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Joy

We are impulsive people. We want what we want when we want it, and that’s usually now. We are impatient with waiting: drivers that drive too slow, that person in front of us at the grocery store who has five too many coupons when all we want to buy is our one item, that guy who just can’t seem to figure out how to get the gas pump to take his card so we can have a turn. You know, all those people we aren’t and those situations we would never get ourselves into or inconvenience other people with.

But there are things for which each of us will make the choice to wait. One article I read recently said that people are more likely to be patient if what they are waiting for has a high enough perceived value. So what do we value? What inspires patience in us? We may choose to wait for him or her to come around, the “long term plan” as one friend’s husband called it. Maybe we choose to wait one more month for that promotion, or for the savings account to grow big enough to put a down payment on a home, or to take an extra night shift with the crying baby or sick child so our spouse can get some rest. Or we may even choose to breathe deep, slow breaths in line at the Post Office instead of hasty, impatient ones when we hear that the mother in front of us with the two screaming kids is just trying send her husband a package while he’s deployed.

So the question becomes, what are you willing to wait for? What is it that inspires you to be patient and deny yourself instant gratification? And, if we are willing to go beyond ourselves to look to Jesus, what caused him to step outside of himself and his desire for what he wanted when he wanted it? It says in Hebrews 12:2 that it was joy, that because of the joy set before him he was not only able to deny himself but to endure the cross. He endured yesterday’s death for the joy of tomorrow’s resurrection.

My prayer this Easter is that God grows each of us in our knowledge of His joy, that joy that allowed Jesus to sacrifice himself so you and I could have the chance to know it. That out of our increased knowledge we are able to put ourselves and what we want aside, and instead seek His plans and what He would have us do. Whether it be daring to believe that such joy could exist, coming back to faith in His promises, or celebrating you’re your trust in Him, my hope is that His hope, and His joy, become yours.

H. Hefner

“Let everything that has breath praise the LORD. Praise the LORD.”

Psalm 150:8

I read a book last summer that, although it isn’t particularly religious in nature, had a lasting impact on my thoughts about faith. It tells the history of two families who fled to the United States from Mexico during the Mexican Revolution, whose son and daughter eventually met and fell in love, and their son who grew up to one day record their story. Over and over again, as the story unfolds, the mother’s family begins the day by celebrating what they call the first miracle of the new day, that they are awake and that the world is still alive. Had this miracle been mentioned just once or twice, I’m sure it would have gotten lost in the details of a long history, but over again this family praises God for the new day and for the life they have to participate in it.

So often I take these things for granted. I have never known a day when the sun has failed to rise, nor has there ever been a day when I have missed my first morning breath. My tendency is to hurry about to whatever comes after this first miracle, missing its simple yet profound importance. Since reading the story last summer I have strived to begin each day conscious of, and grateful for, the miracle that is being awake and having the chance to live another day, hopefully in the way that God wanted me to. Then, as I was reading for this devotion, there it was, the affirmation of this simple start to the day, waiting for me in the very last verse of the Book of Psalms, “Let everything that has breath praise the LORD. Praise the LORD.” Everything that has breath has reason to praise the Lord. I have breath. I will praise the LORD.

If the Psalms are our guide to speaking with God, our instruction on how to be real, then we see that we can keep it simple. It is easy to get caught up in prayer, to want to sound good and right and use impactful, rich, church-y words; to want to be eloquent and simultaneously relevant. Our prayers can be a simple praise, I have breath, I will praise God. My job may be in limbo, my finances in jeopardy, my relationships on rocky ground – I have breath, I will praise the LORD. My family may be experiencing great joy and blessing, my son is returning home, my faith is strong – I have breath, I will praise the LORD. I will praise the LORD.

H. Hefner

Processing Life

There’s really a lot of dimensions to life. And as it continues to unfold it appears to get more complicated. Meeting with a pre-marital counselor recently, he mentioned that adults responsibilities double every 10 years. Wow. I was getting excited about making it through this week to the weekend, but that’s really only the beginning. There’s the week and month after that. Followed by next year.

At times stress sure feels like an emotion, but it isn’t. It’s the cause of some underlying issues beneath the surface that we need to deal with. Stress comes from the fuzziness and confusion about our priorities or roles or time management or (lack of) communication or whatever the issue is.

Reading through the Psalms, there are a lot of times where the Psalmist encourages us to “rest in the Lord and wait patiently for Him” (Psalm 37:7). Our modern day culture has a hard time with this. We ask questions like, “What does God want me to do?” or “What can I do to get ahead?” These kinds of questions ignore the inherent commands and verbs to rest and wait while focusing on doing. Resting and waiting for God are tough things to do. It’s hard to measure how much we’ve done that and if we’ll be done soon. It may interrupt our lives and force us to say no to other good things.

Just in case you’re like me and you’ve already started to think of more items on your to do list, several verses later in Psalm 37 there’s another reminder “Wait for the Lord and Keep His way” (v34). That’s the way to move from stress to rest – each day wait on the Lord by being in His Word and keep His way.

“This is what the Sovereign LORD, the Holy One of Israel, says: ‘In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength’”
-          Isaiah 30:15

Would you say that those around you are getting this rest? Would others say that you are getting this rest?

Mark R.

Another Type of Arrival
We had planned the journey for months. Leaving Anacortes, Washington early one June morning with our rear wheel dipped in the Pacific Ocean, we were set to try and dip our front bicycle tire in the Atlantic. There were many miles, a few states, and some circumstances that made me think about not completing the journey. My mind quickly filled though with faces and conversations with friends of the adventurous undertaking. I didn’t want to return home to tell them I was unable to complete the journey – so I continued.

There were many great points along the way: home cooked meals that kept a smile on our faces all night; encouraging conversations with fellow cyclists to swap stories; Dairy Queens with gallons of ice cream; and clean showers and even swimming in camp pools felt amazingly refreshing. Plus, everyday was completed with a good night’s sleep (sometimes under the moonlight right by the water).

During the last week we could sense the end of the trip. We were getting closer and the compounding efforts were certainly paying off. The last few days we lingered less with strangers telling them of our tales – we wanted to arrive at our destination. On the last day, I could smell the Atlantic Ocean in Maine. After dipping our front wheel in the water, we set our bikes down to immerse ourselves in celebration. We had completed the journey that was once only a dream. We had arrived (in the Atlantic Ocean).

Sure, we were changed by the trip. Sleeping on the floor or doing physically intensive stuff was really easy for a while. As time passes, it becomes more a memory than an active vivid memory. It’s fun now to recount the favorite stories or try to explain the journey from time to time. But, it was a lot more fun to be on it – and to enjoy the process.

On a spiritual level, maybe you can relate. There may have been seasons when it was easy to read your Bible everyday or where you could share the stuff of your life with a good community of friends or times that the temptation of sin was easier to handle with the Lord’s help. I know that Satan wants us to be discouraged or think that those moments can’t happen again. But these moments are ready to make a come back. We serve a King who wants to make all things new and has gone to great lengths in preparation of our arrival.

“Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we will be. We know that when He (arrives) appears, we will be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is.”
- 1 John 3:2

Have you seen Him lately? Or even just a glimpse here or there?
Mark R.

P.S. The West Coast is calling. The Pacific Ocean promises to be with us for the entire trip in May 2010.

“Nehemiah the governor, along with Ezra the priest and scholar and the Levites who were teaching the people, said to all the people, “This day is holy to God, your God. Don’t weep and carry on.”  They said this because all the people were weeping as they heard the words of The Revelation.  He continued, “Go home and prepare a feast, holiday food and drink; and share it with those who don’t have anything: This day is holy to God. Don’t feel bad.  The joy of the Lord is your strength.”  Nehemiah 8:9-10

The Israelites were weeping at the reading of God’s Law because they recognized their sin and were deeply grieved by how far they had drifted from His ways.  Yet even when facing their clear failures, Nehemiah told them to stop weeping and celebrate.  Not just celebrate, but to prepare a holiday feast!  He then asked them to extend the celebration through acts of generosity towards those in need, giving others a reason to celebrate as well.  God turned their grief and guilt into a blessing for the entire community when He had every reason to punish them for their behavior.

My son has had some behavioral difficulties in kindergarten.  Not what a mother wants to hear when she picks her child up from school each day.  When it comes to his behavioral failures I have felt discouraged, helpless, angry, and embarrassed.  He has felt guilt and shame over his choices, recognizing his mistakes.  Consequences at school and at home have done nothing to change his behavior in class.  At the advice of a friend, I began to celebrate with my son the completion of each difficult week and emphasize my love for him, no matter what his behavior chart read each day.  I remember him looking up at me and asking “So, you love me the same when I am red (indicating a bad behavior day) as you do when I am green (a good behavior day)?”  It broke my heart to know that he feared the loss of my love and favor based on his color of the day at school.  I know him.  I know he is a wonderful boy with a good heart and a lot to learn.   I know for every bad choice there is a sweet and generous act.  I know that he is not the sum of his behavior in kindergarten, but that God is at work in his life even at age five.

We began a ritual of frozen yogurt on Fridays after school each week to celebrate the good choices that were made, the week to come where new choices waited for his attention,  and sometimes, we simply celebrated survival.   And we always celebrated the fact that we loved each other in tough times and could depend on God to stick with us through it all, working in our lives and making us a new creation with each breath. I share with him some of my own mistakes from the week, not with pride, but honesty, admitting to him that I, too, need God’s help each day to make good decisions.   I encourage him to invite friends along to celebrate with us, recognizing that even in our failures we can choose to be a blessing to others.  We comfort each other with the belief that God does amazing things with people who have red days in kindergarten.   Although his behavior isn’t perfect, it is better, but more than that, his spirit is lifted as he doesn’t see himself by his color of the day anymore.

This is the picture I see in the passage above.  God knows there is more to us than our current behavior or bad choices.  When we confess our sin and repent, He does not want us to sit in feelings of failure, but celebrate what He can do with a willing heart.  We are of no use in a paralyzed state of shame, but by receiving His love and forgiveness we can embrace the joy of reconciliation and in turn, extend love and blessing to others.

So my challenge to you, and to myself, is to acknowledge the sin in your life, confess, repent and celebrate.  Take your celebration and turn it into an act of generosity toward someone in need, giving them cause to celebrate as well.

- Katie Eaton

“The Lord said to Moses, “Speak to the Isrealites and say to them:  ‘These are my appointed feasts, the appointed feasts of the Lord, which you are to proclaim as sacred assemblies.’”  Leviticus 23:1-2

I have a friend who does not find celebrating the least bit difficult.  She is the kind of person that decorates her house according to each season and holiday (I am using the term holiday loosely), dresses up in full costume to hand out candy at Halloween, and sends goody bags to all the kids in her daughter’s class for Groundhog Day.  Any excuse to dye milk for her kids in the morning (green for St. Patrick’s Day, red for Valentine’s Day…you get the idea) and hang a themed wreath on her front door is good enough for her!  I admit I am often jealous and want to be like her in this arena of life.  I want to embrace everyday opportunities to celebrate.  I even invested in holiday themed pancake molds and intended to wake up early to prepare George Washington shaped cherry pancakes on President’s Day for my three bright eyed children, but when the day rolled around there was too much to do and I found myself lacking the enthusiasm required to wake up an hour earlier and celebrate something I ultimately didn’t care about.

Recently another friend of mine, who had experienced more than her fair allocation of challenges over the past few years, shared with me her confusion at the current state of her life. She was not asking God why these things had happened to her or when this season would end, but what to do now that things had calmed down considerably.   For so long she had been in constant struggle between various issues, and now she didn’t know what to do with herself.  She told me that she believed God was inviting her into a season of celebration following the trials of the previous years, but celebration was not something she knew how to do, in fact, it felt completely foreign to her.  Tackling a problem was right up her alley, but just resting and celebrating?  Now that was a challenge!

I could relate to her more than I wanted to admit even to myself.  My tendency is to do just a bit more work, to prioritize accomplishing a task over rejoicing in a victory, to focus on my never ending list of things to do.  I think this is why I have always been fascinated by the Feasts of the Old Testament.  God actually commanded His people to observe seven feasts throughout the year acknowledging who God is and what He has done.  Of the seven, five were celebratory in nature, with only two being solemn.  What does this tell you about God’s view on prioritizing celebration?  One of the ways God taught His people to worship Him was through joyous celebration and feasting.  I love this about God!  He even demonstrates for us how to throw a party!

So while on the first day of the seventh month I do not commemorate God with trumpet blasts and a food offering, nor do I make pot-of-gold-shaped cupcakes on St. Patrick’s Day, I am trying to take the spirit of celebration to heart and make it a habit in my life.  I am beginning the process of setting up markers of time that allow me to celebrate the nature of God, the work of God in the world and my life, and inviting others into these celebrations so that I can share His goodness.  I believe we all need celebratory rituals of faith in our lives that renew us, refocus us, and help us pass on our memories of God’s victories in our lives to the next generation.  God is worth celebrating, and as one shown grace and mercy beyond measure by the Creator of the Universe, I have much to celebrate!   Now that is worth making pancakes over.

I was struck today during the worship service by the idea that those that heralded Jesus into Jerusalem on that first Palm Sunday years ago, worshiped God imperfectly.  They didn’t know Jesus intimately.  They might have heard of his miracles. Maybe were told of his teaching.  But, they cheered for him because they hoped for political change or for personal healing. They threw down their cloaks and palms and yelled “Hosanna!” for imperfect reasons. They worshiped God with fear, with greed, with pride.

Yet, God was still Glorified.

That’s the crazy thing.  We don’t need to wait till our lives are all straightened out and our sins are all mended up and our brokenness all healed through before we can love someone.  We can and should love others, even though that love is imperfect.  And we don’t need to wait to worship God either.  We get to love and worship God now, even though that worship is imperfect.  Despite our unworthiness, God is glorified.  Hallelujah! Hosanna! Hosanna in the highest!

-Corrie K.

Psalm 130:5-6

I wait for the LORD, my soul waits,
and in his word I put my hope.
My soul waits for the Lord
more than watchmen wait for the morning,
more than watchmen wait for the morning.

I have been a watchman waiting for the morning, or more appropriately I have been a watchwoman waiting for the morning.  I worked graveyard shifts as an on campus security guard during the summers in college (cool, I know).  I watched over cheerleading camps and guarded the vending machine from the kids in weight loss camps. It was just me chain chewing bubble gum sitting alone outside on a folding chair in the middle of the night.  Honestly as morning approached I would begin to feel cheerless, lonely, and desperate for some sign of life.  All my hope was put in counting down the minutes till dawn.

To wait on the Lord is to make him the focus of our hope.  When we feel alone in the darkness of our shame it is tempting to believe the lie that we are waiting for something other than God to make us feel worthy.  Waiting to be loved by that one person. Waiting to be acknowledged at work.  Waiting to be heard by your family.

Psalm 39:7: “And now, Lord, for what do I wait? My hope is in You.”

For what are you waiting today?

-Corrie K.

I remember reading Romeo & Juliet in high school. Confession: I remember reading parts in class and watching the movie. As a matter of fact, David Rodriguez and me did that with Huckleberry Finn and the Great Gatsby too. BTW: do you remember the version with Jack, from Titanic, playing Romeo? Anyways, one of the most memorable lines in the film (uh-hum, play) was when Juliet, in her youthful passion proclaims:

“What’s in a name? that which we call a rose
By any other name would smell as sweet;
So Romeo would, were he not Romeo call’d,
Retain that dear perfection which he owes
Without that title.”

[pause for sentimental and nostalgic reflection]

It recently struck me that shame is still shame by any other name as well. I.e., shame rarely exposes itself in our lives for what it is—it typically manifests as other emotions and behaviors, but the root is shame. That is, a sense of a defective and flawed self, feeling one’s identity is eternally marred and unlovable. The result? An insatiable need to prove one’s worth or live in a world of fantasy. Here are some examples of shame called by a different name:

- Workaholism (can’t shut the computer off)
- Perfectionism (nothing or anybody is ever good enough)
- Contempt (judgment of self and/or others)
- Anxiety
- Stonewalled (cut off from emotions/feelings)
- Egotism (having to be in the center of attention)
- Egotism (being terrified or repulsed by attention)
- Anger (outbursts, like on the freeway)
- Compulsive (habitual)
- Impulsive (uncontrollable)
- Slander (frequent talking about others)
- Fear
- Pride (not able to be wrong)
- Pride (not able to be right)
- Arrogance (frequently have the last word, or one-up everything)
- Fixation (with celebrities/gossip)
- Entertainment (excessive T.V. and/or video games)
- Shopaholism (buying stuff to feel good about yourself)
- Abuse (perpetrating and/or allowing)
- Other

Read the list again. Act like you are on the Family Feud and the question is, “What are the top five expressions of shame in _____________ ’s (insert your name) life?” Survey says?!
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

If you are like me, there are more than five, but the goal isn’t to make you feel ashamed. The purpose is to help you name shame for what it really is and to claim God’s truth in your life. Galatians 5:1 says, “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.” That is, don’t be enslaved to the understanding that you have to earn your worth. God wants you free from the lies that bog you down.

Now, read Ephesians 1. Insert your name whenever you come to a pronoun. Read it aloud. Proclaim your true identity and leave shame behind.

That which you are a child of God, by any other name, would still be as loved, accepted, chosen, blessed, blameless, wanted, and purposed by God.

~Scott Wildey

It was a spring day, much like this one, in 1986. The Pet Shop Boys were playing in the car as my mom was driving me to school. Normally I rode my 10-speed, but I was coming from the doctor who had just given me an antibiotic to cure a bug. I was a fairly new kid at the school, so I was smack dab in the middle of establishing some street cred. I.e., the verdict was still out if I was cool or not.

I don’t remember much before P.E., but I’ll never forget what happened to me during a game of dodge ball. As I was having fun trying to take out kids at the knees, my skin began to increasingly become more agitated. At first, I thought it was a heat rash (it was Texas!), so I shrugged it off.

By fifth period, the red dots had spread from my limbs to my face, swelling every last piece of my geography. I felt like Violet Beauregarde, the gum-chewing girl from Willie Wonka who bloated into a blueberry. This was a sign to my teacher that it would be a good idea to send me to the nurse because “it appeared that something was wrong with me.” The infirmary soon confirmed the suspicion and rushed me back to the doctor.

As it turns out, I was allergic to Penicillin. What was meant to cure me actually became poison to my body. So much so that if I would have waited a few more hours, my esophagus would have swelled too, blocking my air passage and threatening my young life! Thankfully, the doctor was able to put me on a different antibiotic, and I was soon back to normal.

The difference between shame and guilt is much the same way. Though they appear to be similar, one is toxic and leads to death, while the other is a remedy for healing. The question is: how do you know if you are experiencing a healthy guilt, or a poisonous shame? Answer: Red bumps. That is, if the result keeps you away from God and others.

In ancient times gods were not to be trusted, but feared. The result was that people lived ashamed (defective and doomed). This is why shame is toxic and isolates us from intimacy. If not treated it will destroy us. Appropriate guilt however, leads us to a greater intimacy, revealing both safety and freedom. This is the unparalleled message of the Bible—that an all-powerful God is loving enough to be trusted to the point of undefended vulnerability.

Psalm 130 illustrates this idea. Read it several times, moving slower as you repeat. Jot down anything that stands out to you about what’s happening between the author and God. Also, consider the nature of fear in relation to both guilt and shame—when is it healthy and when does it hinder?

From the depths of despair, O Lord,
I call for your help.

Hear my cry, O Lord.
Pay attention to my prayer.

Lord, if you kept a record of our sins,
who, O Lord, could ever survive?

But you offer forgiveness,
that we might learn to fear you.

I am counting on the Lord;
yes, I am counting on him.
I have put my hope in his word.

I long for the Lord
more than sentries long for the dawn,
yes, more than sentries long for the dawn.

O Israel, hope in the Lord;
for with the Lord there is unfailing love.
His redemption overflows.

He himself will redeem Israel
from every kind of sin.

~ Scott Wildey