The Important Places & Stories in Our Lives

 Do you have a place that's filled with memories of good times from growing up? A place that maybe still feels like home when you go there?

I recently went back to one of those places for me. A place that has changed a lot in so many ways, yet, still feels like the same place every time I drive onto the property.

The camp I grew up going to & worked at for a few months recently celebrated 50 years of camp. They invited people - past & present - to come spend the day at the camp to celebrate.

From the moment I turned down the dirt road to the camp I was filled with memories.

Driving past the house by the gate where the camp director lived when I spent my summers in this place. The memories of conversations on the porch swing with his wife as I navigated summers as staff & the rest of life in between those summers. The wisdom & encouragement shared while sitting there.

The archery range was next. The first place I learned to teach something. Many hours spent there with kids of all ages teaching a skill we may never have learned anywhere else. (And the place where I got my first & only wasp sting, while I was there with a half dozen 8-10 year olds I was responsible for, so I had to stay until I could get someone else there.)

The Point

The lodge - where so much has changed over the years. But, it's still the place of many meals & chapel services. Good food, conversations over food, worshipping God.

Walking to the point - the place where we would have campfire every night of camp. Singing silly camp songs & worship songs. Hearing messages from the speaker for the week. Time to share the story of what God has done in the week of camp. It feels like holy ground when I approach it. There's something truly special about this place.

Walking along the path by the lake, the beach, climbing the hill back to the lodge. All so familiar & filled with memories. Doing things I never would have thought I would have been able to. Growing & learning in so many ways.

Even more memories in the people I saw & reconnected with. Whether we're still in touch or not, there's a connection when we gather again. And realizing that I made a few long term friends in my years here.

I was reminded of the importance of places when I was back at camp. But, even more of the importance of remembering & sharing the stories of what God has done.

The Beach

The day was filled with stories of how God worked to provide for the camp for 50 years. From the little things that made all the difference, to the bigger, more noticeable things.

I was also reminded of the ways God worked in my life when I was there. Many of the important spiritual decisions in the first 25 years of my life were made somewhere on that camp property. It's each to forget that in the midst of every day life, but it's important we don't. 

We need to remember & share the stories. That's how we stay faithful in the hard times & hold on when we can't see ahead.

God Meets Us Where We Are

 I was recently away for a few days at a cabin in an incredibly beautiful and peaceful place. It was good to just get away and be in creation without the usual demands of life.

The first morning, as I was sitting on the porch with my coffee and my journal, I head this bird squawking continually. It took me a while to realize where it was coming from and that the bird was squawking at me. Then I saw the bird's nest built on one of the lights on the porch. And that there were baby birds in the nest.

After a while the mama bird realized I wasn't going to do anything or move closer to them. She went back to work finding & bringing food to her babies. For the next couple hours I sat out there reading, writing, and sometimes just watching the nest.

Every time the mama returned to the nest with food, there would be all these baby bird beaks that would pop up, mouths open, expecting food. They were excited to see mama come back & anticipated something good & life-giving.

Later in the day, as I was reflecting on what I had watched, I had a question come to mind:

Do I have the same kind of anticipation as those baby birds when I come to meet with God? Do I expect Him to have something good & life-giving for me?

God meets us where we are & He brings us what we need. We simply have to be open to receiving what He has for us.

A God Who Abundantly Provides

 Do you struggle to trust God to provide for your needs?

Do you worry you won't have what you think you need if you leave it all to God?

It's probably safe to say that we all struggle with this at least sometimes. We're human and we don't always trust God perfectly. It's hard.

I've been reading in John 6 recently and as I did, I was struck by the way provision from God was portrayed.

This chapter starts with the familiar story of Jesus feeding the 5,000 with five loaves and two fish. We talk lots about how the small amount of food miraculously fed everyone.

But, I was struck by the words of verse 13 this time:

"So they gathered up the pieces and filled twelve baskets with the pieces left from the five barley loaves."

Not only were all the people fed and satisfied, but there was an abundance of leftovers. Jesus didn't provide just enough barely for people to not be hungry. Everyone had their fill and there were still leftovers.

A little later in the same chapter, Jesus says these words:

"I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to Me will never be hungry and whoever believes in Me will never be thirsty." (verse 35)

In these words, Jesus is offering to satisfy all the needs of the people; they just have to trust Him.

It all sounds so simple, but it's so much more difficult to live.

Why do we struggle with this?

I think it comes down to what we're looking for. We often have a pre-decided picture of what we need. We're looking only for that, and, in doing so, we miss out on everything else God may be doing to provide.

The disciples in the feeding of the 5,000 almost did. They saw only the cost of feeding everyone (verse 7) and the meager offering available (verse 9). The situation seemed impossible for them to solve. Their solution was to send the people away to find food for themselves.

But, Jesus had a different plan in mind. Jesus revealed God as the One who provides for our needs in abundance. But, the disciples had to look beyond what they expected to see it. They had to be willing to see differently.

I wonder if we need to be willing to hold our idea of what God's provision looks like with open hands. If we need to be willing to see God's abundant provision outside what we think it should look like.

Where do you need God to provide?

Are you struggling to trust Him?

Have you pre-decided what God's provision has to look like?

Are you willing to let that go?

How can you practice being open to God's provision looking different than you thought it would?

Christmas Memories

 I've had memories of Christmas' growing up running through my mind for the last few weeks. 

Memories of laughter and fun. 

Memories of family together.

Memories of a crowded table - everyone has to keep their elbows in so we don't knock the food off each other's forks.

Memories of too much food and my Grandma always offering more.

Memories of singing carols together with my Grandma at the piano.

Memories of my sisters, my cousins and I are huddled around the nativity set, each taking our turn to place the figurines of the set in place as Grandma read the Christmas story aloud.

Memories of puzzles started and completed.

Memories of gifts that reminded us how loved and care about we were.

Memories of welcoming in many who had nowhere else to go for Christmas.

This Christmas is the second one since my Grandma passed away. Although there were Christmas' before she passed that she wasn't able to be there, it's different now to know she's not just down the road waiting for a visit.

It's still a little bittersweet to think about Christmas this year. For so many years my Grandma, her house, her cooking, her plan for the family for the day was the center of all that happened. Even when she no longer hosted, she still had influence on the day.

But, the part that I keep coming back to is how she made sure that we never forgot what it was really about in the midst of the food and the presents. She was never afraid to tell us grandkids that we had to wait to open presents until we'd read the Christmas story together.

She'd read the Scripture about Jesus' birth and you could hear in her voice how much it meant to her. That to her this was the most important part of everything about that day. 

I'm challenged that I need to remember the reason why we do this all. The thing that is the most important about this day.

So, today, can I encourage you to take the time to stop and read and remember that in the midst of all this time of year brings, the most important thing is that we're celebrating the promised and long-awaited Messiah coming to earth?

We celebrate because Jesus coming to earth as a baby changed everything.

Light in the darkness.

Peace in the chaos.

Comfort in the brokenness.

Dear Grandma

 As I walk through a year of firsts without my Grandma around, there are times and things that I reflect on. Tonight as I sit I'm reflecting on Easter and memories around it. Choosing to remember the good.

This post is the form of a letter to my Grandma.

Dear Grandma,

Today was Easter Sunday. I thought of you a lot today. The first Easter Sunday without you . . . except it had already been a few years since you were able to be at church or our family gathering. Not just because of COVID, the last few years, but even before that. Son, in some ways it was the first resurrection Sunday without you, and in other ways it wasn't. But, no matter what, I thought of you a lot today.

As we sang songs pointing to the resurrection and about eternity with Jesus, I pictured you today. Standing in Jesus' presence today. No more body or mind failing you. In the presence of your Savior forevermore. I could almost hear your voice singing praises to God, as I know you always loved to do here. 

In the midst of all the things we do on holidays, you always made sure we were reminded of the real reason why we gathered to celebrate. You always made sure we didn't forget. You pointed us to Jesus. On Easter Sunday, you pointed us to the empty tomb and our risen Savior.

As my Mom & I made the potatoes and got the ham ready, my mind was filled with memories of you in your kitchen. Always busy getting something ready, making sure nothing was missed for dinner. Even in your busy-ness of making sure it was all ready on time, you welcomed us grandkids into your kitchen to help. As we got older, I'm sure we actually helped, but sometimes I wonder if in those early years, we made more work for you by helping. Yet, you didn't turn us away when we wanted to help - you found something we could do.

As we sat at the table to eat together, I missed the large family gatherings at your house. This one was smaller . . . just 7 of us this day. It's been that way for a while. You were unable to come already by the time the thing happened that shrunk our family gatherings so much. I know that family was so important to you. As much as having us all in your house all day wore you out, I also remember the smile on your face when we all squeezed together to fit around the table. 

(And I remember how anyone in your reach had to watch their plate carefully. You never knew when you would decide someone hadn't eaten enough and would add more food to their plate when they weren't looking.)

Even, as I served my food today. I dutifully took at least one scoop of everything on the table. The "no thank you" helping (you always had to take one scoop of every dish on the table, no matter what, even if you didn't like it or didn't think you would) that was the rule at your house while I was growing up, still directs me when I'm serving food. I wasn't a fan of that rule as a kid, but it has served me well as an adult.

As we put the paska (Mennonite Easter bread), on the table after dinner, I noticed that no one had gotten the sprinkles out yet. I had to go and find them before we could eat it. I remembered how you always made sure there was an abundance of them on the paska before you served it. I never understood why, and I really still don't, but paska was always served with icing and sprinkles (yes, on bread . . . a sweet bread, but bread). And I will always eat it that way.

Today, I missed you. I missed your smile, your laugh, your hugs. I missed hearing you sing with joy as you celebrated our risen Savior. 

But, I know you were celebrating in a way I can only imagine right now. A way you weren't able to for so many years at the end. And that brings me joy in the midst of tears because you're not here with us anymore.

Love you always, 

Tamara

Fix Your Eyes

 Sometimes life is hard and things we're going through feel like heavy burden to carry. It feels like we're just barely making it through with the weight of all that's going on.

We're looking for hope. For a way through. For a way out.

2 Corinthians 4:16-18 says:

"Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen s temporary, but what is unseen is eternal."

When I read these words a few days ago, I struggled with some of how it was written. I had to sit with it for a while to realize what Paul meant when he wrote these words.

The last couple months have been hard and heavy. Personal losses of an aunt and an uncle. Significant losses and hard times in my work family. It has just all seemed to pile up at one time. It has been a challenging and heavy time to walk through.

So reading words that called our troubles "light and momentary" didn't feel encouraging at first. My first thought was actually, you have no idea what's going on. When we're walking through hard times and loss, those things don't feel light or momentary. It feels like a weight on us that will never be lifted.

But, Paul, who wrote these words, knew what suffering and hard times were. He knew hardship. He knew the heaviness of loss. But, he still called our earthly troubles light and momentary.

How could he do this?

How can we do this in our troubles?

It's all about where we fix our eyes. That's what Paul tells us next in the passage from 2 Corinthians.

When our eyes are down, when they're focused on our circumstances, all we see is our troubles. That's when everything hard becomes overwhelming and never-ending.

The solution: to lift our eyes. To fix them on what is unseen and eternal. To fix our eyes on Jesus, as the writer of Hebrews tells us (Hebrews 12:2). This doesn't remove our troubles. It doesn't remove our loss. It doesn't take away the hard things.

But, it changes our focus.

When our eyes are fixed on Jesus, we see things differently. We see Him and then we see our circumstances through Him.

When our eyes are fixed on Jesus, we know we're not walking through whatever we're facing alone. We have a Companion who cares about us. Who wants to helps us and sometimes carry us through whatever we're facing.

That's the lesson I've learned that I'm trying to apply in my own circumstances right now. It's easy to look at the losses and struggles and be overwhelmed. That's where I was when I first read these verses. 

But, when I choose to fix my eyes on Jesus, something changes. Nothing about the circumstances has changed. The losses still exist. The hard times haven't disappeared. But, it's not as overwhelming because I'm paying attention to Jesus with me in the midst of them.

Once I saw all this, the words of 2 Corinthians 4:16-18 have become words of encouragement and hope.

"Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal."

What troubles are you walking through that seem anything but light and momentary?

Where are your eyes fixed? On your troubles? Or on Jesus?

How can you fix your eyes on Jesus?

Acknowledging the Loss

 You've probably heard it referenced a lot. People talking about the losses of this pandemic. And there have been many for many of us.

Maybe we're tired of hearing about it.

Maybe we're not sure what we're experienced qualifies.

Maybe we just don't know what to think.

Maybe we would rather just ignore it all.

Tomorrow is my birthday.

Not one of those years we usually make a bigger deal of. But still my birthday.

For the last few weeks, my sister has been asking me what I want to do for my birthday. I've likely frustrated her with my lack of answers.

No patio I wanted to have supper on.

No takeout I wanted to pick up.

No food I wanted to make for supper together.

No activity I wanted to do.

Just nothing.

I've never been on to plan things for my birthday. I've done nothing for more of them than I can count. It's just never really been a big deal to me.

But this year, something was bothering me as my birthday drew near. And it made me want to just pretend it wasn't happening at all.

It took me a few weeks to figure out what was going on. What was bothering me was that I couldn't have a few friends over to my house, that I couldn't go out for a dinner or dessert with a group of friends.

And it had nothing to do with whether I actually would this time.

It was about not having the choice - for the second year in a row.

But, it was about more than that too. It was a realization of how long it's been since I could just be with my friends sharing food and games and laughter.

It reminded me of something I read a couple months ago. The article (that I can't find now) was talking about grief over the losses of the last year. Yes, the losses to death, the losses of jobs and security. But, not just those losses. The losses of the seemingly smaller things that are still important to us.

When I first read the article, I wasn't sure I agreed, so I just left it and didn't think much about it. Until the last couple days. Until I realized I was dealing with a loss. A different kind of loss than the ones we usually associated with grief, but a loss nonetheless.

We can probably all name some of those losses in the last year. And it can be easy to minimize them because they don't seem as big as someone else's loss. But that doesn't help us. We can't compare our losses to other's losses.

Whatever the loss we're dealing with, we need to acknowledge it for what it is. Allow ourselves to deal with the emotions that come from the loss. Take if to Jesus and let Him meet us in it.

Then we can begin to walk again.

So, tonight, I acknowledge the loss I'm feeling of that opportunity to be with my friends on my birthday or just a regular Saturday night games' night. It's been a long time. And those nights were important in many ways.

And tomorrow, I'll celebrate my birthday with the people I can be with. Thankful for what I do still have, even in the midst of the loss I feel.

It may not be what I wish it could be. And it still hurts. But something does change when it's acknowledged. Spoken out loud. Shared with somebody.

So tonight I leave you with some questions. Questions I've been wrestling with the last few days.

What loss are you feeling? No matter how small you think it is, it's still a loss. And it's not about comparing it to others.

Have you acknowledged it and taken it to Jesus?

The Hard, the Messy, & the Broken

 As this is Christmas week, it seems fitting to take a few moments to stop and reflect on the Christmas story (I'll be back to my series I'm in the middle of in the new year.)

I opened my Bible to Matthew's record it only a few minutes ago for the first time this season. Much later in December than I usually begin to dive into this familiar story each year.

But, this year, I've struggled with Christmas. If I'm honest, I haven't felt much like celebrating anything at all this year. Even as I sit to write this, there's very little in my house that would indicate it's Christmas.

The only thing I have even put out in the nativity set. The simplest, but maybe the most fitting, for this Christmas.

A few days ago, I came home to find a gift bag at my door. An anonymous friend dropped it off while I was at work. One of the things inside was some beautiful cards with Scripture about the Christmas story and the lyrics to some Christmas carols that tell the story.

Until that delivery, not the nativity set had made it out. I just simply had no interest. But, as I read those cards, I was reminded of what this time of year is really all about for us as Christians . . . the birth of Jesus.

And not into a neat and tidy world. The world Jesus was born into was hard, messy, and broken.

Much like our world today. If I had to give three words to describe our world, those are exactly the words I would use.

Hard.

Messy.

Broken.

That brings me back to Matthew 1. I don't often read the genealogies in Scripture carefully. I skim through the long list of names I can't pronounce, working to quickly get to the other parts. Today, I slowly, carefully read each line, each name.

As I read, I realized something. It wasn't new, but I needed to be reminded of it again today.

Yes, the genealogy show how the prophecies of Jesus' birth were fulfilled. The tribe of Judah. The root of Jesse. Of the line of David. All good stuff. But, not the important stuff for today.

The genealogy of Jesus that Matthew records is full of messy, broken people who have hard stories.

There's women. Not just inferred, but mentioned when that wasn't normal for that time.

There's prostitutes.

There's outsiders to the Jewish people.

There's adulterers and murderers.

There's people who didn't follow God with their lives.

There's people who were led astray.

All mixed in with those who were faithful followers of God. Sometimes the faithful follower of God is also the one who messed up.

Jesus' earthly genealogy doesn't hide the hard, the messy, the broken. It includes it for all to see and be reminded of.

Why?

Because God has redeemed it and used it for His purposes. It's God's specialty.

God takes our hard, messy, and broken and He redeems it. He uses it for His purposes and His glory.

I don't know where this Christmas finds you. 2020 has been a year like no other we've experienced. And we're all approaching this Christmas differently. 

But, can I remind you today that whatever hard, messy, and broken your life holds right now, God's not done. 

If you'll let Him, He can take it and turn it into something beautiful. It may not be exactly the beautiful we expect or happen the way we want it to, but, if we allow it, God will turn our hard, messy, and broken into beautiful - just like He did with Jesus' earthly genealogy.

I know that's hope I'm choosing to cling to right now. Even when I don't feel like celebrating the way I usually do this time of year, I can choose to celebrate because I have a God who specializes in turning hard, messy, and broken into beautiful for His purpose and His glory.

Growing Through Challenge or Yearning for "Normal"

 "I'm just waiting for things to go back to normal."

"Can we ever go back to normal."

"I wish things were normal again."

You've probably though, or even said, those words or something like them in the last five months. You're probably heard them from other many times.

We're living in a world that's been turned upside-down by something we can't even see. Our normal has been taken away. Everything feels strange.

And we're struggling with that.

I know I am. All I want to do is go to a gathering with friends and give them all long hugs. And, for someone who doesn't usually often struggles in large group gatherings and doesn't just hug everyone, that says a lot. If I'm feeling this way, I know lots of others are too.

We just want normal back.

We talk about a new normal. About what it might look like. What it might mean. How we can manage.

But it's not what we really want.

When you get beneath it all, we're longing for normal. For how things used to be.

Before I go on, let me be clear on one thing: I'm not here to debate whether we have a new normal. I'm not going to debate the choices made or not made. While our current reality has prompted some of the thoughts in this post, I'm not writing about opinions on it. You can agree or disagree, but this is not the place to debate that. I will delete all comments along those lines without notice or comment from me.

Whatever happens, there is one thing we know, this has changed and will continue to change us all. Just as any difficult time will do. When we walk through something hard, we will come out of it different than we were when we entered in.

I've been reading Beth Moore's newest book Chasing Vines and working on the study that goes with it. A couple days ago, I read a chapter that challenged me on how hard times change us. In the book, Beth writes:

"When we're going through a difficult season, wouldn't the best news of all be that life would simply go back to normal someday? When the framework of our daily existence gets completely dismantled and the landscape around us grows increasingly unreliable, our strongest longing is seldom prosperity. What we yearn for is normalcy. We don't tend to ask for the moon when we've lost all we've known. We just want some semblance of our old lives back.

The hard truth is, there's no real going back. But once we get up again, there can be a going forward. In His faithfulness, God sees to it what we thought was the end isn't the end at all. And eventually, perhaps not terribly long after, we realize we transitioned into a new normal."

We can't go back to what was normal before because what we've walked through has changed us. We're not the same person, so even the same things will be different because we've changed.

The danger for us comes when we become so focused on getting back to "normal" we miss God's new in our lives. When we do this, we stop producing any fruit for God's kingdom in our lives.

A little later in the same chapter, Beth writes:

"But in time, finding fruitfulness again will make more difference than you can imagine. If we can't have our treasured yesterday back, at least tomorrow can matter. The wonder of fruit bearing is that something meaningful can come from the meanest of seasons. What we endured matters."

If we allow God to work through our hard times, He will produce something beautiful in our lives. That is always His plan. But, we can't hold onto and keep looking for what once was.

So, how do we do this? How do we move through hard seasons and allow God to bring something beautiful out of them?

In the Bible study that goes along with the book, Beth writes:

"It is human nature to focus on what has changed in our lives and to long for what we once had. But when we're faced with the pain and anxiety of loss and change, perhaps we should fix our minds on what remains the same in our lives. God is constant even when our circumstances are not."

We get through and begin to live the new life God has for us by fixing our eyes on Him. He doesn't change no matter our circumstances.

So, where are your eyes fixed right now?

"So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal." - 2 Corinthians 4:18

"Therefore since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith." - Hebrews 12:1-2

When You Realize You've Almost Missed It

We're halfway through Holy Week.

I was reminded of that on a video chat this morning. Even though I knew it and the dates marked on my calendar told me that is was Holy Week, something hadn't really connected about it for me this time.

Usually this is a week where I take time to intentionally reflect on all the happened in this week. To try to enter in to what Scripture says about this week. To thank Jesus for He did on my behalf.

And, yet, I realized today I hadn't even really considered it at all so far. Palm Sunday had come and gone, and Good Friday was approaching, and then Resurrection Sunday. Such important days on the Christian calendar to remember and celebrate.

But, this year doesn't feel much like other years. There's no plans for big crowds to gather on Sunday to celebrate. Big family gatherings aren't happening. Even the events our larger society associates with Easter, like community Easter egg hunts, have been cancelled.

As I drove home from work today (yes, I work for an organization that cannot just close, even at a time like this), a song came on my music player that I hadn't heard for a long time. As I listened to and then put on repeat and began to sing the song, I realized that even though Holy Week and Easter look so much different that the traditions I've become used to at this time of year, it doesn't change the significance of what we remember and celebrate.

That song and those minutes in my car became a worship time . . . and a reset for me. No matter what the circumstances are right now, this is when we intentionally remember and celebrate what our Savoir has done for us.

For me, Holy Week feels a bit short this year now. But, I'm still going to be intentional about the days left. No beating myself up for what I feel like I missed. Just taking the time I have left in this week to remember the sacrifice of my Savior and His victory over the grave.

As I close, I want to leave you with the song that spoke to me today. Blessed Redeemer by Casting Crowns. I love the chorus of this song:
Blessed Redeemer, precious Redeemer
Seems now I see Him on Calvary's tree
Wounded and bleeding, for sinners pleading
Blind and unheeding, dying for me

Biblical Examples of Friendship

Are there examples in Scripture that reflect what friendships should look like?

Is there more than just a list of things friends should be and do in Scripture?

The answer to those questions is YES.

In Scripture, we're provided with models of what this looks like. Last week, I gave a list of references of directives of what friends are like. Today I want to take a look at some biblical examples of friendship.

One of the more talked about examples of friendship in the Bible is where I want to start.

David and Jonathan would have been an unlikely pairing for a friendship. Jonathan was the one who should have been the next king after his father Saul. David was the one who had been anointed as the next king instead. But, friends they were.

We first see mention of their friendship in 1 Samuel 18:1-4. Jonathan and David became close friends after David came to stay and serve Saul at the palace.

We see a further example of their friendship in 1 Samuel 20. Things were becoming dangerous for David to remain in Saul's household. Jonathan, who at first didn't believe it, confirmed that David's life was in danger and helped David to get away safely.

In 2 Samuel 9, we see further evidence of the friendship of Jonathan and David. David is established as king and tradition would have been to make sure all descendants of Saul were killed so none could try to lay claim to the throne. David discovers one of Jonathan's sons is still alive, but rather than have him killed, David takes him into his home and treats him as family in honour of his friend.

David and Jonathan loved each other deeply and went out of their way to help and support each other. Even when it came at a personal cost. This wasn't a friendship just because it was easy. The held on through hard things too.

The book of Ruth is another example of friendship in action. After the deaths of their husbands, there was no reason for Naomi and Ruth to continue life together. What had tied them together was gone. But, Ruth chose to stay with Naomi (see Ruth 1:16-18). She chose to give up all that was familiar to her to with Naomi because she cared about Naomi.

Friends do make choices to give things up to go with another into something. Ruth chose this and set an example of being willing to sacrifice ourselves for friends.

The final example I've chosen from Scripture is Jesus and His disciples - specifically Peter, James, and John. Jesus chose these three to be a part of an inner circle of really close friends He spent time with them. He invited them into things where others weren't (see Luke 9:28-36). Even in His time of greatest struggle in the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus invited these three in deeper (see Matthew 26:37-38). Jesus didn't do it alone.

In all of these examples, these friends showed up for each other and invested time into the friendship. We have these examples of what friendship in action looks like.

There are other examples of friendship in Scripture, but these are the ones that really stuck with me. Friendship doesn't come without a cost, but it's a beautiful cost. We weren't made to do this life alone. We need each other.

Over the next few weeks, I will continue to explore this topic. I'll be pulling in some of the reading I've done around the topic and talking a bit more about some practical examples.

God's Peace When Life Isn't Peaceful

"You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast because he trusts in You. Trust in the Lord forever, for the LORD, the LORD is the Rock eternal." (Isaiah 26:3-4)

I've found myself turning to these verses regularly in the last while. A reminder that peace comes from God, and that it's not based on my circumstances.

As 2019 draws to a close and a new year begins, I know a number of people who are facing circumstances that feel anything but peaceful. And that is my own circumstances as well. 2019 was a hard year for lots of people - likely including many of you reading this, as it was for me.

As I write this, I'm looking at the chalkboard I have hanging by my chair - the one where the word God gave me for 2019 is written. The word written on that chalkboard:

PEACE

When I reflect on 2019, it doesn't seem like a year with much, if any, peace. At least when you look at the circumstances of 2019.

But, as I think more about it and as I've learned more about peace over the last 12 months, I've realized that peace isn't about my circumstances. It's not about what happens.

The peace that God has in mind when He gave me this word for 2019 and the peace talked about in Isaiah 26:3-4, isn't based on circumstances. It's a peace that comes in the middle of often challenging circumstances. It's a peace that comes when we choose to surrender and trust when things don't make any sense.

In Isaiah 9, we are told that Jesus would be called the Prince of Peace when He came. It sounds great and beautiful. And it's true - He is the Prince of Peace.

But, the circumstances Jesus was born into and lived in, were anything but peaceful. One only has to read Matthew 2 and the events around the wise men coming and their conversation with King Herod to know the violence and upheaval that was the time Jesus came to earth. The Prince of Peace wasn't born into a peaceful world.

And He didn't live and minister in a peaceful world either. The truth is, there are times when I look at the way Jesus spoke and ministered and it doesn't seem to jive with the idea of Him being the Prince of Peace.

But, that is why the peace God speaks of isn't based on circumstances or on things making sense to us. The peace God speaks of comes in the midst of trial, in the midst of pain, in the midst of confusion.

I'm not sure how to describe it exactly. Putting words to this part of what I've learned over 2019 is proving more difficult than I thought. But it's something that's different than what we usually think of as peace.

As 2019 comes to an end and I move into 2020, my prayer for all is that we would continue to experience God's peace and understand more of what it means. The Prince of Peace has come and He is with us, no matter what we're walking through. His peace is not dependent on our circumstances or on what our world tells us what it is. We do not walk alone. The Prince of Peace goes with us.

Getting Into the Pain & Brokenness of People

Everywhere you look in the gospels, Jesus is doing things that upset and angered the religious leaders of His day. He didn't do it just to make them mad. He was revealing the places where they were missing the point.

Somewhere along the way, the religious leaders had gotten more caught up in the rules about things rather than the heart of the reason why God had created that law in the first place. The is what Jesus pointed out in Luke 6:1-11. The religious leaders were more concerned about what Jesus' disciples were doing on the Sabbath than what God created the Sabbath for in the first place.

Just a little bit later, Jesus challenges the Pharisees on how they treat people. Luke 7:36-50 records an encounter with Jesus and a conversation with a Pharisee that I think we sanitize when we read it. We picture at least a somewhat presentable person coming into Simon's house and anointing Jesus with perfume, and weeping at his feet, drying them with her hair.

We understand it was a costly jar of perfume she used and we talk about the cost to her. We talk about Simon, the Pharisee, whose home Jesus was visiting when this occurred. All are good things to notice and learn from. But, I think in our version, we miss something important.

Jesus honours and values this woman, who was seen only as a sinner by society. Jesus saw who she really was and called it out in her.

When Luke writes that she was a woman who lived a sinful life, he's not talking about the sin that, although we know it's still sin, we have somehow deemed acceptable to struggle with. This woman was a prostitute. She lived a life that went completely and openly against God's laws. She would have been pushed to the outskirts of society - excluded and looked down on, often treated poorly.

Put yourself at the table for a minutes. You've been invited to have dinner with Jesus. Everyone at the table lives a good life. You all follow the rules and do everything you're supposed to. While you're eating dinner, someone comes into the home you're gathered in, uninvited.

For the sake of helping us understand this, this person is homeless - their hair is unwashed and messy, their clothes are dirty from sleeping outside in a tent for months, they're carrying all their personal belongings with them. Everyone at the dinner party knows who they are - they have a reputation in the community.

When this person enters the room, they offer Jesus their most prized possession and fall at His feet weeping. They've created quite the scene and everyone is watching Jesus to see how He responds.

What will Jesus do? Will He send the person away? Will He reprimand them? Will He try to ignore them?

But, as you all watch, Jesus reaches down and wraps His arms around the person. He embraces them and lifts them up. Instead of the disdain this person is used to experiencing, Jesus has love in His eyes and on His face as He looks at this person. Jesus seems not to notice or care about the appearance or reputation of the person.

Jesus begins to speak like - to point out the good in this person, to identify the beauty and image of God in this person that society doesn't see. Jesus doesn't condone the poor behaviour and choices that have led to this person's reputation, but neither does He talk only about it.

When I look at how Jesus treated the woman in Luke 7 and so may others in the gospels, I have to think that Jesus would have spent His time in the middle of the broken, hurting and lost people in our society. He wouldn't have been looking down on them trying to give them a negative label.

Think for a moment. When I started describing the person who came into you dinner party with Jesus, what words came to mind as how you labelled the person?

Junkie . . . Hopeless . . . Just an addict . . . Lost cause . . .Dregs of society

I hope not. I hope reading those words was as difficult for you as it was for me to write them.

I think I'm pretty safe to say those wouldn't be the words Jesus would use. Labels like that destroy people. They don't love them the way Jesus modeled for us.

What about the words . . . man/woman created in the image of God . . . loved by God . . . value . . . worth . . . I think these are what we need to see when we look at people like this person who intruded on our dinner party with Jesus.

Where would Jesus be in our society?

Jesus would be in the middle of the pain and brokenness. Yes, that includes the illness, death, family breakdown, job loss, etc of those of us who have homes and aren't looked down on by society. But, we can't keep operating like those are the only places Jesus would be.

Jesus would also be in the middle of the pain and brokenness of those who we generally see as outcasts in our society. Instead of judgement and anger and disdain, Jesus would be loving them and speaking life and identity to them. He would be inviting us to come alongside and love these people. He would have, and still does, expected His followers to be an active part of the solution.

If you're still with me, thanks. I hope I've challenged you. This been a challenging post to write and I've had to wrestle with what this looks like in my own life. I don't get it right all the time. But, I think we have to allow ourselves to be challenged by Scripture if we claim to follow Jesus.

Know & Rely on God's Love

What does it means to know God's love?

What does it look like to rely on God's love?

What is perfect love?

How does it drive out fear?

1 John 4:16-18 says:

"And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God and God in them. This is how love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgement: In this world we are like Jesus. There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love."

John writes a lot about God's love and how our love for others is a sign we're in Christ in 1 John. But, I think these verses are the culmination of all he is saying. Here, John writes about God's love for us in a way that emphasizes how great it is, and also shows us that love changes how we live.

We can know and rely on God's love. While we may never fully grasp the magnitude of God's love for us, we can at least begin to know it. Scripture is pretty clear in how it shows us God's love. As we seek to know it more, we will continue to grow in our understanding of it.

As we get to know God's love, we can also come to rely on it. God's love for us will always be there. We can count on it. It doesn't change or disappear. We can build our lives on the knowledge that God's love will always be there.

This knowledge and reliance changes how we live in the world. Because we're no longer caught up in a desperate search for love, we're actually able to live the world and the people in it like Jesus does. John calls it being like Jesus in the world.

If we look at the gospels to see what Jesus was like in the world, we see a great example of love. When we get to know and rely on God's love for us, we then able to love people like Jesus did - unconditionally, looking out for their best, and seeking nothing in return.

Verse 18 has always intrigued me, especially the first part where John says that fear and love cannot coexist. When I take the time to think about it, I realize it's very much true. When we come to the point of knowing and relying on God's love for us, fear vanishes from our lives. We've become secure in our position as God's children. We know our identity and we're living from that place. That leaves no room for us to live in fear.

John also connects fear with punishment here. When we're living in fear, we're living feeling like we're waiting for punishment for what we've done. We're wondering when we're going to cross the line and bring punishment on ourselves.

This fear of punishment is different than the discipline that comes from real love. Discipline is about getting us back on track and is always done out of real love. Punishment is about being made to pay a price for your ways. It doesn't come from a place of love that is like God's love.

God's perfect love for us removes our desperation is our search for love. As we come to know and learn to rely on it, it changes everything about how we live in and love the world around us. It enables us to be like Jesus in the world.

Our Call to Love Like Jesus Did

What does it look like to love like Jesus did when He walked on this earth?

How are we supposed to look at the people who also call the same place as us home who are very different from us? Even those whose lifestyle is one we may not agree with?

There have been some discussions happening in our society as a whole, and on a smaller scale in specific cities or neighbourhoods that have prompted me to wrestle with these questions again. In the last few weeks, I've been going back to the gospels to see how Jesus loved these people, to see what it should look like for me.

Before I write the rest of this, I want to be clear on one thing. While this post has been prompted by some recent happenings, this is not a political post, nor is it meant to become a forum for discussing the lifestyles of others that we may or may not agree with. I am not looking to discuss whether certain recent decisions are the correct ones. I will delete all comments that make this about that without notice, as that is missing my point completely.

As I looked at how Jesus loved in the gospels, I was struck by one thing specifically. He loved and treated people who were looked down on by Jewish society of His day in a way that was radical. He gave them a value and a place that they were not used to being in.

Here is just a quick run through of some of the interactions Jesus had with people who were looked down on in Jewish society:

• Jesus touched a man with leprosy when He healed the man. (Matthew 8:3)
• Jesus called a tax collector to be His disciple when He called Matthew. Tax collectors were looked down on by other Jews. (Matthew 9:9, Luke 5:27-31)
• Jesus healed blind men. (Matthew 9:27-29, 20:29-34)
• Jesus restored a demon-possessed man. (Mark 5:1-20)
• Jesus healed a women who had been bleeding for 12 years. He didn't condemn her when she touched His robe, although she would have been unclean at the time. (Mark 5:25-34)
• Jesus honoured the faith of an outsider and drove a demon out of her daughter. (Mark 7:24-30)
• Jesus brought a widow's son back to life. (Luke 7:12-15)
• Jesus honoured and welcomed a "sinful" women into His presence to anoint His feet. (Luke 7:36-50)
• Jesus healed 10 men with leprosy. (Luke 17:11-14)
• Jesus had a conversation with a Samaritan woman. (John 4:1-26)

In all of these accounts, Jesus had compassion on and loved these people. He took the time to value these people who had been rejected by their society, who had been made less than. Jesus lifted them back up to where they belonged.

If I look at Jesus' interactions with people who were looked down on by society, I'm challenged in how I treat people in my own world. I am challenged to be different from the society I live in. I'm challenged to love all people and to look at them through Jesus' eyes.

Rather than seeing only the lifestyle of people I come across, I choose to see the fact that they are people created in the image of God. We all are, regardless of what may be seen on the surface. And, because we're all created in the image of God, we're worthy of love and care.

I'm not advocating for no consequences or no boundaries in relationships. But. I am talking about choosing to speak the truth of the identity God gave people into their lives, rather than putting them down for what is obvious.

I guess, as I've wrestled with these questions the last few weeks, I've come back to one thing that I think is the starting place for where we begin to love like Jesus did when He was on earth. It starts with how we talk about and to people who have lifestyles we don't agree with. Our language matters. When we speak about the identity God has given people, we give them something to live up to. When we speak about the things we see about people, in sometimes derogatory terms, we give them nothing to live up to and we do everything but love them.

I know how easy it is to just use the common terms for different groups of people when referring to them, but, I do believe that, as Christians, we need to choose differently. We need to choose our language carefully, and choose to use words that speak life and truth and identity to even the hardest of those to love in our society.

Lift Your Eyes

We all go through trials in life - times we wish we could avoid or escape from. But, we're told in Scripture to persevere in them and through them. We all see examples in Scripture of people who did exactly that.

James 1:12 says:

"Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love Him."

This is the reason why we endure in trial. We are looking forward to something that is coming. That is where our focus needs to be.

Remembering this lifts our eyes. When things get hard, our eyes often drop. We begin looking down - focusing on ourselves and our circumstances. This focus means everything gets overwhelming and we want o give up more than we want to persevere.

But, when we remember the crown of life promised by God, it lifts our eyes. Our circumstances don't change, but what we're looking at does. When we remember this, our eyes are lifted up and we see Jesus walking with us through our circumstances. This makes it possible to persevere - because we're seeing something beyond the current.

Fix Your Thoughts

"Because He himself suffered when He was tempted, He is able to help those who are being tempted." (Hebrews 2:18)

I think we would all say we're familiar with what it's like to be tempted. We all struggle with it.

That makes this verse from Hebrews more of an encouragement and comfort for us. Jesus understands when we come to Him, because He's experienced it. He never gave into the temptation, but He knows what it's like to face it.

Sometimes I think the chapter divisions in our Bibles can cause us to miss some important thinks. And I feel like this is one of those times. I know I've missed it until recently.

Hebrews 3:1 gives us a clear way that we can find this help in our temptation:
"Therefore, holy brothers and sisters, who share in the heavenly calling, fix your thoughts on Jesus, whom we acknowledge as our apostle and high priest."

When we're fixing our thoughts on Jesus, temptations lose their allure. They no longer have the same pull on us. We can't focus on them and on Jesus at the same time. It's just not possible.

So, how do we fix our thoughts on Jesus?

It's easy to say as the solution, but we need to know what it actually looks like. Without the practical side, it can be easy to just end up defeated again.

So, what does it look like to practically fix our thoughts on Jesus?

In the moment, it may begin with calling out the name of Jesus. When the temptation feels strong, simply saying His Name changes things. It moves our eyes and our thoughts to a new place.

We can also choose to play worship music to change our focus in the moment when we're struggling.

I think it also means being proactive. Paying attention to the choices you're making. Making choices that are pleasing to God.

None of this means, we'll never struggle again. That would be nice, but it's not the reality we live with. We will continue to battle temptation as long as we walk on earth. We continue to make the choice to fix our thoughts on Jesus - on a moment by moment, daily basis.

His Presence Changes All

"Rejoice all, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God's will in Christ Jesus." (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18)


Rejoice always.

Pray continually.

Give thanks.


Six words. Three things to do that sound simple. But Paul puts them in this letter because they're not what we naturally do most of the time.

When life isn't going as we want, rejoicing seems impossible. It's the furthest thing from our minds. Our circumstances may even seem to be preventing us from rejoicing.

For most of us, much of the time prayer seems like a pretty daunting task. Praying continually also seems impossible. We don't even know what we would talk to God about that much.

Giving thanks. . . and Paul adds, in all circumstances. Sometimes our circumstances are far from anything we want to even try to be thankful in.

If it's so hard to do these things in our normal, every day life, then what are we to do about these words in Scripture? How do we live this?

As I've thought about this lately, I've been drawn back to Philippians 4:4-7 where Paul writes similar words:

"Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, 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 minds in Christ Jesus." (Philippians 4:4-7)

In these verses in Philippians, Paul says very similar words to what he has written in 1 Thessalonians. Paul says to rejoice always, and he encourages taking everything to God in prayer, and says to do so with thanksgiving.

I think there's one more thing Paul says clearly in Philippians that speaks to this:

The Lord is near.

These four words in the middle of these verses, I think shed light on how to live what Paul has written about in both Philippians 4:4-7 and 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18.

We can rejoice always because the Lord is near. No matter our circumstances, we can rejoice that we're not alone in them. God is right there with us.

We can pray continually because the Lord is near. We don't have to do anything special to get His attention or time first. We can just talk to Him as we go through our day.

We can give thanks in all circumstances because the Lord is near. We may not be thankful for the specific circumstances we find ourselves in, but we can be thankful for God's presence with us in them.

It't God's presence that changes it all. And it's our awareness of His presence with us that causes us to rejoice always, pray continually, and give thanks in all circumstances. As we do these things intentionally, our awareness of God's presence with us grows.

A Baby Who Changed the World

As Christmas approaches, I keep being drawn back to a post I wrote in 2014. As I've thought about what I might write to share here as I look towards Christmas, I've realized that those words from then are where my heart is at again this year. Rather than write something new, I'm choosing to share those words from four years ago again.

My prayer is they make you think, reflect, wonder at Christmas this year...

_______________________________

As I have been reflecting on the Christmas story this year, I've been struck by how life changing the birth of this one baby was for all people - the night it happened and for all eternity.

One baby changed the world forever. 

Nothing has been the same since that night.

We often talk about how a baby changes everything for the family that baby is born into.

 None brought so much change as Jesus when He was born.

God come to earth.

Immanuel.

God with us.

The One whose life, death, and resurrection would make a way for mankind to once again have direct access to God.

The ultimate expression of sacrificial love. Of humble service.

I wonder if Mary and Joseph, if the shepherds, if the Magi, really understood the significance of that night. They knew what the angels had told them about this baby, but did they really get it? 

A couple thousand years later, do we really get it? Will we ever really get it?

The birth of a baby, named Jesus. 

A baby Who would change everything through His life and death.

The promised Messiah. The One prophesied about.

The One missed by so many when He came because of the way He came.

The One missed by so many while He walked on earth because He came to serve, not to exert His power.

The One missed by so many because He dies a criminal's death to become the greatest sacrifice and defeat sin and death for good.

The One still missed by many today.

But for those who stop to notice . . .

for those who are searching for something more . . .

for those who are willing to be humble and serve . . .

the chance to meat the One Who changes everything.

The One Who offers hope.

The One Who offers forgiveness and a second chance.

The One Who offers unconditional love.

The One Who never fails.

It was one night . . . 

in a stable . . .

in a small town . . .

with two poor parents . . .

surrounded by animals . . .

where the world changed forever.

God put His plan in motion to redeem a fallen world,

to restore a broken relationship with His people.

A plan still in motion today.

A plan that still offers hope today.

A birth.

A baby.

A life lived.

A death.

And the greatest of all - a victory over death, a resurrection.

All because of God's vast, unmeasurable, unchanging, unfailing love for each of us.

That makes it something worth celebrating!

Looking Close

Last week, I shared a post about looking for God in the midst of the hard times. I kind of wish I could write in this post, that I'm past the place I was when I wrote that post, but that's not true. I'm still in the middle of the time. And I'm being challenged with what I wrote.

Am I seeing the beauty of God in the midst of something that's still unresolved?

It's a lot harder than I wish it was. I wish it was something that begins to come naturally when we decide we're going to. But, it's not. It's still something we have to do every moment as we walk through the hard times.

Last night at a Bible study I'm part of we were talking about John 15 where Jesus says He is the true vine and we are the branches. In John 15:2, Jesus talks about us being pruned so that we can be even more fruitful. In the teaching last night, Lysa TerKeurst (the author of the study we've been doing, Finding I Am), talked about how a grape vine is pruned.

The prune a grape vine, the gardener has to get really close to the branch being pruned. It's not something done from a distance. It's something close and intimate.

As I've thought about it more, I've come to the conclusion that we often miss God in the midst of the hard times, because we're looking too far away for where He is. He's close in those hard times. And if we're looking in the distance, we miss Him, because we look right past where He is.

And so I'm learning in the midst of my own hard time to look closer when I look for God. To stop looking for Him in the distance and realize He's right there with me in the midst of it.