Dead Weight

Last weekend, I had a cross-country flight with a layover in Dallas. Wanting to make the most of my time, I tucked in my laptop to use in the airports. I had just arrived at my departure gate at SEATAC. I pulled out my computer, plugged it in, and hit the power button. Knowing boot up takes a little time, I didn’t pay much attention to what was happening. After more time that seemed usual had lapsed, I studied the screen. It appeared to have a hint of a glow, but no image. I pushed all the keys that might trigger some action. No luck. So I did the universal action. Turn off and try again. After several cycles, I realized, my computer was not going to wake up this day.

I thought to myself, what luck, I get to carry a nonfunctioning computer about 5,000 miles and get absolutely no productivity!  Then I began to wonder what I might lose in files that weren’t backed up. I hoped nothing too important, but how would I ever know? I tried to think of what might have caused the failure or how to get around the boot up problem.

I didn’t lose a lot of sleep or waste too much mental energy, but everywhere I went, I was carrying around dead weight, literally. Everyone else’s working laptop reminded me that mine was not. I honestly thought about ditching it somewhere. Why bother to carry this beast when there is no hope it will work? Every curb was taller. Every overhead bin was higher. Every move was a reminder of my pointless exertion.

Environmentally, I couldn’t bring myself to dump my old laptop in an airport trash can. I thought it would not be a popular move with the TSA. I also had a fleeting hope that one of my technology connections might be able to do CPR (computer program recovery) and restore some function to the machine. So, I packed it, carried it, and resented it for 5,000 miles.

I got to thinking, “What else am I carrying around that is not working?” If I carry a grudge, it consumes my energy, but the person I despise is likely oblivious of my feelings. If I carry regret, it only leaves me in the past and offers no hope for the future. If I carry secrets, I have to work overtime to keep them sealed and waste energy worrying about them getting out.

When we dump the negative stuff out of our lives, we not only free up our minds, we clean up the environment. I’ll try to reboot my computer, but I want to boot the other garbage out of my life for good.

Unauthorized Charger

I was recently traveling and did not have my phone charger with me. Since it has a USB connection, which I have used before to charge it, I decided to plug it into my computer. The display read, “Unauthorized Charger”. I ignored the warning and left the phone plugged in over night. In the morning the battery indicator had not moved.

I nursed my phone through the trip, but when I saw a charging station provided by my carrier in the airport, I felt the smart thing to do would be to beef up the battery for the trip home. I plugged in the adapter cord, again…“Unauthorized Charger”. Even though I was sure it would work, nothing I did could convince my phone otherwise. Some little electronic part was desperately defending its territory.

This got me to thinking, what if we had such a discerning component in our brain? Wouldn’t you love it if any time someone was misleading your child, a warning light would go off, “Unauthorized Source” and their minds would close to the misinformation and protect their innocence?

We do have the ability, but it must be developed. It doesn’t work automatically. We need to cultivate minds that engage information as it is coming in. Just because something is in the newspaper or on the internet or is popular does not make it true! Following Jesus does not require us to disengage our brains nor to block undesirable messages. When our minds are renewed, we are able to filter information, keeping the truth and dismissing the lies.

Many sources speak words about faith, but Jesus speaks true words of faith! Make sure you use the Authorized Source! His desire is not to limit us. He wants to protect us.

Stopping for Charlie and Braden

Some events call you to stop. They are just so powerful and emotional, you need to stop everything and try to process the news. Such an event happened yesterday in the quiet community of Graham, WA. Charles and Braden Powell, 7 and 5, were dropped off at their father’s home for a court approved supervised visit. The unsuspecting social worker walked into an ambush. The father grabbed the children and locked the social worker out of the house. He then took their lives and his own.

Society owes such a deep apology to Charles and Braden. For two years, we have left them exposed to a toxic situation. We either failed in our response to the warning signs or were totally duped by their father. Our systems, though filled with good people, are impotent when faced with such evil intentions. On Wednesday, the system authorized a supervised visit. Four days later, their father did the unthinkable.

We cannot become fatalistic. We cannot not shirk from a commitment to protect those who are at risk of being injured or killed by violent persons who are often family or friends. We have people who are active in promoting laws and organizations that will help to accomplish this. But we cannot rely on a ‘system’ to provide the solution. We must take a personal stand against abuse in any form: verbal, emotional, or physical. We must commit to being people who care for and nurture those around us. We must not hope that someone else will do the job. The solution may be ‘out there’, but it begins in each one of us.

If this event doesn’t make us stop and take note, how do we hope to stop it from happening again?

(AP Photo Courtesy of Chuck and Judy Cox)

Fear…NOT

“We have to create among these legislators a belief that they will lose their jobs if they vote to redefine this law,” said Joseph Backholm, of Washington Family Policy Institute, a member of the coalition. “We have to convince them to be more afraid of us than of the other side.”

This quote comes from The Seattle Times in an article about pending legislation before the Washington State Legislature. An emotionally loaded issue has both sides drawing hard battle lines. However, the legislative issue is less significant than a deeper issue this attitude raises.

St. John the Apostle wrote the words, “Perfect love drives out fear.” To make an individual or some group act out of fear is out of character for Christianity. If our beliefs and values are not able to stand on their own merits, then fear will not make them more valuable or more true. Our responsibility is to present the truth in love; not to coerce someone into believing it.

Someone once said that things are not true because they are in the Bible. They are in the Bible because they are true. The religious rulers were afraid of Jesus, not because of the influence of his power, but because of the power of his truth. Fear is not one of the tools given to followers of Jesus to make their case. Truth graciously told and service humbly offered are the kind of forces Jesus entrusted to his followers. Whichever side of an emotional issue we side with, fear is never the avenue of influence we should follow.

When we try to win cultural battles through political influence, we may make ‘them’ more afraid of us than the other side, but that won’t help them to see the merits of our argument. We might win a battle with fear, but we will likely lose the war.

An Avenue of Hope

I recently had the opportunity to take a group of our preteens to the REAL. LIFE. Exhibit inRedmond,WA. I scheduled the tour about a month ago and as the date moved closer, I could feel my anticipation for the group heighten. I was excited for them to see and feel what it’s like to live in other countries – in poverty. I prayed that they we would have good discussion following our tour and that they would walk away with grateful hearts and a willingness to help others in need. My intent was to begin to develop compassion in our youth.

 What I didn’t expect was for my own heart to be so moved and touched. The tour is not fancy, it’s not “explosive” and there isn’t a lot of hype. And yet, the simplicity of it seemed perfect. As I walked through each area, I read about many people that are suffering from AIDS, poverty, disaster, abandonment, abduction. The exhibit allowed me to literally walk into their lives with the multi sensory exhibit.

I have images in my mind of real children whose stories are almost unbelievable and stories I’m not likely to forget. The Bible teaches us to serve the poor, to have a grateful heart, to live our lives with compassion for others. I know this and yet, until last weekend, I didn’t truly feel it deep within my heart and my soul. The experience was life changing and I realized that I took a lot for granted.

I walked away from the tour with a different perspective. The “other world” out there doesn’t seem so far away and so far from my touch. I used to see things on the news, feel sad, say a prayer, but then move on with my day. I haven’t been able to move on after my visit. I’m inspired to take action.

My son, who went with me, began to explain to our 8 year old how such a small amount of money can go such a long way. We’ve hung the 2 week challenge on our pantry door and we’ve taken up the challenge each day. My daughter is excited to put together Hope Kits for the mobile dental vans. Together, as a family, we’re bringing hope and a future to those in need. We’ve realized that one person truly can make a difference and that you don’t have to be rich to help.

I may never stop hearing the baby’s cry from the burn unit in Moldovan or the 8 year old’s face from the Ugandan camp who had been abducted by a terrorist group. But rather than it just bringing tears to my eyes, it has touched my soul and moved me to make a difference.

Thank you, Medical Teams International, for all that you do to serve Christ and His Kingdom!

Where is La Nina?

For months, the prediction for the Northwest winter of 2011-2012 has been for a La Nina affect. For us in Seattle, that means a colder and wetter than normal year. For weeks, folks in Seattle have been scoffing at the predictions. They point to the fact that December 2011 was one of the driest on record. We experienced several days in the 50’s (tropical for us). What do those meteorologists know?

Today, as I look out my window, a light dusting of snow remains from this weekend’s weather. Tiny wispy flakes are gently floating in the air. The temperature is hovering around 30 degrees and the forecast ranges from 2 to 12 inches of snow in the next three days. I have not heard anyone ask, “Where is La Nina?” for about a week.

Does this parallel your faith journey? We read the claims that God is all powerful and everywhere present. Jesus even said, Not a hair will fall from your head without God taking notice. But we look at our life and say, God may not have missed a hair, but he seems to have missed a relationship or a job or my health… What does God care about my life? Where is he in this mess?

You can’t judge a Seattle winter by the month of December. Winter is not done yet. You can’t make the final evaluation on your circumstances until they have run their course. You can’t judge a life before it is over. We are just as likely to be overly optimistic as we are overly pessimistic. The Bible is a book that reminds us over and over that God is at work, unseen by the human eye, but not unconcerned about the human condition. He is not bound by our clocks and calendars, or by our expectations. We see his hand most clearly in retrospect, but his record assures us we can trust him for the future.

 Where is La Nina? She is still in God’s hands…right next to you and me.

Grace is Amazing

On January 1, 2012, approximately 40,000 new laws took affect in the United States. Will these 40,000 new laws finally bring all of the citizens under control and into compliance? It is more likely there will be 40,000 more new laws next year than this year’s new laws will fix anything. 

A person could keep perfectly every single law and still not be perfect. A law can make us behave differently, but it cannot make us a different person.

The reality is that no single law or set of laws can ‘fix’ anyone. The law will always be an external constraint on an internal problem. The problem is not that we don’t have enough laws. The problem is that in the final analysis, we are all self centered. 

Laws can’t change that, but God can. The Bible tells us that God is in the business of transforming hearts and minds – the inside stuff. God does it not by law, but by grace.

When the Apostle Paul lists the fruit of the Spirit (Love, joy, peace, etc. Galatians 5:22-23), he concludes by saying, “Against such things there is no law.” He would have also been correct in saying, “For such there is no law.” New Year’s resolutions to do things differently are not bad, simply inadequate. We can’t make ourselves perfect through better behavior. It takes transformed hearts.

My New Year’s prayer is not for one more law or resolution but a measure of grace so great that another law becomes unnecessary. That would be amazing grace…

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 Photo source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Uscatitle11.jpg

A Yearning

I remember someone asking me a few years back if it would have helped to have known as a child that I could crawl up into Jesus’ lap when I needed comfort. It brought me to tears and still does today as I think about that question. And yet, the tears are not for me. My heart aches as I see children being rushed from one activity to another, having dinner tossed at them in the minivan, throwing them in front of video games so that we can get through our to do lists. I ask myself what our children would like most? I wonder if the answer would be to just crawl up into Mom or Dad’s lap for just a little while?

I’ve had the opportunity to spend time with several teenagers over the past few weeks and when I asked them what they would change about their families, most of them said they wished their parents would spend more time with them. I recently read a letter that a 23 year old young man wrote to his mother. He talked about missing times when they would swing in the back yard or snuggle on the couch. He also talked about how, throughout his years of growing up, the hugs were replaced by things. They were replaced by a bigger home, more toys, increased social status. His letter read, “I can’t eat money. I can’t hug money. I can’t truly love a house. I can’t hug a nice part of town. I can’t cuddle up and watch a movie with my stuff.”  Deep within his heart he yearned for something that doesn’t cost money – he yearned for love.

It’s strange how we have become so busy that just saying “no” to doing more is what seems odd and out of place. Slowing down becomes stressful. We question whether or not our children should play certain sports, join another club, play an instrument, or risk being left out. And yet, the yearning within our children’s hearts is not to have more friends and more activities, but to feel important, to feel loved and to be heard.

As I often crawl up into Jesus’ lap even as an adult, I pray that my children will know to do the same throughout their lives. And I pray that He will help me to remember to take the time to offer my own lap to my children. I hope you will do the same as we begin a new chapter in a New Year. 

Breaking Traditions

Saturday night we broke with our Christmas tradition and opened presents a day early. The reason for the change was trying to coordinate seven schedules. Since there are only four in our family, you might rightly surmise that we had company. Besides the tradition of having my mom, we also had two special lady friends, the guests of our boys. Breaking some Christmas traditions leaves one feeling like things are not right, but that was not the case for our celebration. 

We sat in our usual circle, with new seats for our guests. We carefully reviewed the rules – each person opens one present while everyone else watches and then we move on to the next person. This process continues until everyone has opened all their presents. 

The presents were a wonderful mix from history to technology; everything from a patchwork quilt pieced by my grandmother and quilted by my father (both in heaven now) to a blue ray disc player. We had store bought treasures from practical dishes to fashionable clothing. We had heart made gifts like soap, pictures, and homemade sauces. Oh, yes, we had some of that all encompassing gift – cash. 

Despite all the love and thought that went into the presents and their wrapping, I found the greatest joy in two other gifts I received that night. One was a number of personal notes tucked into packages and cards: Notes with words like proud, thankful, and love. They were priceless. They went straight to the heart. The other was new people in our circle. I experienced the multiplication of our joy as new hearts and smiles joined our circle. As we shared laughter and tears, our hearts were filled to over flowing. The presents were the conduit through which new relationships were made richer and deeper. 

If I thought it could match the added joy we experienced opening presents one day early, I’d be in favor of opening presents in July! For now I’ll treasure the memories and remember a circle of love need not be restricted to a Christmas tradition.

Photo by Jonathan Assink

Christmas Presents

A wonderful story is filling the news this week. ‘Angels’ are going around to local department stores and paying lay-away bills for families that otherwise might lose cherished gifts they were anticipating for the Christmas season. Choosing to remain anonymous, these angels simply pay off all or most of the remaining debt and then move on. 

As wonderful as this gesture is, it still pales in comparison to the first Christmas gift. God sent his Son, not only to ‘pay our bills’, he also came and walked with us. This year’s Christmas angels are giving generous gifts that are touching many lives. However, they are only sharing their material resources with others. 

When God came to us as a baby in a manger, he took on the very life that was so messed up. He did not remain anonymous or removed. He left all of his comfort to experience all of our misery. He gave us his name and ate our food. He experienced the ache of grief, the sting of prejudice, and the pain of rejection caused by pride and selfishness. He met pious, religious leaders who were out for personal recognition and financial gain. He did not hand out relief that cost little of what he had; he lived hope and gave his life to reconcile us to Himself. 

As you think about acts of love and kindness that can impact and transform other lives, think about how you can go beyond a material gift and give of yourself. Give people your name, your compassion, and your heart. After all, Christmas really is all about Presence.