My Hope

  This year doesn’t feel so Christmassy.  Parties are out.  Large Christmas plays or pageants may be super spreaders and grandparents may not be able to attend.  It’s hard readjusting our expectations with traditions that mean so much to us.  I get it.  The last two Christmases our family had to redefine what Christmas looked like to us.     In 2018 we had recently arrived in Lebanon and we were adjusting to life in a new country away from friends and family.  We had been surprised that while Thanksgiving is obviously and American holiday, Black Friday sales are worldwide.  This was definitely to our advantage as we were appreciative for the deep discounts on appliances we needed to purchase for our apartment.   Our neighborhood in Beirut was primarily Muslim sandwiched between two Christian neighborhoods.  We were walking distance from lights and enormous trees, so some scenes ...

We’ve been focusing on Ephesians 6 with the girls and I’ve been really thinking about what it means to be an ambassador of Christ. I know ambassadors at the international level, but I have experience as an ambassador for Florida State University. I loved it! I gave tours to prospective students and their families and attempted to persuade them to attend. We shared the highlights of many of the colleges and put positive spins on things like community bathrooms. I couldn’t always speak from experience- my dorms residence halls were recently renovated and had suite style rooms and my single major was special education. I could memorize the information about some of the other things though and point them in the right direction if they had specifics. If they requested it far enough in advance or there was last minute availability, we were always happy to make arrangements with advisors from the departments they were interested in and encouraged people to tour both styles of dorms...

One thing that stood out to me in our book was the idea that we often compare the church to a hospital. I’ve often heard the quote attributed to Abigal Van Buren “The church is a hospital for sinners, not a museum for saints.” But I loved what McNabb said about it, “The church is supposed to build laborers, not hospitals. It is true that armies build hospitals and care for their people, but that’s not the principle around which they organize.” Yes, people come to church broken and in need... but it isn't the purpose of church. We sometimes forget what we are meant to do. We're commanded to multiply. To reach all peoples and all nations. To glorify God. I agree with Dear Abby, the church should not be a museum for saints- we are all sinners. But it also needs to be a place of training and sending forth. A place to prepare laborers to go out into the fields. In Matthew 9 we clearly see that Jesus does both and if you continue into chapter 10 we see the disciple follo...

Salt A friend of mine made some unleavened bread for communion recently. The thing that stood out to me the most as I partook of the bread was it’s saltiness. I generally don’t think of bread as salty (except for garlic bread) and so I was surprised at the first taste. Normally during communion I try not to focus on the food itself, but rather the meaning behind it, but this time I felt like God was speaking to me through the flavor. Remember the salt. I just finished a great book by Bill Hybels, “Just Walk Across the Room” that I highly recommend. It gives a lot of great practical advice in seasoning our lives with salt. While I’ve always tried to do this, I often miss opportunities and either over or underseason my speech. Colossians 4:2-6 Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving. At the same time, pray also for us, that God may open to us a door for the word, to declare the mystery of Christ, on account of which I am in prison— that I may...

The girls have noticed differences between their lives and those of our neighbors. I try not to point certain things out, but address them as they naturally occur and this was one of them. As we were driving to our homeschool group one day, M asked me why we had items that our friends didn’t have. I tried my best to explain that quite simply, I don’t know. I don’t know why we were born into safe and secure homes. I don’t know why we were blessed with the intellectual capabilities to succeed at college. I don’t know why. I have an incomplete picture of things- only God sees the bigger picture. But I shared with the girls part of Luke 12:48: “From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked.” I explained that we have been given so much- God has been so good to us- we are therefore called to use what we have been entrusted with and give back to others. I felt like a parenting failure when M...

The internet is hit or miss and our phone reception is terrible, but word of mouth can travel faster than the speed of light at Clarkston Oaks. Everyone seems to know who we are, especially the kids. We’ve had kids ask us about stuff that we were unaware people noticed- the ice cream truck came by Saturday and someone who hadn’t been nearby asked us two days later what flavor popsicles the girls picked out. When I seemed surprised and told him, he laughed and informed me that people are watching. The banker when we set up an account said the same thing. Not that I really do anything I feel the need to hide, but it’s good to know. I’ve felt under a microscope for the past five years anyway. I want the girls to view my life and faith as consistent which means I have to do my best to live out what I say. Do you ever get the feeling you’re being watched? It’s because you are. That isn’t always a bad thing though. God is always watching over us. Sometimes we treat his careful ...