"Poverty is so hard to see when it's only on your tv and twenty miles across town
where we're all living so good that we moved out of Jesus' neighborhood
where he's hungry and not feeling so good from going through our trash
He says, 'More than just your cash and coin, I want your time, I want your voice
I want the things you just can't give me'
...What is this, hey what's the deal? I don't sleep around and I don't steal
'I want the things you just can't give me'
Because what you do to the least of these, my brothers, you have done it to me
because I want the things you just can't give me"
~Derek Webb, Rich Young Ruler
This song makes a strong and challenging point. It is way too easy to look past the problems we're not walking by and the people we're not seeing face-to-face. We are called to give of ourselves in order to help our brothers and sisters in Christ and to reach out to those in need of love, friendship, shelter, food, and hope. There are so many excuses that we can drum up, so many reasons why there is just not enough time, or property to go around. The fact is when we let those excuses govern out decisions we are not following Christ through shrewd stewardship, but rather we are evading the call to reach out through refusal to give up creature comforts. Now this is not to say that a single gal should approach a man on the street at midnight in defiance of safety concerns unless she feels a very definite call to do so. It does mean that that same girl could recruit some friends to return later, or could volunteer at a local shelter, or could monetarily support others who are working on the front lines. See, we all have our place and a way to be in service.
I will say that I have a major issue with this song, and it is this: Christ never asks for things we CAN'T give, but he will ask for things that we WON'T give for whatever reason. We are told to give to Caesar what is Caesar's and to God what is God's (Matthew 22:21) and too often we confuse monetary giving with true sacrificial giving. Tithing is important, but the heart behind giving is a crucial part of that gift. Tithing time and resources is just as important as money. God never will ask for something we don't have. He may ask us to give of our time to achieve or acquire something for him. He may ask us to give more of what we have, such as money, than we are ready to give. But these are not issue of being unable to give these are issues of being unwilling to give. This is the main point of the song, though this unfortunate grammatical slip limits its message.
Tuesday, October 31, 2006
Friday, October 27, 2006
Wednesday, October 25, 2006
Wake up and smell the cosmpolitan....
Ever have someone send you a link to something that once you read it, you're like, "Heck, yeah! Preach it." Yeah, so maybe this isn't necessairly it; but at the same time, yeah, yeah it is. The last paragraph says it all. A rant that works both ways...
Wake up and smell the Cosmopolitan
Wake up and smell the Cosmopolitan
Tuesday, October 24, 2006
Ridiculous....
Attleboro Elementray School Bans Tag
What are we doing? We're not saving them, we're limiting their experience and growth.
Also why I love Steve
What are we doing? We're not saving them, we're limiting their experience and growth.
Also why I love Steve
Wednesday, October 18, 2006
Lyrics to Life: "Quiet Please, There's a Lady on the Stage"
"Quiet please, there's a woman up there,
And she's been honest through her songs
Long before your consciousness was raised.
Now doesn't that deserve a little praise.
So put your hands together, help her along,
All that's left of the singers, all that's left of the song.
Stand for the ovation,
And give her one last celebration.
Quiet please, there's a person up there,
Who's singing of the sins that none of us could bear
To hear for ourselves,
Now give her your respect if nothing else."
~Hugh Jackman in Boy From OZ, Quiet Please There's a Lady on the Stage
Have you ever been charged with bringing up an issue with which others may disagree? It's a tough road to walk, the road of peaceful conflict and understanding, the road of honesty, or even the road of true prophecy.
We all like to think that we take the time to listen, the time to hear what people are saying, but how often do we listen beyond just the words? How often do we pay attention to what is unsaid or stated beyond the words? Granted, we can't be held responsible for something that someone chooses to hide, but we are responsible for dismissing people, for not listening when they're pouring out their hearts, thus possibly missing what God is saying to us and to our fellowship because we refuse to take five seconds to look past ourselves, or worse, because we are too afraid of what we might hear.
I think some of the sadder people in this world are those who consider themselves to be closed books, those who think that no one is reading them, that no one cares enough to listen or to fully pay attention to them. But beyond that I think the saddest people are the unopened books, those who know how to say just enough that others don't bother to turn the pages and discover the true depth; those who know how to be strong on their own and understand that sometimes they need help, but must seek out friendship because no one seems to offer it. Those are the ones for whom my heart truly breaks. Closed books have people asking them what's going on, unopened books have only the faithful readers who see the facade change and know that something is different.
What does that have to do with a lady singing on a stage, not much beyond the choice to listen and to pay attention. We each have the choice daily and hourly to listen and to pray for and care for one another. It is when we lie to each other or to ourselves by ignoring what we see and hear or when we have hardened our hearts to it so greatly that we cannot hear the song anymore that true problems arise and disagreement turns to negative conflict rather than a challenge to grow an to improve.
Facades are such a waste of time. Compassionate honesty is the better choice and pain now is always better than heart break later due to delay because of the fear of what someone may think or say. I'm one of the worst people at this. I hate conflict and I really dislike confrontation. However, I've learned that if I'm struggling with something or someone, the worst thing I can do is put off the confrontation because I'm afraid of what someone may think or even worse of changing my relationship with them. Too many times we hang on to destructive or painful relationships under the guise that there is something wrong with us. We think, "I need to work on this," "I'm going to improve this," "I need to be less needy," "I need more to be more attentive," "I need to be more understanding." And the truth is that we all have things we need to work on because no one is perfect and we fool ourselves in thinking that we need to be the perfect one in a relationship or that the other person will change into the perfect person. Too often we reflect upon missed expectations in a relationship rather than our actual faults. When it all comes down, listening, understanding, and relationships all come down to how we relate our own insecurities and imperfections to one another. The only thing we can guarantee to change in a relationship is ourselves, including our communication. We have to listen and be honest with ourselves so that we can be honest with each other in true love, compassion, and kindness. When we're afraid of the truth or of conflict, we not only have a great propensity to fool ourselves, but we waste the time, emotions, intellect, and heart of the other individual by making demands upon them without just explanation. In many cases these demands are heard beyond words, like friends expecting to see each other or parents expecting a phone call now and then. It is when the communication breaks down, when someone feels hurt or betrayed or unloved, that it is crucial to listen, to be quiet and listen or on the other side, to speak up without fear.
And she's been honest through her songs
Long before your consciousness was raised.
Now doesn't that deserve a little praise.
So put your hands together, help her along,
All that's left of the singers, all that's left of the song.
Stand for the ovation,
And give her one last celebration.
Quiet please, there's a person up there,
Who's singing of the sins that none of us could bear
To hear for ourselves,
Now give her your respect if nothing else."
~Hugh Jackman in Boy From OZ, Quiet Please There's a Lady on the Stage
Have you ever been charged with bringing up an issue with which others may disagree? It's a tough road to walk, the road of peaceful conflict and understanding, the road of honesty, or even the road of true prophecy.
We all like to think that we take the time to listen, the time to hear what people are saying, but how often do we listen beyond just the words? How often do we pay attention to what is unsaid or stated beyond the words? Granted, we can't be held responsible for something that someone chooses to hide, but we are responsible for dismissing people, for not listening when they're pouring out their hearts, thus possibly missing what God is saying to us and to our fellowship because we refuse to take five seconds to look past ourselves, or worse, because we are too afraid of what we might hear.
I think some of the sadder people in this world are those who consider themselves to be closed books, those who think that no one is reading them, that no one cares enough to listen or to fully pay attention to them. But beyond that I think the saddest people are the unopened books, those who know how to say just enough that others don't bother to turn the pages and discover the true depth; those who know how to be strong on their own and understand that sometimes they need help, but must seek out friendship because no one seems to offer it. Those are the ones for whom my heart truly breaks. Closed books have people asking them what's going on, unopened books have only the faithful readers who see the facade change and know that something is different.
What does that have to do with a lady singing on a stage, not much beyond the choice to listen and to pay attention. We each have the choice daily and hourly to listen and to pray for and care for one another. It is when we lie to each other or to ourselves by ignoring what we see and hear or when we have hardened our hearts to it so greatly that we cannot hear the song anymore that true problems arise and disagreement turns to negative conflict rather than a challenge to grow an to improve.
Facades are such a waste of time. Compassionate honesty is the better choice and pain now is always better than heart break later due to delay because of the fear of what someone may think or say. I'm one of the worst people at this. I hate conflict and I really dislike confrontation. However, I've learned that if I'm struggling with something or someone, the worst thing I can do is put off the confrontation because I'm afraid of what someone may think or even worse of changing my relationship with them. Too many times we hang on to destructive or painful relationships under the guise that there is something wrong with us. We think, "I need to work on this," "I'm going to improve this," "I need to be less needy," "I need more to be more attentive," "I need to be more understanding." And the truth is that we all have things we need to work on because no one is perfect and we fool ourselves in thinking that we need to be the perfect one in a relationship or that the other person will change into the perfect person. Too often we reflect upon missed expectations in a relationship rather than our actual faults. When it all comes down, listening, understanding, and relationships all come down to how we relate our own insecurities and imperfections to one another. The only thing we can guarantee to change in a relationship is ourselves, including our communication. We have to listen and be honest with ourselves so that we can be honest with each other in true love, compassion, and kindness. When we're afraid of the truth or of conflict, we not only have a great propensity to fool ourselves, but we waste the time, emotions, intellect, and heart of the other individual by making demands upon them without just explanation. In many cases these demands are heard beyond words, like friends expecting to see each other or parents expecting a phone call now and then. It is when the communication breaks down, when someone feels hurt or betrayed or unloved, that it is crucial to listen, to be quiet and listen or on the other side, to speak up without fear.
Tuesday, October 17, 2006
Wednesday, October 11, 2006
Lyrics to Life: "Don't Forget to Remember Me"
"Eighteen years have come and gone
For momma they flew by; but for me they just drug on
We were loading up that Chevy, both tryin' not to cry
Momma kept on talking, putting off good-bye
Then she took my hand and said
Baby don't forget
Before you hit the highway, you better stop for gas
There's a 50 in ashtray in case you run short on cash
Here's a map and here's a Bible; if you ever lose your way
Just one more thing before you leave
Don't forget to remember me
This downtown apartment sure makes me miss home
and those bills there on the counter remind me I'm on my own
And just like every Sunday I called momma up last night
And even when it's not, I tell her everything's alright
Before we hung up I said
Hey momma, don't forget
To tell my baby sister I'll see her in the fall
And tell mee-mal that I miss her; Yeah, I should give her a call
And make sure you tell Daddy that I'm still his little girl
Yeah I still feel like I'm where I'm supposed to be
Don't forget to remember me
Tonight I find myself kneeling by the bed to pray
I haven't done this in a while, so I don't know what to say but
Lord, I feel so small some times in this big ol' place
I know there are more important things, but
Don't forget to remember me.
Yeah, don't forget to remember me"
~Carrie Underwood, Don't Forget to Remember Me
So this song really hit home for me when it first came out and a phone call from a friend who heard it confirmed that its message has broad appeal. I'll state the obvious and note that the story of going away to school, staying in touch with family via phone, and God's influence in it all, well that's very much my story, as well as a story to which many people can relate. For me it just happens to fit like a glove, right down to the little sister, phone calls to mom, being daddy's little girl, and being given a Bible with a note labelling it "directions when you're lost." Cheesy, I know, but accurate.
Anyway, I love these lyrics not only because they talk about specific moments that parallel my own life and my relationship with my parents, but because of they way memory is expressed through these words. I think it is a basic human desire to not be forgotten. It's why we work to provide legacies, strive to be remarkable, and desire to produce heirs to carry on our work. See, we want to be remembered but we live not to be forgotten, and there is a huge difference between the two. Not forgetting is passive. It requires little exertion of energy beyond moments when one is on the brink of forgetting and then the information, person, or idea is brought to the forefront of memory. However, remembering is active. It is constantly making the effort to recollect details and pertinent information. it is the difference between seeing someone in a crowd and recognizing their face as someone you have seen before, and being able to place that person's face, their name, their personal preferences, conversations you've had with them, and you're personal reactions to them. Remembering is about memory thriving while not forgetting is about it hanging on. Check this out for another take on a similar concept.
We want to be remembered in the long term but too often we act so that people won't forget us in the short term in order to not feel alone. Christ, on the other hand, faced the greatest forms of human loneliness to secure our company for eternity. If you don't believe that, read the account of Christ and the disciples at Gethsemane in Mark 14:32-42. You see, Christ was looking out for each and everyone of us though His own human preference would have been to escape the suffering that he knew awaited Him. He faced the loneliness of betrayal and denial by friends for the sake of the greater good. Now I'm not saying this as an excuse for us to use the martyr complex as a way to point fingers whenever we feel alone, but rather to point out an example of true humility. He didn't die to not be forgotten but rather to be remembered by those who love Him so that they might live. Christ didn't return before the Ascension and tell the disciples not to forget him. He told them to share the truth of His love with those around them starting where they were and going to the ends of the Earth. He told them to make disciples of others through sharing His love with them, and He told them to remember. Paul's letters are full of references to the power of Christ's example and how we should strive to emulate His humility and love. See, God uses the Bible to remind us to remember.
God doesn't say don't forget me, He says don't forget to remember me in all you think, do, say, and love.
For momma they flew by; but for me they just drug on
We were loading up that Chevy, both tryin' not to cry
Momma kept on talking, putting off good-bye
Then she took my hand and said
Baby don't forget
Before you hit the highway, you better stop for gas
There's a 50 in ashtray in case you run short on cash
Here's a map and here's a Bible; if you ever lose your way
Just one more thing before you leave
Don't forget to remember me
This downtown apartment sure makes me miss home
and those bills there on the counter remind me I'm on my own
And just like every Sunday I called momma up last night
And even when it's not, I tell her everything's alright
Before we hung up I said
Hey momma, don't forget
To tell my baby sister I'll see her in the fall
And tell mee-mal that I miss her; Yeah, I should give her a call
And make sure you tell Daddy that I'm still his little girl
Yeah I still feel like I'm where I'm supposed to be
Don't forget to remember me
Tonight I find myself kneeling by the bed to pray
I haven't done this in a while, so I don't know what to say but
Lord, I feel so small some times in this big ol' place
I know there are more important things, but
Don't forget to remember me.
Yeah, don't forget to remember me"
~Carrie Underwood, Don't Forget to Remember Me
So this song really hit home for me when it first came out and a phone call from a friend who heard it confirmed that its message has broad appeal. I'll state the obvious and note that the story of going away to school, staying in touch with family via phone, and God's influence in it all, well that's very much my story, as well as a story to which many people can relate. For me it just happens to fit like a glove, right down to the little sister, phone calls to mom, being daddy's little girl, and being given a Bible with a note labelling it "directions when you're lost." Cheesy, I know, but accurate.
Anyway, I love these lyrics not only because they talk about specific moments that parallel my own life and my relationship with my parents, but because of they way memory is expressed through these words. I think it is a basic human desire to not be forgotten. It's why we work to provide legacies, strive to be remarkable, and desire to produce heirs to carry on our work. See, we want to be remembered but we live not to be forgotten, and there is a huge difference between the two. Not forgetting is passive. It requires little exertion of energy beyond moments when one is on the brink of forgetting and then the information, person, or idea is brought to the forefront of memory. However, remembering is active. It is constantly making the effort to recollect details and pertinent information. it is the difference between seeing someone in a crowd and recognizing their face as someone you have seen before, and being able to place that person's face, their name, their personal preferences, conversations you've had with them, and you're personal reactions to them. Remembering is about memory thriving while not forgetting is about it hanging on. Check this out for another take on a similar concept.
We want to be remembered in the long term but too often we act so that people won't forget us in the short term in order to not feel alone. Christ, on the other hand, faced the greatest forms of human loneliness to secure our company for eternity. If you don't believe that, read the account of Christ and the disciples at Gethsemane in Mark 14:32-42. You see, Christ was looking out for each and everyone of us though His own human preference would have been to escape the suffering that he knew awaited Him. He faced the loneliness of betrayal and denial by friends for the sake of the greater good. Now I'm not saying this as an excuse for us to use the martyr complex as a way to point fingers whenever we feel alone, but rather to point out an example of true humility. He didn't die to not be forgotten but rather to be remembered by those who love Him so that they might live. Christ didn't return before the Ascension and tell the disciples not to forget him. He told them to share the truth of His love with those around them starting where they were and going to the ends of the Earth. He told them to make disciples of others through sharing His love with them, and He told them to remember. Paul's letters are full of references to the power of Christ's example and how we should strive to emulate His humility and love. See, God uses the Bible to remind us to remember.
God doesn't say don't forget me, He says don't forget to remember me in all you think, do, say, and love.
Philanthrophy in the Midwest
Philanthropy in the Heart of America
I found this fascinating and thought some others of you might enjoy it.
I found this fascinating and thought some others of you might enjoy it.
Thursday, October 05, 2006
Monday, October 02, 2006
"In a Pit With a Lion on a Snowy Day"
Your greatest regret at the end of your life will be the lions you didn't chase. You will regret the risks not taken, the opportunities not seized, and the dreams not pursued. Stopping running away from what scares you most and start chasing the God-ordained opportunities that cross your path.
In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day is inspired by one of the most obscure yet courageous acts recorded in Scripture: Benaiah chased a lion down into a pit. Then, despite the snow and slippery ground, he caught the lion and killed it (II Samuel 23:20-21).
Unleash the lion chaser within!
We have all come to that place in our everyday lives, the crossroad of decision. Too often we're swayed by cultural pressure to do the socially acceptable and politically safe things. We are influenced by the hovering threat of normalcy; but, at what cost. In his latest work, Pastor Mark Batterson encourages us each to chase God's opportunities in our lives with passionate abandon even when the odds don't seem to be in our favor. Check it Out!
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