Discovering True Intimacy with Our Savior

Ordinary Miracles

//  2 Comments

Last week, I had the honor of witnessing a miracle.

It was an ordinary day. I was walking into work and overheard two people behind me. I’m not sure what caught my attention. I promise I wasn’t eaves-dropping, and I didn’t hear the conversation. What captured my attention was the sound of a lady’s voice broken by a flood of emotions she was trying desperately to restrain. Though, she was speaking softly, the sound was as loud as a scream.

My initial response was to turn around and look at her, but I kept walking, intently listening. I heard her say something about a stroke and “we buried him Tuesday.” My heart sank, and my mind began piecing together the situation.

The man walking next to her probably said, “Hi. How are you?” It’s an ordinary phrase. One we mutter to people we pass in our hurry to get where ever we think we need to be so that we can do what ever it is we think we should be doing. I’m sure he was expecting an ordinary, “I’m fine. How are you?” But instead, his ordinary question was met with an extraordinary hurt and an unanticipated response.

As I realized what was unfolding behind me, I felt a God-nudge (and by “nudge” I mean shove) to reach out to her. Trying to figure out the least awkward way to approach her, I decided to let her get ahead of me. In my mind, I was praying, “Please Lord, don’t make me stalk her. Don’t make me follow her to her desk.” Mercifully, her companion scurried up the stairs, and she chose to take the elevator. So, I hopped on with her.

I had no idea what to say, but there was no doubt in my mind that God wanted me to speak. My heart was racing as fast as my mind. As I stood beside her silently, tears rolling down her face, a boldness overcame me. I asked her name, and before I knew what was happening, I heard myself say, “I’m sorry that you are hurting.” Without a moments pause, I hugged a complete stranger.

Immediately, her tears stopped, her mouth loosened into a smile and her eyes sparkled. For a fleeting moment, I witnessed a miracle – a face once full of sadness and despair almost instantaneously transformed into a face full of hope.

And just as quickly as the moment started, the elevator doors opened, and the moment passed.

As I sat down at my desk, it was tempting to start my work without a second thought, but as my mind caught up to the Spirit, I realized what had happened. I realized that God pushed my agenda, my fear and my inhibitions out of the way and stepped in to help someone He loved who was hurting. Please hear me when I say this: It wasn’t me that hugged her. It wasn’t me telling her I was sorry she was hurting. It was God.

The Bible tells us that we are God’s ambassadors (2 Corinthians 5:20) and we are to imitate Christ’s love for us (Ephesians 5:1-2). God’s love is no easy feat to imitate. It’s a lavish, unfailing, reckless and sacrificial love (Romans 5:8; Ephesians 2:4-5;  1 John 3:1), but we are commanded to love each other while we are a speck on the cosmic time line (John 13:34). In fact, the way we love others is evidence of whether or not we know God (1 John 4:7-8).

God’s love is huge and covers a multitude of sins (1 Peter 4:8), and it’s a love that transforms ordinary moments into miracles.

My soul delights that I was privileged enough to witness that ordinary miracle, and my heart smiles in knowing that God not only sees our hurts, our disappointments, and our pain, but He goes out of His way to send His ambassadors to comfort us – even when He has to use an unsuspecting vessel on just an ordinary day.

May our prayers be not for God to comfort us, but for Him to send us people to comfort.

(Re)thinking Christmas: Gifts

//  2 Comments

Let’s talk gifts.  This time of year, everywhere you look there are gifts.

Gift lists
Gift boxes
Gift bags
Gift wrap
Gift cards
Gift certificates
Gift baskets

As I sit and think about the gifts I’ve been given over the years, the ones that stick out to me are the ones that were handmade by those I love.

My favorite Christmas gift was an antebellum dollhouse my parents gave me when I was about eight years old.  My cousin handmade it; my aunt decorated the inside, and my mom sat in her closet gluing all the little furniture pieces together.  It occupies a good bit of my attic real estate, but I just can’t bring myself to part with it.  It’s still beautiful even after all the years of dust that has accumulated, and just thinking about all that went into making it – the thought, the love and the time – overwhelms me.

Off the top of my head, I can think of gifts friends have made for me over the years: an oil painting, a watercolor, a knit hat & scarf, a hand-thrown ceramic vase, and a ceramic plaque.  (By the way, I particularly appreciate the hand-thrown vase after a brief run-in with a pottery class from which I still haven’t recovered.)

I have a hand painted ornament given to me by my little cousin (who’s not so little anymore); a photography book made by an ex-boyfriend; a half-marathon scrapbook from a friend/training buddy, and a quilt my mom made of all my race t-shirts from my first year of doing triathlons.

I can tell you where each of these gifts are in my house and who gave them to me.  I cherish them because there are little bits of love captured in each stitch, brush stroke, and photograph.

One night, as I was knitting, God reminded me of a verse in Psalm 139: “For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb” (v. 13).

I chuckled as I pictured God sitting on His throne with His feet propped up on a planet and a ball of yarn sitting at His side.  Like any experienced knitter, He chose the perfect yarn and the perfect pattern for His project.  He couldn’t wait to begin.  He thought about the recipients of the gift and smiled with delight.  He followed the pattern precisely and examined His progress often.  As each month ticked on, His work grew.  Until finally, after nine months, a beautiful baby was given to the world.

Each strand of hair perfectly positioned
Each cheekbone strategically sculpted
Eye color carefully chosen
Height meticulously measured
Body type purposely proportioned
Personality distinctively defined

I wonder what the world would look like if we stopped thinking of each other as people and started thinking of each other as a gift from the Creator?  Or what would happen if, when we looked in the mirror, we stopped critiquing the Master’s masterpiece and started focusing on our beauty instead of what the world points out to us as flaws?

It’s a radical concept, and one that I’m not so sure the devil wants us to grasp.  But this Christmas, I challenge you to focus on the gifts in your life – not the man-made, store bought gifts – but the handmade gifts God has given you:  those you love; those that are hard to love; and those you prefer to love from really, really far away.  They are all gifts – every single one of them.

Disagree?  Take it up with The Almighty.  It’s His Word that says, “…I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well” (Psalm 139:14).

Sing Sing Sing

//  1 Comment

“About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them. Suddenly there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the prison were shaken. At once all the prison doors flew open, and everybody’s chains came loose.” – Acts 16:25-26

Is there anything in your life that you feel is keeping you prisoner? Perhaps there is a sin that you feel powerless to overcome. It doesn’t have to be what we consider a “bad” sin. Maybe you overeat, or TV has become your idol. Maybe you spend more time at work than you do in the Word, or maybe you are struggling with simply being obedient to something God has called you to do (or not do).

As humans we have a tendency to make a hierarchy for sin. Murderers and child molesters at the top followed by people who rape and steal. Then maybe we’ll put in those who commit adultery next. You get my drift.

We want to believe that the sin in our lives isn’t as bad as the sin of others. It makes us feel better. But the harsh reality is…it’s all sin. As much as we hate to admit it, those little white lies we tell are the same in God’s eyes as someone who steals or kills. But praise God for His amazing grace!

I have this “little” sin that keeps popping up in my life. I found myself last night doing the very thing I prayed I wouldn’t do that morning. I’m completely in touch with Paul in Romans 7 when he says, “I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do” (v. 15). So. Very. Frustrating.

This morning, I bowed before the LORD ashamed that I had failed Him once again. That’s when God gave me an idea.

In Acts 16, Paul and Silas were imprisoned. There they sat shackled in the midst of robbers and murderers and child molesters. Did they complain? Oh, no. They prayed and sang praises to God.

I love what happens next. “Suddenly there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the prison were shaken. At once all the prison doors flew open, and everybody’s chains came loose (Acts 16:26).”

Could it be that singing praises and praying are the keys to breaking the chains of sin in our lives? What would happen if, instead of visiting that website you shouldn’t be going to, you sang praises and prayed? What if the second you wanted something sweet to eat, you praised God and asked Him to send his sweet presence to you instead?

It’s just a theory. I don’t know if it will work, but I’m willing to give it a try. What about you?

Third Greatest Story Ever Told

//  1 Comment

This past Sunday, I had the opportunity to teach what is quickly becoming one of my favorite bible stories. I’ve been in church pretty much my whole life, and I’m convinced every sunday school teacher and pastor over the past 30ish years has deprived me of the third greatest story in the Bible.

How can I be so sure I’ve never heard the story? If I can remember the story of a man getting swallowed and regurgitated by a whale and a story of a guy with a multi-colored coat, I’m about 110% positive I would remember someone having a donkey that talks.

Is anyone else surprised that there is a talking donkey in the Bible? It’s kind of easy to overlook. I mean, God kind of hid it in the book of Numbers like an awesome movie that went straight to DVD. And just like that awesome movie that you can’t believe didn’t make millions of dollars at the box office, you feel like it is your duty to share your fortune with a friend.

So, that’s just what I did this past Sunday. We talked about talking donkeys, because let’s face it, if a donkey talks, I think everyone should know how to handle themselves in the event they encounter one.

All this talking donkey business got me to thinking….God’s Word never, ever, ever ceases to amaze me. Whether it is by pointing out a story that I’ve never seen before, or the Holy Spirit giving me new insights into a story that I’ve heard a million times, it always meets me where I’m at, not only because God is awesome like that, but because His Word is “living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword” (Hebrews 4:11).

So, get into the Word. You never know what adventure God might be waiting to show you.

Feed Me!

//  1 Comment

I don’t watch the news or read the newspaper.   If you are at my house and you hear CNN, CSPAN or any sort of news anchor coming from my TV, something is terribly, terribly wrong and you should seek medical attention for me immediately. 

I’ve never really understood the point of the news.  Why do we feel the need to report occurrences of the worst of humanity?  What fascinates us about the downfall of society or the antics of celebrities?  What captivates us about seeing devastation and disaster?  It’s all just sad and depressing.  Don’t we have something else to talk about? 

There is a plus side to the media mania.  In our desperate search to stay on top of things, many cool tools have been development.  Take for instance my favorite discovery for 2010:  RSS Feeds. 

RSS Feeds are what I consider golden nuggets of technology.  They allow you to subscribe to blogs (yay!) and news headlines (boo!) on various sites.  So, you can open your e-mail and get the latest blog post (yay!) or headlines (boo!)  from the sites you love without having to leave the comforts of your own inbox. 

There are no bookmarks to click on.  I’m sure that’s considered cruel and unusual punishment in some countries.  You don’t have to open your internet browser and type in the website.  Who does that anymore? No Google searches because you just can’t remember that website address.  That is so 2009!  It’s the epitome of internet laziness and it’s brilliant. 

I’m sure my lack of concern for current events shocks some and saddens others.  I realize I’m one in a minority of people who had rather be completely oblivious and happy than to be aware and miserable.  But may I be so bold as to suggest that happy and oblivious is the way God intended us to live our lives?  After all, wasn’t eating from the tree of knowledge what got us into this mess?  (Genesis 2:17) Thanks Adam.  Thanks Eve. 

It was never God’s intention for us to know everything.  We were supposed to leave that up to Him.  He’s in the business of omniscience – not us.  That is a burden we were never intended to bear (Romans 11:33-24), but you wouldn’t know it by looking at us with blackberries and iPhones glued to our ears, computers on every desktop, TVs in every room.  When will we learn – it’s not our job to be omniscient?  Our job is to know God and to trust Him with the rest (Proverbs 2:1-6).

(Re)thinking Christmas: Music

//  12 Comments

I felt pretty good after writing “Loathing Christmas.”  It was good to get all those hard feelings out in the open, but then I felt guilty – like I had just chewed out my best friend or stole candy from a baby.  There just seems to be something inherently wrong about bashing Christmas.  Maybe I was a little too hard on the holiday, but then, Christmas has been around for a long time and has lots of fans.  So, I think it can handle the heat.  Besides, I’m all about being transparent.

God gave me hope last year for Christmas future in a little concert called, “Behold the Lamb of God.”  It rocked the Christmas stockings right off my feet.  (Just to be clear, I wasn’t actually wearing Christmas stockings.  I tried on the ones that hang on my mantel every year and they were too big and sparkly.  It would’ve been awkward.)

Now, as you know, I’m not a Christmas person, but a little known fact about me is that I’m not a concert person either.  It’s just not my thing.  So, you can imagine my excitement when a girl I didn’t know very well at the time, sent an email last year inviting me to a Christmas concert.  I was skeptical to say the least; but to be honest, I felt so incredibly honored that this person thought to ask me personally that I couldn’t say no.  So, I paid my $15 and went.  That might’ve been the single most important decision I made (and the best $15 I ever spent) in 2009.  No kidding.

If you have never had the chance to go see Andrew Peterson’s “Behold the Lamb of God” concert, you are missing out.  Find a concert near you and run head first as fast as you can to get a ticket.  Or you could just leave the running shoes in the closet (or at the store if running isn’t your thing), save yourself a jog and click this link.

I have to chuckle as I think back to the attitude I had walking into the concert venue.  I had such low expectations.  I had no idea who these people were or what to expect.

Was this a classical concert?

Would there be an orchestra?

Is there acting?

Is there dancing?

Well, much to my delight, the concert wasn’t any of those things.  It was a bunch of uber-cool guys (and one girl) who were about my age that can play about 900 instruments each and who have been blessed with an awesome gift in the art of writing music that tells a story.  God showed up among those extraordinarily talented singer/songwriters at Oak Mountain Presbyterian Church that night and changed not only my Christmas, but ultimately, my life.

The concert is broken down into two parts.  The first part of the concert gives each artist an opportunity to perform some of their original songs.  From the moment the musicians/artists/what-have-you took the stage, I was captivated.  I hadn’t been to a concert in years, but I was diggin’ it.

These guys – these awesome vessels of the Lord – were not only talented but they were hilarious.  I’m not just talking about being funny.  I’m talking about disgustingly charming, humble and hilarious people who made their audience feel at home.  Last year, the tour was made up of Andrew Peterson, Ben Shive, Andrew Osenga, Andy Gullahorn, Jill Phillips and Brandon Heath among others.

The second half of the concert is spent playing in sequence the “Behold the Lamb of God“ album.  The opening reading is from “The Jesus Storybook Bible“ by Sally Lloyd-Jones and goes something like this:

No, the bible isn’t a book of rules or a book of heroes.  The Bible is most of all a story.  It’s an adventure story about a young hero who comes from a far country to win back His lost treasure.  It’s a love story about a brave prince who leaves His palace, His throne, everything to rescue the one He loves.  It’s like the most wonderful of fairy tales that has come true in real life.   You see, the best thing about this story is:  it’s true.

There are lots of stories in the Bible, but all the stories are telling one big story:  the story of how God loves His children and comes to rescue them.  It takes the whole Bible to tell this story, and at the center of the story is a baby.  Every story in the Bible whispers His name.  He is like the missing piece in a puzzle.  The piece that makes all the other pieces fit together, and suddenly you can see a beautiful picture.

Now, if I wasn’t captivated by the first part of the concert, that opening caught me by my heartstrings and didn’t let go.  Seriously, even as I typed that out, I got goose bumps, butterflies in my stomach and tears in my eyes.

Andrew Peterson then proceeds to transform seemingly ordinary Bible stories – stories that I’ve heard a million times – stories that I heard as a child and read an adult – and weaves them into a seamless story about the coming of Christ.  It’s amazing.  It’s beautiful, and it’s true!

I don’t know how to describe to you in words the change that this two hours had on my life.  Just having the Bible explained to me that way was like a veil lifting (2 Corinthians 3:14-18).  It was like God took me up in hot air balloon and slowly adjusted my eyes so that they began to focus on a beautiful painting.  A painting filled with magnificent hues that highlighted each stroke pointing to Jesus – a painting that took 55 generations and 2,000 years to complete.  A painting that tells one story across 66 books and over 31,000 verses. It’s the most beautiful painting I’ve ever seen.  I think I fell in love with God that day.

Now, I don’t want to give this concert more credit than it deserves, but I do have to give props to The Almighty for using it to remove the veil from my eyes and for using my dear friend, who I’ve come to know and love, to turn my walk with God upside down.  Had she not taken the chance and asked me to go, coffee with Christ wouldn’t exist.

I’ve listened to that album a million times since the concert.  (Actually, it’s close to 100 if you trust the counter in iTunes).  I had all the songs memorized in two days.

I sang it in the car sitting in traffic;

I sang it at home; and I listened to it at work.

I loved it so much that I couldn’t part with it once Christmas was over.

I listen to it year-round.

Sadly, this year, “Behold the Lamb of God” isn’t coming to Birmingham.  But I won’t let that stop me.  I’m going with some friends to see it in Huntsville, and I’m so excited I can’t stand it.  I’m so thankful for Andrew Peterson and his crew.  I’m so grateful that God gave them the ability to play 900 instruments and write the greatest songs.

So, whenever I get into a bah-hum-bug spirit this year (and even when I’m not), I’ll put in my headphones, close my eyes, and let Andrew Peterson paint a picture of a God that is bigger than Christmas.  A God that loved me so much that He came down to rescue me.  I can hear the familiar beat of the opening drums …and Andrew Peterson’s melodic voice singing:

Gather ‘round, ye children come
Listen to the old, old story
of the power of death undone
by an infant born of glory
Son of God
Son of Man…