30 Days of 30

So today marks a month since I turned 30. Crossing from the 20s into the 30s, the decade that movies show women hating. No I didn't celebrate the first anniversary of my 29th birthday. I was actually looking forward to 30. The people I have met who are 30+ are more settled in who they are, less needing to prove themselves, and really just taking life as it comes. I want to be that kind of grounded person.

The funniest thing about turning 30 is the perspectives. People under 30 think that 30 is so old! When I tell younger people how old I am, they can't believe that I'm so old. I don't look that old, like 30 is supposed to come with its own set of gray hairs and wrinkles. People in their 40s+ tell me I'm still a kid, and that the 30s was the best decade. I'm viewed as a more serious adult but still not a real adult. I've enjoyed living between the different perspectives.

It does feel sort of strange though to say that I'm 30. I think I should feel different and I should be in a different place in life. Maybe I should be married longer or have kids or be more settled in my career. I should be through with my master's now and be in a "real" career. Looking back, I expected life to look much different than it does now. I think my expectations were incorrect.

Most tv sitcoms showing young characters are based around people in their early 30s. The show "Friends" was based around a bunch of characters my age or slightly older. They were young, fashionable, cool and the people everyone wanted to hang out with. And they were 30! Most of those characters didn't have real careers, were trying to figure their lives out, and weren't married. While their lives did progress on the show, they didn't start with everything figured out (partly because that would make a really boring show).

I'm trying to be okay with where I am today, even though its not as far along as I expected (whatever that really means). I am sort of strange in that I look forward to the day when I can say I have been married for 40 years and glory in silver hair and smile lines. I want to be more vivacious and life-loving at 80 than I am at 30. I want to live life to the fullest and enjoy each moment, taking the good and the bad together and learning from both. Life has not always been laughs and giggles, and there are times when life is a struggle. All of it together is the path of life. The struggles help you appreciate the good times, and endure the struggles knowing that things will be good again.

 My motto for the start of this new decade is that life is a journey not a destination.

"On the night he was betrayed..."

This week is "Holy Week" for Christians. This week, we remember the events leading up to Christ's crucifixion and resurrection. Today, we celebrate Palm Sunday which remembers Jesus entry into Jerusalem (see Mark 11). It was a celebratory day where Jesus was welcomed into the city and celebrated greatly. It foreshadows the drastic change of events that will happen the end of the week.

This is the first time that I've experienced a Palm Sunday service in a more liturgical church. In the past, the Palm Sunday service has always been very celebratory, followed by a Good Friday Service that was more solemn. This service had a tone of solemnity through its entirety. The celebration of Palm Sunday was definitely overshadowed by the impending suffering that we will remember later this week.

The one aspect that was renewed to me, can be seen in 1 Corinthians 11:23. The night before Christ is crucified, he gathers with his followers for a Jewish festival called Passover. This gathering is significant because it remembers the faithfulness of God to the Jews when He delivered them from slavery in Egypt. Jews gather yearly to celebrate Passover. It's an intimate gathering with family and close friends. Paul retells the story in 1 Corinthians by saying "on the night that he was betrayed...." Jesus knew what was coming. As he broke the break and shared the meal, he knew Judas was going to give him up to the most painful experience in his life. During the meal, Jesus called Judas out for the traitor he was. Jesus wasn't fooled. He knew exactly what he was doing, and he did it anyway.

I'm amazed by that, and have so many questions about that. The reality of the situation is that Jesus had to be given up to be crucified. It was the main purpose for his time on earth. He chose a man to walk with him during his time in ministry on earth who he knew was going to later betray him, and he did it anyway. Judas was not treated any different until the last night when the plot had been planned and Jesus releases Judas to do as he planned. Jesus allows himself to be betrayed, unjustly killed, so that he can raise to life and so that we can know God. It's a painfully, beautiful story.

And a lesson for us. We will be betrayed. We are humans, and sometimes life is hard to do with humans. We turn our backs as often as we offer to help. Yet, God still reaches out to us. We aren't worthy of his affections, and yet he gives them all the same. We turn our backs on him, and yet he welcomes us back with open arms. What a great God he is.

Christianity and Culture: Part 4

This is the last post of this series, so for those of you who are done hearing about this, please be glad. :)  For those of you who have enjoyed reading my thoughts, thank you. It has been a fun journey for me to write. It has been a short journey, and I'm sure there is still much more we can discover, but I think that is enough for this forum.

So, why spend a month on Christianity and Culture? Because I am a Christian who loves the God I serve and wants to share about him to others. It's not a conversion scheme, its that my God is such a big part of my life, and if you know me, you should know about the big parts of my life. Just like my friends know about my husband, who is a big part of my life, so they know about my God. I have studied other religions and always come back to Christianity as the one I want to follow. I leave it to you to make your own choice.

Why did I talk about culture? I am fascinated by culture. I love the good ways in which humans have taken the world and made their place in it. Each culture represents a part of humanity that is good. At the same time, each culture has its downfalls. One of American cultural downfalls is our obsession with independence. We forget that we need others in the race to be recognized as an individual. The part of communal cultures that values togetherness and supporting each other is something I struggle with but also desperately desire. The reality of life is that we need each other and that our lives impact each others. The people we each encounter can and do have an impact on our lives, whether we like it or not. Christianity teaches that we need God and that we need each other, but this concept oftentimes gets lost in American culture. Other cultures, such as Nepali culture, do this very well.

The question that has not been answered is why talk about Christianity and culture together? Unlike other religions, Christianity was not founded in a culture that supported Christianity. The first Christians were converts from other religions and they had to figure out how to make their new religion and their culture, which was founded in a different religion, work together. They had to figure out how to live. It makes Christianity stand a part form other world religions. It's not that other religions are better or worse for their cultural foundation, it's just different. As I talked about in my last post, Christianity continues to take on different cultural garments, but for most, still remains true to its core message. I love going to different churches and feeling at home in all of them. I do understand and recognize that some churches have walked away from the core beliefs of Christianity, and I'm not addressing those here. During my life, I have gone to several churches, each holding to the core beliefs of the Christian faith, and they have all looked different but they have all been home. I love having a diverse church experience because there is no right way to do a church service. The Bible doesn't give us an example of what a church service should or shouldn't be. It just gives us core values and beliefs and then lets us express them. The beliefs can be expressed in any language and through any culture.

I believe that God is creator and since we are made in his image, we are creators as well. While our creation ability is less than Gods because we can't make something from nothing, we still create something from something else. Culture is our creation in the world. We make the world around us what we want it to be. When I was in college, I used to move at least once a year. It was always exciting to me to get a new place with blank walls. It was an opportunity to create a new space. When we moved from the southern part of the US to the northern part, I was excited because it was a chance to experience something new and create something new in a whole different space. The reason that people paint, knit, sew, build, cook, imagine, draw is for the chance to create something new. People make money everyday on new products and inventions to make life better. It's all about creating.

So, on this beautiful day, take a chance to create something. Think about your culture and all its values. Learn from someone else about a different culture. Open your mind to a new idea, a new perspective. Don't be afraid to ask questions and explore other ideas.

Christianity and Culture: Part 3

The Early Church and Cultural Expansion

Christianity and culture is something I talk about because I love cultural expressions of worship to God. I love standing in a service and hearing various languages praying and worshiping to the same God. It's a beautiful picture of what I believe heaven will be like.

Church in Nepal

Christianity began with Jewish converts, but quickly spread. The beginning of this spread began with Peter, who is one of the main leaders of the early church, on a roof and a strange vision. You can read the account of this in Acts 10. The basic story is that Peter went on the roof to pray while dinner was being prepared. He realized he was hungry, and had a vision of a sheet being lowered from heaven with all different kinds of animals on it. Peter hears a voice that tells him to kill and eat. Peter refuses to eat because the animals on the sheet have been declared unclean by Jewish law. The voice comes back and tells Peter that what God has called clean, let no man call it unclean. The Bible says this happens 3 times, and then Peter awakens from his vision.

So what's the point? Well Jews considered Gentiles (all non-Jews) to be unclean. God was calling Peter to go preach to people who were not Jews to share the message of Jesus. In the vision, God was teaching Peter that he should not refuse to go where God was asking him to go simply because the people were not Jewish. God's comment to Peter about not calling unclean what God has called clean was not really about the animals, that was just a visual illustration. The comment was about people. It was time for the message of Jesus to spread beyond just the first group of Jewish converts and to begin its spread outwards to different groups of people.

Sudanese Christians

 
Once Peter awakens from his vision, there are 3 men waiting to take him to the house of a Roman centurion (army general) named Cornelius. Peter goes to Cornelius' house and is able to share about Jesus and the presence of God falls on the people there. This is the second mention of the presence of God or Holy Spirit coming. (The first is Pentecost-See Acts 2).

 The next situation that happens to further the multiculturalism of the church is found in Acts 15. A group of Jewish converts to  Christianity were teaching that in order to believe in Jesus, all  people had to follow Jewish law. The news of this spread up to Peter and Paul and others who were part of the early church leadership. This teaching did not sound right to them so the leaders gathered together to decide how to deal with this situation. At this point most of the Christians came from Jewish background, but as we discussed above, Christianity was spreading to those who weren't Jewish. The leadership needed to decide how to include this new cultural group and what was required. This leadership council decided that Gentile Christians were not required to follow Jewish law, but gave them a few guidelines to follow. This was the first official opening of the church to all cultural groups.

Korean Christians

I think that Acts 15 is the precursor for how Christians today should confront Christianity and culture. There is no reason that Christianity can't be expressed in culturally relevant ways as long as we still hold true to Christian core beliefs and values. It is a beautiful expression to God when we can celebrate Him in our own languages and through our own cultural expressions.

Christianity and Culture- Part 2

Who would you say this is a picture of? Most of us would not identify this as Jesus of the Bible. The picture that most of us are used to is the one of a tall, lean, light skin, curly light brown hair. Several years ago, Popular Mechanics did a story on what was then the emerging field of forensic anthropology, and how they reconstructed what could have been the face of Jesus. The picture they believe is what Jesus could have looked like. If you want to read the article for yourself, click here.

I have obviously been thinking about culture a lot, and recently turned my sights to Jesus and what it meant for him to be part of Jewish culture. He was born to poor parents who were not supposed to be parents because they weren't culturally married yet. He came to a people who rejected him because he wasn't the Messiah they were expecting, and he constantly crossed social boundaries in terms of the people he interacted with. He spoke to a Samaritan woman which was a definite social taboo. Samaritan people were the descendants of  Jews intermarrying with non-Jews. The Jews saw themselves as better than the Samaritans, so that interaction would not have been a social norm. Jesus hung out with tax collectors who were basically dirty businessmen and not to be trusted. He helped those who were considered unclean, cared for the Roman soldiers who persecuted the Jews, and challenged the religious people to make sure they were actually loving God and not just following a set of rules. He didn't let little children be brushed aside, but made them feel important by welcoming them to him. He stood up for women when they were considered little more than property. The point is that Jesus was not afraid to reach out to people no matter what society said of them.

Jesus is the example for who Christians are to be and for how people are to be treated.Christianity itself has continued to spread across cultural lines. My next post will talk about the beginnings of the church and the cross-cultural impact. Stay tuned.

Conversation with a Stranger

Last Saturday, I went to a conference at a large area church called Science and Faith. I applauded that the church isn't running from tense topics like this and was interested in the content so I took my Saturday and spent part of it at the church. It turned out to be a really good conference with discussion on topics such as bioethics, global warming, astronomy, and creation.

My most memorable encounter at that conference however, wasn't a speaker or session, but a conversation with a stranger. During our lunch break, I had staked out a table to eat my sandwich and look over the notes. I was open to sharing my table, so kept an eye out for other people who had come to the conference alone. I saw this pretty, blonde lady who was probably in her mid-forties, and it was clear she was looking for a place to sit. I smiled and welcomed her over to my table and she gladly began to settle in the seat opposite me. We began the basic get to know you chat while we enjoyed our lunches. This lady had a particularly interesting story. She grew up in the Catholic church, but through a series of unfortunate circumstances in her church, had casually started going to other churches but hadn't really found one she was committed to. Her husband is an atheist and her three teenage to young adult children are somewhere in between. She had come to the conference to demonstrate the importance of God to her kids, however she felt herself floundering and wasn't sure how to pursue God or what her next move should be. She began really sharing with me the struggle she was having in life with her family and her faith. There was some definite hurt from what had happened at her catholic church and she felt a bit lost without a community to turn to. During her story, she started crying as all the hurt came to the surface. I was amazed that she would feel so comfortable with me to open up with me about her pain.

I felt the need to pray for her. During her sharing, I had reaffirmed her feelings, listened to her struggle, and really felt moved to pray for her. I can't remember what I prayed because I feel like God was praying through me. I remember vaguely praying something like it not mattering where she goes to church, but it mattering more her relationship with God. When I opened my eyes, it was clear that she had been crying during my prayer. This time however, her tears were different. Instead of tears from pain, these were tears from hope. The Lord has met her and brought encouragement and comfort to her. It was really fun to see that change in her face.

I tell that story to show you how wonderful our God is, and also to raise awareness that there are hurting people inside and outside our churches. Our God is so wonderful that He knew this woman's pain and met with her exactly where she was. He spoke works that needed to be heard to encourage her and touch her. I love watching God work. Also, I think it's important for Christians to remember that there are hurting, broken people inside the church too. We know there are hurting people outside the church, but we don't often pay attention to the hurting ones within. As the body of Christ, we need to pay attention to those sitting in church services with us and be willing to pray for them.

Christianity and Culture- Part 1

This is for my dear friends Bill and Uni.

"So from its first years taking root in Palestine to its astonishing dispersion into nations around the world, Christian faith has always had to contend with well-developed and, usually, stable and satisfying cultural systems" Culture Making by Andy Crouch

Sorry for the long pause between blog posts. I wrote and rewrote this post before getting some insight from my husband and getting a better idea of what I wanted to say. Plus I was at a conference this weekend that was an information dump which made me want to dump on you. I'm still learning to write well. :)

I want to start this discussion of Christianity and Culture by talking about the Bible. At Blackhawk Church in Wisconsin, they have a regularly repeated saying that goes, "the Bible was not written to us but was written for us." What that means is that the Bible's original audience was not 21st century readers, but written for a mostly Jewish readership in a specific cultural context. However, it was written for us. The Bible is not a scientific document nor a specifically historical document, but a book written to reveal who God is. I have opened the Bible countless times and gotten a new insight or learned something about God and life as a Christian. The Bible describes itself as 'living and active" in Hebrews 4. However, in order to correctly interpret and apply the word of God, we have to read it through the eyes of the original audience and not through modern eyes. This is the first cultural construct of Christianity. Our Holy Book is written to mainly a Jewish audience, with some exceptions, but it written for Christians of all times.

Professor and author John Walton describes the Biblical account of the creation as "creating a home instead of building a house." What does that mean? He's talking about the creation story not in scientific terms of determining a specific viewpoint, but in literary terms of communicating the magnitude and awesomeness of God. The author of Genesis was speaking, again, to a Jewish audience and helping them, and in turn all of us, understand His goodness, creativity, and love for them by creating a home just for us. A place suitable. This communication of love continues throughout the Bible. If you have grown up in the church, you have often heard the Bible described as God's love letter. I would agree with that in terms of the Bible being the tool God used to reveal who He is to us.

So every time you pick up the Bible, remember that you are reading God's revelation, but also remember to read it through the perspective of the original audience. This may mean that you have to do some research into what Jewish culture is and was back in the time when the book was written. It may also mean you need to read up on your history and find out what was going on in the world around the text. It can be a really interesting study. Remember you are reading words inspired by God but written through and to people. There are many really good commentaries that will help you understand the cultural context of what you are reading. Biblestudytools.com is a good place to start and then move into ivpress.com is a good place to look for published resources. 

This is only the beginning of a conversation about Christianity and Culture. If you have questions, put them below. Please remember that this is a brief survey, and not intensive. I will try to answer them the best I can. Part 2 will probably be about the world of Jesus and the first century church.

A Question of Culture

I've been thinking a lot about culture recently. The word culture can be defined in so many ways, in very concrete and also very fluid ways. Some would define culture in terms of traditions and festivals. We have traditional Thanksgiving day food or a Hindu cultural festival celebrating a particular god with
particular kind of prayers. We hear terms thrown around like Islamic culture and European culture, and the connotation associated with culture changes depending on who the word is applied to. Does culture apply to clothes, food, behavior, or religion? Yes...depending.

My journey with culture began several years ago, with my introduction to the life of international students from all over the world. I condensed to focusing on the cultural perspective of students from Nepal, intensified when I married a man from a different country, and has continued with our move to a new state. Most recently, I opened an insightful book called Culture Making by Andy Crouch. He has a fascinating take on culture that is helping me think outside the box a little. His definition is "Culture is what we make of the world. Culture is, first of all, the name of our relentless, restless human effort to take the world as it's given to us and make something else." Crouch goes on to write about culture being the way we make omelets and the kind of chairs we sit in. My translation is that culture is the details in everyday life.

Before I got married, eggs were simple. I fried them in a pan with salt or sometimes rosemary. I rarely made fancy eggs just for me, and oftentimes eggs were not reserved for breakfast. After marriage, my husband improved on my eggs by adding turmeric, cumin, onions, tomatoes, much more salt and sometimes hot peppers. It has been an interesting journey blending our two cultures to make a home life that we can agree on and both be happy in. Overall, its been a really fun path of discovery. However, it isn't always comfortable and does require some sacrifice and compromise.

Before marriage, I didn't really think I had a culture because I thought of culture in terms of events and traditions. However, after marriage, I realized that culture is much different than I thought. Culture is the way your treat elders, the way your talk to your spouse, the way you parent your children. Culture is cooking your meat with oil and spices or not eating meat at all. Culture is going to a church, mosque, temple or not believing there is a God. Culture is the way you greet your friends, the way you meet people for the first time, and the way you behave at parties. Culture is old and new, traditional and current, dynamic and constant.

Americans definitely have a culture, but not all American culture is equal. You will feel a cultural difference if you go north or south or east or west. There are accent differences, food differences, relationship differences. The same is true with countries all over the world. Just because a person you meet is from a particular country, we shouldn't assume anything about that person. Generalizations about culture and people get us in trouble and prohibit successful cross-cultural friendships and understanding. Our world is small and we are in contact with people from all over the world on a regular basis. Be humble, ask questions, and take time to listen to other people's stories. Share meals, try something new, be uncomfortable. It will be the most rewarding thing you could do.

A struggle in Madison

For those of you who aren't in Madison, there has been quite a stir about racial disparity. A local pastor wrote an article pointing out the difference in treatment between races, particularly the state of African Americans in this particular city. Madison is ranked the worst city for Black Americans. This discussion has opened follow-up discussions about other minority groups and their livelihood in this city. It has begun a very painful, but very open dialogue about treatment of people and societal structures.

Having just moved from the most diverse zip code in the nation to the worst city in the country for minority groups, has been a dramatic change. In the city we came from, you could go to a grocery store and see people from all over the world. Here, the closest grocery store definitely has a dominant racial population. I used to work in an office with a very diverse staff who operated more like a family. We could talk openly about race, and even tease each other about idiosyncrasies without anyone being offended or feeling persecuted. The place I work now is great, but lacks the same diversity as where I came from. I'm really not trying to compare the two places so that one comes out better than the other, simply to illustrate the difference.

I love culture and diversity. I love learning about people's walks of life and the way each person processes life experiences. It's hard for white Americans to think of their culture, but culture is so much more than traditions and festivals. Culture is your processes: the way you cook dinner, the way you greet someone, or even the way you work. Sometimes we can be so ingrained in our culture, our way of doing things, that we don't notice we have run over someone who does things differently. It can be a very unintentional but very painful mistake.

So Madison is currently in a stir about how to make this city a better place for all her inhabitants. I love that the conversation has been opened by a pastor, and is being supported by many organizations and groups. I also love that the conversation has expanded beyond just one population to include all minority populations. I am excited to see what happens, and prayerful that this isn't just another big stink that doesn't accomplish anything. Many people involved in these discussions have mentioned their frustration at having been part of these conversations before and seeing no results. I am praying that this time is different.

Please be praying with me. I believe that multiculturalism is a Jesus idea. Jesus was a Jew who reached out and included non-Jews. He set the example for his followers and then in his final lesson told his followers to go to the ends of the earth. I believe that if real change is going to happen, it is going to start with the individual. We are going to have to confront the wrong mindsets and viewpoints inside each of us, and make intentional changes in us before we will see any kind of large scale change. Open dialogue is necessary. We need to be brave enough to ask and answer the hard questions with lowered defenses. It's going hurt and it's going to be really hard. But it will be so worth it. There is something really special and precious about a group of people from different races, cultures, and languages coming together with one goal and one focus. Heaven on earth.

If you are interested in learning more about what is going on in Madison, visit www.madisonjustifiedanger.com. 

Happy Valentine's Day!

Valentine's Day can bring on mixed feelings. For some, its expectations of romance and flowers while for others its a night with friends. For others, its a painful day reminding them of what is missing from their lives. Still for others, expectations of what the day should be kills the joy of celebrating what the day becomes. I've experienced all four.

This Valentine's Day is a bit different. I have recently discovered the joy and absolute treasure of having my husband who is my best friend. I have a thing for llamas stemmed mostly out of my last name. How many people have last names that are also animals??? Because of that I have started a small llama collection, and am greatly amused by all things llama. My husband humors me, and thinks I'm a nerd, but its something we can enjoy together. Well this year, he out did himself and made me a very happy lady.

This make me so happy!

I'Ll aLlways Llove my hubby!

It's definitely not a typically romantic gift, but it says Andrea all over it. He went and found something he knew I would enjoy and bought it for me. I'm typing this blog post right now wearing that shirt because I am crazy about it. 

Right now, my husband just finished teaching guitar lessons to a group of guys. This is our Friday night routine, and I have a heart shaped pizza on the way for the two of us to share. It's not a roses and candle light kind of Valentine's day, but it's okay. I feel treasured and thought of by my husband, and hopefully I did equally well with what I bought him. We'll probably eat our pizza and watch a movie that isn't a romantic comedy and just enjoy being together. After all, that is what really matters.

So whoever you are, and whatever your relationship status, remember that the real world is different from the movies. Things won't always work out the way you planned. And romance isn't always flowers and jewelry. Some times its kicking back in a llama t-shirt with pizza in hand, sitting next to your best friend. I am so blessed to get to spend the rest of my life with my best friend. 

Happy Valentine's Day all!

Reading the Bible

Starting in Matthew, I have been reading a verse-by-verse commentary alongside portions of scripture and its bringing the Bible alive in ways I haven't experienced in a while. Students of the Bible know the importance of reading the Bible through the lens of its original audience. For example, each of the gospels has a different intended audience and Matthew was written for the Jewish people. Matthew wants to convince the Jews that Jesus was their awaited Messiah. I have been struck multiple times with how amazing the Bible is that even though it is 2,000ish years old, its still applicable to us today, especially since it wasn't written for everyone who picks it up and reads it. But yet, it was at the same time.

Yesterday, I was reading the Beatitudes and I had a realization that I hadn't before. In the beatitudes, Jesus tells his audience something that is very contrary to what most of us think. He said "blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs in the kingdom of heaven" and "blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth." Notice he's talking about what we would consider low and weak characteristics, and he's exalting them like we would think he would say mighty warrior or righteous soldier. Instead he says, the poor, the meek, the lowly. How would the Jews' have reacted to this? Remember, the gospel of Matthew was written for them. The kind of Messiah the Jews were waiting for was not a lowly, humble servant, but a mighty king. They wanted someone to come rescue them from foreign rule and oppression, to set them back in their land, and to make their lives better. They wanted someone who would fight for them. Instead they get a carpenter who teaches them that the poor in spirit inherit the earth. What an amazing disappointment. Here the one who they are investigating as the Messiah tells them that they will inherit the earth exactly as they are, which is not a place they want to be.

I can image how let down some of them probably felt, and I can also image how incensed others may have felt. I begin to ask myself why. Jesus would have known their reactions, and would have known that what he was saying would anger, confuse, disappoint, and turn away those he loved. We see pictures and movies of this scene with everyone calmly sitting on the grass, looking up to Jesus with their mouths agape, completely in wonder of his words. I don't image that's how this scene actually played out, at least not for everyone.

This is the way our Lord works. He works in ways that are opposite to what we think should be the way. Jesus came not as a ruling prince to the family of a mighty king, but to a poor girl who wasn't even married to be born in a stable. He was the one who sacrificed his own life for the sake of those he loved. He taught that "the first shall be last and the last shall be first." It's the great reversal, and its being presented to us today as it was presented to the original audience.

Photo Fun - California Version

Stunning Patio View!

Love these windows!

Beautiful Purple Mountains

Your mercies are new every morning!

a photoshop painting!

Morning Sunshine

Right Place, Right Time

God often works in ways that are supernatural to us, but when we think about it are no big deal for Him. Recently, I was coming back from a work trip in California. I had gotten onto my plane, and my aisle seat was occupied so I ended up sitting in a middle seat on a different row. I'm pretty easy going and didn't really care where I sat, just really wanted to get home.

I like to chat with people on airplanes. You can meet some of the most interesting people during traveling and since there isn't much else to do, most people are pretty open for a chat. I started talking to the woman who was sitting on my right and she ended up being a pretty interesting lady. She moved from Chicago to LA to take a teaching job and founded a charter school with an emphasis in helping autistic children. She was super fascinating to talk with. Well in the course of the conversation I told her that I worked for a Christian, non-profit organization that works on college campuses helping students build community and to become leaders. She thought that was pretty cool, and it was obvious that we both shared a heart for helping people.

During the course of our conversation, the guy on my left had been kind of waking up, then he would pull himself up with the seat in front of him and look over to the right at a group of three people, make sure they were okay, and then he would sit back down, kind of adjust his seat, close his eyes and rest. I had noticed him when I first got onto the plane and thought he might be a Nepali man, but wasn't sure and since I wasn't sure if he was sleeping or not, I didn't want to disturb him. Well of course the drink cart came by, and me and the other lady got our drinks and we left the man to sleep. I debated on waking him, but decided it was better not to. So when he woke and unsuccessfully tried to wave down the flight attendant for drinks, I decided to help.

Well it turns out this guy was flying from Nepal to Omaha, Nebraska with his wife, young daughter and parents. They had a very long and difficult journey and were nearing the end. He spoke English but very little and it was clear he was going through massive culture shock and was of course extremely tired. I had some snacks in my bag that I handed to him and made sure to get him a glass of water. He ate the peanuts so fast. I started trying to ask him more questions, but he didn't understand much and I'm sure the exhaustion didn't help. I asked him if he knew where to go next, and he didn't have any idea. The only help provided was a tag around his neck with all his information on it, and an envelope sticking out of it that was written "Please write my gate number here. Thank you." Poor guy was never going to be able to navigate Denver Airport with just a gate number. I told him to stay close to me and I would help him. In the midst of interacting with him, the lady on my other side had gotten interested and started asking me questions about this man. I told her a little bit about the community of Refugees in the US who are ethnically Nepali but have lived in Bhutan for a hundred plus years, recently fled Bhutan to Nepal, and now have been given the opportunity to come to the US, Australia or Europe. My husband and I are actively involved with a community of people in his exact same situation in our city. She began to really emote with this guy. By the time she was getting off the plane, she was so moved that she really wanted to help, and asked me if I thought it was okay for her to give them some money. It was so amazing to watch her go from mildly interested in this guy to honestly wanting to help.

We got off the plane and I led them through the Denver airport and prayed that I would have enough time to get them settled in and get to my own gate which was about 40 gates apart. We had less than an hour. I was traveling with a friend who ran ahead of me to our gate so that he could save me if worse came to worse and I headed through the Denver airport with 4 bewildered and exhausted people on my heels. We got to their gate, and I gave them a contact number that I hope they will use. My husband really wanted to stay in contact with them. I made sure they had everything and gave them the money the lady had given me on the plane. I couldn't stay long because of my flight. I ran into my friend on the way and he said our gate had been moved so we were just a little ways away instead of all the way down the terminal.

The best part about that whole story is that after paying lip service to my being a Christian, the lady I was sitting next to got to see Christ in action. I cared about someone who we had both seen be pushed aside by the flight attendants, and showed her that Christians are more than lip service. Being a Christian is action. She asked me if she could give them money and I wasn't sure how he would react if she just handed him money, so I asked her if she minded giving it to me and I could use it to get them a meal. I told her that I would for sure to use it on them. She told me that she trusted me because I was a Christian type.

After all that was over and I was on my last plane, I sat in my seat praising the Lord for the way He works. He loves all of us enough to change our lives a bit to make sure His children get taken care of. I pray that the lady whose name is Amy, will come to know the kindness and goodness of the Lord, and I prayed that Tara and his family would have peace in their travel and find people to help them when they arrive. It was so fun to be able to help people and to demonstrate that Christians are servants first. Just as God is our "ever present help in trouble" (Psalm 46:1), so should Christians be a help in times of trouble. To Him alone is due all the praise, honor and glory.

Great By Choice - Book Review

"Those who spend most of their energy 'reacting to change' will do exactly that, expend most of their energy reacting to change. In a great twist of irony, those who bring about the most significant change in the world, those who have the largest impact on the economy and society, are themselves enormously consistent in their approach. They aren't dogmatic or rigid; they're disciplined, they're creative, they're paranoid. They're SMaC!"
Great By Choice by Jim Collins

And now you want to know what SMaC is! Well, you'll have to read the book. Great teaser. :)

Originally I picked this book up because it was required reading for my job. It's written from a corporate perspective, so I was curious as to how it identified with the non-profit. As I began reading the book, I noticed that it could apply to not just corporate world, but also to non-profits, churches, groups and even individuals seeking to direct and focus their lives. It was an excellent book with some very good principles about longevity, discipline, change and perspective that can be applicable to anyone wanting to be an agent of change or to an organization wanting to survive for the long haul.

The book is a study of ten corporations that Collins calls "10xers" who have shown exponential growth and a comparison to sister companies who did not show the same amount of growth. The research in the book is trying to pin point what the "10xers" did that was different compared to their sister companies. He highlights some very specific things and gives them names and word pictures to help the reader identify these things in his or her own life and organization. It seems like a very heavy read, but its actually not. Collins has life stories to go with each principle both the success and the failures to help illustrate the points, and the book reads like a chat over coffee.  The best part is that the principles taught in this book build on each other!

If you are looking for ways to guide your organization or disciplines to put into your own life to make you a successful person, this would be a great start. There is much talk about luck and unexpected circumstances, and Collins takes that and helps the reader see that there are things within his or her control that can be done in order to ease the unexpected. I highly recommend this book.

Photo Fun!

My husband and I did a photo scavenger hunt a few weeks ago. It was supposed to be a black and white shoot, but I cheated and took some color shots too. :)  I'm an amateur hobby photographer and photoshop user, but I hope to keep learning.  Here are a few of my favorites that I shot and did post processing on. Enjoy!

This one is my favorite.

Looks like something from a magic show!

Lamp through Stair Rail. So cool!

Gorgeous Door! I love the design.

Looks like something from Dr. Who :)

I know, its a repeat. I just liked it.

 

State of the... Union?

This is a little late coming, but I wanted to open discussion about it. I listened to the State of the Union address and took notes of statements that were either repeated or emphasized. Below is the list:

- Wherever and whenever I can take steps to help Americans without legislation, I’m gonna do it. (Quote from our president)

- We need congress to start creating jobs  (several shots at congress)

- But I’ll work on my own (President)

- America lead the world (Mentioned about many different things)

- Global leader (consistently, never a joint effort)

- I’m gonna do everything in my power (President)

- On every issue the world turns to us (How did the world survive before us?)

I hope you notice a couple of shocking themes. The first one being the President talking about moving forward with or without and sometimes in spite of the other two branches of our three part government system. Our government was structured with a system of checks and balances on purpose, all American kids learn that in school. Suddenly our President is talking more like an authoritarian. He mentioned during the speech that he wanted bipartisanship within the government, but then took repeated shots at Congress and how it wasn't doing enough. That doesn't seem to encourage a unified government working together. It seemed more like he wanted to make his name known and leave office as a recognized successful president. Sounds a little too dictator for me.

The second shocking theme was the leadership and global power of the U.S. I kept thinking, "no wonder the rest of the world hates Americans." We're making ourselves out to be that know-it-all kid in school who nobody likes because he is sugary sweet to the teacher while spiting everyone else. The American government could learn some humility. Compared to other large countries, we're still the new kid on the block. Maybe we could learn a thing or two from other countries who have been around much longer than we have. Humility has never real been the American style, but maybe it should be. 

I was angry and sad after I listened to the speech. Granted, I'm not politically involved, but maybe I should be. Maybe more of us should be. Maybe if more of us got involved then we could see the government be "by the people and for the people" as it was originally intended to be. Instead of by the few and for the few. Something to think about.

Something to Ponder

Book Review

"Author Jim Wallis has astutely observed what happened. 'On September 11 American joined the world'. Our membership was long overdue. Painful as the process has been for us, the benefits of widening our perspective to include the rest of the world are earthshaking, especially the relevance of this development to the conversation we are about to commence concerning God's vision for his daughters."
Carolyn Custis James in Half the Church

I picked up this book because a group of women at my work are reading it and will be discussing it at the end of this month. Having grown up in church, and grown up reading all sorts of books for women in the church, I have to be honest that I was skeptical about reading this book. I was intrigued, but also wary. I have read too many books that tell women what their place is and is not. At the end of the book, there is a sense of declared destiny that is not encouraging or hopeful but more like a life sentence. I was afraid this book was going to be another of those.

I was pleasantly surprised with this book. The global perspective of this book is very refreshing. She doesn't focus on American Christians and the American church, but focuses on the church worldwide and the struggles of woman across the world. That was my first clue that this wasn't a typical book. The discussion begins with how the church's message to woman might not relate to woman across the world who are feeling trapped and suppressed through cultural traditions, sex trafficking, and the like. The meat of the book comes from a long discussion of what it means that man and woman are both made in the image of God and are therefore his image bearers in this world. She spends much of the book talking about what is means for woman to be his image bearers in particular, but never reduces the importance of both men and woman.

For those of use who have heard the term "ezer kenegdo" and have tried to understand how it applies to us, both in and out of marriage, James gives us a good description that brings strength and help to the term poorly translated "help meet." She reminders woman that ezer is a term most often applied to God himself in the Old Testament and it isn't a lesser term of any kind. At this point, some woman may be rolling their eyes with a "not again..." type reaction. I almost did too, but her presentation of the ezer concept was good and Biblical.

If you are looking for a book to define the role of women in the church or to continue the complementarian vs egalitarian debate, this is the not the book for you.  If you are looking for some encouraging insight about women's role from a Biblical stance, then you will find this book a good read.

In Honor of Martin Luther King, Jr.

"I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, every hill and mountain shall be made low. The rough places wild be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight. And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh will see it together." ~Martin Luther King Jr.

We recently celebrated Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday which serves as a remembrance of what a great man did during a dark time in American history. We remember him as an activist and as a voice of justice and change in a time of deep injustice and chaos. We often forget that he was also a follower of Christ and a Pastor. 

For the first time, I actually sat down and read the famous "I have a dream" speak that is quoted above. We are all pretty familiar with it and probably have a passage from it that we can quote by heart. Familiarity is good, but reading it is better. I read it and was moved again by his powerful words. His words are for justice and freedom; he strongly addresses the sins of man and asks that they be corrected. He doesn't, however, slander the people who he sees are driving the injustice. He doesn't call names. He actually encourages people who favor racial equality to value their character and not be dragged down into the gutters. He speaks with power and influence but he also speaks truth and integrity. It's a beautifully crafted speech that I would say is Holy Spirit inspired. I am moved by his passion for his cause and also his passion that his movement stay non-violent. He encourages his people not to give in to the violence that has come against them. Wow. 

The line I quoted above was moving to me. In the midst of racial segregation that was tearing lives and our nation apart, stands one man who longs to see the glory of God be revealed through people uniting and treating each other as equals. He doesn't write this hope as a fleeting desire that might happen. He writes this hope as a solid guarantee that one day, the glory of the Lord will be revealed and all will see it. The certainty is inspiring. 

So, what's the point? My point is to challenge all of us to see opposition the way Martin Luther King Jr. saw it. As an opportunity to for the glory of the Lord to be revealed. Jesus told us in Matthew 5 that we are to love our enemies and be kind to those who hurt us;
Martin Luther King Jr. is echoing the words of Jesus. There is much conflict in our world today and Christians are some of the first to get nasty and become violent whether in word or deed. We should be challenging ourselves to keep our character and not stoop to violence. We should stand together with anticipation that the glory of the Lord will be revealed. 

If you are interested in reading the speech, click here

Reflections on the New Year- better late than never :)

It's a new year which seems like the promise for a fresh start and new things. I usually get a funny feeling that things are different when the calendar turns to January 1st. Sometimes it does indicate that the Lord has changed my spiritual season, and something new is about to begin. This year was a bit different though. I felt like our new year actually started in October, when we moved across the country for a new opportunity. When the year changed to 2014, it didn't feel different, but it was still new. We have only been in our current city for about 4 months and so we are still settling in. We traveled over the holidays and didn't have plans for the new  year, so we went out to dinner just the two of us, talked about what we wanted in our new place in the new year, and went to bed while it was still 2013. I did start my new job on January 2nd, so that was a new thing specifically for 2014, but it was another new thing in a long string of new things.

Honestly, I love moving and changing environments. Moving to a different state provides an opportunity for growth and self-learning that doesn't happen with many other experiences. This being my second time, I knew a little of what to expect, but this is the first time I moved as a married woman. It was easier on some levels to move with a spouse. There wasn't that initial overwhelming sense of loneliness. The loneliness did come however, and that continues to be something we are taking a day at a time. Once you have friends and community, you quickly forgot how long it took to get to that point. Then once that group is gone, you are slowly reminded of how long it takes to build relationships again. I feel like my sense of loneliness is a reminder that my dependence should be on the Lord more than on people. I am guilty of spending more time reading the word and praying when I'm lonely and hurting then making it less of a priority when I'm feeling good. Silly me.

All of that to say, we have been given a fresh start that came a bit earlier than January 1, 2014. I am excited for the new things that God is and will do in our lives as we continue to pursue him. My prayer this year it to always remember that He is the vine and I am the branches and apart from him, I can do nothing.

In His Love,
 Andrea