my mind that we (meaning Americans in general) are over connected to non-living things – our Blackberries, cell phones, computers and various social networking accounts. In the publishing industry discussing how to use social networking to gain business is the hot topic.
As Christians, we’d all do well to remember that there is only one source of power we really need. That source is God. He gives us the Holy Spirit. It is our direct cord to His power.
Jesus set an example of “unplugging” from the business of day-to-day life on the earth – and remember, He was in the business of spreading the Gospel – to plug into the source of all life, hope, power – well, the source of everything important – the Father – and to be refreshed and renewed.
Can any of us expect to have a quality Christian life on less that? So, today, I encourage you to unplug from everything that has a battery or electric cord and plug into our true source of power – God. Charge up on the Holy Spirit. The rest of the day will go much better.
I think I’m going to go now and take my own advice. Now, if I can just get Wes to stay of HIS laptop too….
Love, Nancy
I’ve got calls to make, thank you notes to write, introductory letters, you name it – if it is a way of communicating, I owe someone a reply using that method. If I could, I would hire a full time assistant to take care of keeping the world at large informed of my every thought, deed or feeling.
With all the communication media needing to be feed – and often – is it any wonder I feel like yelling “leave me alone!”? Sometimes I feel like if I don’t get unplugged I’m going to come unhinged!
There is no doubt in my mind that we (meaning Americans in general) are over connected to non-living things – our Blackberries, cell phones, computers and various social networking accounts. In the publishing industry discussing how to use social networking to gain business is the hot topic.
As Christians, we’d all do well to remember that there is only one source of power we really need. That source is God. He gives us the Holy Spirit. It is our direct cord to His power.
Jesus set an example of “unplugging” from the business of day-to-day life on the earth – and remember, He was in the business of spreading the Gospel – to plug into the source of all life, hope, power – well, the source of everything important – the Father – and to be refreshed and renewed.
Can any of us expect to have a quality Christian life on less that? So, today, I encourage you to unplug from everything that has a battery or electric cord and plug into our true source of power – God. Charge up on the Holy Spirit. The rest of the day will go much better.
I think I’m going to go now and take my own advice. Now, if I can just get Wes to stay of HIS laptop too….
Love, Nancy
Monday, April 20, 2009
PROXIMITY PART TWO
I love hugs from little kids. They hug with total abandon, squeeze as tight at they can and have no hang ups about what is or is not a respectable length of time to hold on. Much better than the kind of side-ways hook or butt out hugs we are forced to do as adults for the sake of propriety.
Ever pull back from a one of those little kid hugs only to realize that the remainder of the banana they’d been eating was now matted into the back of your hair? I have often regretted not checking those chubby little hands before letting them around my neck.
Last week we discussed the benefits of proximity to God. Now let’s tackle the benefits of proximity to other Christians and to the non-believers you hope to help. The saying goes that people don’t care what you know until they know that you care. It is an overused saying, but no less true for the ware. In order to facilitate any real change, you have to get close.
You can give money anonymously to a person or a cause, but the real work of a Christian is often down and dirty, personal and close. You may pray with a perfect stranger in a time of crisis in their life, but unless you really know someone, you aren’t going to know the situation well enough to give a prayer of real intervention and understanding. You won’t know that they are glossing over the pain or putting up a strong front when they are about to crumble. You won’t know if they are lying to themselves or you about the real truth of their needs. People sometimes need you to pray with them over things difficult to reveal – like a drug problem, an addiction to pornography, or marital difficulties. You need to be close and create a bridge of trust to get to that point.
I used to have a repairman that I trusted so much that I’d just call, tell him what was wrong and leave my door unlocked as I headed to work. I’d come home to find the item fixed and a few days later, he’d try to catch me at home to give me a bill. There was trust there. I trusted him not to steal my TV. He trusted me not to stiff him on the bill.
Apparently, he’d long ago given up deodorant – maybe even given up soap. I always knew when he was in my home, because hours later when I returned the smell of years of accumulated sweat, grime and garlic-infused meals hung in the air like the dust around Charlie Brown’s friend, Pig Pen.
Sometimes people smell bad. Sometimes they leave unpleasant things behind for us to deal with after they are gone. There is risk in getting close to people. But if we allow fear of these things to keep us from ever getting close to anyone again, how will we be able to really help, really encourage change, really grow with them, really show them God’s love?
God expects us to risk closeness to others for the sake of reflecting His light into their lives.
Getting close has probably caused you harm, pain, or trouble. Don’t give up. In the end, one saved brother is worth thousands of smashed bananas in your hair.
Love, Nancy
Ever pull back from a one of those little kid hugs only to realize that the remainder of the banana they’d been eating was now matted into the back of your hair? I have often regretted not checking those chubby little hands before letting them around my neck.
Last week we discussed the benefits of proximity to God. Now let’s tackle the benefits of proximity to other Christians and to the non-believers you hope to help. The saying goes that people don’t care what you know until they know that you care. It is an overused saying, but no less true for the ware. In order to facilitate any real change, you have to get close.
You can give money anonymously to a person or a cause, but the real work of a Christian is often down and dirty, personal and close. You may pray with a perfect stranger in a time of crisis in their life, but unless you really know someone, you aren’t going to know the situation well enough to give a prayer of real intervention and understanding. You won’t know that they are glossing over the pain or putting up a strong front when they are about to crumble. You won’t know if they are lying to themselves or you about the real truth of their needs. People sometimes need you to pray with them over things difficult to reveal – like a drug problem, an addiction to pornography, or marital difficulties. You need to be close and create a bridge of trust to get to that point.
I used to have a repairman that I trusted so much that I’d just call, tell him what was wrong and leave my door unlocked as I headed to work. I’d come home to find the item fixed and a few days later, he’d try to catch me at home to give me a bill. There was trust there. I trusted him not to steal my TV. He trusted me not to stiff him on the bill.
Apparently, he’d long ago given up deodorant – maybe even given up soap. I always knew when he was in my home, because hours later when I returned the smell of years of accumulated sweat, grime and garlic-infused meals hung in the air like the dust around Charlie Brown’s friend, Pig Pen.
Sometimes people smell bad. Sometimes they leave unpleasant things behind for us to deal with after they are gone. There is risk in getting close to people. But if we allow fear of these things to keep us from ever getting close to anyone again, how will we be able to really help, really encourage change, really grow with them, really show them God’s love?
God expects us to risk closeness to others for the sake of reflecting His light into their lives.
Getting close has probably caused you harm, pain, or trouble. Don’t give up. In the end, one saved brother is worth thousands of smashed bananas in your hair.
Love, Nancy
Sunday, April 12, 2009
THE BENEFITS OF PROXIMITY, Part One
The other day I was running errands for work – preparing for a visit from a potential client. I’m the sales person for this company, so everything about the visit of a potential client is my domain. I was waiting for 200 color copies to be run at Kinko’s and needed to pick up some items from a craft store. I planned to stop at a store I’d been to before on my way home; but, conveniently, there was one in the same shopping center as Kinko’s. The other craft store lost my business because there was one closer to Kinko’s. There was no other reason to shop at Store B instead of Store A. Both stores had what I needed. It all boiled down to proximity.
In the world of real estate the saying goes that there are three things to remember when buying – location, location, location. I take that to mean that the “where” of a place is as important as the place itself. Makes sense. For a business, the value of the business and its ability to thrive depend on where it is in relation to other thriving businesses.
So, what does this have to do with Christianity? Simply this: your value as a Christian and especially as a Christian leader is in your proximity to God. Your usefulness is directly related to your proximity to other Christians. I’ll address the first part this week and the second part next week.
God loves you. You are His child. As such, His love is unchangeable. That part of your value is unchangeable. I’m not talking about that. I’m speaking of the value you bring back to God. Does having you in His service bring God a two-fold, five-fold, ten-fold return? Or nothing at all?
God wants a return on His investment. He knows what talents He gave you. He also knows that He can’t use you unless you are close to Him. It boils down to proximity.
From the shadow of His wings, you are protected from the bumps and bruises that fighting the good fight brings. Fresh from conversation with Him, you can work smarter and not just harder in the daily fight to grow. Within the confines of His armor, Satan can’t get an arrow in edge-wise.
During this, the Passover season, while we remove the leaven of sin from our lives, and eat the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth, lets commit ourselves to staying close the to the Father in the year ahead. Let’s commit to a new year of closer proximity to Him – a closer walk each day – so that we can be used in His service.
Living a daily life nearer to the Father, the Spirit can flow freely from us and we can bring Him fruit – 20 fold, 60 fold or 100 fold. It all boils down to proximity.
Love, Nancy
In the world of real estate the saying goes that there are three things to remember when buying – location, location, location. I take that to mean that the “where” of a place is as important as the place itself. Makes sense. For a business, the value of the business and its ability to thrive depend on where it is in relation to other thriving businesses.
So, what does this have to do with Christianity? Simply this: your value as a Christian and especially as a Christian leader is in your proximity to God. Your usefulness is directly related to your proximity to other Christians. I’ll address the first part this week and the second part next week.
God loves you. You are His child. As such, His love is unchangeable. That part of your value is unchangeable. I’m not talking about that. I’m speaking of the value you bring back to God. Does having you in His service bring God a two-fold, five-fold, ten-fold return? Or nothing at all?
God wants a return on His investment. He knows what talents He gave you. He also knows that He can’t use you unless you are close to Him. It boils down to proximity.
From the shadow of His wings, you are protected from the bumps and bruises that fighting the good fight brings. Fresh from conversation with Him, you can work smarter and not just harder in the daily fight to grow. Within the confines of His armor, Satan can’t get an arrow in edge-wise.
During this, the Passover season, while we remove the leaven of sin from our lives, and eat the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth, lets commit ourselves to staying close the to the Father in the year ahead. Let’s commit to a new year of closer proximity to Him – a closer walk each day – so that we can be used in His service.
Living a daily life nearer to the Father, the Spirit can flow freely from us and we can bring Him fruit – 20 fold, 60 fold or 100 fold. It all boils down to proximity.
Love, Nancy
Saturday, March 28, 2009
IF YOU ARE STUPID...
My husband has many sayings – phrases or sentences – for which he is well known, for example: serious yellow, which I just taught to three rambunctious preteen boys. (It’ll have to be explained at a later time.) But the one that comes to mind today is “God will let you die if you are stupid.”
I’m thinking about it in relation to recent, tragic death from a head injury acquired in a skiing accident of the actress Natasha Richardson. She was relatively young (seen from my 50-year-old eyes anyway), beautiful, smart, talented, wealthy, athletic (or at least fit) and healthy. She died, when she could have survived, because she thought she was okay when she wasn’t.
Reports say that she turned away an ambulance, saying she was fine. Indeed, she felt fine and, for a while, acted just fine. But she was NOT okay. The trauma to the head was worse than she knew. A CT scan could have told that. The results of the injury worsened while giving no warning. If she was in the hospital under observation they might have caught the worsening symptoms. I grieve for any family experiencing the loss of a loved one.
The Spiritual lesson for Christians is that we cannot assume we are okay when, in fact, we are not. On our own we are NEVER okay. We need God to be okay. Without God, we are destined for death, we are lost, we are condemned, we are not okay. But we may not know it. Without God’s word, the Bible, we don’t know what sin is or even that we are sinners. Without the Holy Spirit we are not convicted of our sin (John 16:8). Without the sacrifice of Jesus, our sin cannot be removed (John 1:29) – we cannot be healed (Isaiah 53:5) – we cannot be restored to relationship with the Father – we cannot have life, let alone abundant life (John 10:10).
It is the Passover season – a time when we can and should focus on exactly how un-okay we are – a time to focus on our need for external help. It is a time to examine our lives and evaluate our progress.
The word of God is our CT scan. The Holy Spirit is our monitoring system. God is our doctor – the judge of whether or not we are well. Jesus is our life-saving medicine. Don’t turn them away.
God will let you die if you are stupid and turn away the help offered to you – although He is going to do everything He can to get you to accept the help you need. He just won’t throw you forcibly into the ambulance.
Don’t be stupid.
Love, Nancy
I’m thinking about it in relation to recent, tragic death from a head injury acquired in a skiing accident of the actress Natasha Richardson. She was relatively young (seen from my 50-year-old eyes anyway), beautiful, smart, talented, wealthy, athletic (or at least fit) and healthy. She died, when she could have survived, because she thought she was okay when she wasn’t.
Reports say that she turned away an ambulance, saying she was fine. Indeed, she felt fine and, for a while, acted just fine. But she was NOT okay. The trauma to the head was worse than she knew. A CT scan could have told that. The results of the injury worsened while giving no warning. If she was in the hospital under observation they might have caught the worsening symptoms. I grieve for any family experiencing the loss of a loved one.
The Spiritual lesson for Christians is that we cannot assume we are okay when, in fact, we are not. On our own we are NEVER okay. We need God to be okay. Without God, we are destined for death, we are lost, we are condemned, we are not okay. But we may not know it. Without God’s word, the Bible, we don’t know what sin is or even that we are sinners. Without the Holy Spirit we are not convicted of our sin (John 16:8). Without the sacrifice of Jesus, our sin cannot be removed (John 1:29) – we cannot be healed (Isaiah 53:5) – we cannot be restored to relationship with the Father – we cannot have life, let alone abundant life (John 10:10).
It is the Passover season – a time when we can and should focus on exactly how un-okay we are – a time to focus on our need for external help. It is a time to examine our lives and evaluate our progress.
The word of God is our CT scan. The Holy Spirit is our monitoring system. God is our doctor – the judge of whether or not we are well. Jesus is our life-saving medicine. Don’t turn them away.
God will let you die if you are stupid and turn away the help offered to you – although He is going to do everything He can to get you to accept the help you need. He just won’t throw you forcibly into the ambulance.
Don’t be stupid.
Love, Nancy
Saturday, March 21, 2009
IS THAT RELEVANT?
Bobby Jindal, Republican Governor of Louisiana, in a recent Q&A session featured in Time Magazine was asked what changes were needed in order for the GOP (rejected by voters in Nov. 09) to become relevant again. He responded, “Republicans need to worry less about fixing the party and more about what we can do to fix our country.” Good answer and great advice for churches (and organized religion in general) today.
We’ve gone the Joel Osteen route – basically the spiritualized version of “Think and Grow Rich” -- God wants you to be healthy and wealthy and if you are not, you just don’t know God wants you to be healthy and wealthy.
We’ve gone the Mega-church route – making the church experience as hip and impersonal as a rock concert, shared with thousands of strangers, repeated twice on Saturday night and four times on Sunday – praise, cry, pay, repeat…
It is a far cry from 12 Apostles going door-to-door, taking the message of personal salvation to synagogues, the steps of pagan temples and the streets of the market place. What connection does a health and wealth message have to the gospel? Does experiencing pack-mentality conversion make it more real? Will a Vegas-style light show set to a contemporary Christian rock beat move you to actually change your sinful ways? None. Nope. Seriously doubt it.
But does any of this make church more RELEVANT in society today? I don’t think so. Does it make the gospel more relevant? Not possible. It always has been and always will be relevant. The good news that Jesus died for your sins, creating a way out of whatever issue you face, no less relevant to the world today than it was in 30 AD.
Church and Christians, who worry (as I do) about dwindling attendance and the aging attendees, don’t need to focus on making church or Christianity more relevant. We need to do one thing – STOP trying to fix church and go back to teaching how to fix sin. Two sentences just about cover it: Jesus died for your past sins. Now, go and “sin no more.”
Smooth words, great music, and quick services aren’t cutting it. Church attendance is down in literally every Christian denomination.
Fix people -- fix broken, sinful, hurting, lost, hungry, angry, suffering people -- and church will fix itself. Greed. Selfishness. Hate. Pride. All the sins that plagued mankind when Jesus walked the earth in human form, are still causing our suffering today. I challenge you to find one national problem that cannot be boiled down to one of these, running rampant and unchecked.
Maybe how you reach people is different – blog, Twitter or Facebook the message, send out a podcast, post a YouTube video – but the message is the same one that Jesus and all the prophets before and all the Apostles after, brought: “Come to me all you who labor and are heavy laden (carry heavy burdens) and I will give you rest.”
How can THAT be any LESS relevant in our society today?
With Love, Nancy
We’ve gone the Joel Osteen route – basically the spiritualized version of “Think and Grow Rich” -- God wants you to be healthy and wealthy and if you are not, you just don’t know God wants you to be healthy and wealthy.
We’ve gone the Mega-church route – making the church experience as hip and impersonal as a rock concert, shared with thousands of strangers, repeated twice on Saturday night and four times on Sunday – praise, cry, pay, repeat…
It is a far cry from 12 Apostles going door-to-door, taking the message of personal salvation to synagogues, the steps of pagan temples and the streets of the market place. What connection does a health and wealth message have to the gospel? Does experiencing pack-mentality conversion make it more real? Will a Vegas-style light show set to a contemporary Christian rock beat move you to actually change your sinful ways? None. Nope. Seriously doubt it.
But does any of this make church more RELEVANT in society today? I don’t think so. Does it make the gospel more relevant? Not possible. It always has been and always will be relevant. The good news that Jesus died for your sins, creating a way out of whatever issue you face, no less relevant to the world today than it was in 30 AD.
Church and Christians, who worry (as I do) about dwindling attendance and the aging attendees, don’t need to focus on making church or Christianity more relevant. We need to do one thing – STOP trying to fix church and go back to teaching how to fix sin. Two sentences just about cover it: Jesus died for your past sins. Now, go and “sin no more.”
Smooth words, great music, and quick services aren’t cutting it. Church attendance is down in literally every Christian denomination.
Fix people -- fix broken, sinful, hurting, lost, hungry, angry, suffering people -- and church will fix itself. Greed. Selfishness. Hate. Pride. All the sins that plagued mankind when Jesus walked the earth in human form, are still causing our suffering today. I challenge you to find one national problem that cannot be boiled down to one of these, running rampant and unchecked.
Maybe how you reach people is different – blog, Twitter or Facebook the message, send out a podcast, post a YouTube video – but the message is the same one that Jesus and all the prophets before and all the Apostles after, brought: “Come to me all you who labor and are heavy laden (carry heavy burdens) and I will give you rest.”
How can THAT be any LESS relevant in our society today?
With Love, Nancy
Friday, February 20, 2009
Twenty Years From Now
Wow. I had something entirely different in mind for my blog today, but a story on Yahoo News caught my eye. I cried as I read it and found it so moving that I must blog about it. I’ve attached part of it below my blog. I hope it moves you as well.
I’ll try to bottom line it for you. Darius McNeal, senior captain of the DeKalb, Illinois Barbs basketball team, deliberately missed two free throws, awarded his team for a technical foul caused because the opposing team wanted to allow a player on the court who was not there for the start of the game and therefore not on the roster. That player? Johntel Franklin, who came to play just hours after his 39 year old mother lost her battle with cancer.
Johntel wanted to play. He needed to be with his team at his time of grief. The letter of the rule was followed, but it was a different spirit at play that night. To quote the DeKalb coach (who advised his player to miss those free throws) -- "This is something our kids will hold for a lifetime," Rohlman said. "They may not remember our record 20 years from now, but they'll remember what happened in that gym that night." Doesn’t matter who won. The two teams went out for pizza together after the game.
What will people remember about you 20 years from now? Would you lose a game to win a brother? Would you even be willing to take the risk? That is exactly what Jesus asks us to do – risk it all to save others. He has called us to serve one another.
We are called to be “living sacrifices” and to esteem others above ourselves, to look on the things of others and lose our lives for the sake of our calling. (I challenge you to find the scriptures to go with these.)
It isn’t my place to tell you when, where and how to sacrifice for others. I don’t know your gifts, your resources or the needs of those around you. But I do know one thing – no matter how poor or ill or talentless you might be, you can be nice to people around you. You can show love. It costs nothing – except, occasionally, your ego or a chance to win.
Recently, a friend of mine and I sat crying tears of joy over the way several churches and the community in our small town rallied around to help her father who is recovering from a major injury. He lives several states away. He was self-employed all his life and has little insurance.
Maybe in this case we’d be tempted to say “I don’t know him. Why should I help?” Or “He needs to be an example of what happens when you fail to be adequately covered by insurance. It is his responsibility, not mine.”
But sometimes, to paraphrase a famous line, the team has to “take one” for an individual player. That is what happened in the DeKalb/Milwaukee game. That is what should happen in the Christian game of life. All true believers are on the same team. And, since everyone is a child of God and a potential believer, the whole world is ultimately in the same family.
In 20 years the members of both these high school basketball teams will still remember THAT night – even if they forget every other game. In 20 years, my friend will still remember what others did for her family.
In 20 years, what will people remember about your life? About mine? It bears some thought now about what will be remembered in 20 years.
Love, Nancy
**-**-**-**-**-**-**-**-**-**-**-**-**-**
AMID THE GRIEVING, A RARE ACT OF SPORTSMANSHIP (AP)
Hours earlier, the mother of Milwaukee Madison senior captain Johntel Franklin died at a local hospital. Carlitha Franklin had been in remission after a five-year fight with cervical cancer, but she began to hemorrhage that morning while Johntel was taking his college ACT exam.
Her son and several of his teammates were at the hospital late that afternoon when the decision was made to turn off the life-support system. Carlitha Franklin was just 39.
"She was young and they were real close," said Milwaukee coach Aaron Womack Jr., who was at the hospital. Womack was going to cancel the game, but Franklin told him he wanted the team to play.
(The Franklin showed up and said he wanted to play.)
There was just one problem. Since Franklin wasn't on the pre-game roster, putting him in meant drawing a technical foul that would give DeKalb two free throws.
Though it was a tight game, Womack was willing to give up the two points. It was more important to help his senior guard and co-captain deal with his grief by playing.
Over on the other bench, though, Rohlman wasn't so willing to take them. He told the referees to forget the technical and just let Franklin play.
"The refs told them, no, that's the rule. You have to take them."
That's when Rohlman asked for volunteers, and McNeal's hand went up.
He went alone to the free throw line, dribbled the ball a couple of times, and looked at the rim.
His first attempt went about two feet, bouncing a couple of times as it rolled toward the end line. The second barely left his hand.
It didn't take long for the Milwaukee players to figure out what was going on.
They stood and turned toward the DeKalb bench and started applauding the gesture of sportsmanship. Soon, so did everybody in the stands.
"I got kind of emotional but it helped a lot just to play," (Franklin) said. "I felt like I had a lot of support out there."
It hasn't been the greatest season for the team, but they have stuck together through a lot of adversity.
"We maybe don't have the best basketball players in the world but they go to class and take care of business," Womack said. "We have a losing record but there's life lessons going on, good ones."
None so good, though, as the moment a team and a player decided there were more important things than winning and having good stats.
Yes, DeKalb would go home with a loss. But it was a trip they'll never forget.
"This is something our kids will hold for a lifetime," Rohlman said. "They may not remember our record 20 years from now, but they'll remember what happened in that gym that night."
I’ll try to bottom line it for you. Darius McNeal, senior captain of the DeKalb, Illinois Barbs basketball team, deliberately missed two free throws, awarded his team for a technical foul caused because the opposing team wanted to allow a player on the court who was not there for the start of the game and therefore not on the roster. That player? Johntel Franklin, who came to play just hours after his 39 year old mother lost her battle with cancer.
Johntel wanted to play. He needed to be with his team at his time of grief. The letter of the rule was followed, but it was a different spirit at play that night. To quote the DeKalb coach (who advised his player to miss those free throws) -- "This is something our kids will hold for a lifetime," Rohlman said. "They may not remember our record 20 years from now, but they'll remember what happened in that gym that night." Doesn’t matter who won. The two teams went out for pizza together after the game.
What will people remember about you 20 years from now? Would you lose a game to win a brother? Would you even be willing to take the risk? That is exactly what Jesus asks us to do – risk it all to save others. He has called us to serve one another.
We are called to be “living sacrifices” and to esteem others above ourselves, to look on the things of others and lose our lives for the sake of our calling. (I challenge you to find the scriptures to go with these.)
It isn’t my place to tell you when, where and how to sacrifice for others. I don’t know your gifts, your resources or the needs of those around you. But I do know one thing – no matter how poor or ill or talentless you might be, you can be nice to people around you. You can show love. It costs nothing – except, occasionally, your ego or a chance to win.
Recently, a friend of mine and I sat crying tears of joy over the way several churches and the community in our small town rallied around to help her father who is recovering from a major injury. He lives several states away. He was self-employed all his life and has little insurance.
Maybe in this case we’d be tempted to say “I don’t know him. Why should I help?” Or “He needs to be an example of what happens when you fail to be adequately covered by insurance. It is his responsibility, not mine.”
But sometimes, to paraphrase a famous line, the team has to “take one” for an individual player. That is what happened in the DeKalb/Milwaukee game. That is what should happen in the Christian game of life. All true believers are on the same team. And, since everyone is a child of God and a potential believer, the whole world is ultimately in the same family.
In 20 years the members of both these high school basketball teams will still remember THAT night – even if they forget every other game. In 20 years, my friend will still remember what others did for her family.
In 20 years, what will people remember about your life? About mine? It bears some thought now about what will be remembered in 20 years.
Love, Nancy
**-**-**-**-**-**-**-**-**-**-**-**-**-**
AMID THE GRIEVING, A RARE ACT OF SPORTSMANSHIP (AP)
Hours earlier, the mother of Milwaukee Madison senior captain Johntel Franklin died at a local hospital. Carlitha Franklin had been in remission after a five-year fight with cervical cancer, but she began to hemorrhage that morning while Johntel was taking his college ACT exam.
Her son and several of his teammates were at the hospital late that afternoon when the decision was made to turn off the life-support system. Carlitha Franklin was just 39.
"She was young and they were real close," said Milwaukee coach Aaron Womack Jr., who was at the hospital. Womack was going to cancel the game, but Franklin told him he wanted the team to play.
(The Franklin showed up and said he wanted to play.)
There was just one problem. Since Franklin wasn't on the pre-game roster, putting him in meant drawing a technical foul that would give DeKalb two free throws.
Though it was a tight game, Womack was willing to give up the two points. It was more important to help his senior guard and co-captain deal with his grief by playing.
Over on the other bench, though, Rohlman wasn't so willing to take them. He told the referees to forget the technical and just let Franklin play.
"The refs told them, no, that's the rule. You have to take them."
That's when Rohlman asked for volunteers, and McNeal's hand went up.
He went alone to the free throw line, dribbled the ball a couple of times, and looked at the rim.
His first attempt went about two feet, bouncing a couple of times as it rolled toward the end line. The second barely left his hand.
It didn't take long for the Milwaukee players to figure out what was going on.
They stood and turned toward the DeKalb bench and started applauding the gesture of sportsmanship. Soon, so did everybody in the stands.
"I got kind of emotional but it helped a lot just to play," (Franklin) said. "I felt like I had a lot of support out there."
It hasn't been the greatest season for the team, but they have stuck together through a lot of adversity.
"We maybe don't have the best basketball players in the world but they go to class and take care of business," Womack said. "We have a losing record but there's life lessons going on, good ones."
None so good, though, as the moment a team and a player decided there were more important things than winning and having good stats.
Yes, DeKalb would go home with a loss. But it was a trip they'll never forget.
"This is something our kids will hold for a lifetime," Rohlman said. "They may not remember our record 20 years from now, but they'll remember what happened in that gym that night."
Sunday, February 8, 2009
A SMOOTH TRANSITION …. NOT SO MUCH
I’m reading a great book that was recommended to me, called Founding Mothers, written by Cokie Roberts (the reporter). It is a history of the wives, daughters, mothers and sisters of the Founding Fathers and their impact on the birth of this nation. I am really enjoying it, highly recommend it and will most likely find that it inspires quite a few blogs. Lots of material for thought and discussion.
I confess that I looked at the end of the book. After all, remembering my high school American History lesions, I know how it all turns out. The book closes with the emphasis on the first smooth transition of the Presidency – from George Washington to John Adams. It was an amazing, unique and virtually unheard of thing in those times. My husband, Wes, plans to use the details of the first to transitions of the US Presidency in a future article or sermon.
It still is amazing and unique in this world. The USA has experienced 40-some elections and transitions. The most recent, from George W. Bush to Barak Obama, was a study in transition etiquette. The then president-elect Obama frequently responded to requests that he jump in and do something, “we have only one president at a time.” News reporters marveled at the open and cooperative actions of President Bush and his staff in handing over the reins to the Obama Whitehouse.
In a world where even allegedly open elections all too often result in months of violence, we can all be very thankful for the smooth transition from one administration to the next.
You know, it won’t be that smooth when Jesus returns. The Bible tells us that the world will fight against Him and it will be VERY BAD – the worst time of conflict ever. Blood up to the horses’ bridles. God expects it and has planned for it, although I’m sure He’d be very happy if the world would surprise Him.
As women, our lives are full of transitions – from daughter to wife, wife to mother, mother to grandmother, maybe great-grandmother, or widow before it is all over.
As Christians, we begin with one huge transition – from non-believer to believer, from one living in this world by our own wits to one guided by the in-dwelling of the Holy Spirit. Some of us go down easy, some have to be knocked off a horse and blinded, like Paul.
Once we become believers, we agree to continually transition. We don’t change all at once and we truly never stop changing – become more like our Heavenly Father in thought, word and deed. Although the initial turn might be dramatic, the lifetime that follows is typically more one of slight shifts and changes – like those transition lenses that slowly shade over when you come out into the sun.
Problem is, sometimes we resist. We don’t want to give up that habit, thought processes or behavior because it is comfortable or because we just like it – get something out of it. Or, worse yet, because someone we don’t like or agree with told us we needed to change.
Today, I want to encourage us all to work toward a continual and smooth transition from who we were to who God called each of us to be. And then, at Jesus’ return, we’ll experience the final change-over to spirit-being. That will be dramatic.
Then final transition from man’s government in every form to God’s government over all of mankind will be a violent take-over at first. But, ultimately, God will work with all the world as He works with us now, to change a little more each day. Our chance is now, don’t fight the transition.
With love,
Nancy
I confess that I looked at the end of the book. After all, remembering my high school American History lesions, I know how it all turns out. The book closes with the emphasis on the first smooth transition of the Presidency – from George Washington to John Adams. It was an amazing, unique and virtually unheard of thing in those times. My husband, Wes, plans to use the details of the first to transitions of the US Presidency in a future article or sermon.
It still is amazing and unique in this world. The USA has experienced 40-some elections and transitions. The most recent, from George W. Bush to Barak Obama, was a study in transition etiquette. The then president-elect Obama frequently responded to requests that he jump in and do something, “we have only one president at a time.” News reporters marveled at the open and cooperative actions of President Bush and his staff in handing over the reins to the Obama Whitehouse.
In a world where even allegedly open elections all too often result in months of violence, we can all be very thankful for the smooth transition from one administration to the next.
You know, it won’t be that smooth when Jesus returns. The Bible tells us that the world will fight against Him and it will be VERY BAD – the worst time of conflict ever. Blood up to the horses’ bridles. God expects it and has planned for it, although I’m sure He’d be very happy if the world would surprise Him.
As women, our lives are full of transitions – from daughter to wife, wife to mother, mother to grandmother, maybe great-grandmother, or widow before it is all over.
As Christians, we begin with one huge transition – from non-believer to believer, from one living in this world by our own wits to one guided by the in-dwelling of the Holy Spirit. Some of us go down easy, some have to be knocked off a horse and blinded, like Paul.
Once we become believers, we agree to continually transition. We don’t change all at once and we truly never stop changing – become more like our Heavenly Father in thought, word and deed. Although the initial turn might be dramatic, the lifetime that follows is typically more one of slight shifts and changes – like those transition lenses that slowly shade over when you come out into the sun.
Problem is, sometimes we resist. We don’t want to give up that habit, thought processes or behavior because it is comfortable or because we just like it – get something out of it. Or, worse yet, because someone we don’t like or agree with told us we needed to change.
Today, I want to encourage us all to work toward a continual and smooth transition from who we were to who God called each of us to be. And then, at Jesus’ return, we’ll experience the final change-over to spirit-being. That will be dramatic.
Then final transition from man’s government in every form to God’s government over all of mankind will be a violent take-over at first. But, ultimately, God will work with all the world as He works with us now, to change a little more each day. Our chance is now, don’t fight the transition.
With love,
Nancy
Saturday, January 10, 2009
Prophecy, Fulfill Yourself
Ever tried this experiment? You ask someone if they are feeling well. You tell them they look a little pale. You warn them that they seem run down and are susceptible to the flu that is going around. Sure enough, we can influence them to feel unwell and maybe leave work early. I don’t advise doing this, but I believe we are well advised to remember that the voices we listen to can affect a desired result.
I work in an industry that is being very hard hit by the tough economic times. Long-term, top-position employees are losing their jobs. The sad news comes at me daily. There is real reason for these companies to tighten their belts, work more efficiently, cut spending, etc.
At the same time, I see that some of these companies are making decisions based on fear of what might happen. They are cutting people and programs that might actually help them to stay financially healthy in tough economic times, because they are getting pressure to cut something, they think, and it looks good on the bottom line right now.
I’ve also seen news reports and read articles that point out that some very profitable companies were created in depressed times of the past. One man’s dire situation is another’s opportunity for innovation, creation and success. One thing is sure – if you can grow a business during tough times, you are going to look really good in better times.
Churches should be growing in tough times. Yet, I find that some of the churches I visit are taken in by the dire predictions around them. The call to belt tighten that is going on in the business sector has these churches cutting programs, saving money, and discussing stock-piling assets.
They fear losing what they have (people, money, a building), when they ought to be afraid of not taking advantage of opportunity.
Un-churched people are MORE likely to be looking for God, for spiritual guidance and for a church home in these tough times. They are MORE likely to open to a religious discussion now. Our young people need MORE help and guidance, more activities, more support and more opportunities to be together during these tough times. Our senior citizens need MORE financial support, more programs, more opportunity to serve the church and more time with fellow believers during these tough times.
Just like business that are taken in by a “hunker down and just hold on to what you have” mentality, Churches that are trying to hold on to what they have, rather than trying to grow now, will find, I believe, that exactly what they worry about – loss of income and loss of membership – will become a self-fulfilling prophecy. They will not grow now and once times get better they will not have any momentum for growth. They will have lost the infrastructure that would support exponential growth later on.
In a time when we hear of men dying of electrocution while trying to steal copper wire from electric lines, we KNOW times are tough. But this point shows us that it isn’t just the economy falling on slim times – morality and moral choices are in the toilet too!
Tough times are prophesied. So is the return of Jesus, the gospel being preached to the world, the sheep being cared for, and the church never failing. What is your congregation doing to help fulfill THOSE prophesies?
At a time when there are prophets saying “hold on to what you have” and those saying “these times are an opportunity for us,” which voices are you listening to? Either way, the decisions you make now, will dictate your future. The prophecy you make and support will most likely be fulfilled.
Love, Nancy
I work in an industry that is being very hard hit by the tough economic times. Long-term, top-position employees are losing their jobs. The sad news comes at me daily. There is real reason for these companies to tighten their belts, work more efficiently, cut spending, etc.
At the same time, I see that some of these companies are making decisions based on fear of what might happen. They are cutting people and programs that might actually help them to stay financially healthy in tough economic times, because they are getting pressure to cut something, they think, and it looks good on the bottom line right now.
I’ve also seen news reports and read articles that point out that some very profitable companies were created in depressed times of the past. One man’s dire situation is another’s opportunity for innovation, creation and success. One thing is sure – if you can grow a business during tough times, you are going to look really good in better times.
Churches should be growing in tough times. Yet, I find that some of the churches I visit are taken in by the dire predictions around them. The call to belt tighten that is going on in the business sector has these churches cutting programs, saving money, and discussing stock-piling assets.
They fear losing what they have (people, money, a building), when they ought to be afraid of not taking advantage of opportunity.
Un-churched people are MORE likely to be looking for God, for spiritual guidance and for a church home in these tough times. They are MORE likely to open to a religious discussion now. Our young people need MORE help and guidance, more activities, more support and more opportunities to be together during these tough times. Our senior citizens need MORE financial support, more programs, more opportunity to serve the church and more time with fellow believers during these tough times.
Just like business that are taken in by a “hunker down and just hold on to what you have” mentality, Churches that are trying to hold on to what they have, rather than trying to grow now, will find, I believe, that exactly what they worry about – loss of income and loss of membership – will become a self-fulfilling prophecy. They will not grow now and once times get better they will not have any momentum for growth. They will have lost the infrastructure that would support exponential growth later on.
In a time when we hear of men dying of electrocution while trying to steal copper wire from electric lines, we KNOW times are tough. But this point shows us that it isn’t just the economy falling on slim times – morality and moral choices are in the toilet too!
Tough times are prophesied. So is the return of Jesus, the gospel being preached to the world, the sheep being cared for, and the church never failing. What is your congregation doing to help fulfill THOSE prophesies?
At a time when there are prophets saying “hold on to what you have” and those saying “these times are an opportunity for us,” which voices are you listening to? Either way, the decisions you make now, will dictate your future. The prophecy you make and support will most likely be fulfilled.
Love, Nancy
Thursday, January 1, 2009
AND THE BEAT GOES ON....
Officially, we have a new year beginning today. Last night champagne flowed, people danced and resolutions were made. People made commitments to lose weight, quit smoking, exercise, get a better education so they could get out of their dead-end job, get out of debt. Some few will complete the change. Many of those resolutions will be broken today. Others may last a few weeks.
We have a new president who promises change. President-elect Obama is different in very many ways from President Bush. He’ll put new people into office. He’ll change policy. He says he’ll work to facilitate a speedy end to the war in Iraq. He’s our first African-American president. But he is still, at the core, what Bush, Clinton, Regan, the other Bush, Carter and all the others before that were – he is a politician. And the beat goes on.
There is fighting in Israel. Gas prices are on their way back up. Retail stores are running major sales in the hopes of drawing people in to buy after the Xmas spending spree. I could go on. Solomon said, “There is nothing new under the sun.” Sonny & Cher said it more poetically: “Grandma's sit in chairs and reminisce, Boys keep chasing girls to get a kiss, The cars keep going faster all the time, Bum still cries, ‘Hey buddy have you got a dime?’"(Okay, so they ask for a dollar these days.) “Men still keep on marching off to war.” “And the beat goes on….”
It is 2009 – nine years beyond what we thought would be the end of the world due to the collapse of computers in 2000 – and it looks like we might be in for more of the same old thing we’ve experienced for thousands of years. Bummer. I’m old enough and have seen enough of the world’s pain and sorrow to really, really mean it when I say, “Please, Jesus, come soon!”
In the mean time, a Christian’s life is one of moving forward. Each day, we should be getting more Christ like. Each day, we should set an example for those around us. Each day, we should spread love, peace and joy. Each day, we should pray. Each day, we put one foot in front of the other, moving ever onward toward the Kingdom. And the beat goes on…
God knows we can get warn out with it all. So, Galatians 6:9 says, “So don’t get tired of doing what is good. Don’t get discouraged and give up, for we will reap a harvest of blessing at the appropriate time.” (New Living Translation)
The good news is that each day, no matter how much it seems just like the day before, is actually one day closer to Jesus’ return to rule and reign on this earth. Praise God! There is light at the end of the tunnel. One day things will really change. Christians just need to keep on doing what Christians are called to do.
And the beat goes on…La-dee-da-dee-dee; La-dee-da-dee-da……
With love, Nancy
We have a new president who promises change. President-elect Obama is different in very many ways from President Bush. He’ll put new people into office. He’ll change policy. He says he’ll work to facilitate a speedy end to the war in Iraq. He’s our first African-American president. But he is still, at the core, what Bush, Clinton, Regan, the other Bush, Carter and all the others before that were – he is a politician. And the beat goes on.
There is fighting in Israel. Gas prices are on their way back up. Retail stores are running major sales in the hopes of drawing people in to buy after the Xmas spending spree. I could go on. Solomon said, “There is nothing new under the sun.” Sonny & Cher said it more poetically: “Grandma's sit in chairs and reminisce, Boys keep chasing girls to get a kiss, The cars keep going faster all the time, Bum still cries, ‘Hey buddy have you got a dime?’"(Okay, so they ask for a dollar these days.) “Men still keep on marching off to war.” “And the beat goes on….”
It is 2009 – nine years beyond what we thought would be the end of the world due to the collapse of computers in 2000 – and it looks like we might be in for more of the same old thing we’ve experienced for thousands of years. Bummer. I’m old enough and have seen enough of the world’s pain and sorrow to really, really mean it when I say, “Please, Jesus, come soon!”
In the mean time, a Christian’s life is one of moving forward. Each day, we should be getting more Christ like. Each day, we should set an example for those around us. Each day, we should spread love, peace and joy. Each day, we should pray. Each day, we put one foot in front of the other, moving ever onward toward the Kingdom. And the beat goes on…
God knows we can get warn out with it all. So, Galatians 6:9 says, “So don’t get tired of doing what is good. Don’t get discouraged and give up, for we will reap a harvest of blessing at the appropriate time.” (New Living Translation)
The good news is that each day, no matter how much it seems just like the day before, is actually one day closer to Jesus’ return to rule and reign on this earth. Praise God! There is light at the end of the tunnel. One day things will really change. Christians just need to keep on doing what Christians are called to do.
And the beat goes on…La-dee-da-dee-dee; La-dee-da-dee-da……
With love, Nancy
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
YOU CAN’T UNSCRAMBLE AN EGG, SO WHAT CAN YOU DO?
Maybe I’m the only one who ever had this problem after the 5th grade – said something or did something that hurt another person. Worse yet, broke their trust. Compound the damage if this is someone close – a friend or family member.
I’ve always told my children that trust is something hard to repair. Only time and opportunities to prove yourself can restore trust. Once you scramble that egg, you are stuck with a mess, especially since that the person you hurt is (understandably) not likely to give you many opportunities to rebuild trust – at least at first.
Of course the KEY is to not break the trust in the first place. I have to admonish each of us to watch our tongues and our actions to be sure we never, ever betray a trust or hurt someone else. But, if you are like me, and all too often have these words of Paul running around in your head: “When I want to do good, I don’t. And when I try not to do wrong, I do it anyway,” [Ro. 7:19 New Living Translation throughout], then as much as you’d like to say differently, you have hurt people by words or actions at least a few times – even since the 5th grade.
Remember, the Bible says, (in James 3:5) “So also, the tongue is a small thing, but what enormous damage it can do”—warning us of its power of destruction. So we have to admit that this is a common problem with human nature and all people – even Christians. If you have avoided it in your adult life, you are indeed wise and godly.
Once you realize you have betrayed trust in word or deed, you need to repent before God and ask His forgiveness. Then I suggest you ask for strength, spiritual support, because you may need it once the full impact of what you have done hits you, as you see the pain you have caused for another and understand that there is simply nothing you can do to take that back. You must humbly admit your wrong to the injured party and ask forgiveness.
I also suggest you pray that God will help the injured party to be merciful – realizing that the better part of mercy might be holding you accountable even while forgiving you – and for their own peace and strength to work through this too. They may be in for some rough times as well, while dealing with issues or feelings you created.
If you’ve damaged someone’s reputation by gossip – even by telling a truth trusted to you – and God has blessed you by allowing you to truly understand what damage you have done – then you are in a “in for a world of hurt,” as we say in the South, as you face the hard truth. It is painful. I know. I’ve been there. I’d love nothing more than to be able to press the rewind button and unscramble that egg.
So, I suggest lots of prayer for yourself and for the person you harmed – fasting to draw closer to God and live more in line with Him – Bible study to fill your mind, heart and mouth with the right things.
But, although these are all good and right things that you should be doing, they work on the current and future you. The point is, once the dead is done, you can work on never doing it again, but you can’t undo it. Sometimes you get the opportunity to do some repair work, but that is very rare. I wish I could say differently – oh how I wish it!
Proverbs 18:19 warns us that “it is harder to make amends with an offended friend than to capture a fortified city.” I can vouch for that, unfortunately.
So, I have only two rules for us on this:
RULE #1: Do all you can to avoid breaking someone’s trust. Guard your tongue, guard your actions, and think before speaking or taking action.
RULE #2: There is no second chance – go back to rule #1.
I hope this saves us both from scrambled eggs in the future!
Love, Nancy
P.S. You know who you are: to you I say, again, I am terribly sorry.
I’ve always told my children that trust is something hard to repair. Only time and opportunities to prove yourself can restore trust. Once you scramble that egg, you are stuck with a mess, especially since that the person you hurt is (understandably) not likely to give you many opportunities to rebuild trust – at least at first.
Of course the KEY is to not break the trust in the first place. I have to admonish each of us to watch our tongues and our actions to be sure we never, ever betray a trust or hurt someone else. But, if you are like me, and all too often have these words of Paul running around in your head: “When I want to do good, I don’t. And when I try not to do wrong, I do it anyway,” [Ro. 7:19 New Living Translation throughout], then as much as you’d like to say differently, you have hurt people by words or actions at least a few times – even since the 5th grade.
Remember, the Bible says, (in James 3:5) “So also, the tongue is a small thing, but what enormous damage it can do”—warning us of its power of destruction. So we have to admit that this is a common problem with human nature and all people – even Christians. If you have avoided it in your adult life, you are indeed wise and godly.
Once you realize you have betrayed trust in word or deed, you need to repent before God and ask His forgiveness. Then I suggest you ask for strength, spiritual support, because you may need it once the full impact of what you have done hits you, as you see the pain you have caused for another and understand that there is simply nothing you can do to take that back. You must humbly admit your wrong to the injured party and ask forgiveness.
I also suggest you pray that God will help the injured party to be merciful – realizing that the better part of mercy might be holding you accountable even while forgiving you – and for their own peace and strength to work through this too. They may be in for some rough times as well, while dealing with issues or feelings you created.
If you’ve damaged someone’s reputation by gossip – even by telling a truth trusted to you – and God has blessed you by allowing you to truly understand what damage you have done – then you are in a “in for a world of hurt,” as we say in the South, as you face the hard truth. It is painful. I know. I’ve been there. I’d love nothing more than to be able to press the rewind button and unscramble that egg.
So, I suggest lots of prayer for yourself and for the person you harmed – fasting to draw closer to God and live more in line with Him – Bible study to fill your mind, heart and mouth with the right things.
But, although these are all good and right things that you should be doing, they work on the current and future you. The point is, once the dead is done, you can work on never doing it again, but you can’t undo it. Sometimes you get the opportunity to do some repair work, but that is very rare. I wish I could say differently – oh how I wish it!
Proverbs 18:19 warns us that “it is harder to make amends with an offended friend than to capture a fortified city.” I can vouch for that, unfortunately.
So, I have only two rules for us on this:
RULE #1: Do all you can to avoid breaking someone’s trust. Guard your tongue, guard your actions, and think before speaking or taking action.
RULE #2: There is no second chance – go back to rule #1.
I hope this saves us both from scrambled eggs in the future!
Love, Nancy
P.S. You know who you are: to you I say, again, I am terribly sorry.
Saturday, December 20, 2008
I KNEW JACK KENNEDY AND YOU ARE NO JACK KENNEDY
I work in sales, an industry where image leads and functionality follows. The two questions I must answer at the very start of the sales process are “Who are you?” and “What can you do for me?”
It is well expressed in this blurb I read recently in an industry publication: "Two basic tenets of selling are that (1) people buy from other people more happily than from faceless corporations, and that (2) in the marketplace as in theater, there is indeed a factor at work called 'the willing suspension of disbelief.' Who stands behind our pancakes? Aunt Jemima. Our angel food cake? Betty Crocker. Our coffee? Juan Valdez. Anyone over the age of 3 knows that it's all myth. But like Santa Claus and the tooth fairy, the myths are comforting."
There is certainly a lot of theatrics going on in our country today. As shows like Saturday Night Live skewer the leaders of the auto industry for greedy adherence to their rich lifestyles while their industry is on the verge of collapse and as Governor Blagojevich resurrects the image of Chicago politics during the reign of the mob, we would all be well advised to consider what kind of impression each of us makes as representatives of our families, our faith, our congregations, and our heavenly Father.
When it comes to “buying” the whole Christian thing, people are going to be just as attracted to people first as they are when it comes to any other sale. We must “sell” the fact that being a Christian is worthwhile, brings happiness and fosters internal peace even when the world is at war. But the main thing we must sell is that Christianity IS love. In this, you are the Aunt Jemima, the Betty Crocker, the Juan Valdez – in other words, the spokesperson, for Christianity.
More narrowly, you are the spokesperson for your congregation. So, when people talk to you or when they walk into the door at church, does everything about you “sell” the congregation with a favorable image? Are you open, smiling, happy, welcoming? Do you meet visitors with a handshake and thank them for coming?
What if it is someone from a group that split off from yours? Do you get to set aside brotherly love in favor of letting them know that you are unhappy with their choice? Do they feel unwelcome? If so, then you are failing to make that sale – not only to them, but also to your own children and others who may be watching your actions. What kind of impression do you think you are making on the six-year-old who can tell you are suddenly tense? What about that even more vulnerable group – teenagers – who are watching you closely? They often will reject the belief system parents have spent years teaching them in response to witnessing a routine disconnect between words and actions.
Christ Jesus calls us His brothers. We are the sons of God. We are made in their image and tasked with becoming more like them, with the help of the in-dwelling of the Holy Spirit.
People have a right to see Christian behavior in the spokespersons for God, for your faith and for your congregation. The image comes first. Then they will be open to the functionality of the Christian walk.
To paraphrase that famous indictment of Dan Quayle during a political debate: we never want anyone to be able to say to us: “I know Christians and you are no Christian!”
Love, Nancy
It is well expressed in this blurb I read recently in an industry publication: "Two basic tenets of selling are that (1) people buy from other people more happily than from faceless corporations, and that (2) in the marketplace as in theater, there is indeed a factor at work called 'the willing suspension of disbelief.' Who stands behind our pancakes? Aunt Jemima. Our angel food cake? Betty Crocker. Our coffee? Juan Valdez. Anyone over the age of 3 knows that it's all myth. But like Santa Claus and the tooth fairy, the myths are comforting."
There is certainly a lot of theatrics going on in our country today. As shows like Saturday Night Live skewer the leaders of the auto industry for greedy adherence to their rich lifestyles while their industry is on the verge of collapse and as Governor Blagojevich resurrects the image of Chicago politics during the reign of the mob, we would all be well advised to consider what kind of impression each of us makes as representatives of our families, our faith, our congregations, and our heavenly Father.
When it comes to “buying” the whole Christian thing, people are going to be just as attracted to people first as they are when it comes to any other sale. We must “sell” the fact that being a Christian is worthwhile, brings happiness and fosters internal peace even when the world is at war. But the main thing we must sell is that Christianity IS love. In this, you are the Aunt Jemima, the Betty Crocker, the Juan Valdez – in other words, the spokesperson, for Christianity.
More narrowly, you are the spokesperson for your congregation. So, when people talk to you or when they walk into the door at church, does everything about you “sell” the congregation with a favorable image? Are you open, smiling, happy, welcoming? Do you meet visitors with a handshake and thank them for coming?
What if it is someone from a group that split off from yours? Do you get to set aside brotherly love in favor of letting them know that you are unhappy with their choice? Do they feel unwelcome? If so, then you are failing to make that sale – not only to them, but also to your own children and others who may be watching your actions. What kind of impression do you think you are making on the six-year-old who can tell you are suddenly tense? What about that even more vulnerable group – teenagers – who are watching you closely? They often will reject the belief system parents have spent years teaching them in response to witnessing a routine disconnect between words and actions.
Christ Jesus calls us His brothers. We are the sons of God. We are made in their image and tasked with becoming more like them, with the help of the in-dwelling of the Holy Spirit.
People have a right to see Christian behavior in the spokespersons for God, for your faith and for your congregation. The image comes first. Then they will be open to the functionality of the Christian walk.
To paraphrase that famous indictment of Dan Quayle during a political debate: we never want anyone to be able to say to us: “I know Christians and you are no Christian!”
Love, Nancy
Saturday, December 6, 2008
TIS THE SEASON
It’s that time of year – a time when people who aren’t religious at all find that their faith is now extremely important and they MUST have a nativity scene on the County Court lawn. A time when companies who don’t do anything religious any other time of the year now find they simply MUST send out holiday cards and/or gifts, they simply MUST put up a tree in a public area. A time when people who don’t help the homeless any other time of the year are asking for canned goods for various programs.
This is the time of the year, this is the holiday season, when those who would NEVER EVER think of committing terrorist acts in the name of religion (like the various Islamic nations), would never go to war over sacred ground (like the Palestinians and Israelis), get all aggressive about what they must be allowed to do, must have and what YOU must have too.
If I’ve heard it once, I’ve heard it thousands of times: say “Merry Christmas not Happy Holidays.” Why? Why this time of year, the time when they MUST show their religious fervor and YOU must not only allow it, but align yourself with it.
Do I insist on a tabernacle (temporary dwelling) being assembled on the County Court lawn during the Feast of Tabernacles? Do I insist they all put blood on their doors at Passover? Of course not. I do ask that you allow me to observe my faith freely and I am willing to offer the same to you.
Let’s be clear – I believe with all my heart that you are wrong, that Christmas is a pagan holiday, and that God is NOT happy with your show of lights, decorated trees and gift buying. I KNOW He is not happy with the trampling of innocent Wal-Mart workers just for first right to some deeply discounted toy or electronics.
I’m not stupid. I realize you believe with all your heart that I am wrong.
However, the thing that is supposed to separate the USA from all these other warring nations is our openness about religion. I am willing to gather canned goods for the needy this time of the year or any other. I am willing to accept it if you want to say “Merry Christmas” to me. I understand that is important to you, but you don’t have a right to command me to say it back or even “Happy Holidays.” I will say “thank you” because being polite knows no season. I do eat cookies even if they are shaped like bells, snowmen or wreaths.
Not all my non-Christmas-keeping fellows feel the same way. Some will, some won’t go to the company Christmas party. Some will, some won’t sign holiday cards if they don’t have the word Christmas on them. Some will, some won’t eat those cookies.
But (to my fellow non-believers) we do all have the responsibility of setting a good example. Just because others get all aggressive about their faith this time of the year doesn’t mean that we have the right to stop being polite, patient and kind. The receptionist who asks for the 5th year in a row if you will sign the holiday cards is just doing her job and warrants only a polite “no thank you” unless she asks you to explain why. At that time, she deserves a polite and direct explanation.
Jesus said “do unto others as you would have others do unto you.” He did not say to return behavior in kind. I believe He isn’t happy about Christmas and finds it offensive. I do not believe He is pleased with ugly, rude or angry responses to those ignorant of the truth.
One of the things I hate about Christmas is the rude behavior and frenzied buying it encourages. For people who frequently say “put Christ back in Christmas” I still see the behavior getting worse every year. For that reason alone, I would not ask a Christmas keeper about his/her faith.
The question for me, and all others of similar faith, becomes then “is my behavior this time of year encouraging others to ask about my faith or is it turning them off to it?”
Tis the season to let your like shine to this dark world – not with lights and presents and parties, but with true love shown, with kindness, patience and politeness, even in the face of religious aggression by those who need to know the truth.
Love,
Nancy
This is the time of the year, this is the holiday season, when those who would NEVER EVER think of committing terrorist acts in the name of religion (like the various Islamic nations), would never go to war over sacred ground (like the Palestinians and Israelis), get all aggressive about what they must be allowed to do, must have and what YOU must have too.
If I’ve heard it once, I’ve heard it thousands of times: say “Merry Christmas not Happy Holidays.” Why? Why this time of year, the time when they MUST show their religious fervor and YOU must not only allow it, but align yourself with it.
Do I insist on a tabernacle (temporary dwelling) being assembled on the County Court lawn during the Feast of Tabernacles? Do I insist they all put blood on their doors at Passover? Of course not. I do ask that you allow me to observe my faith freely and I am willing to offer the same to you.
Let’s be clear – I believe with all my heart that you are wrong, that Christmas is a pagan holiday, and that God is NOT happy with your show of lights, decorated trees and gift buying. I KNOW He is not happy with the trampling of innocent Wal-Mart workers just for first right to some deeply discounted toy or electronics.
I’m not stupid. I realize you believe with all your heart that I am wrong.
However, the thing that is supposed to separate the USA from all these other warring nations is our openness about religion. I am willing to gather canned goods for the needy this time of the year or any other. I am willing to accept it if you want to say “Merry Christmas” to me. I understand that is important to you, but you don’t have a right to command me to say it back or even “Happy Holidays.” I will say “thank you” because being polite knows no season. I do eat cookies even if they are shaped like bells, snowmen or wreaths.
Not all my non-Christmas-keeping fellows feel the same way. Some will, some won’t go to the company Christmas party. Some will, some won’t sign holiday cards if they don’t have the word Christmas on them. Some will, some won’t eat those cookies.
But (to my fellow non-believers) we do all have the responsibility of setting a good example. Just because others get all aggressive about their faith this time of the year doesn’t mean that we have the right to stop being polite, patient and kind. The receptionist who asks for the 5th year in a row if you will sign the holiday cards is just doing her job and warrants only a polite “no thank you” unless she asks you to explain why. At that time, she deserves a polite and direct explanation.
Jesus said “do unto others as you would have others do unto you.” He did not say to return behavior in kind. I believe He isn’t happy about Christmas and finds it offensive. I do not believe He is pleased with ugly, rude or angry responses to those ignorant of the truth.
One of the things I hate about Christmas is the rude behavior and frenzied buying it encourages. For people who frequently say “put Christ back in Christmas” I still see the behavior getting worse every year. For that reason alone, I would not ask a Christmas keeper about his/her faith.
The question for me, and all others of similar faith, becomes then “is my behavior this time of year encouraging others to ask about my faith or is it turning them off to it?”
Tis the season to let your like shine to this dark world – not with lights and presents and parties, but with true love shown, with kindness, patience and politeness, even in the face of religious aggression by those who need to know the truth.
Love,
Nancy
Friday, November 28, 2008
ARMAGEDDON , NOW WHAT?
According to prevailing marketing industry wisdom, the key emotional hot buttons that influence human behavior are fear, greed, guilt, anger, exclusivity, salvation, flattery and patriotism. I think at least two of these are also on the list of Seven Deadly Sins.
Getting back to my watching of the movie Armageddon: so the world is saved, all people, nations, faiths and colors rejoice that this common disaster has been averted. Sure Paris is decimated, but the French are no one’s favorite people any way.
How long do you think peace would last? Since the peace achieved was accomplished based on fear, my guess is that in the given scenario once the common fear is gone it would be days at best before war among nations would resume. All it would take would be a seed of greed or misguided patriotism or exclusivity (hoarding food and supplies within a country less devastated, for example) to take us from being bound as brothers to World War III.
My father had a favorite lecture he often resorted to when my siblings and I were arguing. It began: “if you are fighting now over this issue now, what will happen when we have only one slice of bread?” My father died before we ever saw those hard times, but he had a point.
Fear is a HUGE motivator. So is greed. When you combine the two you have a lethal mixture.
The world is a slave to the ruler of it – Satan. But Christians, with the Holy Spirit active and following in them, should be immune to it – at least after years of being a Christian.
Armageddon, not just the movie but the actual event, and some ugly times before it are coming to this world. Christians, like everyone, need to be somewhat prepared for tough times.
But should Christians, like those who don’t know better, be thinking in terms of “how can I store up and hoard (for MY family, MY church) the goods I’ll need to survive?” Shouldn’t we be thinking in terms of “how can I seek God first and help others to do the same, so that we have the faith to rely on God when tough times come?”
Before you say, “but…” let me quote a scripture: Mathew 6:19-21 “Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” Verse 34 “Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day [is] the evil thereof.”
Read verses 22 through 34 for the entire guidance. I know the word “thought” can better be understood as anxious care, which makes my point – fine to give it thought, not fine for those thoughts to be about preparing for personal, physical survival of those in your exclusive “group” – whatever that group might entail.
That kind of thinking leads you to fight over that last slice of bread instead of sharing it. That kind of thought leads to comments like “sorry, buddy, you aren’t one of us, so I can’t help you out.” It leads to issues like needing to decide if a person is “of my fellowship” or “a member of our church” before sharing what you have and to saying things like “I can’t help you now because I need this for us/me later.”
A store house of food, money socked away in the stock market or under your bed, gold coins, even a stockpile of firewood for heat are all things that can be stolen, lost or destroyed – and things that someone might someday kill you to get.
None of those things are guarantees against disaster. The only guarantee is an intimate relationship with the creator of all things, our Father Provider. So, I encourage us all to let Spiritual salvation be the key hot button that influences all our behavior, not greed, not fear, not salvation (saving of) the body/this life.
Spend your resources to spread the good word of salvation now. Share your resources now and in the future, even if you find yourself down to one slice of bread. Store treasure in heaven, not your 401K, only there is it truly going to bring dividends for the future.
Love, Nancy
Getting back to my watching of the movie Armageddon: so the world is saved, all people, nations, faiths and colors rejoice that this common disaster has been averted. Sure Paris is decimated, but the French are no one’s favorite people any way.
How long do you think peace would last? Since the peace achieved was accomplished based on fear, my guess is that in the given scenario once the common fear is gone it would be days at best before war among nations would resume. All it would take would be a seed of greed or misguided patriotism or exclusivity (hoarding food and supplies within a country less devastated, for example) to take us from being bound as brothers to World War III.
My father had a favorite lecture he often resorted to when my siblings and I were arguing. It began: “if you are fighting now over this issue now, what will happen when we have only one slice of bread?” My father died before we ever saw those hard times, but he had a point.
Fear is a HUGE motivator. So is greed. When you combine the two you have a lethal mixture.
The world is a slave to the ruler of it – Satan. But Christians, with the Holy Spirit active and following in them, should be immune to it – at least after years of being a Christian.
Armageddon, not just the movie but the actual event, and some ugly times before it are coming to this world. Christians, like everyone, need to be somewhat prepared for tough times.
But should Christians, like those who don’t know better, be thinking in terms of “how can I store up and hoard (for MY family, MY church) the goods I’ll need to survive?” Shouldn’t we be thinking in terms of “how can I seek God first and help others to do the same, so that we have the faith to rely on God when tough times come?”
Before you say, “but…” let me quote a scripture: Mathew 6:19-21 “Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” Verse 34 “Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day [is] the evil thereof.”
Read verses 22 through 34 for the entire guidance. I know the word “thought” can better be understood as anxious care, which makes my point – fine to give it thought, not fine for those thoughts to be about preparing for personal, physical survival of those in your exclusive “group” – whatever that group might entail.
That kind of thinking leads you to fight over that last slice of bread instead of sharing it. That kind of thought leads to comments like “sorry, buddy, you aren’t one of us, so I can’t help you out.” It leads to issues like needing to decide if a person is “of my fellowship” or “a member of our church” before sharing what you have and to saying things like “I can’t help you now because I need this for us/me later.”
A store house of food, money socked away in the stock market or under your bed, gold coins, even a stockpile of firewood for heat are all things that can be stolen, lost or destroyed – and things that someone might someday kill you to get.
None of those things are guarantees against disaster. The only guarantee is an intimate relationship with the creator of all things, our Father Provider. So, I encourage us all to let Spiritual salvation be the key hot button that influences all our behavior, not greed, not fear, not salvation (saving of) the body/this life.
Spend your resources to spread the good word of salvation now. Share your resources now and in the future, even if you find yourself down to one slice of bread. Store treasure in heaven, not your 401K, only there is it truly going to bring dividends for the future.
Love, Nancy
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