…WEDDING bells…

On August 21st, at the Palace of Fine Arts in San Francisco, the most wonderful man asked me to marry him. Of course I said “yes!”. : )

I could write for a VERY long time about Josh… there are so many things I love, appreciate, and respect about him… but as I was sitting in church this past Sunday morning the eretheal world of love had taken a back seat, in my mind, to the very tangible realm of WEDDING PLANNING.

I’m convinced planning the “most important day of your life” is a test of character — one I haven’t always been passing. But I want to be.

Sitting in my church chair, coffee in hand, staring at the actual HONEY BUCKET up on the stage (a demonstration of how replusive God finds our sin), my mind couldn’t let go of the selfishness that so easily gets tangled into the ribbons and bells of planning a wedding. The simple phrase my perfect day says so much, doesn’t it? It just oozes with an “it’s all about ME” mindset. And, when coupled with a longing for a “perfect” day, the infamous Bridezilla emerges.

…Isn’t it ironic that while preparing for the time when we are, supposedly, to look the most beautiful in our lives that the preparation period actually can bring out the very ugliest parts of ourselves?

Entitlement, greed, vanity, pride, selfishness, competitive spirit, envy. How easily I can shift from the beautiful bride to the putrid port-a-potty!!

According to Reuters, in 2012 couples in America spent an average of $27,000 on their wedding — not including the honeymoon. In New York the average climbs to more than $60,000. That’s more than I paid for my brand-new CAR! …People are literally taking out loans to help cover the cost of extravagant celebrations and memorable nupitals. With the divorce rate hovering around 50 percent, it’s a sad reality that some people continue to pay off their weddings after their marriage has dissolved. What is happening?!

I think wedding planning, with its “me” focus, is an incubator for self-centeredness and vanity: “I deserve this… I want to look like that…”

Whether it’s a well-meaning friend asking “well what do you want?” or an advertisement daring me to splurge because “you’re worth it”, it seems that wedding culture continues to bring us back to ourselves. I think that’s exactly the problem: us. There is too much “me” in wedding world – it is poisoning our spirits and eventually unleashing the bridezilla that lurks in the depths of each of us!

So what’s the solution… how do we kill the beast?

Not with bobby pins, safety pins, bleach pens, or wire-edged ribbon. With God. He’s the creator of love and sustainer of life. Only he can kill the selfish bridezilla beast and heal the wounds its inflicted. Thank goodness he loves us and delights in restoring us! More so, when we allow him to clean up our minds and hearts, he brings a radiance that no make-up artist or designer gown can imitate.

Sitting in that chair… staring at that port-a-potty on the stage… I thought about how easily I’ve slipped into putting God on the backburner while I dip into wedding world for awhile.

I skip reading my Bible in order to spend extra time comparing font styles on invitations. I dream about wedding ideas but fall asleep while praying — oh how that betrays what has really captured my mind!! But God is good and full of mercy. I felt like he was whispering to my heart… to return to him and trust that the pieces will all come together in the right time. After all, it is God who breathes life and beauty into us, who mends our relationships, replaces anxiety with peace, and teaches us how to love sacrifically.

We become like those we spend the most time with… is God someone you are spending time with? I want to be.

I would absolutely LOVE to be a beautiful bride, but I also want to be a kind, generous, grateful and content one… not a selfish, greedy, jealous and proud one. Only God can do the kind of work on my mind and heart to make that a possibility:

“Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.” (Ephesians 3:20-21)

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/03/23/us-wedding-costs-idUSBRE82M11O20120323

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… farewell to ISLAND life…

I like islands… especially ones nestled in turquoise waters filled with colorful fish and playful dolphins. Ones that are far away from tsunamis, but blossoming with exotic flowers and sprinkled with palm trees. I used to think I would ADORE living the stereo-typical, laid-back island life. You know: lay on the beach, eat pineapple, learn to surf, be tan, swim with dolphins, buy a hammock… and relax with the people I love.

Hank's friend, "Wilson"

..but it’d be a whole different story to be on the same quintessential island alone. Did you ever watch the movie “Castaway” (2000) with Tom Hanks? I couldn’t bring myself to sit through the entire saga, but I understand Hanks’ character gets so lonely on a beautiful island that he fashions an imaginary friend out of an old volleyball. Not exactly paradise.

John Donne (1572-1631), who was an English clergyman and poet, once said:

“No man is an Island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the Continent, a part of the main…” (Meditation XVII, emph mine).   

Life is better when it’s shared. In today’s world it’s easy to live essentially isolated from one another — like islands sprinkled across a vast ocean. Sure, we are constantly physically around people…  but do we really know them?

I think America is detached and depressed. We dabble in escapist ventures – be it movies, video games, alcohol, fantasy books, self mutilation, prescription meds, or one night stands. We cheat ourselves out of authentic relationships with real people. Be it within families, marriages, friendships, or churches… the monsters of biterness, jealousy, insecurity, and fear get in the way of living in community. We get caught up with success, status, and self preservation… and it isolates us. 

 …Let it be no more.

plumeria, Hawaii

This semester I decided to do something radically different with my life —  to set aside my own agendas and issues, trust God in tangible ways, and live more like Christ and less like me. (See ”Taking the PLUNGE” entry.) The past month or so the concept of community has been turning slowly in my brain like a pig roasting over the fire at a sunset luau… the more it turns over the more enticingly fragrant it becomes.

It’s a counter-cultural idea… in a society that values people who stand alone (the rugged individualist), I’m suggesting we stand together. Not in a way that compromises who we are, but in a way that shares who we are with the people around us. I’m not promoting co-dependence, I’m encouraging authentic relationship… allowing people to genuinely know us and seeking to know others.  

The words of Richard Stearns, President of the humanitarian organization World Vision, resonate with the idea of bidding adieu to this “island” life. He says that our idea of privatized Christianity, of faith merely being between us and God, is incomplete.  Christianity isn’t a quick prayer uttered in one of life’s corners, it’s a transformational relationship with God that should overflow into every aspect of our lives… in other words, it’s not lived in isolation. In The Hole in Our Gospel (Thomas Nelson: 2009), Stearns says:   

“The idea behind The Hole in Our Gospel is quite simple. It’s basically the belief that being a Christian, or follower of Jesus Christ, requires much more than just having a personal and transforming relationship with God. It also entails a public and transforming relationship with the world. If your personal faith in Christ has no positive outward expression, then your faith — and mine — has a hole in it.” (p.2).

Though Stearns is ultimately drawing attention to our responsibility to respond to global issues like poverty and rampant disease, I think his observation is spot on. We tend to compartmentalize our lives and our beliefs, and it hinders our ability to truly know and be known. Think about it… if you were to invite everyone you knew to the same party what would that look like? 

Work friends. School friends. Neighbors. Family. Church friends. Out on the town friends. Sports friends. Facebook friends. New and old, everyone… would they know the same person? Clearly, people are multi-faceted and not each friendship will be a cookie-cutter of the next, but are we essentially the same in all our relationships… or do we adjust who we are based on expectations and fear?

the fall of the Berlin Wall, 1989

Friends, fear KILLS community. It breeds island dwellers. Authentic relationships simply cannot survive on the superficial; they have to be built on foundations of truth. (Think about what broken trust and betrayl do to a relationship, for example, when truth is compromised.) And truth-based relationships require a whole lot of LOVE, forgiveness, and vulnerability. The words of the apostle John come to mind: 

“There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love. We love because he first loved us.” – 1 John 4:18

Perfect love casts out fear. Fear of being honest, of being rejected, vulnerable, exposed, judged. It is the polar opposite of pride. Pride demands self preservation… and, subsequently, it builds walls. The more proud we are the greater the distance becomes between “us” and “them”. But rather than distancing, love takes a risk and APPROACHES. 

So, my hope is that we will distance a little less and love radically more. That we will build bridges off our islands and tear down the walls that protect our own pride and insecurity — and isolate us —  as we share honestly life’s pain and laughter, hope and love with the real people around us. Let us ask God for the courage and the grace to live in true community with one another. Let us bid farewell to “island” life.

Have a listen to Phil Wickham’s song, Beautiful. Nowhere is there a better example of perfect, unselfish love for others than that which is poured out in Christ’s love for humanity. It’s beautiful.       

…

Photo credits:

http://www.softpedia.com/progScreenshots/Tropical-Island-Escape-Screenshot-35556.html

http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://aquaest.typepad.com/.a/6a00e5551268ac883401157100e500970c-320pi&imgrefurl=http://www.sulisminerva.org/2009/07/being-a-bridge-nan-degrove.html&usg=__jCTksMbToWUlvLittDrtdsep9fA=&h=320&w=213&sz=10&hl=en&start=69&zoom=1&itbs=1&tbnid=c_dWUWjYFslatM:&tbnh=118&tbnw=79&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dbridge%2Bat%2Bsunrise%26start%3D54%26hl%3Den%26safe%3Dactive%26sa%3DN%26gbv%3D2%26ndsp%3D18%26tbs%3Disch:1

http://si.wsj.net/public/resources/images/WK-AU418_TVREVI_G_20100623133659.jpg

http://www.brainmysteries.com/Images/cast_away_movie_Wilson_football.jpg

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…from cows to coins: IDOLS in the mix…

When I think of summertime images of flip flops, beaches, naps, cold glasses of lemonade, BBQs, bonfires, and starlit skies unshielded by clouds fill my mind. For a season, the hustle and bustle of school takes a rest

visions of summer... Maui, Hawaii

 and the sun begins to shine its face upon the northern states. I love it!

..I also find that in the summer I’m more likely to read. During the school year I spend so much time scouring over books that I don’t really read “for fun”… but the summer brings a new season.

So… I recently read Timothy Keller’s book Counterfeit Gods: The empty promises of money, sex, and power,  and the only hope that matters (New York: Dutton, 2009). It’s worth the read. Written by a pastor of many years it speaks to what we, as individuals and as a society, worship.

… but I don’t bow down and pray to any household idols, you may be thinking, so I’m in the clear. Well, not necessarily…

You may have heard the Biblical story of the Israelites, recently delivered out of Egyptian slavery, who made a gold statue shaped like a cow and worshipped it instead of God (Exodus 32). Growing up in the church, I often equated the first commandment “You shall have no other gods before me” (Exodus 20:3) with my own paraphrase of “don’t bow down to statues”… but idols aren’t limited to statues — they take many forms.  

“More than other idols, personal success and achievement lead to a sense that we ourselves are god, that our security and value rest in our own wisdom, strength, and performance. To be the very best at what you do, to be at the top of the heap, means no one is like you. You are supreme.” -Keller, p.75

“If your success is more than just success to you — if it is the measure of your value and worth — then accomplishment in one limited area of life will make you believe you have expertise in all areas. This, of course, leads to all kinds of bad choices and decisions. This distorted view of ourselves is part of the blindness to reality that the Bible says always accompanies idolatry (Psalm 135:15-18; Ezekiel 36:22-36).” -p.76 (emphasis mine)

Keller talks about love, lust, greed, glory… and disillusionment. The things we worship apart from God always disappoint. C.S. Lewis captures this well in Mere Christianity (emphasis mine):

“Most people, if they have really learned to look into their own hearts, would know that they do want, and want acutely, something that cannot be had in this world. There are all sorts of things in this world that offer to give it to you, but they never quite keep their promise. The longings which arise in us when we first fall in love, or first think of some foreign country, or first take up some subject that excites us, are longing which no marriage, no travel, no learning, can really satisfy… There was something we have grasped at, in that first moment of longing, which just fades away in the reality… evaded us.”

What do we do? Idols are loved, trusted, and obeyed by those who worship them. They connect to our feelings of significance (love) and sense of security (trust), so we are driven to serve (obey) them. We even sacrifice to them — sacrifices of time, relationships, integrity, and money. When we are so focused on IT, we see the world in relation to IT…

“When an idol gets a grip on your heart, it spins out a whole set of false definitions of success and failure and happiness and sadness. It redefines reality in terms of itself… if, because of your idol, your ultimate good is the power and status of your people, then anything that gets in the way of it is, by definition, bad… In the end idols can make it possible to call evil good and good evil.” -Keller, p.146 (emphasis mine)

…so WHAT DO WE DO?!

“Idols cannot simply be removed. They must be replaced. If you only try to uproot them, they grow back; but they can be supplanted. By what?  By God himself, of course. But by God we do not mean a general belief in his existence. Most people have that, yet their souls are riddled with idols. What we need is a living encounter with God.” -Keller, p.155

Idols will not gently excuse themselves from our lives. They often have death grips and their removal does not come without pain, but it is WORTH IT. The picture C.S. Lewis paints of the encounter between the boy Eustace and the lion Aslan in The Voyage of the Dawn Treader is poignant. Keller paraphrases (emphasis mine):

“One night Eustace found an enormous pile of treasure in a cave. He was elated and began to imagine the life of ease and power he would now have. When he woke, however, to his horror, he had turned into a hideous dragon. ‘Sleeping on a dragon’s hoard with greedy, dragonish thoughts in his heart, he had become a dragon himself.’

Eustace tried to peel off the dragon skin, and become a boy again, but he was unsuccessful. CS Lewis describes Aslan’s restoration of Eustace — sharp claws and deep cuts: “The very first tear he made was so deep that I thought it had gone right into my heart. And when he began pulling the skin off, it hurt worse than anything I’ve ever felt… Well, he peeled the beastly stuff right off — just as I thought I’d done it myself the other three times, only they hadn’t hurt — and there it was lying on the grass: only ever so much thicker, and darker, and more knobbly-looking than the others had been. And there was I as smooth and soft as a peeled switch and smaller than I had been… I’d turned into a boy again.” : )

May we, like Eustace, submit to God… letting Him strip away the idols that have so entangled our hearts and minds. He is able and waiting.

pictures from:

http://www.google.com/imglanding?q=dragons%20pictures&imgurl=http://www.creatures-imaginaires.com/02_creatures/dragons/dragons3_70.jpg&imgrefurl=http://shirt.woot.com/forums/ViewPost.aspx%3FPostID%3D3925257%26PageIndex%3D6%26ReplyCount%3D457&usg=__XY3MBh3V6yNbWvZuFKgqLlVyxxk=&h=563&w=450&sz=37&hl=en&itbs=1&tbnid=6iTfBnW5QfAAaM:&tbnh=133&tbnw=106&prev=/images%3Fq%3Ddragons%2Bpictures%26hl%3Den%26safe%3Dactive%26gbv%3D2%26tbs%3Disch:1&safe=active&gbv=2&tbs=isch:1&start=0#tbnid=6iTfBnW5QfAAaM&start=0

http://www.google.com/imglanding?q=treasure%20pile%20pictures&imgurl=http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_R8FrPyv-qDE/R1DFlDKLCdI/AAAAAAAAAfw/O0AauSkdrv8/s1600-R/TreasurePile_Shot_HUGEST_Wide.jpg&imgrefurl=http://doris-surf.blogspot.com/2009/12/hiccups.html&usg=__tOhHTd8NC0VUn2N46czrhLngHQY=&h=768&w=1600&sz=265&hl=en&itbs=1&tbnid=o5gV0ZUIHcU_hM:&tbnh=72&tbnw=150&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dtreasure%2Bpile%2Bpictures%26hl%3Den%26safe%3Dactive%26gbv%3D2%26tbs%3Disch:1&safe=active&gbv=2&tbs=isch:1&start=0#tbnid=o5gV0ZUIHcU_hM&start=0

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…a satisfied SPIRIT in San Francisco…

I just returned from two weeks of vacation, the last week of which was spent on the beautifully tropical isle of Maui, Hawaii. : ) On our trip back home, we had an early morning layover in San Francisco. To my delight I discovered something WONDERFUL in that airport. Here’s a look into my thoughts from my journaling that morning: 

sunrise at Haleakala volcano

“So I am sitting here with coffee and my Bible looking out the window at planes coming and going and the hustle bustle of transportation, travel, and tourism and I feel refreshed. The sun is warm on my newly washed, but doubtfully clean (sand, sunscreen, peeling sunburn), face. My heart — finally — rests. Lord, thank you!

It’s been weeks since I’ve spent any real time praying or reading the Bible. I’ve been functioning with God how one survives a day at a mundane job — I punch in with glazed expression and uninterested mind, and I punch out secretly glad to be done with my time. Have you ever had a job or class like that? One where you are present and at the same time not present. It’s drudgery and it breeds resentment almost for the necessity of it. I don’t think our relationship with God — let alone with anyone — should be like that. There is no LIFE in that. There is no joy in it.

I can completely see how people can emerge from the journey of seminary feeling “dead” in their relationship with God and frustrated with the church. Everyone knows the church isn’t perfect — even folks who don’t attend know that! But we forget that the church is made up of people, and people are not perfect. We get selfish, bored, greedy, tired, and proud. We do the right things, but often for the wrong reasons. We need grace.

"Big Beach"

All this to say, I feel that I’m on the upswing of a burnout — and it is GLORIOUS!! I just spent six full days in the tropical Hawaiian islands and yet my soul feels more rested here in the San Francisco airport after a red-eye flight than on the gold sand beach of Maui. The reason is simple, yet profound:

I had tried to rest by getting away from everything, including God, when I should have turned to God.  

I opened my Bible for the first time in a long time and as I began to read the Psalms I realized how much I longed to know God. How satisfying His words are to a heart that is ready to hear them. You’d think that a vacation with friends in the tropical islands could not be beat, and indeed it was fun, but even that left me wanting. Unsatisfied in spirit.

Bamboo forest, Pipewei trail

Though my eyes had feasted upon volcanoes, tropical rainforests, waterfalls, tropical sunsets, spinning dolphins, enormous sea turtles, coral reefs, and world famous beaches… though my body had reasted and indulged, my spirit felt unsatisfied. I believe even the most extravagant vacation in the most beautiful location will not satsify the spirit. It may distract for a time, but only God can fill our spirits. He made us that way.”

Here’s a section of the Psalms I was reading, hope it encourages you!

 

“I bless the LORD who gives me counsel; in the night also my heart instructs me. I have set the LORD always before me; because he is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken. Therefore my heart is glad, and my whole being rejoices; my flesh also dwells secure. For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol, or let your holy one see corruption. You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.” -Psalm 16:7-11

The FULLNESS OF JOY is found in the presence of God. God gives good counsel, peace, and joy. While God is always present we often ignore him, thinking that counsel, peace, joy, and happiness can be found elsewhere. But I kid you not, I felt such PEACE and JOY in God’s presence sitting in a San Francisco airport chair — more than any beautiful sunset on the beach with a cocktail could ever bring. There is nothing magical about the airport, but there is something powerful about basking in the sunshine with God. I highly recommend it! : )

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…the story of a lady in love…

The Bible is full of stories, but it’s more than a storybook. For me at least, it’s far too easy for my eyes to move across its pages… to “read” the stories, if you will, without actually absorbing them. It’s a flat, two-dimensional experience. Sometimes, dare I say it, even boring.  But there’s more.

The Bible wasn’t meant to be a lesson-planning tool for children’s Sunday school class. We are missing so much of what God has to say when we reduce it to such a surface-level existence.

This morning I had the priviledge of listening to a Middle Eastern man recount a story I’ve heard before, one I’ve brushed past at the Sunday-school level. Today the story came alive… and I wanted to share with you a snippet of what he said. My hope is that it will encourage you, bless you, and challenge you to seek within the pages of Scripture the heart of God. You will not be disappointed.

Perhaps you, like me, have heard this story. A lady pours out some expensive perfume on the feet of Jesus. It’s a great act of service and love… but I think it’s more than that.

From John 12:1-8: 

“Six days before the Passover, Jesus arrived at Bethany, where Lazarus lived, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. Here a dinner was given in Jesus’ honor. Martha served, while Lazarus was among those reclining at the table with him. Then Mary took about a pint of pure nard, an expensive perfume; she poured it on Jesus’ feet and wiped his feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. But one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, who was later to betray him, objected, ‘Why wasn’t this perfume sold and the money given to the poor? It was worth a year’s wages.’ He did not say this because he cared about the poor but because he was a thief; as keeper of the money bag, he used to help himself to what was put into it. ‘Leave her alone,’ Jesus replied. ‘It was intended that she should save this perfume for the day of my burial. You will always have the poor among you, but you will not always have me.’”

 

Hmmm….

The perfume that Mary poured out was not only “expensive”, it cost the wages of an entire YEAR!! The US Census Bureau placed the average American household income at roughly $50,000 in 2004. Indeed much has changed in the past six years and figures vary depending on the statistical methods of calculation, but the point is the same: the perfume was worth a SIGNIFICANT amount of money. It was costly, and she used it all.

It’s likely that the perfume was her security. She was unmarried. Perhaps it was even her dowry. If something happened to her family she could have sold the perfume and lived off the proceeds for a year. She didn’t have a credit card for a rainy day… and yet she poured out ALL the perfume at the feet of Jesus.

Perhaps it’s easy for us to skim past those details in reading this story, but it would’ve been a radical thing to do.

The feet were considered the dirtiest part of the body. Even today in the Middle East it’s considered an insult to show the soles of your shoes to someone. In biblical times people wore sandals and walked on dusty roads. Feet were probably sweaty, smelly, and grimy after a day walking in sandals in the hot sun. Dirty toe nails, callouses, cuts, and possible fungal problems may have added to the “dirty” nature of feet in the culture. Good hospitality included providing guests with a basin to wash their feet after a long journey. If the host was wealthy and had slaves, then the task of washing the feet of guests upon their arrival fell upon the slaves. The master of the house or host would never have washed feet. Hence, Mary took the role of a servant to wash the feet of Jesus with perfume.

…And she used her hair…

In Biblical times women dressed more modestly than now, and often had their hair covered. A woman’s hair was considered her glory, and it was often tucked up. Wearing a veil in public was a symbol of submission to her husband and was considered to protect her honor and dignity. An unveiled woman in public would’ve been thought disgraceful.  And yet Mary doesn’t seem to be worried about what people would think, or what it might do to her reputation or desirability… she was worshipping the Lord. (Note: the picture is of a modern-day Muslim woman. It is not intended to depict the dress of women in biblical times.)

 This story, you see, isn’t just a simple account of a woman who did a nice thing for Jesus before he was crucified. It is the powerful story of a woman who truly gave all of herself — her money, security, reputation — at the feet of Jesus in honor and worship. This woman saw Jesus raise her brother, Lazarus, from the dead (John 11). Jesus deserves honor and worship. And Mary knew it. She held nothing back. Wow. 

 photo credits:  http://blackdahlia.zenfolio.com/img/v1/p240013506.jpg

http://www.namibian.org/travel/safaris/photos/box/fullsize/Dusty_Feet_fs.jpg

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…it is WELL…

Yesterday was World AIDS Day, a day set aside starting in 1988 to increase awareness, raise money for for research, and remember those living around us who are fighting HIV and AIDS. It’s estimated that, globally, more than 33 million people, including 2 million children, are living with HIV (UNAIDS, Nov. 2009).

…And I know one.

...in Mumbai's red light district...

The words “I’m a positive” shattered my heart. Of all the words I heard and spoke in India this summer, those I will never forget. Reality struck me like a smoldering dagger taking revenge on a block of ice. I’m not sure if my heart melted or shattered — I think it must’ve done both. I sat, horrified, listening to this beautiful girl unfold her story to me.

It wasn’t fair. She, like so many of the girls I had the opportunity to share life with this summer, had been subjected to life in Mumbai’s red light district. It was not her choice to be there. Some girls are sold by their families for money, others are tricked into moving to the city to find work, others are born in the shadows of the brothels to mothers who are forced to prostitute themselves there. The scars of such torment are deep — both emotionally and physically. Tragically, many girls contract HIV from the men who rape them there.

Horatio Spafford

This world is broken and twisted. Terrible things happen to good people more often than we’d like to acknowledge. This morning I remembered the story of Horatio Gates Spafford (1828-1888)… I thought I’d share it here with the hope that it will be a blessing to you. It is worth a listen.

Horatio was a Chicago lawyer. You may know him more as the man who penned the famous hymn It is Well With My Soul.   

His words are not some hollow praise from lips that eat from the silver spoon of life. They were born out of intense personal tragedy — out of a life that was not fair.

 

In 1870, Horatio and his wife, Anna, lost their only son to scarlet fever… he was 4 years old. One year later, the great Chicago fire swept through the city leaving personal and financial devastation in its wake. Unfortunately, Horatio was heavily invested in real estate on Lake Michigan… it was all destroyed by the fire.    

 

Needless to say, life was pretty rough at this point.

 

The death of their son and the wreckage of the fire was weighing heavily on the family, and Horatio decided to take his family on an England vacation. They were friends of the famous preacher D.L. Moody, and were planning on joining him on his preaching campaign in Britain. Just as the family was about to leave for England, though, Horatio got snagged by a last-minute business development. He didn’t want to ruin the family vacation, so he persuaded them to go on ahead. He promised to catch up with them after taking care of business back in Chicago.

 

Here the story goes from bad to worse.

 

To his great horror, the ship that held his wife and four daughters sank en route to England. Horatio received a telegram just nine days later: his wife had miraculously survived… but all four of his daughters were dead.  The ‘Ville de Havre’ had collided with an English ship ‘the Lochearn’… it sank in 12 minutes, dragging with it the lives of 226 passengers. Anna, his wife, was miraculously saved by a plank that had floated beneath her unconscious body and propped her up.

 

At once, upon hearing the news, Horatio boarded the next ship out of New York to join his wife. His daughter, born later, explained that the ship’s captain called him the ship’s bridge at one point. He told Horatio, “I believe we are now passing the place where the de Havre was wrecked. The water is three miles deep.” It was then that Horatio returned to his cabin and wrote the famous hymn.

 

..It really gives a whole different level to “when sorrows like sea billows roll”, doesn’t it? May we, like Horatio, through the strength and grace of God, be able to say — whatever happens in life – it is well with my soul. For my friends in India and for myself alike, this is my prayer. Here are the words written at sea over the watery grave of his daughters…

 

When peace, like a river, attendeth my way

When sorrows like sea billows roll,

Whatever my lot, Thou has taught me to say,

It is well, it is well, with my soul.

 

[chorus]  It is well, with my soul

It is well, it is well

With my soul

 

Though Satan should buffet, though trials should come,
Let this blest assurance control,
That Christ has regarded my helpless estate,
And hath shed His own blood for my soul. 

My sin, oh, the bliss of this glorious thought!
My sin, not in part but the whole,
Is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more,
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!

 For me, be it Christ, be it Christ hence to live:
If Jordan above me shall roll,
No pang shall be mine, for in death as in life
Thou wilt whisper Thy peace to my soul.

 But, Lord, ’tis for Thee, for Thy coming we wait,
The sky, not the grave, is our goal;
Oh, trump of the angel! Oh, voice of the Lord!
Blessed hope, blessed rest of my soul!

 And Lord, haste the day when my faith shall be sight,
The clouds be rolled back as a scroll;
The trump shall resound, and the Lord shall descend,
Even so, it is well with my soul.

 

 

 

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…kisses of VISION…

There are so many KINDS of kisses… caramel apple, candy cane, pumpkin spice, peanut butter, cherry… little droplets of milk, dark, or white chocolate… infused with a plethora of flavors and snuggled into a shiny foil wrapper.

   

..streets lined with kiss lights in Hershey, PA..

I recently visited a dear friend of mine who lives just a wee distance from the town of Hershey, Pennsylvania. Named for the famous maker of kisses, Mr. Milton S. Hershey (1857-1945), the town welcomes visitors with a big sign: Welcome to Hershey… the “sweetest place on earth.” And perhaps that’s true…

   

Even more than the world famous chocolate kisses that were first formed in 1907, the legacy of Mr. Hershey lives today in his vision… a school I was first introduced to less than a month ago.

 

Mrs. "Kitty" Hershey

But first a brief background of this visionary, philanthropist, candy-making man… he grew up in rural Pennsylvania, and apprenticed with a candy maker while he was a teenager. He started a candy business in Philadelphia; it failed after six years. ..He moved to Denver and learned to make caramels… then moved to New York City and started a second candy business, which also failed. He moved back home penniless, started another candy business… and (you guessed it)succeeded!  Making caramels, that is.

 

STARTING HERSHEY THE CHOCOLATE:  

He made caramels and shipped them all over the US and Europe.  Well,until the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago — when he was introduced to the art of chocolate making. He bought the best machines and developed the famous combination of cocoa, milk, and sugar… the chocolate bar. Yep! He sold the caramel company and started looking for a place to build a chocolate factory. His hometown area was perfect: close to a port (sugar, cocoa), surrounded by dairy farms (milk), and filled with hard-working people. …this farmland would become Hershey, PA.

  

STARTING HERSHEY THE TOWN:

Mr. Hershey built more than just a chocolate factory, though: he built a town. Housing, schools, churches, parks, and recreational facilities. It was AMAZING. I’m not talking about some kind of glorified communism or corporate exploitation. He built houses and sold them to his workers at cost or less — his workers owned their own homes. He built a trolley system so people could get to work, even from other nearby towns. Even during the Depression era, no one was laid off in Hershey.

For the farm boy who never had much chance at education himself, providing that opportunity for others was always an important priority.   

STARTING HERSHEY THE SCHOOL:

In 1909, Mr. Hershey and his wife, Catherine (“Kitty”), established the Hershey Industrial School on 486 acres of farmland – a school for orphan boys. Unable to have children of their own, they poured their hearts and fortune into creating a hope and home for orphans. Sadly, Kitty died a few years later in 1915 from a debilitating illness, but Mr. Hershey continued to pour into the school. He never remarried, but was said to have carried her picture with him everywhere. He transferred the bulk of his wealth to the school trust. Today the value of the trust has grown to more than $6 billion. ..WOW. His fortune and legacy is literally thriving in the minds and lives of boys and girls at the Milton Hershey School.

          

This is more than the simple, rags-to-riches tale of inspiration for a rainy day. This is the story of a man with vision, who dared… who failed a few times along the way… and who ultimately succeeded, leaving a sweet legacy behind him. : ) My jaw must’ve been gaping open listening to the story of his life and dreams onboard the touristy Trolley that rainy October day. The school goes above and BEYOND a good education. It’s more than money, more than school. It’s an investment in a whole person, a child from a “low income” family, who otherwise might easily get swept aside and forgotten by society. Students are completely taken care of… they are given laptops, clothes, health care, food, even personal allowance and family. The school staff includes full-time houseparents (married couples) who live with groups of 9-13 students in a family-like home setting. This is not merely the college RA who lives down the hall (no offense intended to RAs, I was one for three years).  Oh, scholarship money for college, in the thousands of dollars, is available for graduating seniors.

        

Today the 9,000 acre campus of the Milton Hershey school proudly provides a free home and free education to more than 1,200 boys and girls (k-12). …So, here’s to you Mr. Milton Hershey and your chocolate kisses of vision for those less fortunate than ourselves. I hope hearing a snippet of this story has melted your heart a little more like a choclate bar on a summer day… let us love through action with vision, daring, and amazing generosity a little more like Mr. Hershey!    

     

photo credits: www.mhs-pa.org/about/history/milton-s-hershey-legacy-continues/

http://www.hersheys.com/discover/milton/wife.asp

 

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…sips of ENCOURAGEMENT…

I absolutely LOVE waking up to a warm apartment on a cold day… the soft notes of coffee wafting through the air to my drowsy nose… it’s almost as if the aroma stirs my brain into a smiley face. I know that’s scientific non-sense, of course, but there’s something simply lovely about the early morning coupled with good coffee. *sigh*

In some things, I’m just a simpleton… and coffee is one of them. Be it Arabian, Ethopian, Italian, Kenyan, Mexican, Brazilian, Columbian, Guatemalan, or Rwandan… french press, fresh brewed, or a million other choices… I simply like the aroma of coffee.

    I sip it. 

Perhaps you’ve become previously acquainted with the coffee shop traveling coffee cups – for caffeine addicts and ”recreational” coffee sippers alike :)…  you know, the ones where you can doodle and decorate your very own, personalized, cup. Yes? Well, this is all a very long way of saying that I did just that last spring.

I flipped through the pages of my Bible and adorned my little raspberry-colored coffee holder. I thought I’d share them here, in the hopes that they will bring a warmness to your heart in this chilly fall weather.

A quick note… each verse below is a snippet of a conversation. They were written at different times by different people to different audiences for different reasons. They all reveal something about who God is or who we are or how to live. I hope you’ll “sip” through them and be encouraged, but I hope, too, that you’ll go back to the source (the Bible) and keep reading. I’ve seen too often single verses ripped from their original context and claimed as promises they were never meant to be. Please hear me: this is not my intent! I simply share in hopes of lifting your spirits and whetting your appetite for more.

       

That said, may the following be an encouragement to your minds and hearts this morning! : )   ..side note: the emphases (bold) below are mine..

“Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” – 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

“The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom.” -Psalm 111:10a

“Cast your cares on the Lord and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous fall.” -Psalm 55:22

“For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline.” -2 Timothy 1:7

“Come near to God and he will come near to you.” -James 4:8a

“Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.” -Hebrews 4:16

“For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him.” -Psalm 103:11

“God is love.” – 1 John 4:16b

“For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth nor anything else in all creation, will be able to seperate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” -Romans 8:38-39

“The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.” -James 5:16

“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” -Romans 8:28

“Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.” -1 Peter 5:7

“Trust in the LORD ith all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.” -Proverbs 3:5-6

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” -Philipians 4:6-7

“Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.” -Hebrews 11:1

“Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is — his good, pleasing and perfect will.” -Romans 12:2

“But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” -Matthew 6:33

 

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…someone to LOVE…

I’ve been thinking about “love” tonight… even more specifically about that little phrase that seems to pop up in like a spring daisy after a rain: someone to love. It’s a phrase that I’ve seen play out in movie after movie, in music, commercials, books, and conversations with friends over coffee and on the phone. It’s as if culturally we are obsessed with finding and/or having someone to love.

And it sounds innocent… perhaps even selfless. But is it?

Are we really looking for someone to love, or someone to love us? Is it wrong to want to be loved? No, of course not. I whole heartedly believe that God created humanity out of love, to love. Love is ingrained in us… but I think while we sometimes when we pat ourselves on the back for selflessly loving someone else, it’s really ourselves that we are loving.

Think about it… are we loving those who don’t love us back?

If we love only people who return our attention and affections, are we simply loving ourselves through that person? “Someone to love” is phrased in such a way that we are the giver, the generous bestower of love… that makes us feel good about ourselves. It’s almost noble to find someone on whom to love and care for. But “someone to love me” is different because then we are the receiver, the benefactor of someone else’s love… it doesn’t sound as noble…

Please hear me, this is not a critique on falling in love, dating, or marriage. This is not a rant. It is an appeal. A challenge — as much to myself as anyone who might stumble across the thoughts that have been percolating in my brain… there are SO MANY people to love in this world… if we’re really seeking to bless others (rather than ourselves) let’s dive in…

“Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends.” – 1 Corinthians 13:4-8a

What about the homeless man who stands at the corner of the freeway exit every day? It’s 48 degrees outside right now, and – to add insult to injury — it’s raining. 

What about the survivors of the Samoan tsunami and earthquake? Only a month has passed… have we already forgotten? Following a 8.0 earthquake, multiple tsunami waves crashed ashore American Samoa — killing more than 100 people. Sadly, the devastation in Samoa is not unique… people around the world are picking up pieces of tattered, broken lives and doing the best they can. Surely they could use our love.  

The list goes on, and on… the neighbor who moved in across the street and doesn’t know anyone yet… the couple who just had a baby and could use a night off-duty… the coworker who shows up a little late, looking haggard… your friend who needs a listening ear… the teacher who could use a note of encouragement or kind word… the gas-station attendant who wouldn’t mind a smiling face to pass their way.

‘Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?’ And [Jesus] said to him, ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend allthe Law and the Prophets.’” -Matthew 22:36-40

Big or small. International or domestic. Be it money, time, smiles, cookies, or prayers… Perhaps we can all put a little brain juice into thinking about how to better love the people who are around us — especially those from whom we have “nothing” to gain.   

I know it’s easy to wait to find someone to love before we really start living. But I hope we won’t. I know it’s easy to withhold love from people who don’t deserve it. But I hope we won’t. I hope, instead, that as we’re waiting (be it job, marriage, kids, health, etc) that we’ll choose to love the people around us. BOTH those that will love us back and those that won’t. This song (“While I’m Waiting”, from Fireproof) is beautiful. Enjoy!    

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…ashes to BEAUTY…

I have yet to meet a girl who doesn’t like to feel beautiful. Perhaps we all express that desire in different ways… flirting for attention, dressing a certain way, critcizing others to feel better about ourselves, or even rebelling against stereotypical conceptions of beauty. Our society sells beauty: makeup, clothes, jewelry, plastic surgery, spa treatments, hair products, etc. Hollywood glamourizes it. Simply put… beauty is desired.

Too bad we’re not very beautiful much of the time.

..breathtaking radiance of stars..

Sure I may feel beautiful in my darling ‘lil outfit, cute shoes, perfect makeup, and splash of fragrance. Perhaps the fellows will take notice. But the kind of beauty that can be put on and washed off is not the kind I’m talking about. I’m not talking about sex appeal; I’m talking about radiance.  

Have you ever met someone like that? Someone who practically glowed from the inside out? Someone who was more than just “cheery” or “optimistic”… they have lived through some hardship and have come out more alive because of it? It’s like their whole body smiles even when their lips don’t. THAT is the kind of beauty I’ve been thinking about.

..That’s the kind of beauty God can bring about.

The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me to bring good news to the poor; he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound… to grant to those who mourn in Zion — to give them a beautiful headdress instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, the garment of praise instead of a faint spirit…” – Isaiah 61:1,3a  (emphasis mine)

Over the past weekend I was delighted to hear the stories of two ladies whose ashes God has transformed into beauty. I hope you’re encouraged by their lives as I was… may we all allow our own ashes to be transformed, too.

tiara given to Queen Mary in 1893

LADY ONE: She is young and beautiful… and divorced. What pain and heartache must come from the severing of the most intimate human relationship! …ASHES. Some years have passed and rather than being consumed by bitterness and resentment, she has grown a soft spot in her heart for helping couples maintain healthy marriages. She is beginning to open her gorgeously decorated home for couples in need of a getaway. The weekends she spends at friends’ houses she would consider a small sacrifice for the couple enjoying her home in her absence. What a beautiful idea!

LADY TWO: She is nearly a senior citizen. When she was a little girl tragic circumstances left her an orphan — an orphan in charge of raising her siblings. How awful to lose both parents, to be robbed of a childhood! ..ASHES. That experience softened her heart for kids in tough circumstances. Her and her husband have opened their home to little kids and teenagers alike through the foster care system. They’ve adopted almost every child who has come through their doors. The siblings range from 35 to the newest adoptee — only 5 years old. Their home is overflowing with love and grace and patience. What a beautiful home!!

The apostle Paul wrote to the church in Corinth, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold the new has come.” – 2 Corinthians 5:17

God makes us new. He is a master at transforming ASHES into BEAUTY. The song “At the Foot of the Cross” speaks to this. Have a listen to the chorus…

Trade these ashes in for beauty
And wear forgiveness like a crown
Coming to kiss the feet of mercy
I lay every burden down
At the foot of the cross

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