This weekend we've been talking about road trips. While we were reminiscing, I remembered one particularly memorable road trip...it was 18 years ago, so my memory may be a little fuzzy. But here's what I recollect:
I was ten. We lived in Sao Paulo, Brazil that year. Over Christmas break, we took a road trip to Rio De Janeiro with some other American friends. I remember we had two cars full of people. I was in the second car, full of ladies with my mom as the driver. We were on a 4-lane highway, and all of a sudden our windshield broke. Now I know what you're thinking...."It got a crack in it." Nope. It shattered. Glass everywhere. Windshield nowhere. A windshield has never been more broken in all of history (I checked). It was actually a really scary moment. A super loud noise as it shattered, then glass flying at us, and then WIND. Lots and lots of wind.
My mom immediately pulled over onto the shoulder. I remember saying, "Honk your horn! Honk your horn!" to let my dad, brother, and others in the first car know that we were stopped (this was 1993, before cell phones). Nope. They were long gone.
So there we were, on the side of a remote highway in the countryside somewhere between Sao Paulo and Rio, five American women covered in shards of glass. We all kinda just sat in shock for a minute.
Then we saw him. A homeless guy. Don't know where he came from. Pretty rough-looking. Probably the definition of the word "bum." His head appeared in the space where the windshield used to be. He rattled off something in Portuguese. We knew a little Portuguese, but didn't really understand what he was saying. Still just sat there in shock. And (not gonna lie) a little fear about what this guy was gonna do.
Then we saw HIM. Another guy. Don't know where he came from. But he had the word "Jesus" on his t-shirt. Not even kidding. J.E.S.U.S. We figured anyone who wakes up and decides to put on a Jesus t-shirt is probably a decent guy. I don't remember if he spoke any English or not, but somehow we were able to communicate enough for him to help us knock the remaining glass out of the windshield, around the edges where it was still hanging on. We got out of the car and tried to brush off most of the glass. At some point the homeless guy disappeared. The other car we were traveling with finally realized that we were stopped, so they came back and found us. It wasn't until then that I saw the car that the "Jesus" man came from. Apparently he had seen us pull over and just decided to stop and see if everything was okay. Once our other car pulled up, we thanked him and he went on his way.
We decided to drive to the next town and find someplace to get a new windshield. I ended up in the other car with my brother and some others, and they let all grown-ups ride in the car sans windshield. My mom didn't really want to drive anymore, so one of our friends took over. And then it started to rain. Of course. They held towels up to try to keep as dry as possible, but it wasn't very effective. Especially since we had to drive like 20 mph all the way to the next town. It was pretty hilarious watching five adults trying to stay dry as the rain was beating down on their faces! Literally. I'm pretty sure the lady who was driving was wearing sunglasses to keep the rain out of her eyes. And at one point (out of habit) she turned on the windshield wipers. They reached into the car like giant claws. Eeek!
We got a new windshield, and the rest of our trip was pretty uneventful (well, as uneventful as you can get in Rio De Janeiro). I honestly don't remember very much about our visit in Rio. But I sure do remember the trip.
Sunday, November 13, 2011
Wednesday, November 9, 2011
Be Weird
Sunday afternoon I was reading the portion of Exodus with the Ten Commandments, in preparation for our small group on Sunday night (I am a champion procrastinator). And one of them jumped out at me. The tenth commandment:
"You shall not covet your neighbor's house. You shall not covet your neighbor's wife, or his manservant or maidservant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor." (Exodus 20:17)
Here's what I wrote in my journal about it:
Covet = wanting what someone else has = American culture
-it's normal and expected to covet in our culture ---> BE WEIRD :)
I was especially convicted by this commandment in that moment, mostly because I had spent the previous two hours making a Christmas/Birthday list for Jack to give to his grandma's. Two hours online looking at things to want. And today I'm getting ready to make a similar wish list for myself and Dustin. Things we want. Ugh.
It is SO our culture to want what we don't have. Sometimes we call it "keeping up with the Joneses." Sometimes we call it "The American Dream." But really it's all coveting. Whether it's something big like a car or a house ("I wish mine was more like that one....") or something small, like an article of clothing or the newest gadget, we wish we had other stuff. More stuff. It's considered normal and even expected to want stuff. But it's SO counter what the Bible tells us.
Last fall I heard Francis Chan speak, and he shared about how he and his wife were discovering the difference between normal and weird. What is normal in the Bible? And what is weird? THAT should be our standard. The Word says, "The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him..." Foolishness. America-in-December is gonna think this mindset is foolish. And weird.
So what do we do with this? How do we deal with the culture of coveting? Especially when people are asking you for a list of things you want for Christmas? (By the way, if any of you gift-givers are reading this, I appreciate you wanting to love on us by giving gifts. I'm just trying to figure out a godly way to do it.)
Here's what I decided: as I make our Christmas list today, I have criteria. Everything I ask for will fall into one of these categories:
1. Stuff we need. Things that we would buy anyway if we didn't get them as gifts. This way it saves us from having to buy it. (example: all three of us take Shaklee vitamins every day)
2. Stuff from companies that give back. (example: TOMS shoes)
3. Stuff that is made by people who get paid a fair wage for making it. This includes fair trade items from around the world (from organizations like Ten Thousand Villages or The Hunger Site), as well as local handmade items. (Etsy probably fits into this category too)
4. Stuff that will encourage relationships. (example: activities we can enjoy as a family, or games we can play with the neighbors, friends, etc.)
5. Stuff that will help us get to know Jesus better. (example: books)
6. Stuff for others. Donations to organizations in our name. (example: Samaritan's Purse has a gift catalog)
People can get us whatever they're gonna get us. I can't control that. But I certainly can control what I ask for. And I need to feel good about what I ask for. This was a very timely conviction. I am thankful for that.
In a culture of coveting, I will do my best to be weird.
"You shall not covet your neighbor's house. You shall not covet your neighbor's wife, or his manservant or maidservant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor." (Exodus 20:17)
Here's what I wrote in my journal about it:
Covet = wanting what someone else has = American culture
-it's normal and expected to covet in our culture ---> BE WEIRD :)
I was especially convicted by this commandment in that moment, mostly because I had spent the previous two hours making a Christmas/Birthday list for Jack to give to his grandma's. Two hours online looking at things to want. And today I'm getting ready to make a similar wish list for myself and Dustin. Things we want. Ugh.
It is SO our culture to want what we don't have. Sometimes we call it "keeping up with the Joneses." Sometimes we call it "The American Dream." But really it's all coveting. Whether it's something big like a car or a house ("I wish mine was more like that one....") or something small, like an article of clothing or the newest gadget, we wish we had other stuff. More stuff. It's considered normal and even expected to want stuff. But it's SO counter what the Bible tells us.
Last fall I heard Francis Chan speak, and he shared about how he and his wife were discovering the difference between normal and weird. What is normal in the Bible? And what is weird? THAT should be our standard. The Word says, "The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him..." Foolishness. America-in-December is gonna think this mindset is foolish. And weird.
So what do we do with this? How do we deal with the culture of coveting? Especially when people are asking you for a list of things you want for Christmas? (By the way, if any of you gift-givers are reading this, I appreciate you wanting to love on us by giving gifts. I'm just trying to figure out a godly way to do it.)
Here's what I decided: as I make our Christmas list today, I have criteria. Everything I ask for will fall into one of these categories:
1. Stuff we need. Things that we would buy anyway if we didn't get them as gifts. This way it saves us from having to buy it. (example: all three of us take Shaklee vitamins every day)
2. Stuff from companies that give back. (example: TOMS shoes)
3. Stuff that is made by people who get paid a fair wage for making it. This includes fair trade items from around the world (from organizations like Ten Thousand Villages or The Hunger Site), as well as local handmade items. (Etsy probably fits into this category too)
4. Stuff that will encourage relationships. (example: activities we can enjoy as a family, or games we can play with the neighbors, friends, etc.)
5. Stuff that will help us get to know Jesus better. (example: books)
6. Stuff for others. Donations to organizations in our name. (example: Samaritan's Purse has a gift catalog)
People can get us whatever they're gonna get us. I can't control that. But I certainly can control what I ask for. And I need to feel good about what I ask for. This was a very timely conviction. I am thankful for that.
In a culture of coveting, I will do my best to be weird.
Thursday, November 3, 2011
My Job....some more thoughts
After my first blog post today I had a conversation with a couple coworkers. It wasn't a life-changing conversation. It just made me think. And it was about our jobs. Which is fitting with my last post.
The subject of how we are "professionals" came up. It was weird....like none of us wanted to admit that we're professionals. But we are. We get paid to do what we do. So, by definition, we are professionals. I am a professional musician. Weird. They are professional ministers of the Gospel. Weird. And I worded that weird. :-)
Why is it so weird? If we were in any other business we would definitely consider ourselves professionals. All three of us have college degrees in our field. If we were teachers, doctors, businessmen, or anything else, we would say we're professionals. So then why is it so weird that we say we're professionals when we work at a church? What is it about ministry that doesn't seem "professional?"
After our conversation, I thought about it some more, and I think I came up with a reason. It's because we are continually learning. Personally, spiritually, professionally, we are continually in process. The word "professional" implies that we are experts, or at least competent in our field. But we are forever students, trying to get to know our Teacher. That is a huge part of our job.
Do people in other careers have continual growth? Absolutely. However, in our line of work, what affects us spiritually will also affect us professionally. It has to, if we are being authentic. It's why we do what we do. We wouldn't even be in ministry in the first place if that wasn't true. So it's hard to feel professional when we know we're just scratching the surface of who God is.
We will probably be professional "God-knowers" when we get to heaven. Seems like that's the only time we'll be an expert on the subject. So until then, you can call me a professional by definition. But as long as I'm here, I will always be a student.
The subject of how we are "professionals" came up. It was weird....like none of us wanted to admit that we're professionals. But we are. We get paid to do what we do. So, by definition, we are professionals. I am a professional musician. Weird. They are professional ministers of the Gospel. Weird. And I worded that weird. :-)
Why is it so weird? If we were in any other business we would definitely consider ourselves professionals. All three of us have college degrees in our field. If we were teachers, doctors, businessmen, or anything else, we would say we're professionals. So then why is it so weird that we say we're professionals when we work at a church? What is it about ministry that doesn't seem "professional?"
After our conversation, I thought about it some more, and I think I came up with a reason. It's because we are continually learning. Personally, spiritually, professionally, we are continually in process. The word "professional" implies that we are experts, or at least competent in our field. But we are forever students, trying to get to know our Teacher. That is a huge part of our job.
Do people in other careers have continual growth? Absolutely. However, in our line of work, what affects us spiritually will also affect us professionally. It has to, if we are being authentic. It's why we do what we do. We wouldn't even be in ministry in the first place if that wasn't true. So it's hard to feel professional when we know we're just scratching the surface of who God is.
We will probably be professional "God-knowers" when we get to heaven. Seems like that's the only time we'll be an expert on the subject. So until then, you can call me a professional by definition. But as long as I'm here, I will always be a student.
Thankful Thursday
Let me just state the obvious: I haven't been great about blogging lately. I've been wanting to post about once a week, but that just hasn't happened. So with Thanksgiving approaching, I thought I would institute "Thankful Thursday." I can't promise I'll post something every Thursday, but hopefully this reminds me to share things more often.
For my first Thankful Thursday, I am thankful for my job. First of all, I'm thankful to have a job. I know lots of people don't right now. I need a job. Dustin works just part-time and goes to school full-time, so I need to work part-time to help support our family right now. It could be just any job. Target, Starbucks, House of Greens, YoYo....(wait, am I just naming my favorite places?). Any of those could be my job. But God gave me this job at Pathway. A job that I care about and am good at (most days). A job where I get to use my talents and college degree. A job that I tried to quit once and He called me right back. :) A job that is flexible around my schedule of being a mom. A job where I get to work with amazing people for an amazing purpose. And it pays the bills.
I am blessed. And I am thankful.
For my first Thankful Thursday, I am thankful for my job. First of all, I'm thankful to have a job. I know lots of people don't right now. I need a job. Dustin works just part-time and goes to school full-time, so I need to work part-time to help support our family right now. It could be just any job. Target, Starbucks, House of Greens, YoYo....(wait, am I just naming my favorite places?). Any of those could be my job. But God gave me this job at Pathway. A job that I care about and am good at (most days). A job where I get to use my talents and college degree. A job that I tried to quit once and He called me right back. :) A job that is flexible around my schedule of being a mom. A job where I get to work with amazing people for an amazing purpose. And it pays the bills.
I am blessed. And I am thankful.
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