Last week we finally stayed home long enough to clean house. It's been a crazy summer and life is finally settling back into routine. In preparation for my nephews' yearly week-long visit, we gave the house a thorough cleaning. I was so proud of what my husband and I had accomplished! Furniture polished, not just dusted off. Bathrooms scoured and disinfected. Laundry clean, folded and put away. Beds changed. Floors swept, mopped, and/or vacuumed. All in the same day! Yes, it was a total feeling of serenity and satisfaction that I had after a long day of hard work.
Then it happened. Someone dripped water on the floor. Not a tragedy, really. Until after I bent to wipe it up. I grabbed a paper towel and quickly swiped up the spill. That's when I saw it. The floor I thought had been so spotlessly clean just hours before left my white paper towel dark and dirty. How can this be?! I wonder, do I need one of those things they advertise on TV that works better than a mop? Maybe I need to do like my mom and my friend Debbie and just get on my hands and knees with a cloth to mop my floors. Something different has to happen. I can't just pretend to have a clean house!
I thought about how this relates to my life with Christ. He has promised to wash me clean. Whiter than snow. Yet I walk around grey and dingy and covered with a film that clings no matter how unwanted. It serves as a barrier between me and my God. It hinders intimacy with the One who knows me completely. Sin.
Proverbs 20:9 - Who can say, I have made my heart clean, I am pure from my sin? Oh, but how we try. We make so many excuses to try to make our sin OK. We make up names like Little White Lie. We rationalize that someone deserves our wrath. We consider ourselves above the norm. We even tell ourselves no one will ever know. Frankly, we can't make our own hearts clean. We must bow before the Holy God and submit to His cleansing. Jesus shed his blood for that very purpose.
When we kneel before the Lord and ask for his cleansing and forgiveness, he gives it freely and completely. Holding nothing back, he casts our sin as far as the east is from the west. He buries those horrible things in the depths of the sea. He purifies us and creates us anew. So, why don't we live that way? Why do we live like we have a dirty film covering us? I believe that it is because of the comfort we have in our sin. Change is hard.
In Psalm 51 David, after his sin of adultery with Bathsheba, bows at the feet of his Lord and asks, "Purge me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow. Make me hear joy and gladness, that the bones You have broken may rejoice. Hide Your face from my sins, and blot out all my iniquities. Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me away from Your presence, and do not take Your Holy Spirit from me." David wanted to be restored to the pure relationship he had with God. His sin had damaged that relationship. His sin had left a film of filth covering him, and he begged God to wash it away.
Are you willing? Do you even want to be clean, really clean? Are you tired of pretending?
I love to travel to Haiti. Since my first trip until now, I go whenever the opportunity presents itself. It's not an easy trip. The place we go is in the city. Concrete and dust are everywhere. There is not a blade of grass at the school where we stay. We sleep on air mattresses on the floor with no air conditioning. We sweat a LOT. My bath consists of a bucket of water which I pour over my head. It feels so good on a hot afternoon to pour that cold water over my head! BUT.
You never dry off because of the humidity. When you put your clothes on they stick to you. When you walk across the courtyard to return to your quarters, the dust of the ground coats your feet and legs. Though you have washed, you are never really clean. You can't escape the dust. Think of that dust as the sin we don't want to really let go of.
Do you have that thing in your life that, even though you ask God to forgive and purify you, you won't completely let go and allow Him to remove it from your life? Do you get up off your knees and walk back down the path once again allowing the filth to cover you? Do you take so much comfort in the film of filth that it is ok with you to just go on pretending that everything it OK?
Revelation 1:5 says Jesus loved us and wash us from our sins in His own blood. Here's my conclusion. Just like my mom and my friend Debbie get on their hands and knees to mop their floors to a pristine cleanliness, we have to get on our hands and knees before the Lord God Almighty. First John 1:9 says that if we confess our sins Jesus is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Proverbs 16:2 All the ways of a man are pure in his own eyes, but the LORD weighs the spirit. Will you allow the Lord to weigh your spirit today? It's time we quit justifying our sin and calling it pure. It's time we lived out who God has created us to be. Women (and men) in love with the creator of the universe, cleansed by the blood of Christ, spreading that love with the world.
Monday, September 24, 2012
Saturday, August 18, 2012
Paint, Part 2
My daughter calls it The Big Move. I suppose that is the best name for it. We loaded up a trailer with everything we had bought for her new apartment and headed out on our next big adventure. You know the feeling when everything is going so smoothly that you know something must be wrong? I never had that feeling. We all rejoiced over the awesome time we were making. There were no traffic jams, no delays, no detours.....until we got two hours away from our destination.
I was driving behind my husband who was pulling the trailer and my daughter and her boyfriend were behind me. Suddenly, the front of my husband's Big White Truck began bouncing like a basketball. As we all tried to pull between the construction barrels on the side of the road, the reduced speed stopped the problem so we kept going. Then it happened again. The front of the big white truck - bouncing like a ball. So, I did what any loving wife would do. I called my husband to find out what was happening. It's hilarious to think about now. I didn't take into consideration that he was using all his strength to try to control that monster truck. I wanted to know what was going on!
So, off the interstate we went. Finally finding a parking lot empty enough for all three of us to fit into, we stopped to figure our situation out. Without doubt, this truck wasn't going further. We must have been a sight! Four people with smart phones surfing the internet to find the nearest Dodge dealership. Realizing this was going to take awhile, we sent "the kids" on to get our lodging for the night and began our search for help.
Friends, let me tell you now that it is just fine for you to laugh out loud as you read. This story deserves a good laugh!
All the roads were one-way, so we went around the block to turn around to go do the dealership. Connally turned out onto the main road, and I got caught by the red light. Looking to my right I saw the U-Haul store. I called and asked if he didn't think we should go ahead and rent a truck to pull our trailer on to our destination. When I heard my husband say, "Go in and do whatever you have to do," I knew he was at a peak frustration level. As I made the arrangements he called to tell me he had a flat tire on the trailer and would be changing it and coming soon.
Since I had the dog with me I was outside trying to entertain and keep her cool when I heard it. Ca-thunk. Ca-thunk. Ca-thunk. I knew what it was -my husband pulling a trailer with a flat tire. Sure enough! The lug nuts were stripped and he couldn't remove them without breaking them. After an hour laying in the parking lot of U-Haul, he finally got the tire changed. We hooked our borrowed trailer to the 10-foot empty U-Haul box truck we had to rent because it was the only thing they had to pull a 12-foot trailer and pulled it out of the way. Then we set off to find that dealership.
We got there fifteen minutes before closing. They assured us they would TRY to look at the truck the next day. OK. What else could we do? We went to find somewhere to eat (McDonald's) and then to finish our journey. I didn't say it, but my husband said I could...I told you. I told you we should rent a U-Haul and pull my car behind to travel home in. I didn't say it, but I thought it! Anyway, as if we haven't had enough happen already, it started to rain when we finally got back on the interstate. Does anyone else think this sounds like a country song?!
Two hours later - four hours since pulling off the interstate and sixteen hours since leaving home, we finally arrived to find a sign in the guest house that said - "This is a smoke-free, pet-free suite." Well, the smoke-free was easy enough, but what were we going to do with the dog? I'll let you figure that out yourself.
The next morning we began unloading all the stuff we had brought to make this new place a comfortable home for our little girl. After we unloaded the trailer we filled it back up with boxes and trash because we had already overfilled the dumpster. A couple of days later, in an attempt to sort what needed to go in the trash with what had to go inside, two of us (we won't point fingers, but they were the younger two) managed to break the tail lights on the trailer. So now that had to be repaired before we could go home.
At this point, you should know that the U-Haul was over $200. The truck repairs were over $800. I have no idea how much the trailer lights cost. Plus, we had the brakes replaced on the truck and purchased three new tires for our friend's trailer before we left home. It was an expensive journey.
It wasn't all bad. We had a fun week of moving and unloading and unpacking. We laughed and talked, worked and collapsed together. We treasured every minute because we knew a great distance would separate our family for the first time ever and for a long time between visits once Conally and I headed home.
Remember how in Part 1 of this saga my husband couldn't walk? Guess what! Yes, this trip caused the same problem, so he limped and ached the entire week, but he made it. We got home without any trouble, though, and our beautiful daughter began a new chapter in her life's journey.
I should have known when we bought that paint. The paint she wanted for her new bedroom was named Adventure. Was it an omen of things to come? I don't think so. I think it was just a fun way for us to always remember to always say, no matter what drops into our day...Hey! What's life without a little adventure?
I was driving behind my husband who was pulling the trailer and my daughter and her boyfriend were behind me. Suddenly, the front of my husband's Big White Truck began bouncing like a basketball. As we all tried to pull between the construction barrels on the side of the road, the reduced speed stopped the problem so we kept going. Then it happened again. The front of the big white truck - bouncing like a ball. So, I did what any loving wife would do. I called my husband to find out what was happening. It's hilarious to think about now. I didn't take into consideration that he was using all his strength to try to control that monster truck. I wanted to know what was going on!
So, off the interstate we went. Finally finding a parking lot empty enough for all three of us to fit into, we stopped to figure our situation out. Without doubt, this truck wasn't going further. We must have been a sight! Four people with smart phones surfing the internet to find the nearest Dodge dealership. Realizing this was going to take awhile, we sent "the kids" on to get our lodging for the night and began our search for help.
Friends, let me tell you now that it is just fine for you to laugh out loud as you read. This story deserves a good laugh!
All the roads were one-way, so we went around the block to turn around to go do the dealership. Connally turned out onto the main road, and I got caught by the red light. Looking to my right I saw the U-Haul store. I called and asked if he didn't think we should go ahead and rent a truck to pull our trailer on to our destination. When I heard my husband say, "Go in and do whatever you have to do," I knew he was at a peak frustration level. As I made the arrangements he called to tell me he had a flat tire on the trailer and would be changing it and coming soon.
Since I had the dog with me I was outside trying to entertain and keep her cool when I heard it. Ca-thunk. Ca-thunk. Ca-thunk. I knew what it was -my husband pulling a trailer with a flat tire. Sure enough! The lug nuts were stripped and he couldn't remove them without breaking them. After an hour laying in the parking lot of U-Haul, he finally got the tire changed. We hooked our borrowed trailer to the 10-foot empty U-Haul box truck we had to rent because it was the only thing they had to pull a 12-foot trailer and pulled it out of the way. Then we set off to find that dealership.
We got there fifteen minutes before closing. They assured us they would TRY to look at the truck the next day. OK. What else could we do? We went to find somewhere to eat (McDonald's) and then to finish our journey. I didn't say it, but my husband said I could...I told you. I told you we should rent a U-Haul and pull my car behind to travel home in. I didn't say it, but I thought it! Anyway, as if we haven't had enough happen already, it started to rain when we finally got back on the interstate. Does anyone else think this sounds like a country song?!
Two hours later - four hours since pulling off the interstate and sixteen hours since leaving home, we finally arrived to find a sign in the guest house that said - "This is a smoke-free, pet-free suite." Well, the smoke-free was easy enough, but what were we going to do with the dog? I'll let you figure that out yourself.
The next morning we began unloading all the stuff we had brought to make this new place a comfortable home for our little girl. After we unloaded the trailer we filled it back up with boxes and trash because we had already overfilled the dumpster. A couple of days later, in an attempt to sort what needed to go in the trash with what had to go inside, two of us (we won't point fingers, but they were the younger two) managed to break the tail lights on the trailer. So now that had to be repaired before we could go home.
At this point, you should know that the U-Haul was over $200. The truck repairs were over $800. I have no idea how much the trailer lights cost. Plus, we had the brakes replaced on the truck and purchased three new tires for our friend's trailer before we left home. It was an expensive journey.
It wasn't all bad. We had a fun week of moving and unloading and unpacking. We laughed and talked, worked and collapsed together. We treasured every minute because we knew a great distance would separate our family for the first time ever and for a long time between visits once Conally and I headed home.
Remember how in Part 1 of this saga my husband couldn't walk? Guess what! Yes, this trip caused the same problem, so he limped and ached the entire week, but he made it. We got home without any trouble, though, and our beautiful daughter began a new chapter in her life's journey.
I should have known when we bought that paint. The paint she wanted for her new bedroom was named Adventure. Was it an omen of things to come? I don't think so. I think it was just a fun way for us to always remember to always say, no matter what drops into our day...Hey! What's life without a little adventure?
Friday, August 10, 2012
Paint, Part 1
What's life without a little adventure? It's a question shared by me and my daughter since she was little. Whenever our daily plan or route or routine was interrupted we would just laugh and say, "What's life without a little adventure?" It got us through some fun detours many times. How appropriate then that when she was getting ready to move into her first apartment this summer the paint color she chose for her bedroom was named Adventure.
If only we had known when we bought that paint what an adventure this move would be! Please allow me to share.....
We began the summer traveling the almost 700 miles to her new city to find an apartment. Our little girl is now an adult and is moving away for grad school. We spent the summer gathering furniture and things to make this new apartment home for her. Then several weeks later we loaded up the trailer and headed back to move her in.
The drive from our house takes about 12 hours if you stop for gas and to eat, which we did. The first time we traveled I had booked a hotel through one of those internet services. Big Mistake! I've stayed in a lot of hotels throughout my life. Some have been fabulously nice, but this one was by far one of the worst. As we settled in to our "cozy" little space my husband hobbled around because his achilles tendon is messed up. To put it more clearly, he couldn't walk. So, Caitlin and I did what any loving wife and daughter would do, we left him there to go eat!
I really didn't intend to be gone that long, but it was late and we didn't really know where we were, so we just went into the nearest place we could find...after a quick walk out to put our toes in the sand. For those of you who are wondering, yes, we did get him some food. The three of us finally got ready to try to sleep. The next day was going to be busy.
The next morning my husband seriously couldn't walk. We still had to apartment hunt, though. Thank the Lord for GPS gadgets! We programmed in CVS and headed that way. I ran in to buy some crutches and then off we went. (We did get a prescription transferred from home so he could get a little relief from the pain.)
We drove through a couple of complexes and looked at one other apartment before we found the complex we all thought was best. After looking around there and talking with the agent, we signed the lease and headed back to our cozy little room at the beach. That afternoon at the urging of my husband we all went to the beach for a little while. It would be a shame to travel that far and not actually see the ocean, right?
The next day we drove around to find the best routes to the school, the store, the mall, and the nearest Starbucks. It wasn't a vacation. We went to accomplish a task - to find a safe and convenient place for our daughter to live. Yes, there was frustration. Yes, there was laughter. Yes, there were roaches on the porch of the hotel. But, hey, what's life without a little adventure?! (Part 2 will come later - you won't want to miss it!)
If only we had known when we bought that paint what an adventure this move would be! Please allow me to share.....
We began the summer traveling the almost 700 miles to her new city to find an apartment. Our little girl is now an adult and is moving away for grad school. We spent the summer gathering furniture and things to make this new apartment home for her. Then several weeks later we loaded up the trailer and headed back to move her in.
The drive from our house takes about 12 hours if you stop for gas and to eat, which we did. The first time we traveled I had booked a hotel through one of those internet services. Big Mistake! I've stayed in a lot of hotels throughout my life. Some have been fabulously nice, but this one was by far one of the worst. As we settled in to our "cozy" little space my husband hobbled around because his achilles tendon is messed up. To put it more clearly, he couldn't walk. So, Caitlin and I did what any loving wife and daughter would do, we left him there to go eat!
I really didn't intend to be gone that long, but it was late and we didn't really know where we were, so we just went into the nearest place we could find...after a quick walk out to put our toes in the sand. For those of you who are wondering, yes, we did get him some food. The three of us finally got ready to try to sleep. The next day was going to be busy.
The next morning my husband seriously couldn't walk. We still had to apartment hunt, though. Thank the Lord for GPS gadgets! We programmed in CVS and headed that way. I ran in to buy some crutches and then off we went. (We did get a prescription transferred from home so he could get a little relief from the pain.)
We drove through a couple of complexes and looked at one other apartment before we found the complex we all thought was best. After looking around there and talking with the agent, we signed the lease and headed back to our cozy little room at the beach. That afternoon at the urging of my husband we all went to the beach for a little while. It would be a shame to travel that far and not actually see the ocean, right?
The next day we drove around to find the best routes to the school, the store, the mall, and the nearest Starbucks. It wasn't a vacation. We went to accomplish a task - to find a safe and convenient place for our daughter to live. Yes, there was frustration. Yes, there was laughter. Yes, there were roaches on the porch of the hotel. But, hey, what's life without a little adventure?! (Part 2 will come later - you won't want to miss it!)
God, a Gate, and a Gun
Traveling with a group of people can be interesting on so many levels. However, when God forms the group and unites their hearts, the things He will reveal are greater than any human could ever plan. My third trip to Haiti this summer was awesome, as usual.
Our scripture for the trip, prayed over and chosen by our pastor, was Psalm 29. Take a minute to read it if you aren't familiar. The God of glory thundered on this trip. He took us to what has become, for me, a familiar place. It's really a home away from home for my heart. I want to share some of the highlights with you. Hopefully I will stay away from the minute details that might put you to sleep!
Let's start at the very beginning....the drive to Atlanta. We decided that since there was another team sleeping at the school, and since our pastor (who went a few days before us) had said he thought (that being the key word here) he could come up with enough air mattresses for us to sleep on, that we should probably go prepared. So, we stopped at WalMart in Kennesaw. Eleven of us on a mission. A few of us grabbed a couple of bags for packing. One went to housewares to get a bathroom scale. Others headed to sporting goods and we all met there. The clerk was excited to join our quest and scoured the storeroom for enough mattresses. As we packed them in the bags and weighed them to make sure we would be under-weight for the plane we share Jesus with that man who so graciously helped us find what we needed. Ready now to get on with our trip we got outside to find there was a serious lightening storm immediately, directly, right above our van.
Not wanting further delay we continued our journey to Atlanta in that storm. The point of leaving the night before and sleeping in Atlanta was to sleep before the flight the next day. Otherwise we would have had to leave home at no later than 4 a.m. to make our flight. Well, with our side-trip to WalMart, the intensely heavy rain we had to drive through, and stopping at Taco Bell for a "quick" dinner, our ninety-minute trip took us about four hours! Oh well. We had fun - AND we had something to sleep on.
The rest of the trip involved rain. Heavy rain. Both times at Miami we were delayed for hours because the airport was closed due to the storms. None of that matters compared to the feeling of seeing friends when you arrive. I heard a voice behind me as we came out of the airport into the mass of people waiting for their travelers. "Vicki." Turning around I found Ricardeau who quickly came to hug me and kiss my cheek. The smile on his face told me I was in the right place. Arriving at the school, stepping off the bus, seeing the children, and hearing my name again...."Vicki! Vicki! Vicki!"....It made my heart sing! It brings me comfort and peace to my heart to know I am loved so far away from my American home.
It's not an easy trip. We sleep on the floor on air mattresses (well, this time the ladies got two nights on bunk beds in the orphanage.) There is no air conditioning. No grass. Some of the showers have a stream of water due to the ingenuity of the Haitians, but where I bathe I use a bucket to pour water over my body. There is a gate at the road, and a man with a gun. Twenty-four hours a day there is a man at that gate with a gun.
I've never felt like I was in danger. I have never felt like I needed to worry about being where I am there. This trip, though, I heard things that forced me to center my faith on the Lord and purposely be in His will.
Before dawn each morning from the compound next door I heard a call to prayer. The children at the orphange hear it daily. The wonderful thing about it is what happens at the orphanage at night. Those kids gather, and led by one or two of the older kids, sing praises to the God whose voice strikes with flashes of lightning, whose voice shakes the dessert, whose voice causes the deer to calf. They don't sing quietly. They are loud. They mean what they sing. Oh, but you should hear them pray! I can't understand their words, but the passion and their love for Jesus translates plainly and easily. It comes from knowing Jesus is all they have. Honestly, they don't have any hope if their hope isn't in God. When they sing, their neighbors in the compound next door hear them sing of the Lord whose voice is powerful and majestic.
My time on the Poo Crew was surprisingly joyful. We laughed, made up songs, a just enjoyed ourselves. Now, that may be hard for you to believe when I tell you that the Poo Crew detail was to pass five-gallon buckets assembly line style to a dump truck. Buckets full of Poo. Yes, that kind of Poo. We helped clean out the 16-foot deep pit that was below the outhouse which they hard torn down the week before. There really is nothing more I can say about it. You just had to be there!
It all came to reality for me after the Women's Conference. This year we spoke to over 60 women...twice as many as last year! At the end Pastor Franz came to thank us for coming. In what was most likely a few short seconds but what seemed like eternity, he locked eyes with me. Thanking us for coming he said, "You leave your home and come here to stay and sleep in very uncomfortable conditiions, but you do it because you love us. You never complain."
I tell you this not to brag but to share with you that people are watching you no matter where you are in the world. They see how you react or respond to the situations you are in. They sense and know if you are loving them. We didn't have a lot of time to teach that day (and time is even shorter when what you say has to be translated) so I can't wait to get back next July for our Third Annual Women's Conference at Eglise Baptiste Calvair d' Haiti de' Sarthe. (For my Haitian friends, I hope I got that right!) There is so much God is teaching me that I want to share with my sisters there!
Once again this year, after our conference the women of the church set off on their own mission trip to the remotest areas of Haiti. These women who are poorer than any American can realize have given their time and money to ride a cramped bus and walk to areas that really are not safe and have even less than they do. All for the purpose of sharing the name of Jesus.
God, a Gate, and a Gun? The story comes to this question. Wherein do you find your safety? That day after the conference a horrible storm came across Sarthe. At the church we could see what was happening, but were tucked safely inside the big church building. Aware of the storm, we felt safe in the closeness of the walls and buildings around us. Back at the school the area is more open and there aren't many places to go to get away from a storm like that. The winds were hard and strong. The man at the gate couldn't protect from the fierce winds that broke one of the very few trees in the yard. Part of our team found a hallway to huddle in.
But God.
Psalm 29:10-11 say this: The Lord sits enthroned over the flood, the Lord is enthroned as king forever. The Lord gives strength to his people, the Lord blesses his people with peace.
My soul is at peace. I know I will return to see my friends in Haiti, and I can't wait to step off that plane and hear my name!
Our scripture for the trip, prayed over and chosen by our pastor, was Psalm 29. Take a minute to read it if you aren't familiar. The God of glory thundered on this trip. He took us to what has become, for me, a familiar place. It's really a home away from home for my heart. I want to share some of the highlights with you. Hopefully I will stay away from the minute details that might put you to sleep!
Let's start at the very beginning....the drive to Atlanta. We decided that since there was another team sleeping at the school, and since our pastor (who went a few days before us) had said he thought (that being the key word here) he could come up with enough air mattresses for us to sleep on, that we should probably go prepared. So, we stopped at WalMart in Kennesaw. Eleven of us on a mission. A few of us grabbed a couple of bags for packing. One went to housewares to get a bathroom scale. Others headed to sporting goods and we all met there. The clerk was excited to join our quest and scoured the storeroom for enough mattresses. As we packed them in the bags and weighed them to make sure we would be under-weight for the plane we share Jesus with that man who so graciously helped us find what we needed. Ready now to get on with our trip we got outside to find there was a serious lightening storm immediately, directly, right above our van.
Not wanting further delay we continued our journey to Atlanta in that storm. The point of leaving the night before and sleeping in Atlanta was to sleep before the flight the next day. Otherwise we would have had to leave home at no later than 4 a.m. to make our flight. Well, with our side-trip to WalMart, the intensely heavy rain we had to drive through, and stopping at Taco Bell for a "quick" dinner, our ninety-minute trip took us about four hours! Oh well. We had fun - AND we had something to sleep on.
The rest of the trip involved rain. Heavy rain. Both times at Miami we were delayed for hours because the airport was closed due to the storms. None of that matters compared to the feeling of seeing friends when you arrive. I heard a voice behind me as we came out of the airport into the mass of people waiting for their travelers. "Vicki." Turning around I found Ricardeau who quickly came to hug me and kiss my cheek. The smile on his face told me I was in the right place. Arriving at the school, stepping off the bus, seeing the children, and hearing my name again...."Vicki! Vicki! Vicki!"....It made my heart sing! It brings me comfort and peace to my heart to know I am loved so far away from my American home.
It's not an easy trip. We sleep on the floor on air mattresses (well, this time the ladies got two nights on bunk beds in the orphanage.) There is no air conditioning. No grass. Some of the showers have a stream of water due to the ingenuity of the Haitians, but where I bathe I use a bucket to pour water over my body. There is a gate at the road, and a man with a gun. Twenty-four hours a day there is a man at that gate with a gun.
I've never felt like I was in danger. I have never felt like I needed to worry about being where I am there. This trip, though, I heard things that forced me to center my faith on the Lord and purposely be in His will.
Before dawn each morning from the compound next door I heard a call to prayer. The children at the orphange hear it daily. The wonderful thing about it is what happens at the orphanage at night. Those kids gather, and led by one or two of the older kids, sing praises to the God whose voice strikes with flashes of lightning, whose voice shakes the dessert, whose voice causes the deer to calf. They don't sing quietly. They are loud. They mean what they sing. Oh, but you should hear them pray! I can't understand their words, but the passion and their love for Jesus translates plainly and easily. It comes from knowing Jesus is all they have. Honestly, they don't have any hope if their hope isn't in God. When they sing, their neighbors in the compound next door hear them sing of the Lord whose voice is powerful and majestic.
My time on the Poo Crew was surprisingly joyful. We laughed, made up songs, a just enjoyed ourselves. Now, that may be hard for you to believe when I tell you that the Poo Crew detail was to pass five-gallon buckets assembly line style to a dump truck. Buckets full of Poo. Yes, that kind of Poo. We helped clean out the 16-foot deep pit that was below the outhouse which they hard torn down the week before. There really is nothing more I can say about it. You just had to be there!
It all came to reality for me after the Women's Conference. This year we spoke to over 60 women...twice as many as last year! At the end Pastor Franz came to thank us for coming. In what was most likely a few short seconds but what seemed like eternity, he locked eyes with me. Thanking us for coming he said, "You leave your home and come here to stay and sleep in very uncomfortable conditiions, but you do it because you love us. You never complain."
I tell you this not to brag but to share with you that people are watching you no matter where you are in the world. They see how you react or respond to the situations you are in. They sense and know if you are loving them. We didn't have a lot of time to teach that day (and time is even shorter when what you say has to be translated) so I can't wait to get back next July for our Third Annual Women's Conference at Eglise Baptiste Calvair d' Haiti de' Sarthe. (For my Haitian friends, I hope I got that right!) There is so much God is teaching me that I want to share with my sisters there!
Once again this year, after our conference the women of the church set off on their own mission trip to the remotest areas of Haiti. These women who are poorer than any American can realize have given their time and money to ride a cramped bus and walk to areas that really are not safe and have even less than they do. All for the purpose of sharing the name of Jesus.
God, a Gate, and a Gun? The story comes to this question. Wherein do you find your safety? That day after the conference a horrible storm came across Sarthe. At the church we could see what was happening, but were tucked safely inside the big church building. Aware of the storm, we felt safe in the closeness of the walls and buildings around us. Back at the school the area is more open and there aren't many places to go to get away from a storm like that. The winds were hard and strong. The man at the gate couldn't protect from the fierce winds that broke one of the very few trees in the yard. Part of our team found a hallway to huddle in.
But God.
Psalm 29:10-11 say this: The Lord sits enthroned over the flood, the Lord is enthroned as king forever. The Lord gives strength to his people, the Lord blesses his people with peace.
My soul is at peace. I know I will return to see my friends in Haiti, and I can't wait to step off that plane and hear my name!
Wednesday, June 13, 2012
Which Way?
When I was growing up many of the roads in Chattanooga were one way. The main roadways in and out of downtown Chattanooga could be traveled in only one direction. A few years ago the mayor changed all that. All those major arteries in and out of town are now two-way streets.
It seems strange to travel those roads in the directions that I was programmed were the "wrong way." Last weekend I rode down one of those streets. As my husband drove I was careful to notice my surroundings. For over fifty years I saw those houses, churches, schools, businesses, and people from one point of view. That night I learned to see them in a different way. There are things you just don't notice until you turn around and go the other direction.
The same is true in so much of life. We habitually do the same things over and over and over again. At certain restaurants I always order the same thing. Clothing is usually in shades of blue, pink, or black. If I head for the beach, Tybee is the place. Ice cream? Ninety-nine percent of the time it's chocolate of some sort. Always the same. Sure, there's a little variety. I have a green top I don't wear much. Occassionally I order a waffle cone. Not much variety, and not often.
So, in church I have started sitting in a different place every week. It's become a joke, really. My husband comes into the sanctuary and looks around to see where I have landed for the day. People in the room have starting pointing him in the right direction. Funny. Thinking about it now, though, I realize that we have begun sitting on the same side, on the same few pews, for about a month now. I'll have to do something radical this week and move to the other side...maybe on the back row!
As I think about my walk with Christ, I am understanding that my routines and habits have limited not only what He can do through me but also the things I have been missing. Sadly, I have been looking at life from one direction. I've missed out on the many of the little surprises God has placed in my path because I have been so focused on traveling to Point B that I haven't even noticed some of the beautiful blessings that I have hurried past.
What stood out to me most as I saw rode down that street from the opposite direction was the beautiful art projects someone has been painted on the sides of buildings. Houses looked different because I could see the beautiful flower gardens that were tucked away in a hidden corner. There is a church at one intersection that I have missed because it sits back off the road behind a house when I am coming from the other way.
In all this rambling, what I am trying to say is this: I think we need to focus more on where we are today in our life journey than on the busyness of getting the job done. In other words, we need to stop and smell the roses. Stop and enjoy the people you are rushing by. Stand still for a few minutes, turn around in a circle, take in ALL of the things surrounding you.
God's promises to bless us abundantly. Personally, I don't want to be in such a hurry that I miss out on the beauty of what He has planned for me today. What about you? Will you slow down, look around, and take notice of the things you have been missing?
It seems strange to travel those roads in the directions that I was programmed were the "wrong way." Last weekend I rode down one of those streets. As my husband drove I was careful to notice my surroundings. For over fifty years I saw those houses, churches, schools, businesses, and people from one point of view. That night I learned to see them in a different way. There are things you just don't notice until you turn around and go the other direction.
The same is true in so much of life. We habitually do the same things over and over and over again. At certain restaurants I always order the same thing. Clothing is usually in shades of blue, pink, or black. If I head for the beach, Tybee is the place. Ice cream? Ninety-nine percent of the time it's chocolate of some sort. Always the same. Sure, there's a little variety. I have a green top I don't wear much. Occassionally I order a waffle cone. Not much variety, and not often.
So, in church I have started sitting in a different place every week. It's become a joke, really. My husband comes into the sanctuary and looks around to see where I have landed for the day. People in the room have starting pointing him in the right direction. Funny. Thinking about it now, though, I realize that we have begun sitting on the same side, on the same few pews, for about a month now. I'll have to do something radical this week and move to the other side...maybe on the back row!
As I think about my walk with Christ, I am understanding that my routines and habits have limited not only what He can do through me but also the things I have been missing. Sadly, I have been looking at life from one direction. I've missed out on the many of the little surprises God has placed in my path because I have been so focused on traveling to Point B that I haven't even noticed some of the beautiful blessings that I have hurried past.
What stood out to me most as I saw rode down that street from the opposite direction was the beautiful art projects someone has been painted on the sides of buildings. Houses looked different because I could see the beautiful flower gardens that were tucked away in a hidden corner. There is a church at one intersection that I have missed because it sits back off the road behind a house when I am coming from the other way.
In all this rambling, what I am trying to say is this: I think we need to focus more on where we are today in our life journey than on the busyness of getting the job done. In other words, we need to stop and smell the roses. Stop and enjoy the people you are rushing by. Stand still for a few minutes, turn around in a circle, take in ALL of the things surrounding you.
God's promises to bless us abundantly. Personally, I don't want to be in such a hurry that I miss out on the beauty of what He has planned for me today. What about you? Will you slow down, look around, and take notice of the things you have been missing?
Monday, June 4, 2012
What's in Your Treasure Box
What's in your treasure box? Maybe you have things like I do. A thank you note that my daughter wrote to one of her teachers in fifth grade. Pictures of friends from elementary school whose names were long ago forgotten. Tickets from some movie seen thirty years ago with my future husband. A plastic ring that I once thought was a fabulous jewel. There are some pins I received for regular Sunday School attendance. Inside my box there is nothing that anyone would want to steal for its monetary value. Inside my box are things that bring back precious memories as I gently look them over.
I was sitting here listening to CeCe Winans sing Alabaster Box. It made me think about the things I treasure. Would these things I have tucked safely away be things I would be willing to pour out at the feet of Jesus? Are they things that would be worthy of such an offering? Probably not.
Precious oil. Valuable and costly. Worth a year's wages. Stored in a fragile and delicate vial made of alabaster. The very best. That's what Mary poured out, washing his feet with her tears and drying them with her hair.
Listening to the words of the song, I am struck at how I have settled for second-best. I have a heavenly father who adores me. He gave his very best for me. I don't fully grasp or accept that sacrifice. Yes, I have placed my faith and trust in the blood that Jesus shed for me. I understand and believe. I don't live like I do. Instead, my treasure box is filled with worthless momentos. What would my life be like if I dumped those things and allowed the Lord to fill my box?
I think there would be things like the view I have right now. My daughter and her sweet friend Sara are parting for the summer. After two days of giggles, secrets, and fun, Sara is heading to camp. At the end of summer she will return to Berry, but Caitlin will head to Virginia for graduate school. What do I see right now? The two of them beside Sara's car, facing each other, holding hands, praying. Not a quick Protect Us As We Travel prayer. Deep prayer for each other to be who God created them to be and live it out in the different places they will be.
There would be things like the song my girls and my dear friend sang yesterday at church. Shout To the Lord was the song. English, Spanish, and French were the languages. After they had sung it in each language, the three sang together, each in their native language. My Jesus, my Savior, Lord, there is none like you. I couldn't stand it! I leaned over to my husband and said, "We've got to stand up!" So, up we went. I stood amazed in the presence of Jesus that he has allowed me to be a part of touching the lives of people around the world, right here at home.
Another treasure would be seeing the Lord answer my heart's desire. He has opened doors for me to speak to women and share his Word. Through the dream of my friend, Jenn, I have the honor of standing alongside her and speaking to women for the cause of Christ. Soon we will travel to Haiti and once again speak to the pastors' wives and women of the church there. Last year we spoke to them and found out later that we were equipping them to step out into their own country, to the poorer parts of the land, on their own mission trip.
Most treasured in my new box would be the pictures of those Haitian women dressed all in white, riding a cramped bus, walking the paths of the provinces... and the smiles on their faces.
In my old box there might be worries about time I wasted, but tonight there is the precious time I spent on the porch after dinner with three college girls talking and laughing and just being together.
Evening has come and I am loving sitting on my back porch listening to the birds as they sing their final songs for the night. I am finishing up my nightly chat with my mom. The girls are watching a movie, my husband is at a meeting at church, and the day is done.
Thank you, Lord. The blessings you give are abundant and pure. May they be the treasures that I hold dearest to my heart.
I was sitting here listening to CeCe Winans sing Alabaster Box. It made me think about the things I treasure. Would these things I have tucked safely away be things I would be willing to pour out at the feet of Jesus? Are they things that would be worthy of such an offering? Probably not.
Precious oil. Valuable and costly. Worth a year's wages. Stored in a fragile and delicate vial made of alabaster. The very best. That's what Mary poured out, washing his feet with her tears and drying them with her hair.
Listening to the words of the song, I am struck at how I have settled for second-best. I have a heavenly father who adores me. He gave his very best for me. I don't fully grasp or accept that sacrifice. Yes, I have placed my faith and trust in the blood that Jesus shed for me. I understand and believe. I don't live like I do. Instead, my treasure box is filled with worthless momentos. What would my life be like if I dumped those things and allowed the Lord to fill my box?
I think there would be things like the view I have right now. My daughter and her sweet friend Sara are parting for the summer. After two days of giggles, secrets, and fun, Sara is heading to camp. At the end of summer she will return to Berry, but Caitlin will head to Virginia for graduate school. What do I see right now? The two of them beside Sara's car, facing each other, holding hands, praying. Not a quick Protect Us As We Travel prayer. Deep prayer for each other to be who God created them to be and live it out in the different places they will be.
There would be things like the song my girls and my dear friend sang yesterday at church. Shout To the Lord was the song. English, Spanish, and French were the languages. After they had sung it in each language, the three sang together, each in their native language. My Jesus, my Savior, Lord, there is none like you. I couldn't stand it! I leaned over to my husband and said, "We've got to stand up!" So, up we went. I stood amazed in the presence of Jesus that he has allowed me to be a part of touching the lives of people around the world, right here at home.
Another treasure would be seeing the Lord answer my heart's desire. He has opened doors for me to speak to women and share his Word. Through the dream of my friend, Jenn, I have the honor of standing alongside her and speaking to women for the cause of Christ. Soon we will travel to Haiti and once again speak to the pastors' wives and women of the church there. Last year we spoke to them and found out later that we were equipping them to step out into their own country, to the poorer parts of the land, on their own mission trip.
Most treasured in my new box would be the pictures of those Haitian women dressed all in white, riding a cramped bus, walking the paths of the provinces... and the smiles on their faces.
In my old box there might be worries about time I wasted, but tonight there is the precious time I spent on the porch after dinner with three college girls talking and laughing and just being together.
Evening has come and I am loving sitting on my back porch listening to the birds as they sing their final songs for the night. I am finishing up my nightly chat with my mom. The girls are watching a movie, my husband is at a meeting at church, and the day is done.
Thank you, Lord. The blessings you give are abundant and pure. May they be the treasures that I hold dearest to my heart.
Friday, May 18, 2012
Finally
Finally! It feels so good to be writing again. Life has been crazy lately. So much has happened that I don't know where to begin. So, let me tell you the major story.
About a month and a half ago my mom had some symptoms and wisely got herself to the doctor right away. Within about three weeks, she had a biopsy, and within six weeks, she had a cystectomy. Bladder cancer. I'll go ahead and tell you now that she left the hospital cancer free after that and is healing well. What I want to share with you is about faith and trust.
Before we went to the doctor for the confirmation and diagnosis my mom said, "Well, I told God that I want to stay around for 20 more years. Hopefully, I will. If he decides differently, I'm ready. Whatever happens, God is in control." That last sentence is the bedrock of her belief. God is in control. Even when you try to say things that will not sound like My Mom Has Cancer.
I would say things like:
I hate to wait. I learned to wait in waiting rooms, hospitals, and at home. Over the couple of weeks that we were at the hospital, I sat a lot. There's really not much you can get out and DO at a hospital. First, there is the waiting area for surgery. Sitting there in the morning, waiting on them to take my mom, wondering if the doctors and nurses slept well the night before, the process of listening for our name began. We sat there after they took her to pre-op waiting to be called to go visit with her. Then we sat there waiting on them to call and tell us surgery was going well.
The first surgery wasn't a hard to wait through. For one thing, it wasn't as long. For another, we thought it would be relatively minor. It was. It wouldn't give us the result we wanted, though.
The second surgery was long - six hours. We were in the waiting room all day. The nurse was so good to call us every hour and report that she was doing well. Finally we got the call that she was in recovery. I could tell the doctor was pleased with the result when he came out. You learn to read their eyes. After the first surgery, he didn't really make eye contact. This second time, he actually had a little spring to his step. It was different. He thinks he got it all.
What wonderful words those are! Hope springs eternal, and it overflowed from that report.
As the days passed, waiting for the pathology report haunted the back of my thoughts. It would take a week or so. As the time drew closer, I could feel myself falling into a dark, dark place. Until that one Wednesday when we were finally being dismissed from the hospital and the question came: "So, do you want to talk pathology?" I had been sick to my stomach all day. Fear was gripping me and wouldn't let go. Somehow I knew today was the day we would know. What would he tell us?
Margins negative. Only one lymph node out of 11 had any sign of cancer. OK. Finally, he said it. Those beautiful words that flooded relief into my soul. "As far as I am concerned, you are cancer free."
About a month and a half ago my mom had some symptoms and wisely got herself to the doctor right away. Within about three weeks, she had a biopsy, and within six weeks, she had a cystectomy. Bladder cancer. I'll go ahead and tell you now that she left the hospital cancer free after that and is healing well. What I want to share with you is about faith and trust.
Before we went to the doctor for the confirmation and diagnosis my mom said, "Well, I told God that I want to stay around for 20 more years. Hopefully, I will. If he decides differently, I'm ready. Whatever happens, God is in control." That last sentence is the bedrock of her belief. God is in control. Even when you try to say things that will not sound like My Mom Has Cancer.
I would say things like:
- She is having some problems.
- Mom is going to have her bladder removed.
- They thought is was a UTI, but it was a little more involved.
I hate to wait. I learned to wait in waiting rooms, hospitals, and at home. Over the couple of weeks that we were at the hospital, I sat a lot. There's really not much you can get out and DO at a hospital. First, there is the waiting area for surgery. Sitting there in the morning, waiting on them to take my mom, wondering if the doctors and nurses slept well the night before, the process of listening for our name began. We sat there after they took her to pre-op waiting to be called to go visit with her. Then we sat there waiting on them to call and tell us surgery was going well.
The first surgery wasn't a hard to wait through. For one thing, it wasn't as long. For another, we thought it would be relatively minor. It was. It wouldn't give us the result we wanted, though.
The second surgery was long - six hours. We were in the waiting room all day. The nurse was so good to call us every hour and report that she was doing well. Finally we got the call that she was in recovery. I could tell the doctor was pleased with the result when he came out. You learn to read their eyes. After the first surgery, he didn't really make eye contact. This second time, he actually had a little spring to his step. It was different. He thinks he got it all.
What wonderful words those are! Hope springs eternal, and it overflowed from that report.
As the days passed, waiting for the pathology report haunted the back of my thoughts. It would take a week or so. As the time drew closer, I could feel myself falling into a dark, dark place. Until that one Wednesday when we were finally being dismissed from the hospital and the question came: "So, do you want to talk pathology?" I had been sick to my stomach all day. Fear was gripping me and wouldn't let go. Somehow I knew today was the day we would know. What would he tell us?
Margins negative. Only one lymph node out of 11 had any sign of cancer. OK. Finally, he said it. Those beautiful words that flooded relief into my soul. "As far as I am concerned, you are cancer free."
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