thepurpleporpoise's Revelife

Government or the Church?

Sun, 22 Nov 2009 23:08:24 GMT

Recently I had a short dialogue with a fellow believer/blogger about government services that I, personally, think the church should probably be providing. I feel that I need to say from the beginning that this may come across as a strong critique of the church, and I want to make it clear that I am being just as hard on myself as a member of the Body of Christ. I also apologize in advance for lacking the gift of pithiness.

Let me premise this with a few verses:

Zechariah 7:9-10
9 “Thus has the LORD of hosts said, ‘Dispense true justice and practice kindness and compassion each to his brother; 10 and do not oppress the widow or the orphan, the stranger or the poor; and do not devise evil in your hearts against one another.’

James 1:27
Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.

These verses are just a sampling of countless verses that refer to these issues. They are certainly a theme in the Bible and make up what can be referred to as Kingdom Economics. More verses can be found here

These themes reappear in the Bible so often because these are real felt needs that appear in every society. One of the ways that G-D desired to make his Glory known was to use the nation of Israel to be a very peculiar people. Believe it or not, it was peculiar to care for the poor, widowed, orphaned or foreigners who lived around them at the time. So
G-D established these as priorities in His law for His Kingdom. Since G-D had already established himself as King, a Kingdom, His Kingdom Laws, and promised that they would be His people, you can understand why G-D was resistant to giving them an earthly king. Why would they need one? Besides it was just a really bad idea, and G-D knew that.

But eventually Israel decided they didn’t want to be peculiar and stand out from the rest of the nations and decided to turn their lives over to an earthly king. The history of the US is similar. There were many believers that established themselves as the Body of Christ, completely separate from the Empire that was establishing itself after the revolutionary war. But over time Christians sought leadership in the government and the functions of the church were 1 by 1 turned over to the government…..marriage, birth law (birth certificates, records, etc.). schooling, care for the orphaned, poor, and disabled. These are all things that used to be done solely within the Body of Christ that eventually was turned over to the government for administration and funding. That all seemed like a great plan until the government starting allowing for the protection and care of other groups besides believers.

We have seen this phenomenon happening a lot recently. The government does what it should do to be just and fair and the church throws a big whoppin’ fit and demands the government get back to G-D. The problem with that is there is a false assumption that the government was ever submitted to G-D in the first place. If believers are so fed up with the way the government is handling these services and institutions, they should just go do it the “right” way on their own, completely apart from the government…the way G-D intended. Instead believers pour billions of dollars (time and resources) into getting Christians elected, lobbying government to change their ways and adopt more Christian friendly policies, seek tax-exemptions and shelters, establish faith-based initiatives that are funded with government dollars, create “The Truth Project” and try to “Take America Back for G-D”.

I’m sure if you know me you think I sound like a hypocrite. As a believer who works in government I see how grossly inefficient and corrupt government is at carrying out the roles of the church. BUT in many ways I am also in a prime position to see where the church fails to provide an alternative. Even when they do “provide an alternative”, they tend to run it like the government program or like a business, and if you have to fill out an application to get food anyway you might as well go to the government where people won’t question your moral integrity when they give you the food.

So what are some areas of need that the church could maybe provide a real alternative to what the government offers?:

-The need for mental and behavioral health care for a kid or family member.
-Respite care for those who care for the mentally and physically disabled.
-Health Care in general
-Drug/Alcohol treatment
-Protection from Domestic/Child Abuse
-Money to get by while people are unemployed/re-training of the work force so they can find another job.

See...the church dabbles in some of these areas, but we blend into the empire, getting our tax shelters and "faith-based initiatives" covered by the government's dime. We dabble because just like the world and the government, we believe there are limited resources. Certainly the church in and of itself has limited resources, but G-D doesn’t. If we live in such a way that demonstrates our deep belief that through G-D there is enough to share and go around, then there will be. That is just simple Kingdom Economics my friends. Anyone ever heard that story about some kid’s loaves and fishes feeding a big honkin group of people? Yeah, same G-D still around today. Instead we put our faith in Adam Smith and Alan Greenspan to explain market forces and explain why we couldn’t possibly feed everyone in the world. (btw. A great book on Kingdom Economics is Jesus for President, by Shane Claiborne and Chris Haw).

We can't dabble and be effective. We have to be ridiculous and unreasonable to come up with High-Trust initiatives that require G-D to be involved or it fails. It also has to look completely different than all the government services, or the empire will get credit instead of glory being given to our Father, who has enough resources to meet all these needs. We have to get back to being peculiar. People should write articles about the things believers are doing and be writing things like “the plan seems absolutely crazy, but it seems to be working.”

So, what are some examples of this craziness I’m dreaming of?

1.    Step one would be a simple shift in resources. Instead of pouring billions into elections and lobbyist groups, let’s move that money into providing job training and unemployment insurance.
2.    Let’s establish our own scholarships to train doctors, mental health professionals and respite care professionals within every community and congregation and bravely ask the government to send people our way, instead of telling them they don’t qualify.
3.    Some local bodies (like The Simple Way) are already doing a coop for health insurance, we should just make it standard practice.
4.    Churches should be providing non-lethal self-defense courses and using them as an opportunity to explain why we should cling to non-violence as believers, instead of promoting 2nd amendment rights.
5.    When women and/or children are being abused a coalition of men and women should come around the women and children to protect them and help provide for their needs. The men should also attempt to come around the man to help him overcome his anger, and possibly save the marriage.
6.    There needs to be more groups that aid, shelter and help immigrants (illegal or otherwise) acclimate to the US. There are some amazing groups (like Border Angels), but there need to be more. We should train do more to train them for jobs, and teaching them English.

The list could go on and on. I recognize that I sound overly idealistic and optimistic, but allow me to temper that by saying that most people who know me would say I’m a bit of a cynical realist. I also recognize that I seem to make is sound oh so simple. It is hard, that’s why I haven’t started all of these initiatives. BUT the fact is the government has somehow managed to come up with ways to quasi-meet all of these needs. How can the church, who knows the G-D of the universe that has unlimited resources honestly say these things are too hard so we’ll just leave it to the government?

Songs reinforce truth for me....

Sat, 10 Jan 2009 14:39:58 GMT

I was recently having a discussion with someone about why I think it is so important for worship/christian songs to be as theologically correct as they can be.

I used the hymns as an example. Hymns have several verses of truth repeated to the same music.

Hymns were greatly used in a time when many people were illiterate and could not read scripture for themselves, so they would learn songs to learn scripture. This is what oral tradition cultures do.

This person may have missed my point and started defending modern worship songs.

I have no problem with modern worship songs, because as he said "many of them are based on verses from the bible". Too true. And I enjoy many of those songs.

The problem comes in, when I hear songs that reinforce a bad mindset from the beginning.

For example, one song that really irks me is Michael W. Smith's Above All. This is a song that I have heard in many, many churches in my short 11-year walk with Christ. There is probably nothing inherently wrong with this song...but I do think it espouses incorrect thinking about the purpose of Christ's death. Here is the chorus:

Crucified
Laid behind a stone
You lived to die
Rejected and alone
Like a rose
Trampled on the ground
You took the fall
And thought of me
Above all

Ok...so in some ways this is technically correct. Jesus died for me. But I think many of our songs over emphasize him going to the cross for me!

I have heard many songs and many preachers say Jesus would have gone to the cross even if I was the only one who accepted him. OK, true....

But to be more accurate Jesus would have gone to the cross if NO ONE accepted him, because the Father told him to. He lived to Glorify his Father. He lived a life Obedient to his Father. At one point Jesus didn't do something that was good, because the Father said it wasn't time yet.

Jesus accomplished many things with his death on the cross, but the nitty gritty reason he chose to die on the cross was because the Father willed him to. Just so we're clear.

But many of our modern songs, act like Jesus had fluffy feelings about us and he was comforted on the cross by the thought that he was dying for me.

This also just reinforces our individualistic views of our relationships with God. Yes, it is a personal choice, and yes we do get to commune with God one-to-one. BUT we were meant to live in community. We were meant to interpret scripture as a body and not as an individual. and even down to the core of our songs reinforces a "Lone-Ranger Christianity".

Do you see what I am getting at here? Many people in our culture are still illiterate, maybe not in the literal sense, but they are Biblically illiterate. Old Hymns were used to teach people doctrine and truth. New songs are often used to do the same, but people are not as careful to make sure their songs are full of truth, as much as making sure their songs stir the emotions to sell more records. Yeah, I said it.

I am not saying one is better than the other (in the hymns/modern songs debate)...please hear me out. I am just trying to say that we need to be discerning about what songs we choose to teach our congregations, don't ya think?

But the reason I got into that whole discussion in the first place is that two songs have really been reminding me of truth and bringing me comfort lately.

There are a few things that I have been praying about recently that if God doesn't come through, one person may die physically and the other spiritually and my heart has been heavily burdened as I pray specifically and intentionally, but also surrender to His will.

I can pray very specifically that God intervene in a situation and he might do exactly what I asked him to. But he also has the big picture. He also knows exactly what is truly Best in the scheme of His Kingdom.

As I have been praying over the last couple of weeks, I often will end my time by listening the song Graditude by Nichole Nordeman. It's about asking God for something that seems like such an obvious need to you, but recognizing that however God answers, we should be grateful because he is doing what is best, and maybe that doesn't look like we think it should:

Send some rain, would You send some rain?
'Cause the earth is dry and needs to drink again
And the sun is high and we are sinking in the shade
Would You send a cloud, thunder long and loud?
Let the sky grow black and send some mercy down
Surely You can see that we are thirsty and afraid
But maybe not, not today
Maybe You'll provide in other ways
And if that's the case . . .

(Chorus)

We'll give thanks to You
With gratitude
For lessons learned in how to thirst for You
How to bless the very sun that warms our face
If You never send us rain

Daily bread, give us daily bread
Bless our bodies, keep our children fed
Fill our cups, then fill them up again tonight
Wrap us up and warm us through
Tucked away beneath our sturdy roofs
Let us slumber safe from danger's view this time
Or maybe not, not today
Maybe You'll provide in other ways
And if that's the case . . .

(Chorus)

We'll give thanks to You
With gratitude
A lesson learned to hunger after You
That a starry sky offers a better view if no roof is overhead And if we never taste that bread

Oh, the differences that often are between
What we want and what we really need

So grant us peace, Jesus, grant us peace
Move our hearts to hear a single beat
Between alibis and enemies tonight
Or maybe not, not today
Peace might be another world away
And if that's the case . . .

(Chorus)

We'll give thanks to You
With gratitude
For lessons learned in how to trust in You
That we are blessed beyond what we could ever dream
In abundance or in need
And if You never grant us peace

But Jesus, would You please . . .

At the end though, you still see that hope that Jesus will provide what you're asking for. I don't think Jesus is ever disappointed or angry with us, if we are sad for a time when things don't work the way we want them to.

He knows we don't have the full picture and he knows that what we prayed for so earnestly was important to us and we have to mourn the loss of it.

But at the end of the day he wants us to looks back on it and say. I know you are good, I know you know what's best and you are my strength. Please encourage my heart.

That is where I am right now. God doesn't seem to be answering the way I would like him to right now, but he is encouraging me to hold on and see what he is up to. The things that are happening right now make me soul weary, for my dear friends going through them, but things like what's happening in Gaza and Darfur also just make me long to be home with Jesus, so that I don't feel this heaviness anymore.

I take great comfort in the song His Eye is on the Sparrow (I like the Lauryn Hill Version, but any version works for the lyrics):

Why should I feel discouraged?
Why should the shadows come?
Why should my heart feel lonely?
And long for heaven and home

When Jesus is my portion
A constant friend is He
His eye is on the sparrow
And I know He watches over me
His eye is on the sparrow
and I know He over watches me
His eye is on the sparrow
and I know He watches me

I sing because I'm happy
I sing because I'm free
His eye is on the sparrow
And I know He watches me (He watches me)
His eye is on the sparrow
And I know He watches (I know He watches)
I know He watches me

(I) I sing because I'm happy
I sing because I'm free
His eye is on the sparrow
And I know He watches me (He watches me)
His eye is on the sparrow
And I know, He watches me
He watches me
He watches me
I know
He watches me.

I will be with Jesus soon enough, until then, He knows best!
What songs encourage you?

Quick Updatily diddly doo

Fri, 02 Jan 2009 21:47:14 GMT

It's 2009, that's weird.
Do you remember all the hubub and worry about Y2K. I was rather hopeful the world would end and it was by far the most anti-climactic new years I've ever celebrated. Hmmm.
This year was anti-climactic, but I had fun just staying home and relaxing with my buddy Erin.
Life has been strange.
I am starting a second job tomorrow, and I'm sort of nervous. It's in food service sorta. We do concessions and catering. But I am looking forward to kicking the crap out of my debt sooner, rather than later.
My body is again revolting and doing weird things to me.
First, I had my lap-band tightened back in October when I got back from China, and I had restriction for about two days and then I had zero. I could eat basically whatever I wanted for about two months, which was very frustrating.
The whole point of the lap-band is to help you feel full sooner, so you eat fewer calories. Well, I did not feel full on less food. I could eat full meals if I didn't just choose to stop. It just made me very angry.
So, anyway, I go in on wednesday to have it tightened again and to ask if he knows what the honk is wrong with this thing, and why it's isn't working right.
I get in the surgery room, and the first thing the surgeon does is tell me how disappointed he is in my me for gaining a pound in the two month period, and interrogating me on what I'm doing wrong (even though I have been following the rules).
Then, I tell him that I've had no restriction for two months, and that I can eat virtually anything, but I chose to stop eating even though I'm still hungry. He interrogates me again.
Finally, he gets me up on the table and doesn't even wait for the anesthetic to go into effect before he stabs me with a giant needle and I let out quite a yelp, and he just kept on stabbing.
They get me up to the xray machine so he can watch the liquid go through and I take a drink and the liquid just stops. It won't go through my band. It just sits there and refluxes up a bit. So, it was really tight...he was tempted to take some liquid out. He said, I don't know what you're talking about, but I can't put any more liquid in there. There is only so much the band can do, you have to do your part.
So, completely frustrated at this point, I finally look at him and yell, NO! LISTEN TO ME! I have been doing what I am supposed to, why is this thing not working. You just do not understand that I've not felt restricted for two months!! He said, Ok, Ok...I'll see you in my office in two weeks and see how you are doing. And I said...FINE!
As soon as he turned around to walk over to the computer, I just started sobbing. The nurse was like, OK, let's see if we can't get ya a glass of water and get ya calmed down in the recovery area.
I told the nurse that I felt like when I have taken my car to a mechanic and I tell them what the car is doing, and they take it out for a drive and come back and say "well it didn't do it while, I was driving, so I don't think there is anything wrong with it". I know something is wrong with me, but it didn't do that while I was at the doctors office, so he just thinks I'm crazy or not following the rules.
I can't begin to tell you how incredibly frustrating this is to me. I have worked really, really hard. And to be treated like I'm just some fat, dumb hillbilly who spends her nights eating twinkies and bonbons, and then wonders why she is not losing weight, is just not fair.
I am also freezing, pretty much all of the time.
At first I thought it was because I lost all this weight, and I am sure some of it is. But the weird thing is that I can be wearing long johns, jeans, socks, slippers, a tank top, long sleeved t-shirt, a hooded sweatshirt, and be wrapped in two blankets and still be freezing, in a house that is about 75 degrees.
My skin will feel warm to the touch, but I'm shivering or I feel cold from within.
So, my mom, says "I think you should talk to your doctor about that".
Well, my doctor is in China right now adopting a baby (which I'm so jealous of, but the point is she is out of the country).
So I see a different doctor in the office.
She was completely stumped. Which doesn't surprise me. If there is something odd or rare, it will probably happen to me.
Think of it this way, There is less than a 1 % chance that people will have any complication with the lap-band!! Guess who is in the 1%? I am!!! Less than one percent of the world has a condition called Hidradenitis suppurativa...Guess who has it? I DO, I DO!!
I am like murphy's law gone wrong.
So, they did some blood work, but weren't hopeful they'd find anything. So she said we could monitor it for a few months and see if we notice a pattern develop. So, for my birthday I went to shopko and bought myself an electric blanket, to hopefully help me get to sleep at night. Sweet MERCY!!!
Anyway...moving on!
Christmas was good. I went to Scottsbluff and I got to see lots of people I had not seen in years. It was a blast and a bit of a preview to my 10 year class reuinion.
Call me crazy, but I'm really flippin excited for my 10 year reunion. I think it will be good fun.
I also got to spend time with my madre and brother and sister-in-law. I miss them a lot.
The Legislative Session starts on January 7th, so that will be kind of crazy because we'll have 20 new senators. And I 'm gonna miss Ernie so much.
So, this is my birthday month. I alway celebrate my birthday for the whole month, but I never know whether to start or end on my birthday. So this year I think I will start on my birthday.
It call it my Month of Jubilee!
On January 9th a movie that I've been dying to see is coming out, but I have something planned that night, so I may have to wait until my birthday. We'll see what I can figure out.
Clint Eastwood is putting out a new movie called Gran Torino. It looks amazing. Click on the link here to watch the trailer. I adore Clint Eastwood. He is an incredible actor, but an even better director. I mean look at Mystic River and Million Dollar Baby, and The Changeling. The man is a genius!
Anyway...for my birthday I will be going to a stars game. Which I'm super-excited about.
Then for the next night, I'll be going to a starts game. Which I'm super-excited about! Is there an echo in here?
Then on the 18th, I think I may have some sort of birthday party. We shall see.
All in all, should be good times!
Well, I better run! Blog at you soon.

Thoughts on our Ultimate Lover

Sun, 07 Dec 2008 19:54:19 GMT

God is an incredible lover!

I am reading through my one year bible and I am in Hosea right now. The thing I love about Hosea is God’s expression of his jealousy and hurt.
God wants Hosea to be able to experience what God feels when his people cheat on him. So he tells Hosea to take a prostitute for a wife and to keep taking her back.
I know I’ve talked about this on my blog before, but the story of Hosea is told beautifully in the movie Moulin Rouge.
If any of you married/engaged/dating people have ever been cheated on by your significant other, you know the intense pain that that betrayal can cause.
Has it ever occurred to you that God feels this pain when we choose to find our satisfaction in some other god?
If God could show vulnerability (I’m not suggesting he is weak here, just honest about his hurt), Hosea is probably one of the best pictures of this.
I’ve not experienced this sort of betrayal, but the things I imagine people experience intense feelings of hurt, distrust, and anger.
If you read Hosea, you noticed God expressing all of these things.
I know that people want to be careful to bring God down to human levels and reactions, and I do want to be careful to not be mocking or lowering of God here, but you can’t deny the intense emotion that God feels because his people have turned to other gods, even though he has been perfectly faithful, loving, devoted and protective of his people.
May I suggest that the most amazing part of this is the grace that God extends in the midst of this hurt. May I suggest that this makes his Grace even more amazing than we often realize.
In human terms…if your husband/wife cheats on you, you might extend them grace and agree to go to counseling with them and try to save your marriage once, twice, maybe even 3 times. But there comes a point when you probably would not be able to trust them again. There would come a point when they’ve cheated too many times.
Do you realize that we turn to other gods almost daily, and while it grieves God’s heart deeply, he forgives and forgets every time…not on the basis of our ability or willingness to change so much, as on the basis that he is confident that His love can change us, that His Son’s work on the cross was sufficient, that Jesus’ intercession on our behalf is so moving to the father’s heart, that the transforming work of the spirit is so powerful.
We live under such incredible grace. I am soooo guilty of taking it for granted, but it is also what daily transforms me and helps me choose God’s perfect peace over the temporary peace that other god’s offer.

Speaking of lovers! Bryan Clark (pastor at Lincoln Berean) has recently spoke on singleness. It’s been fascinating for me to listen to the message and also listen to the reaction across the board (from married and single people).

What I loved is that Bryan laid the smack down on both married and single people and by “laid the smack down” I mean boldly declared the truth in love.

The truth is that we called to be obedient to Christ TODAY regardless of our circumstances. We are never to have the excuse that we are waiting for something to change before we live for God fully or are about His mission.

We were called to where we are for a purpose and no amount of circumstances give us an out or a free pass to selfish-ville. No amount of pain, trial, tribulation, joy, responsibility or circumstance gives us a way out. God has called us to love and know him, to build his kingdom, give him glory and invite others in…period.

I have sat with wonderful single people, who have no debt, nothing holding them back, and they feel called to over-seas missions or inner-city ministry, or full-time ministry of some sort and they say to me “Well, I don’t think I can/should/want to go serve until I get married”. And when I get to the heart of it, it’s because they are afraid that if they jump into ministry without a spouse that it means they don’t need the spouse to do ministry and God will not give them a spouse and force them into a life of singleness.

Now, this is just a low and poor view of God. This is thinking that God is trying to get by with just giving us just enough of what we need to function and that if we act like we can function with less God will be like “Phew, she can make it without a whole lot of blessing, without a spouse, without…, and that just saves me the trouble of having to bless her with more.”

God loves to give us good things, but my friends we’re not going to trick him into giving us good things that he never intends us to have. And sometimes he will call us to give up something small (that seems big to us) in order for us to get in on the Big thing he has for us.

Bryan talked about how as single people, we are in the unique situation to serve and minister to people and to share the gospel in a way that married people cannot. When people are married their devotion is divided because it’s not just to God, but they have a whole other person that requires their attention and devotion. And Bryan is exactly right. Neither being married or single is more spiritual or better, but each is unique.

One of the things I love about being single is that if I need to go meet with someone in crisis at midnight or 3am, I don’t have to justify it to anyone. I don’t have to make the decision of whether this is going to strain my relationship with my significant other. If I need hang out with a non-believer a lot because I am investing in that person, I’m not putting a marriage on the line.

Now don’t get me wrong. I want to be married. I would love to be able to do life and ministry with someone else….BUT I will not wait to do ministry, go to the missions field, or dig deep into the wealth of God’s word until I am married. I will waste these years of freedom/ability to minister if I do that.

But lest you believe that I or Bryan let married people off the hook in their work for the mission because they have someone else to focus on, let me say that they don’t have an out.

I have also sat with Godly married people who have said, well we aren’t going to serve anywhere because we really need to just focus in on our marriage and family. We need to raise our kids right and my ministry is my family right now. OK…that’s some what respectable, but it’s also too often used an excuse to check out on the mission.

Bryan boldly talked about how much selfishness is lived in under the guise of ”family is my ministry” type thinking. And as a single woman, I do not presume to judge the hearts of married people in this arena, but I do, without shame, ask you, my married friends to honestly ask God if you are doing this. If you’d allowed your marriage to turn so inwardly focuses that you have checked out of the mission?

Let’s talk about the unique position that married couples find themselves in. As a single woman, I cannot really speak to well into an unbelieving married couples life, but a Godly married couple can walk with an unbelieving couple and possibly help save their marriage or help save their families.

They can also build in to single peoples’ lives and be honest and vulnerable about how hard marriage and relationships are. Single people need to be awakened from their dream that marriage will be bliss and all of their troubles will be gone once they are married. That their loneliness will be gone, all of their sexual urges will be satisfied, and that all their needs will be fulfilled. The fact is that whether married or single we will only find true satisfaction in Christ.

I am grateful for the countless married couples that have spoken into my life about the realities of marriage and have allowed their relationship to be a mirror of my life for me to see how ill-prepared for marriage I really am. This mirror helps me to cry out to God to make me the person I will need to be if I should ever get married, but it makes me intensely content to be single as long as God blesses me with this gift of singleness. Thank you married friends for ministering to me in this way! You’ll never know how much you’ve blessed me.

I also greatly appreciated Bryan talked to both married and single people about not viewing singleness as some sort of social disorder that needs to be fixed or treated. As long as this attitude lingers, single people will feel like outsiders and married people will have this smug sense that they’ve some how “arrived”. I
We have to seek to love each other and learn from each other. And as long as either or both groups is bitter toward the other we are harming the body of Christ. While there are times for us to be exclusive in our life experiences and do things as single people or married people….we can’t live there. We must be careful to live as one big family of Christ!

I think I’ll stop for now, but I do intend to get back to the thing I asked you to ponder on Friday…so keep pondering it.

But I am curious what your thoughts are on Hosea, God’s grace, Married and Single living.

This is kind of a doozy again...sorry friends

Sun, 07 Dec 2008 19:48:13 GMT

Some of you are probably wondering what the honk happened to me? Some of you probably stopped checking my blog, because I never update it anymore. And some of you I have talked to me and know why I haven’t been around, but still miss reading my thoughts on random things.

To all of you, I apologize.
Many are wondering how I feel about the election and the economic crisis, some are still wondering about China, and others just want to read my snarky comments on certain issues in the church J
To all of you again I apologize.
This will probably be a longish post, but I have a few things to catch you all up on. This will probably be random and not well organized, but it should be interesting.

1. THE ELECTION: Let me start by saying that I deliberately stayed out of blogging about the election. I did not want to sway anyone’s vote, and I really wanted to force my friends to wrestle through who they were going to vote for.
After years of working in politics, I was more convinced than ever that politics is really satan’s domain. It is a worldly system and therefore, he rules it. Does it mean that Christians have no responsibility in their voting/civic duty? Probably not, but I used to believe that the system needed good solid believers in it to help redeem it for Christ, and I’m not so convinced that that works anymore.
I am not convinced that my vote “counts”.
My experience tells me that if there is an environment that will kill your hope that you can make a difference in the world, it’s the environment of politics.
Many people will say I’ve become cynical, I will say that I am probably the most hopeful, optimistic person you will meet. I actually believe that making small personal changes in my behavior can impact the world. I buy local, I buy fair-trade, I recycle, and I buy hand made, not because it’s the “cool, trendy” thing to do, but because I honestly believe that there are people lives that I am impacting directly and indirectly by living my life this way.
I thought very long and hard about who to vote for. I wrestled through my decision , as I do every election year. And I could not in honest or good conscience vote for either presidential candidate. I will not go into details as to why, because I do not wish to spark a debate about the pros and cons of the candidate, But I will tell you who I voted for.
I wrote in Jesus Christ! Why?:
- It was an act of worship for me to proclaim my allegiance to him!
- It was an act of trust and an acknowledgement that I am not putting my faith in people to bring about the changes I wish to see in my country in world
- It was symbolic of the fact that I believe that only He is my ruler, and that the church as His body is responsible to help bring about the change we wish to see in our country and world. My hope can never be in Obama, McCain or the congress. They are corrupt and tools of this worldly system.
- Because God loves us he places leaders to provide some semblance of order, but this system (a president or a king) is never what he wanted. He wanted to be our only ruler and king, but the people of God wanted to be like the other nations and God gave us over to what we threw a tantrum for. If you wonder why politics is so contentious, it’s because this was never the system God intended for us.

If you voted for McCain or Obama…good for you. I hope you wrestled through why you did it and felt at peace with God about it. I am not trying to convince you that you should feel as I do, but I do think that you need to submit everything in your life to Christ and see how he leads you!
I have been greatly influenced by a few things that I’ve read recently, The Beattitudes being the biggest! All of Shane Claiborne’s work, Gregory Boyd’s “The Myth of a Christian Nation”, Yoder’s “The Politics of Jesus” and the work of many great Christian Pacifists.
I can no longer live under the illusion that the best we can do is resign ourselves to the system as this world as the best it can be. God has called us to be a peculiar people, and I think the church in the US blends in way to well.
NOW! HAVING SAID ALL OF THAT: May I just say how wonderful I think it is to have been alive to see a Black Man elected president!!! This was an amazing step forward for our nation and I pray for Obama daily.
BUT I also live under no illusion that Racism is no longer an issue in our country. I think it’s just gone underground and many people still raise their kids with hate and unfounded fear of other races.
It was ironic and painful to me that while the nation took a huge step forward elect a black man as president, the state of Nebraska in an act of fear, misunderstanding and I would say Racism, passed a ban on Affirmative Action.
I know some of you greatly disagree with me on this, and that’s fine. I will not argue this out with you, so don’t try.
The only thing I will say is that no one wants to believe they are racist, and it can take years to realize the subtle hate you’ve been raised with. But I ask you to please examine your heart, ask God to reveal any racism that might be lurking in there. Particularly, if you grew up in a White, Christian home. You will be most likely to believe that you have no racism, but you might be shocked to find what lies in the depths of your heart and mind.

CHINA:

China was wonderful. I love being there, but it always deeply impacts my life and makes living here in the states just a little harder for me. God has given me such a love for the Chinese people, that I can hardly express. I feel a kinship with them that is hard to describe, other than to say when I’m with the Chinese I feel at home.

One of the things that deeply impacted me this time around was coming face-to-face with the persecuted church. We just have no concept of what it is to live the way they do.

I think between meeting my friend J and going to house churches where we sang songs about the beauty of martyrdom, the joy of trials and persecution, and the kinship of being united with Christ through suffering opened my eyes to a part of our family that we rarely consider or pray for.

Many of the teachings of Christ and Paul hold very little relevance to Christians in the US because we live in such affluence and comfort. The most persecution we may face is the rejection of our family or the mocking of a co-worker. But how would your relationship with Christ and the Body of Christ changed if you lived daily with the reality that you may be beheaded for your faith? Or that you might literally be imprisoned or kicked out of your home because you are following Christ.

I have many friends who feel like they’ve not experienced the presence of Christ or have not heard him speak to them, but I ask, why would we need that? Why would we need the comforting presence of Christ or for Christ to appear to us if it is so easy for us to believe and follow Christ in the midst of our lavish wealthy lives? This may be a touchy subject for some of us who feel we’ve been through “real” suffering, but let me argue that I think Christ comes to us at the level in which we need his comfort. I don’t want to downplay anyone’s suffering (or my own for that matter) because it is very real to us, but I do want to put it in perspective to what many of our brothers and sisters face around the world. When you are hurting and cry out to God for relief, Cry out to God for them as well.

Even as I write this, I’ve been getting emails from Jeff Petersen about the Berean Pastors in India that are facing intense persecution, beatings, and jail time. Pray with me for our brothers and sisters in chains around the world.

On a lighter note: In China I got to work at an orphanage for a day. And let me just say that God made a huge break through in my life at that time and I am really comin around on this whole kid thing. I’m not terrified of them as I once was, and I may even be persuaded to have one or two of my own someday. Alright, probably not really physically I know, but adopting one or two. Crazy, I know…but God is a miracle worker J

I have so much more to tell you all, but I’m sitting in a coffee shop in Seattle. I am here visiting my friends Jess and Erik Hustad, and it’s already been a huge blessing to me.

I am going to run though and spend some time reading my book about Rich Mullins that I’m absolutely loving and I want to spend some time journaling about several things that are on my heart. I will try to blog again Sunday!

Til then, I will leave you something to Ponder, and I will probably blog about on Sunday.

I have been thinking a lot about this, I don’t think I’ve read it anywhere, but it just sort of popped into my head.

We are not as much called to live by the golden rule “Do unto others, as you would have them do unto you”, as we are called to live this way: “Do unto others, as Christ has done unto you”.

Think about it!

Whoops, forgot to post the second installment on revelife!

Mon, 18 Aug 2008 20:13:54 GMT

HAPPY BANDIVERSARY!!!!...and the next installment

Today marks exactly one year since I went in to have the Lap-Band surgery performed.
It's been quite a year, let me tell you. It's been fun, its been frustrating, its been educational, and it's been well worth it.
In a year I have lost a total of 92 lbs. I still have a long way to go, but being 92 lbs lighter has made a world of difference.
Here are a few things to consider about my life when I was 92 lbs heavier:

I would not walk from the Capitol to Yia Yia's pizza (which is about 5 blocks away) because it was too far and I would be exhausted when I got there.
I used to be able to eat a full 3 course meal, and still be able to help someone finish their dessert.
I was on 2 medications for high blood pressure and now I'm only on one (and I'm on that one because my doctor says it's just good for my heart).
I would take the elevator to the second floor of the capitol to go get the mail, and then I would take it back down.
I used to buy two plane seats, so I would beat the airline to the punch in-case they wanted to charge me for a second one because I was over-sized.

I feel like I can do many things that I never thought possible now. I walk all over the place. I go to the farmers market. I walk all over downtown. I've even walked to get groceries. I'm stronger, healthier and feel like God has just provided this wonderful tool to free me from my fat...which will ultimately free me to live better for Him.
It's definitely had it's down-sides and frustrations for me. I recently had to go in to have my band slightly "deflated" because I went for 5 days basically without eating because it was too tight. These things happen, but I don't regret my decision to have surgery for a moment.
SO YAY! Thank you for all your support and love. Thank you for listening to me talk about this stupid thing in me all the time. Like I said, it's been a learning experience and I am thankful that I have all of you to help me process through all of this.
And my mommy sent me flowers in celebration of my Bandiversary

Totally changing the subject here: I am almost finished with Jesus for President and it's rocking my world.
The more I read it, the less satisfied I am to just keep living the way I do. I realize more and more how wasteful I am, what an over-consumer I am, and how little I actually live like Jesus would.
This book is also making me painfully aware that the world has nothing for me.
As a girl that was so heavily involved in politics, I honestly believed (for a while) that if we just got enough believers in government that we could make a difference in the world. After working in that environment for so long, I now understand that there is no hope in our government. There is only hope in our King Jesus and living within His Kingdom.
I challenge you to read and wrestle through this book before the election. You may totally disagree with the authors, but at least they will challenge you to think deeply about the importance of where we place our allegiance.

And Finally, I will try to do the next installment of my blog about women as pithily as possible.
One thing I have had to come to terms with, since becoming a believer, is the issue of how women are treated in our culture.
Now the reasons that feminism or women's rights as we know them in the United States started were quite compelling.
Women were being treated as slaves, not allowed to vote to be represented, many not allowed to go to school or hold a job. Many were forced into marriage and child-bearing. Many lived in situations where their husband was unfaithful, physically, sexually, and verbally abusive, and they had no recourse.
I am so thankful for the women who laid the ground work, made the sacrifice, and took the punishment so that I could be educated, hold a job, and choose if/who I wanted to marry and if I wanted to have children.
I do feel, however, that as feminism evolved through the years, it went from fighting for necessary rights of women to ostracizing women who did not desire to fully utilize those rights.
As the women's movement progressed, many women started to argue that there was no need for men in the world. Some even tried to push science to prove there was no need for men.
Other women started arguing that she was able to do whatever she wanted with her body, as a free, educated woman (that included having abortions, sleeping with as many men as she wanted, and dressing however she pleased).
Still other women would verbally attack, write books about and belittle women who made the choice to stay home to raise their children and submit to their husband's leadership. (Ironically attacking them for choosing one of the very rights they fought for). They argued that they fought so hard to get women the right to be educated and hold jobs, that for a woman to choose to by-pass college and skip climbing the corporate ladder is a slap in the face all women everywhere.
This is where I feel the feminist movement shifted from protecting women from the tyranny of men, to harming women by de-valuing them.

So allow me to redefine feminism's purpose and goals, so you can understand how I believe women should be treated in our culture.
I believe at the heart of feminism is the need to protect women. I'm not saying who's doing the protecting here, it could be men, it could be the government, it could be other women, it could be society.
From what do women need protection?:

The tyranny of a man thinking he is empowered to control a woman, particularly men who use the Bible as their basis for controlling women. (I can do a whole post on what the Bible actually says on this issue, but I'll sum it up: He is to lay down his life for her!)
Physical, sexual, and verbal abuse and violence (rape, beating, manipulation, intimidation, etc.)
Men that sexually harass, joke about sex around women, or who make demeaning comments about women's appearance.
Media that devalue women and communicate a message of worthlessness to women (Rap music that portrays women as sex objects, advertising that does the same thing, magazines that airbrush women and tell you to look like them, etc.)
Women who judge other women for choosing to stay at home to raise a family.
Women who judge other women for having a career or choosing to never marry or become a mother.

I think when you get to the core of the purpose of feminism it's to protect and value women as the precious creatures that God sees them as.
I was recently in a situation where some Christian men felt comfortable joking about sexual things around me, even though I objected. They also made jokes about finding "simple" women...blah, blah, blah. The details here are not important. What is important is what they chose to communicate to me as a sister in Christ. They basically said it is ok to treat women with disrespect, that I wasn't valuable enough to be protected from this rude talk, and that women have more value to them if they just do what they want sexually. I was immensely hurt by that. (one of the guys did apologize later for that)
No wonder so many girls wind up pregnant as teenagers. They have been told they are most valuable if they show alot of skin, stay skinny and hairless, and have sex. Women are just as much to blame for this as men are, because girls pressure each other to wear the right clothes to fit in, and have a boyfriend, and to "do whatever they want with their bodies, it's their right".
I could go on and on here. I will choose to stop because this is getting long.
Allow me to sum up my thoughts here:

If our culture (particularly the Christian culture) would treat and view women as God does, there would be no need for feminist movements, because women would be loved, greatly valued, and cared for!

Those Brutal Beatitudes!

Wed, 13 Aug 2008 20:17:25 GMT

So, I've recently been journeying and journaling through the Beatitudes again, thanks, in part, to finishing Jesus for President.
In JFP they really talk a lot about the politics of Jesus, and the Beatitudes, and enemy love.
It really flies in the face of human nature and particularly American culture.
I have been following with some interest the lawsuit of Victoria Osteen. She is being sued because she allegedly pushed a flight attendant because a spill wasn't cleaned up fast enough.
I have to admit that I've been following partially because I question Joel Osteen as a fit pastor and partially because, clearly something went wrong if Continental Airlines felt compelled to kick her off the flight and fine her $3000.
My personal feelings about the Osteens aside, this story made me think of the Beatitudes.
Now I don't know all the facts about this story. Perhaps the Osteens did nothing wrong, perhaps the flight attendant is just trying to capitalize on this opportunity to tap some of the Osteen's ridonculous net worth, and perhaps she did actually lose her cool and push the lady and hurt her.
Regardless, this has turned into a media frenzy because the Osteen's are in the public eye, as her husband Joel Osteen is the pastor of the largest church in the US.
I can't help but think, that if she handled things the way Jesus instructed in the Beatitudes, there would still be a lot of media attention, but for a completely different reason.
Read Matthew 5 (particuarly vs. 38-48)
So, the Osteens are caught in this high profile lawsuit. Defending their enormous wealth from this "opportunistic flight attendant". If Jesus were their legal counsel (as he should be for all of us) and based on the Beatitudes, what advice might he offer the Osteens.
My guess:

Pay twice what she is demanding (matthew 5:40)
privately and publicly apologize to her (regardless of whether she is falsely accusing or not)
Don't fight back.
Pray for her, with all sincerity of heart.

Can you imagine what the press would do, if Joel and Victoria Osteen, in response to being served papers about the lawsuit, wrote a check to the girl for twice what she asked, delivered it personally, apologized, and asked if they could pray with her?
THAT WOULD BE A NEWS STORY! That would make Christians the peculiar people God has called us to be. That would peak peoples' interest in who this Jesus guy was. Instead, the Osteens just look like the rest of the world.
Now don't get me wrong. I'm not casting stones at the Osteens (for this anyway). I'm the first to want to lash back at something if it seems unfair or unjust (I'm a fighter at heart). But Jesus made it quite clear, that Justice is not our concern....Love is.
God will make things right in His good time, but he has given us clear instructions on how to live in such a way to honor Him.
I only pray that if I ever have a Osteen moment, that I can choose the path of the Beatitudes and not the wide and destructive path!
So, I keep trying to internalize the Beatitudes. They're tough and painful to get down, but I think it's a beautiful way to live!

First in a series, Intimidating Women

Thu, 12 Jun 2008 15:31:50 GMT

I rarely do posts in series form, so this will be a new adventure for me.
After my little teaser yesterday, I received quite a few emails and comments asking me to start blogging on these issues ASAP (in other words, don't wait 2 months to start
I'm going to break these posts up into several parts, so they aren't quite as lengthy.
Some of these might be really controversial to some people and maybe some people won't even give a rip, but here we go.

Apparently, it's my problem if men find me intimidating:
So, I have written about this briefly in the past and have talked to many people about it before, but I decided it was time I took this one head on.

Since I became a believer in 1997, I have become a radically different person. To make a long story short, I discovered who I was. I found my identity in Christ alone and have grown quite comfortable in my own skin. I have always been smart, opinionated, and out-going.

I have been told my men and women alike, that I am intimidating to men, and that is why I remain single. Now, please understand, when I've been told this I have never been complaining about my singleness (because I'm quite content in my singleness), I have not been seeking information on why I am still single, nor have I been speaking about relationships. The people who have told me this have always felt compelled to give me the information, even though I had not solicited it. It always catches me off guard and I rarely know how to respond. I always think of how to respond later, but its usually too late to bring it up.

As I have sought to know what the honk it means that men would find me intimidating, I find a variety of answers:

You're too smart, you seem to be well-informed on many things...no man could keep up with you or he would constantly feel belittled/disrespected/emasculated around you.
You have a calling on your life already (men either want you to fit into theirs or discover your calling/purpose/dreams with them).
You want to adopt or not have any kids at all....men want to have kids of their own, ya know to carry on their names, etc.
You're too much of a realist/cynical/unromantic. Men like women who want to be swept of their feet, have a story book wedding, settle down and raise a family. You're too non-traditional.
You're standards to ridiculously high.
You have an opinion on everything.
You seem to be very solid in your beliefs/theology...how could a man lead you or help you grow?
You’re too serious
You’re too silly
You’re too loud and abrasive.
You don’t seem like you could ever submit to anyone.

OK. I’ll stop. I could go on and on, but you get the point.

Before everyone gets all worked up and you say that I’m over-generalizing men, and it’s not fair to say they all would be intimidated by that list or any of the things on that list…I want to remind you that I did not say they are. Other people have told me they would be intimidated by me because of these things.

So, ASSUMING IT’S TRUE that men are intimidated by any or all of these things, I’ve got a few problems.

1. I can’t do anything about it, unless they are things that God convicts me to change. If something is in the fabric of my being, the way I’m wired, or just part of who I am…to ask me to change that won’t work. God has to do the changing. In some ways I know he has made me gentler and has taught me to hold my tongue when I would rather speak up. That’s the work of the Spirit.

2. I’m not going to change, just so I can get married. I know that sounds like I wouldn’t ever compromise to meet in the middle with people. I just mean, that I’m not going to stop being who I am just so I can find someone who will marry me, just to surprise him with who I really am later. I think that happens all too often in dating relationships and I won’t be a part of that nonsense.

3. I refuse to believe that if I am supposed to get married, that these things about me will make me unattractive to the man I am suppose to marry. In fact, I imagine that these will be the very things that make me a perfect compliment to him or what he finds attractive about me.

4. If it’s the case that these things are insurmountable for the man who is supposed to marry me, then God’s doing one lousy job of changing me. I have and do seek to live my life submitted to GOD alone. I am constantly asking him to grow me, challenge me, change me, search me and have his way in me. If that is the case, and He hasn’t called me out on these things…my God is too small and essentially powerless.

Since I refuse to believe that my God is powerless, I refuse to believe that I am too intimidating for the right man.

5. I am called to the mission, as we all are. Where I serve is semi-negotiable. I would like to serve in China, but I hold all callings and dreams with an open-hand and realize that God can take away and redirect as he pleases. I refuse to let China become my God. I refuse to let the work I do to honor God become my God. Having said that, I do have God-given dreams of going and I’m not ready to just dump that out the window because some hottie comes along who would rather climb the corporate ladder, have his wife and 2.5 children and a dog. Sorry! It will take a huge intervention from God to have me go that route.

6. Please don’t assume that I am judging you if you are climbing the corporate ladder, and have a wife, 2.5 children and a dog….if that is what God has called you to, let no man/woman/thing hold you back from it. I am just not called to it, so I can’t settle for anything less than God is calling me to.

I have more thoughts on this, but I really must go. I might continue this tomorrow, or I might move on to the next topic. What say you?

Embrace the suffering.....

Tue, 10 Jun 2008 19:58:41 GMT

This was from January 25th of this year, but I have received so many comments about it, and it changed my life, so its probably my favorite post:

So, this morning I was reading my bible. My friend gave me a one year bible and I've been loving it. So, if you have one, read the section for January 25th.

Anywho....I have read this section of Matthew several times, I was always really baffled by something, until this morning. Thanks Holy Spirit, for the sweet hook-up on what this means. It's one of the times where Jesus got pretty intense in rebuking his disciples.

Matthew 16
24Then Jesus said to his disciples, "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. 25For whoever wants to save his life^[g] will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it. 26What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul? 27For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father's glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what he has done. 28I tell you the truth, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom."

OK...so I had heard this section several times in my life. It has been used in all sorts of sermons about giving up self, and what it means to take up your cross, the salvation message, and for not gaining earthly power and riches.

It occurred to me this morning, that while those are probably generally accurate interpretations, I think you must back up and read it a little more in context. What happened right before Jesus said this?

21From that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.

22Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. "Never, Lord!" he said. "This shall never happen to you!"

23Jesus turned and said to Peter, "Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men."

24Then Jesus said to his disciples, "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. 25For whoever wants to save his life^[g] will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it. 26What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul? 27For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father's glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what he has done. 28I tell you the truth, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom."

For even more context:
Prior to verse 21, Peter had correctly recognized that Jesus was The Christ (the annointed one, the messiah). So now that the disciples are thinking in those terms Jesus goes on to say that he is going to be put to death so that he can accomplish God's will and be raised again.

But Peter rebuked Jesus. Peter fought back! He said he wouldn't let it happen. He said the trials and death were unnecessary. That they would find a way to protect Jesus. And way to fix this problem. That he needed to avoid that suffering and death.

Then Jesus says something to Peter that honestly has always baffled me. "Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men."

Whoa, there Jesus! Your beloved Pete was just trying to help. You call him Satan?.... that seems kind of harsh don't you think?

As I read on, I realized that I am often like Peter. When suffering or trials come my way, I run around and try to fix it. I look for another way. I try to avoid and prevent the trials. When other peoples have trials, I try to do the same thing. I try to prevent people from having to endure every and any trial I can.

The fact is, I should react like Jesus. I should say, Why would I want to stop the will of God? Why would I try to solve a problem that God is going to use to form me? Why do I do everything in my power to avoid any suffering or discomfort, when God could do tremendous work through them or use them for his Glory? I should defend his work Jealously.

Ultimately Peter was just thinking in terms of the here and now. He wanted to keep Jesus around. But Jesus was upset because they still hadn't grasped the eternal vision of the Kingdom. The work he was doing, was to save our souls as God had purposed. Jesus was about the work of the Father and His Kingdom. He wasn't about saving his silly little short earthly life. He wanted to use his time for what lasts. If Peter and the disciples only knew the benefit of Jesus defeating death, and leaving us, so he could send the spirit and the global, eternal grassfire that would start as a result (at the time this happened)

Ah man...may God teach us to embrace the trials and suffering he places in our lives, and live for a Kingdom that will last forever!

Getting Started

Tue, 10 Jun 2008 19:53:54 GMT

Since I maintain a regular Xanga, I'm just going to post my blogs as I write them about God. Not all of my blogging is only about the Christ-life (although in essence it is :). I think I'll probably post some oldies, but favorites on here.