Love Them Wherever They Are

There's a lesson I've been learning over the last few years and recently I've had opportunity to share it with others. It's a difficult lesson to absorb in our American culture. It often goes against the very nature of our being. If you're a compassionate, loving helper who just wants to offer the same blessings that have been given to you, this may be a lesson you have to mentally fight against over and over again:

Love people right where they are...not where you want them to be.

I've been in more than one conversation this winter where dreamers ask the obvious question:  What do we do to help the homeless get off the street? I respond audibly or in my mind (if voicing it wasn't appropriately timed) this phrase that is becoming my mantra for service and ministry:

Love people right where they are...not where you want them to be.

As we have served dinner monthly at the Emergency Shelter of Northern Kentucky and in my mind I have begged the questions of my Abba, Where will these grandmothers go for the summer when the shelter is closed? Why is there no place for them? Why do they not have a friend to take them in? He has continued to reply: 

Love people right where they are...not where you want them to be.

When helping out the Chaplain at Turfway Park with a chapel service, dropping off donations of clothing, fruit or just meeting with him to make arrangements for our End of Season Party we held last week, he echoed this same thought about the people who live and work at Turfway. Many of them are simply grateful to have a roof over their head, food to eat, and a job that pays enough for them to send some money back home to their families who are dependent upon them for provision.

Love people right where they are...not where you want them to be.

We had a huge outpouring of help from the women in our Bible studies, but when I take my eyes off of what Jesus has called me to do, I can easily become discouraged by the ones who express no interest, who don't want more information about how to help or asked to be removed from the email list once we started asking for volunteers. I was once again reminded...

Love people right where they are...not where you want them to be.

As the End of Season Party effortlessly unfolded, as the donations came pouring in, as women who signed up to arrive at 11:30 a.m. were so excited that they asked if they could come early and set up, I saw grace, acceptance, compassion, mercy, understanding, new awareness of our fellow man and Love on display. The Holy Spirit affirmed in me, this it what happens when you...

Love people right where they are...not where you want them to be.

Jesus never said, Go into all the world and give everyone a three bedroom, two bath home, indoor plumbing and a down comforter to sleep under. But He did say that whatever we do to the "least of these", we do to Him. (see Matthew 25:31-46) I think there is a miraculous, divine transference of grace when we serve and love others that are marginalized in our world. I almost think that's what Jesus was talking about. I believe that's why I heard women promising to help next year at Turfway, why I saw smile after smile on the served and serving alike, why I walked away thinking about those who missed out on this blessing, that I will emphatically call out to so they won't miss it again, and why I feel compelled to cry out to the comfy American church that if they are not actively engaged in serving "the least of these", they are not fulfilling their God-given destiny.

But mostly, I want to serve and Love on anyone who will allow me to because God...

Loved Angela right where she was...not where He wanted her to be.

Amen!

Kingdom Dining

One of Abbey's photos from our community dinner

I had originally title this post "Dinner With Friends" and intended to share it several days ago, but as He sometimes does, the Holy Spirit prompted me to delay so He could solidity the lesson even more.

As I've previously mentioned, every Saturday in a Mission Year, the team hangs out in their neighborhood and builds community with their neighbors. They also invite their neighbors and friends to have dinner with them. The menu during my visit was Lindi's delicious Tomato Basil Soup and Brent made some tasty oven-grilled cheese sandwiches. I pitched in a big salad purchased at the local NuWaters Co-op which is making healthy, local grown options available in a neighborhood where fresh produce is hard to come by.

Seated around the table were 15 people, most of whom only met within the previous day or two and even the Eight at the core of the group have only been together since early September...but it felt like home.

There were soon-to-be college kids, mastered-degreed young adults, empty-nester moms, friends from former church connections, a neighbor and me. Some are married, some divorced, and some remarried or single. We're not only all from different backgrounds and have varying skin tones, but the geographical backdrops didn't go unnoticed by me. Upstate New York, Kansas, Indiana, Iowa, Oklahoma, Texas and my own Kentucky home were all represented around the three tables squished together to seat all 15 of us.

And as I tried to remember to see through Kingdom eyes, I heard that Whisper say, "I'm giving you just a glimpse of the Banquet I'm preparing for all of you." I don't know if I've ever experienced the Lord's Table before that night, and I did fleetingly think of asking them if we could have communion together. I wish I'd spoken up, because I know I felt the perfection of the moment when Jesus Himself was sitting there with us.

What was the reason for delaying this post? Well, apparently the Holy Spirit prompted the same observation in my daughter. She wrote about it in her February newsletter. 

Oh...but God is so good that He gave me even one more example.

Serving dinner at ESNKY in January

Our church partners with Emergency Shelter of Northern Kentucky to provide life-saving overnight housing for 12 men when temperatures drop below 15 degrees and their shelter is overflowing with people seeking aid. They are supposed to house 40, but Monday night when temperatures were below zero, we housed 12, Mother of God church (also a temporary overflow site) had 12 and ESNKY housed 90 souls. [We fed the 12 men at our place and about 70 at ESNKY.] One of our volunteers stepped on a man's hand trying to walk through the hallway because bodies lined both sides of the already narrow space. Whoever says, "I don't see the homeless, so the problem must not be that bad," needs to take a trip down to Scott Street on a single-digit night and observe the line down the block, just to get in the door.

Part of our Homeless Hosting set-up in January

My friend heads up our church's team of over 100 volunteers that share responsibility for hosting, feeding, driving and providing hospitality to these 12 men. So far this winter, we've done this five different weeks for either three or four nights each session. I love being part of the Church that truly is serving "the least of these" and who honestly believes we are called to "be the hands and feet of Jesus". Since this morning may be the last opportunity we have to love on our new friends at our place, my friend Kari sent out some final observations Holy Spirit has been laying on her heart. One that struck a chord with me is that she felt dining with our homeless friends gave her "a glimpse into what fellowship around God's table will be like in heaven someday."

Many races, varying socio-economic statuses, many different backgrounds, many different life choices...but all brought together by the bond of Christ's Love and an abundant feast He sets before us. That is a meal worthy of our attention.

All of this has made me crave more opportunities for Kingdom dining. The invitation is always there...but will we accept our seat He's reserved just for us?

Amen!

More Than I Can Chew

I've realized that as opportunity after opportunity to serve and love in the Name of Jesus has been coming my way, that I'm in a little over my head with everything that is taking place...and that is precisely where He wants me to be.

Absolutely dependency upon Him is what I've been praying for. Desperate longing to see His Kingdom at work all around me is what I've been thirsting for. And amazing Love to see, live, give and breath in is what I've been craving. So He's called me "out upon the waters" [from one of my current favorite worship songs] and I'm diving in [to quote an older Steven Curtis Chapman one] and honestly, I'm humbled at the thought at the beauty of where His current, or should I say riptide, is going to take me.

Only He knows. What I know is that obediently following Him into the vast...amazing...unknown is exactly where I long to be!

Where is He calling you?

Pope Francis Quote of the Day

I have been sharing several quotes from The Joy of the Gospel on Twitter and Facebook, and today thought this one would be great to share with you.

"[A missionary heart] never closes itself off, never retreats into its own security, never opts for rigidity and defensiveness. It realizes that it has to grow in its own understanding of the Gospel and in discerning the paths of the Spirit, and so it always does what good it can, even if in the process, its shoes get soiled by the mud of the street."

The mud of the street, the dung in the horse barn, the nasty water of the laundromat, the trash of the abandoned house...where will your missionary heart lead you to get soiled this week?

Jesus and the Disinherited by Howard Thurman- A Book Review

I read this book over the weekend on my trip to Houston so I could participate in the Curriculum Share time with Abbey and her housemates. Mission Year requires that all of the program participants read a series of books that speak to poverty, the inner city, injustice, love and more.

Jesus and the Disinherited by Howard Thurman was reportedly carried around by Martin Luther King, Jr. everywhere he went. He found inspiration within its pages to lead a Civil Rights Movement that our country desperately needed. As I read, I had to keep reminding myself that this book was first published in 1949. Sadly, it seems that not much has changed, aside from some of the language Thurman used which was common to his day.

Abbey was surprised to see the dozens of highlighted quotes in my copy and I was thrilled to engage in this conversation with the Mission Year folks...book studies/clubs are sort of my thing. But if this book were required reading for anyone that serves alongside the "disinherited" of our culture, I believe we would approach ministry with more compassion and depth of knowledge than is often seen. The grandson of a former slave, who grew up in Jim Crow Florida, and was a highly educated, intellectual and close follower of Jesus, has much to say to us even today. 

"FEAR is one of the persistent hounds of hell that dog the footsteps of the poor, the dispossessed, the disinherited...The ever-present fear that besets the vast poor, the economically and socially insecure, is a fear of still a different breed. It is a climate closing in; it is like the fog in San Francisco or in London. It is nowhere in particular yet everywhere."

There are numerous quotes that I will return to over and over again, but the most profound image I was left with is a hypothetical story that Thurman relates in an attempt to help the reader understand the mindset of the dispossessed:  What if you were one of five children and all the children in your family received a new pair of shoes, except you? You might be upset, but you'd probably console yourself by saying, 'Well, I'll get my turn next.' But then comes the day when everyone in your family has a large slice of cake and again your are skipped over. This pattern continues time after time with no one else being denied gifts, treats and small pleasures, except you. Your indignation, anger, hatred and even shame begin to rise until you start to question if it's because you are somehow "not worthy" or possibly "less than" and you, in fact, deserve the slights and betrayals.

This is the life of the perpetually disinherited. As the third of four children, I have always had a profound (too profound, actually!) sense of fairness. In my mind, absolutely everything should always be fair and equal. This has, as you can imagine, provided me with hours and hours of frustration, lost relationship, pain, anger and hurt over the years. When someone says, "Well...life's not fair!" I want to scream, "But it should be!"

Somehow, in many of our American Christian churches, we've bought into this idea that everyone can succeed if they just pull themselves up by their bootstraps and that each person has the same opportunities as the next. My reply...and after reading Thurman's book, I think he'd agree...is always, "But you're under the assumption that everyone has a pair of boots."

My Co-worker

As I've been making my way through 1 Thessalonians I kept coming across some wording that struck me as odd, yet I'm certain it's intentional in the way that Paul, Silas and Timothy chose to write it.

"and we sent Timothy, our brother and God's fellow worker in the gospel of Christ; to strengthen and encourage you as to your faith." (1 Thessalonians 3:2)

Note what it does and does not say: Timothy is their brother and God's fellow worker. Other versions use "fellowlabourer" (KJV) and "God's man for spreading the Message" (The Message). 

I confess, I don't often think of myself as God's co-worker. I think of other Christians as my fellow labourers. But what if I saw them all as my brothers and sisters only? 

I would probably be more gracious, forgiving and tolerant of the little things that being human crop up and annoy or frustrate us. We're all much more forgiving with family. Usually.

And instead of thinking of trudging along with other flawed humans as my partners...what if I actually believed that God's plans hinged on me showing up for work?

Aside from the obvious problem of getting fired (because God would never fire us), there are people depending on you for your "goods and services". If no one showed up at the local Amazon warehouse, we'd all be doing without a whole lot of stuff.

And what happens when one (or a handful) of people are left to do all of the work while everyone else huddles around the water cooler or breakroom just wasting away the day? In the real world, the "few" would probably be resentful, angry and ready to quit. But just for the sake of argument, let's say they are gracious, absolutely love what they are doing, wouldn't trade their job for the world, and find great personal meaning and fulfillment in what they believe is their calling? 

To be honest, the loyal, hardworking labourer can only carry the dead weight for so long. If we're talking about a multi-billion dollar company that spans every corner of the globe, has about 2 billion employees and only about 2 million of them or less are actually doing any work, that means .1% (0.001 or one-thousandth) of the employees are actively engaged in the job to be done. And since there's the global-potential to reach 7 billion "customers", that is 1 co-worker for every 3500 potential clients. If we were Hunger Games people we would say "the odds are definitely not in your favor." 

Anyone out there with a client-base of 3500 people that they need to introduce to the product, peak their interest, sell them the goods, and then provide life-long customer service if need be? Yet, this is exactly the burden we place upon those who are working in the Kingdom if we even have 2 million workers in the fields. Jesus told us two thousand years ago that "the harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few." (see Matthew 9:37, NASB) It seems not much has changed in those two thousand years.

Now, while I've crassly placed salvation and God's plan for all of mankind in the context of business, goods, sales and everyday life, I do so for what I hope has become an extremely obvious point:  We take God's grace and Love for granted.

What employer would allow 90% or more of His workers to fill pews, wax philosophical and armchair-coach-away the problems of the world and how they would solve them "if they only had a chance"? That would be the most gracious, loving, kind and longsuffering employer you would ever have.

But here's the beautiful part: He doesn't consider Himself your employer, He is your fellowlabourer.

He's right there in the trenches with you, cheering you on, delighting in your successes and commiserating in your trials and pain. He meets you around the water cooler when you need to debrief and He discusses the next step and the vision in the "business" plan when He's groomed you and you're ready for the next adventure in your career. And no one could be any prouder when you reach "retirement" and hang up your briefcase. Nothing's changed in the company manual in over 5000 years and it will remain the same long after you've reached your Reward.

So here's the question that is begging to be asked:  When your loved ones gather around for the "retirement roast", what will they say of you? Will they mention your financial portfolio? Will they reminisce about your good intentions and ideas? Will they put a gold-plate on the pew that you warmed? Or will your children "rise up and call you blessed" (see Proverbs 31:28, NASB)? Will there be anyone to shake your hand in the Promised Land and say, 'if it weren't for your work, your labor of love (see 1 Thessalonians 1:3), I would not be here?'

It's time to work. No matter what you think the sacrifice may involve, it pales in comparison to the joy and blessings that will be received. Paul went so far as to say, "for now we really live, if you stand firm in the Lord." (1 Thessalonians 3:8) 

I'm ready to "really live"...aren't you? So let's go back to the Manual and ask our Co-worker to show us the next phase of His personal Vision for us and as Nike reminds us "Just Do It"!

"Welcoming Justice" by Loving Our Neighbors

Over the course of Abbey's Mission Year, she has required curriculum discussions with her team. My friend and I are reading as many of the books as possible because they have been carefully chosen to address issues that our under-resourced communities face:  racism, injustice, poverty, subpar educational options, and more.

Welcoming Justice by Charles Marsh and John Perkins grabbed me from the beginning simply with its subtitle, "God's Movement Toward Beloved Community". Community...it's what every dissatisfied Christian I encounter is longing for. It's what God created us to crave. God the Father, Jesus the Son and the Holy Spirit live in community with one another in a way that we cannot even put words to. Thus, it is hard-wired into each and every one of us. 

What we wealthier Christians often don't realize is that our impoverished neighbors we condescend to "help" have much to teach us about living in community. One of the first people Abbey encountered in her new Third Ward neighborhood of Houston was a grandmotherly woman who assured her that she would look out for them and they should look out for her. 

John Perkins was on the front lines of the 1960s Civil Rights Movement. Reading this book (co-written with Charles Marsh) during the recent outcry coming from places like Ferguson and New York City, helped remind me exactly whom should be at the forefront leading the charge against injustice, inequality and demeaning of our fellow man. "God's movement is the most powerful source of social change in our society." (p. 23)

Marsh reflects on where the Civil Rights Movement went wrong, lost momentum and left unfinished the work it had begun. "Removed from its home in the church, the work of building beloved community withered and died." (p. 25)

"It is unlikely that anyone has ever read Nietzsche's The Antichrist or Derrida's Dissemination and been inspired to open a soup kitchen. ...Still, my research has shown me that only as long as the Civil Rights movement remained anchored in the church--in the energies, convictions and images of the biblical narrative and the worshiping community--did the movement have a vision." (Philip Yancey, Foreword, p. 13)

One of the most profound quotes to me is when Marsh refers to Martin Luther King Jr.'s prophetic vision for the future of America: "King resolved that America's only hope lay in repentance--in a repentance that took the form of willingness to be a servant nation to the poor of the earth. Sadly, King would not live to say much more." (p. 27)

Is it too much to infer that our deeply-rooted issues of reconciliation vs. racism and forgiveness vs. condemnation could be addressed if we would handle more wisely the God-given resources, blessings and abundance that undoubtedly have been given to our nation? Almost 50 years after the assassination of MLK Jr., we have never been farther from becoming "a servant nation to the poor of the earth". In fact, our spending and misallocation of natural and man-made wealth keeps more people in the world bound in the chains of slavery and unfathomable poverty now than when slavery was actually legal in our land.

"Perkins showed that the activist and organizer will only cease to patronize the poor when they live in community with them and approach them in a spirit of compassion and the willingness to serve. "Living involvement," Perkins said, "turns poor people from statistics into our friends." (p. 29)

This is what I see happening as people move outside their comfort and safety zones and serve with Tent Day and allow God to wreck their lives. We begin to smell like the sheep that we desire to lead to the Shepherd, not because they are foul-odoured, but because we begin to recognize the fragrant offering that rises from 'loving our neighbor as we love ourselves.' (see Matthew 22:36-40)

"Patronization is a worry only when outsiders fail to discern the gifts of the poor--their loyalty, fragility, creativity and holiness--and deny the importance of black leadership. When this happens, outsiders are quick to impose their own plans on the poor and slow to see the wisdom in the local story."

Wednesday afternoon I sat across the table from my friend who this week has been immersed in our Homeless Hosting ministry at First Church. As we sipped our hot tea on that very cold afternoon, she told me stories of the men, and I could see how God is growing her. 'I think some of them are angels,' she said. Since the author of Hebrews told us that in showing hospitality to strangers, in this case homeless men, we unknowingly entertain angels...she may be right.

What I do know is that loving on, giving to, and growing with our under-resourced neighbors will draw us closer to seeing those "angels" than in any other place.

WIJD

What Would (Is) Jesus Do-ing?

Most of us have heard the phrase "What would Jesus Do?" Some of us probably even still have a plastic bracelet bearing the initials WWJD thrown into the back of a junk drawer somewhere.

While the question has merit, this year I want to ask WIJD...What Is Jesus Doing? I want 2015 to be the year where God's Kingdom "on Earth as it is in Heaven" becomes a reality that I see daily.

This Spirit-inspired task is a daunting one, it will take more discipline than I can muster in my own power, and it will challenge and perhaps shake the very core of my American-church faith.

Shane Claiborne writes, "Few things have more transformative power than people and stories." (Irresistible Revolution). If you'll join me as I dig into God's Story, read the stories of God's faithful and interview those who are already on the frontlines of His Kingdom work, and begin to join God in places where He is already working, I promise you will be transformed too. (12/24/14)

Today as I reflect on these words that poured out of me as I sat in my car and waited for Abbey to complete her gift shopping in Target on Christmas Eve, I cannot begin to relay to you all of the various affirmations that God has used to confirm that this is the theme for me in 2015. I haven't made a New Year's resolution in a few decades...and I've never kept one...but God's Holy Spirit is faithful to often direct me into themes that He wants to explore in my heart, mind, body and soul.

2014 was a year of attempting to become chemical free and I think I'm about 75%+ there. It's involved making homemade alternatives to shampoo, conditioners, toothpastes and using essential oils, herbs and teas for stress and pain relief. Did it take time? Yes. Did it take effort? Yes. Did it cost additional money? Sometimes yes...but often it was less expensive or free.

Wouldn't it be amazing if at this time next year I could share with you that I see God actively working in 75%+ of each and every day? Call it a resolution, a goal, a theme or the impossible...but He has me chomping at the bit...ready for the challenge.

While I can't possibly convey every situation that has brought me to this place...because some of them extend back in time over a decade...I can share a few highlights that I hope encourage you to join me on this leg of the Journey:

• Our church (2000+ members) is presently reading through The Story together. This version of the Bible tells God's Story and how it has prevailed throughout history.
• In a series of meetings with our Serve Ministry Leader at First Church of Christ, I had the "idea" that people learn best through and are inspired by the stories of others, so why don't we create short videos showing where God is already working and trust Him to inspire others to join in.
• During this same set of meetings, we chose to begin reading Irresistible Revolution as a Serve Team to dig into a narrative of how Jesus is fleshing out His work in others.
• While contemplating how to educate people in our congregation about needs in our community and how we can meet those needs, this idea of sharing a book discussion to the whole church arose and we began sifting through a lengthy list of what book to start with because Irresistible Revolution might be too challenging for most...yet this book rose to the surface and that's where we'll begin.
• The paragraphs at the beginning of this post poured out of me on Christmas Eve, because I read that amazing quote from Shane Claiborne while I waited.
• What is the title of my blog for pete's sake?
• Too many more to relate here.

So we're diving in...we've created a private Facebook group for church and online participants who want to read Irresistible Revolution and join in the conversation. I'll also be posting quotes from books, sharing videos of God's Kingdom work and trying to engage you in this Journey. Follow me on Twitter (link above), find me on Facebook, come to our Sunday morning book discussions (message me for details), join us in our LifeGroup or at Thursday morning Bible study at FCC, message me to meet for coffee, join us in serving at Tent Day, the Emergency Shelter of Northern Kentucky, homeless hosting this winter at FCC or any of the other possibilities that will arise throughout the year...but most of all fall on your knees and implore the Almighty, the Savior of your soul and His Holy Spirit that is alive, active and living in you to show you where He is already bringing His Kingdom "on Earth as it is in Heaven."

I am so ready! Aren't you??

p.s. I almost forgot!! We'll be using the hashtag #FCCGodStories for Kingdom-work inspiration. What better way to show how God is "trending" everyday??!

You CAN Go Home Again...

but you'll be changed.

*******************

I anticipated this. I knew it may happen. It does not make me sad. It makes life real.

I joyfully picked up our oldest Friday afternoon from Indianapolis International Airport, hugged and kissed her sweet little ginger head, had lunch with my parents, sister-in-law and niece and nephews, and started the long drive home.

It's not lengthy...but it was quiet.

My introvert who has had her comfortable, suburban world jolted by the reality of a broken and often hopeless one, needed time to decompress. My usual tactic of pummelling my children with questions until they open up was not appropriate, I had perceived as much.

At some point in the journey I must have asked the right question and the conversation flowed more easily. It has increasingly done so over the last two days...yet, there's one significant change that I have noticed: 

She's no longer set off by the small things that used to light her fuse.

*****************

While I knew maturity would arrive swiftly for an 18 year old (now 19 year old) who's sacrificing comfort and the "norm" for a woman of her tender age, I wasn't prepared for the "untroubledness" of her maturity.

I was fully prepared to avoid her triggers. We all have them. In families we learn to step around them to keep the peace. When I've asked about laundry, food choices, and plans for each day, I think I'm no longer perceived as a nag...but she understands that my genuine concern for her is manifested in the little things.

What I've been asking myself for the last 48+ hours though are questions of myself that I think each Christian should delve into and accompanied by the Holy Spirit, grapple with and mold into our being and modus operandi for daily life:

What can cause us to abandon our priorities?

What can help us not to sweat the "small stuff"?

What must happen for me to put into perspective the minutiae of life?

What changes inside a perfectionist to bring them more calm, peace and joy?

The answer is simple...yet profound...

Love!

It may have been long-distance, but I have seen this beauty fall in love with a city, a neighborhood, a school and the children inside of it. She has talked with prostitutes, shared meals with feeble grandmothers in her new home, made pies and candy for her neighbors, taught children to sing and draw and enjoyed a birthday "cake" made from playground mulch accompanied by a preschool-pitched chorus of "Happy Birthday Miss Abbey".

She has also learned the humility of poverty and dependence upon others. She has found pleasure in the simple things like a free, reconditioned bike, local taco stands and new friends that quickly become family.

She has found new outrage inside of herself. While others her age are frustrated with the latest iPhone update or that their favorite cafe' no longer carries their preferred mocha, she has discovered fury over racism, injustice, deep poverty, and the desperation that drives people to merely survive instead of thrive.

She has found her Voice...and it is a melody of grace.

Old Kentucky Christmas: First Church of Christ, Burlington, KY

Our church has given the gift of this event to our community for the last few years. Each year, Old Kentucky Christmas grows and grows. This year's crowd is expected to reach around 10,000 between the four night and one day event.

Today, my kids and I volunteered for the field trip shift. We worked in the school house, teaching children how to write with a feather quill and ink.

There is something fun for everyone. You can make a candle...

pet real animals, like llamas, a donkey, burro, cow or angora rabbits...

take a carriage ride, play pioneer games, make your own Christmas ornament, go on a hayride and there is food too.

Decorate your own Christmas cookie, drink hot cocoa, or dip a pretzel in chocolate at the candy shop.

Inside our main building there will also be a quilting display, a dulcimer ensemble and several opportunities to participate in our church's candlelight service. Thursday night, Cooper High School performed their Christmas concert in lieu of a candlelight service.

There are also several photo opportunities outside and a more formal family photo opportunity inside.

Did I mention that this entire event is free?

My only caution is that with local road and community building construction this year, parking is more restricted. If you're heading out, there is the option to park at Camp Ernst Middle School and catch the free shuttle over to the First Church campus.

Trust me..your family will love this and it might become a favorite tradition in your home.

Visit the website for more time, location and map details. There are also lots of photos on the Facebook page.

And this...

this is what happens when you teach several hundred students how to write with a feather quill and ink. Oh well...back in the day, I would have just looked the part of a serious author.

Parental Guidance Suggested

I am finally falling in love with I Thessalonians! I have even found the verses that best describe how I approach life, love and ministry. And when I fail to live up to the standard put forth by Paul, Silas and Timothy, they are the guiding beacon by which I can align my heart and passion for serving and living out this Journey upon which my feet have embarked.

"For our exhortation does not come from error or impurity or by way of deceit; but just as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, so we speak, not as pleasing men, but God who examines our hearts. For we never came with flattering speech, as you know, nor with a pretext for greed-- God is witness-- nor did we seek glory from men, either from you or from others, even though as apostles of Christ we might have asserted our authority. But we proved to be gentle among you, as a nursing mother tenderly cares for her own children. Having so fond an affection for you, we were well-pleased to impart to you not only the gospel of God but also our own lives, because you had become very dear to us...You are witnesses, and so is God, how devoutly and uprightly and blamelessly we behaved toward you believers; just as you know how we were exhorting and encouraging and imploring each one of you as a father would his own children, so that you would walk in a manner worthy of the God who calls you into His own kingdom and glory." (I Thessalonians 2:3-8, 10-12, NASB)

It's a long passage, I know. I won't belabor the points I have previously made. (see Entrusted and Smelling Like Sheep) But I had to delve into this a little further with you, because this is my heart...right there on the page. 

I am not a tender mother. My children can attest to this. But I remember the tenderness and joy of nursing my infant children. 

God help me to never run rough-shod over any believer that is new to the faith. I fed my babies on demand, and as your newborns need fed in the timing that You create for their hunger, may I help feed them with the nourishment that You have already provided. May I never demand anything more from them than You are ready to give them. I trust that they will grow in Your timing...not mine.

And yet, at the same time, may I never stop 'exhorting, encouraging, and imploring' each Jesus-follower that You place in my path that they absolutely can "walk in a manner worthy of the God who calls" us.

For Abba, Your grace is beyond measure. Why? Because You never conscript us into service. You never require that we give away all that you have blessed us with...no...but freely I surrender my time...my gifts...and my stuff...because of where you do call me: Your own Kingdom and glory.

These are gifts I cannot repay. My life remains as the only offering that I can lay on the altar of sacrifice. If by my life or my death I can help someone catch just a whisper of the precious Kingdom and glory to which you call each of us...then may it be so.

The family of God.

I remember singing about it as a child. And this week, You've begun prying open my heart to understand. As others have for me, may I nurture and feed as a mother would her own...and like a father, may I radically inspire and call out in others the beauty and grace of the Light in which You want us to sojourn together.

Amen.

Smelling Like Sheep

God's Spirit is always growing us, right? Molding, shaping, and refining us into the person He originally created us to become. I love that about Him. He loves me so much that He will not stop until I have fulfilled the purpose He has created particularly for me and me alone. (see Philippians 1:6)

In this process, I get what I call whispers and glimmers of where He's taking me and how He's going to accomplish His work in me. This is one of those seasons on my Journey where I've been intersecting with Scripture, books and sermons that are prompting me...okay sweeping me...toward His delight for me. 

As I've been memorizing 1 Thessalonians, I was especially struck by this verse: Having so fond an affection for you that we were well-pleased to impart to you not only the gospel of God, but our own lives, because you had become very dear to us. (I Thess. 2:8) 

This is what I see fleshed-out in places like the Kensington neighborhood of  Philadelphia where The Simple Way lives, loves and worships. It's what I hear happening in my daughter as she serves with Mission Year in Houston, Texas. It's the humbling I sense when I engage with people who are being transformed through their service with Tent Day or the Emergency Shelter of Northern Kentucky. I want to know that passion, love and purpose in my life too, don't you? No wonder this verse in 1 Thessalonians hit me in just the right way.

But I'm also reading a book that is the "guideline" for the ministry of Pope Francis. I'm not Catholic, so I don't know what may be a better description of this dissertation, but I'm reading it as part of the Blogging for Books program and I can only digest a few paragraphs at a time. Once again, God's Spirit used the perfect phrase to describe what I'm feeling. My whole life I've heard the biblical comparisons to how Jesus is our "Good Shepherd". A Shepherd lays down his life for His sheep, He will leave 99 behind to hunt down the one that is lost. What Pope Francis reminded me though, is that shepherds smell like their sheep.

I have to enter into the lives of those I'm serving. I cannot be set apart and removed either physically, emotionally, spiritually or in any way. One of my absolutely favorite verses from The Message translation of the Bible is this:  The Word became flesh and blood, and moved into the neighborhood. (John 1:14)

What does that mean for me? What does that mean for you?

I know it will look different and manifest uniquely in each of us. For some, it means moving into impoverished and abandoned neighborhoods so we can live, love, worship and develop "Beloved Community" with those who are marginalized in our culture. For others, it will awaken us to the spiritual poverty that is all around us, no matter how affluent our neighbors are. 

The point is, if God's Spirit dwells in me, then God has already "moved into the neighborhood". I think it's time that I started to smell like some sheep.

Understanding Poverty; City Gospel Mission, Cincinnati, Ohio

Saturday morning, the kids and I participated in a training event at our church that was given by City Gospel Mission . I hope they don't mind that I'm using their photo, just as I don't mind that they took a photo of us sitting at the table in the foreground. The photo shows though, how diligently I was taking notes and that my children were all engaged in the speaker, the videos and also the small group discussion at our table.

I have to confess what I loved most was that this was not just First Church folks. People from the community, local schools and future volunteers at City Gospel, all came together in an attempt to grapple with some pretty difficult realities and some very discouraging statistics.

City Gospel and so many other great organizations like them, believe that relationships and love are the key to "Breaking the Cycle of Poverty and Despair...One Life at a Time." I know they are on to something, because I know that when I think about the rampant poverty around the world and how we privileged white folks take so much for granted...I have to confess it is pretty easy to despair. What I have already experienced and had confirmed again through this training is that I have more to learn from those who live in poverty, than I could ever teach them. Coming along beside someone not only has the potential to change their poverty, but also my despair at a world that has gone wickedly awry.

In each of their own ways, my children had their eyes opened. Leah was crushed to learn that one of the "measuring sticks" for the state of Ohio's Department of Corrections is literacy. Dr. O'Dell Owens, of Cincinnati State was quoted as saying, "If you don't know how to read by the end of the Fourth Grade, the state is building you a prison cell." That's a harsh reality for a sixth grader to hear. It must have spoken to Noah also, because he looked it up online to verify it later and discovered that California, Texas, and most other states follow suit.

Rebekah was impacted most visibly. I don't know what God has planned for this unique child, but she is often moved to tears by injustice, inequality and poverty. She definitely will be one that fights vehemently for the "underdog" in the coming years.

I wish everyone, Christian or not, in some way, whether through mission trips, books, movies, workshops or conversation, would take the time to step into the world of the deeply impoverished. Shane Claiborne writes in Irresistible Revolution that he has to believe that most people do not do more to end poverty, simply because they do not know anyone that is poor. Become friends with someone who lives in poverty and you begin to care deeply about how your own choices impact their world. It's no longer the faceless masses, vilified and condemned by our corporate-operated media. Instead it's Joe, Sue, Fred, and Frank. 

If you are a Christian, I ask you to just read your Bible. If there is no other venue open to you with which you can engage with the poor...go straight to the heart of Jesus (himself a poor man) and witness the compassion, mercy, grace and lenses of love through which He approached those whom society would much rather push to the margins. I can guarantee you that I know what you'll find:

A heart that beats with passion for those that His Father never forgets.

So shouldn't ours?

Tent Day

What is Tent Day? Tent Day is what happens when churches take food, fun and fellowship outside of the church walls and to neighborhoods where people need to experience God's Love. We all need God's Love, but some communities are more receptive to people sharing life with them. Such is the case on Tuesday and Thursday nights in two Northern Kentucky neighborhoods.

CityMerge is a relatively new non-profit whose vision not only includes Tent Day, but meeting real needs for real people. The needs can't fully be known until the relationships are established through consistent involvement in the lives of neighborhood families though. Once the needs are identified (i.e. homework assistance, nutrition classes, or small home repairs for the elderly), the needs can be met by church members, Tent Day volunteers, or local agencies that are already active and funded in the community.

The biggest need that is met by Tent Day is relationship. In poor communities, you don't want to feel like a "project"...you want to know you are loved, valued and a needed part of your neighborhood. Through informal community dinners, games and conversation, neighbors step out of their homes and into each others lives. When you know your neighbors are working together, you know that your contribution can make a difference.

Just as this Gigi's cupcake brings BIG icing to Tent Day...CityMerge's BIG dream involves transformation of lives and neighborhoods on nothing less than a massive scale. But as I've learned over the last year, it all starts with the little things. Obedience, time, listening, discernment, personal study, dedication and love...above all else Love...is what will make lasting change in the lives of those who are marginalized in our society.

But the flip-side of this is that the Tent Day volunteers will most likely be the most transformed! When you invest your own obedience, time, listening, discernment, etc. into the lives of people in your local community who only have their lives and time to give in return, you quickly become the recipient of priceless gifts like honesty, authenticity, joy, fun, conversation, insight, perspective on what really matters, and love...above all else Love.

CityMerge hopes to one day have other Northern Kentucky churches capture the vision and adopt neighborhoods in their own communities. What would happen if every church in Northern Kentucky took one night each week to feed their neighbors and talk with them about what's going on in their homes, schools and neighborhoods? 

Can you see it?

It may turn out to be nothing more than a cut-throat game of Trouble...

or maybe...just maybe...it could become the beautiful Body of Christ that Jesus envisioned His Church could be: On Earth as it is in Heaven!

How To Let Go?

As a 40-something mother of four, I am thankful to a God who once planted into my soul that one of my greatest blessings would be to release our children into His service. I didn't know the how, the when, the where, or the why...I only knew from very nearly the start of the parenting journey that releasing them to His care and provision would always be one of my greatest acts of obedience.

When you're knee-deep in diapers, the throes of homeschooling woes, with the seasons flying by you in a blurry flurry of birthdays, holidays and milestones, sometimes it takes great effort to remember that these little gifts will one day have a mind of their own...and greater still...a path of their own. And then one day you wake up and it's time to start thinking about things like college vs. technical school vs. (dare we say it?) setting aside conventional thought and going straight into the plans God has for your child.

I'm not a parent that was blind-sided by my child's passion to serve Him and live out her giftedness. But if I had been, I guess I'd have to trust His leading and call upon her life. I'm not a parent that fears inner-city ministry. I'm thankful for documentaries, books and compassionate leaders that have opened my eyes to the gifts that people living in deep poverty have to offer to willing learners.

I'm by no means a perfect parent. Although I set aside my fear for her safety long ago, as the days quickly drew nearer for her to fly, the doubts assailed me. But I know I serve a God who laid down His greatest Gift for me, so how could I offer any less for those that need to know His Love and selfishly ask her to stay home?

From the first day that I saw Mission Year mentioned on The Simple Way's website, until the day she boarded that plane to Atlanta, it has been an absolutely beautiful journey to behold. Watching Abbey struggle with fear and overcome her doubts, the sometimes palpable stress of the unknown and using her specific gifts and passions to raise funds...only her Abba could be more proud than her parents have been. Her journey has already inspired many...including her own Mama.

I have repeatedly been awed and inspired by this Millennial Generation that is drawn by the Holy Spirit to abandon what my generation was told would give them comfort and ease. I love the Millennials, their passion, their devotion, their heart for service.

It's funny, when you think about "letting go"...I guess the peace is found in knowing that she was never mine to begin with.

A Tale of Two 14 Year Olds

Dickens once wrote, "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times...it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness" (A Tale of Two Cities) and although I have yet to have the pleasure of reading that great work of fiction, the opening line of this novel has been resonating within me for the last week or so. Allow me to tell you the tale of two very different life trajectories for two 14 year olds.

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One girl dreams of meeting the singer in her favorite band.

The other, dreams of pursuing a technical career.

One girl is in 9th grade.

The other only completed 6th grade.

One girl is schooled at home.

The other no longer attends school due to lack of money.

One girl has three siblings.

The other has six.

One girl is concerned with appearances and sometimes feels awkward.

The other probably doesn't even know what that means.

One girl helps her parents out with chores and earns a little money.

The other went to work at her parents' request to help take care of her siblings.

One girl never cared to play with baby dolls, she preferred stuffed animals.

The other had her first baby in early August 2014.

One girl hopes to start babysitting to earn extra money.

The other works in a brothel.

One girl lives in "The Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave".

The other bravely faces each day knowing she will never again be free of public stigma and scorn.

One girl has a world wide open to her of unlimited possibilities to what she can do with her life.

The other has life.

One girl is my daughter.

The other is not.

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I am tired...bone weary tired...of a world that cannot see the fathomless beauty, dignity and promise that every single living soul deserves...NOT because we are worthy, but because of a Heavenly Father who bestows it upon us. He is enraptured with every single one. Since picking up this prayer card for "The other", I cannot let her face...her light...her promise out of my mind. She is worthy of more. Praise God for places like Northwest Haiti Christian Mission who help women caught in the claws of a brothel life. 

But Lord...please raise us all up to claiming this "season of Darkness" one toe hold at a time for Your "season of Light"!

Amen!