Front Porch Living

It’s been a crazy few weeks in our home.  We’ve moved from the apartment we lived in for the last 20 months to a house.  This is the 9^th home we’ve lived in our 17-year marriage (our daughters have lived in 8 of those 9 houses with us) and it is a constant reminder that all this stuff we accumulate is really not that important! I think God also keeps us on the move so that we don’t get to comfortable in one place…or that we have to live in a specific situation to be content.  We’ve gone from small to big and big to small and repeated the cycle again.  I think it is God’s constant reminder that our home is not a physical space or an achievement to be had, but a place that He gives us to grow together as a family.

There are also times in all families where a bit of unexpectedness hits you and it causes you to reflect.  Today for me it was another follow-up test from an abnormal mammogram.  I’ve had several of these done throughout the years, and results have always come back negative.  But, because I am a woman, it usually results in me spending a couple of weeks reflecting on “what ifs.”  What has amazed me about this experience, at this phase of my life, is the expectancy it brings.  Rather than dreading or fearing the results, I see it as an opportunity for God to use me to impact the lives of others I might come in contact with during the journey.

It also reminds me of how I take those opportunities for granted in my everyday life.  I know that every person I encounter is a God-given opportunity to impact a life.  How I use that opportunity is up to me.  I can step out of my comfort zone and seek to share what God lays on my heart for them, or I can stay in my comfort zone and miss out on the chance for both of us to grow to know Him in a deeper way.

I’m not sure the steps that God has ahead of me in the days that follow, but I definitely have a new perspective on how He wants to use me to glorify and grow His Kingdom on this earth.

I love a few quotes that @bobgoff posted to his Twitter this week:

“Every time I let fear call the shots about my day I deny that I know Jesus. Fear not.”

“…but Peter followed Him from a distance. Too often, me too”

But Sunday’s coming….and for me, next week,… so is the Orange Conference.  One of my favorite weeks of the year!! I can’t wait to see what God has in store for my life this year!

Even my husband has been on me about how long it has been since I blogged! It has been so wonderful to have family visiting for the last six weeks, but I realize that I have failed to keep up with the journal of my life.

The girls and I had a wonderful time at the Revolve Conference with their friends and moms! I promise to write more about it soon.  One of the favorite songs that gets played over and over again in the car these days is Britt Nicole’s “Have Your Way.”

As we were heading up this evening, I heard a quote from Spiderman that reminded me of this song….

Sometimes…to do what’s right, we have to be steady and give up the thing we want the most. Even our dreams.

More to come…but in the meantime, here is a really great song!

It never ceases to amaze me at how my life can seem to fill itself up with busyness even when I am not trying. Even the to do list of a stay at home mom can become long and full and taking a break for a simple pleasure like blogging is not always easy. But I realize how much writing refreshes me and that I need to do it more often…at least until something (or someone) calls me away.

My most recent read is a book called The Missional Mom (thanks to Ron Edmondson who shared it on his blog). It is a refreshing look at the job of being a Christian Mom, a big part of my job description these days. In its early chapters, author Helen Lee emphasizes the responsibility that each of us have to share the love of Christ with others. In short, all Christians are missionaries in the world and are called to share Christ with others at work, school and in the world. So basically, my job as a mom in a household of Christians is to care for “my missionaries.” I love what Helen Lee says about the job of a mom in caring for her “missional outpost.”

Seeing the home as the family’s mission base also gives mothers a better perspective on the activities and tasks that go on inside their homes. Each household activity can serve as an important channel for fulfilling the mission God has given us. Even the most mundane task – changing a diaper, doing laundry, cleaning a bathroom – can be seen as having eternal value. Any activity that contributes to the larger misson of supporting the “missionaries” in your family can be a sacred act as you undertake the activity with God to advance your family’s God-given mission. When motherhood becomes more missional, we see much more clearly how our activities play a part in God’s redemptive work in our fallen world. (Page 27)

The Missional Mom is a very insightful and challenging book! I recommend it as a great read for all Christians regardless of whether you are a mom or not.

Over the last several weeks I’ve been working on two books:  The Grace of God by Andy Stanley and The Prodigal God by Tim Keller.

The Prodigal God is Keller’s analysis of the story of the Good Samaritan as told in Luke 15.  He gives us some in-depth thinking on the intentions of Jesus as he was telling the parable of the Good Samaritan.  The younger brother represents those who are sinners in the world – those who know they are sinners and freely admit it.  He also compares the role of the older brother to the Pharisees in Jesus’ time.  Those who hold themselves to be morally above the “sinner” (younger brother figure), who, whether they realize it or not, think they don’t need a savior because they are good enough on their own.  Their moral and upright living has earned them the right to have “favored status” with God.

In Chapter 9 of The Grace of God, Andy Stanley shares a similar comparison in the story of Matthew.  Matthew, at least in the eyes of the other disciples, did not deserve to be used by God in the same manner as one who had lived a moral and upstanding life.  One who had been faithful to his Jewish heritage and the Law.  Yet Matthew, as he writes his gospel, from the very first chapter, is eager to call attention to the fact God uses a lot of “sinners” to fulfill his master plan. (Judah, Tamar, David, Bathseba, Rahab, etc) And He changes their lives along the way!

As one who was raised in the church from birth, I have seen both sides of this picture and many times struggle regarding what side I am on… am I the older brother or the younger brother…the “self-righteous or the self –exiled?”

Andy Stanley closes Chapter 9 of the Grace of God with these few paragraphs:

The tension between the self-righteous and the self-exiled did not end with the coming of Jesus.  It is a tension that exists to this very day.  So maybe this would be a good time to stop and ask yourself, “To which side of the aisle do I lean?” If you had been invited to Matthew’s party [with "sinners"], would you have been conflicted? Would your first inclination be to stand on the outside and wonder? Would you wonder why Jesus would fellowship with sinners before confronting their sin? Would you be concerned that by not addressing their sin Jesus was in some way condoning it?

Or would you lean the other way? Are there things about your current lifestyle or perhaps your past that would give you pause before walking into the presence of Jesus? Would a cloud of shame form overhead?  Would you be tempted to stand outside in the hopes of catching a glimpse while avoiding eye contact?  After all, you know who you are and who you pretend to be.  To bring all of that into the presence of pure righteousness? You would be crazy not to pause. Or would you?

Chances are, there’s a bit of both in all of us.  We are judgmental of certain types of people or behaviors and then we can turn around and put ourselves in time out – self-inflicted exile from the presence of God.  But in either case we step onto the well-worn path of graceless religion.  Either way you choose you find yourself further from the grace of God.  After all, the flip side of “I’m not worthy” is “But with enough time and effort I could be.”

Here’s what I think Matthew would tell us after watching Jesus:  there’s a third way.  The way of grace.  The way of grace is offered; it is not earned.  It is offered to all people, regardless of who they are.  So when you catch yourself bouncing back and forth between judging others and condemning yourself, pause.

Pause and remember: you can’t be good enough; you don’t even have to be.  That is the way of grace.

– Andy Stanley, The Grace of God, pp. 142-143

This is a great sermon from our friend (and former pastor) Steve Lucas. It was a great listen on my walk this morning. It also brought to mind a question asked by another one of our pastor friends, Dan Gould:

QUESTION: When was the last time you were saddened because your sin pained the Holy Spirit? Check it Eph 4:30

Good and convicting stuff to start my day!

Yesterday I preached at the Pura Vida Baptist Church in Atenas. It's an English-speaking church, and their pastor has been having some health problems, so they asked me to fill in for a few weeks. After some prayer, I decided to share a message I wrote 5 years ago called "Getting Beyond Guilt" for the New Year's Day service at Grace Community Church in Plano. The message comes from Psalm 51, which records David's lament after his sin with Bathshe … Read More

via Yesterday Lucas

An excerpt from a really great blog is below.  I posted it here as a constant reminder to myself that everyone in my life is human.  We are not perfect and we all need grace….

We have a tendency to throw people away because they do or say or write one thing we don’t like.

One thing. A moment. A blog post. A book. A sermon. A prison stint. A bad habit. Or even something they didn’t do but we think they should have in a Monday morning quarterback kind of way.

Gone. That person is trash. I’m going to trash that person. For life. And hate them. For ever. I’m on Team Hate That Person for the rest of eternity.

You can read the rest of the blog at: http://www.potsc.com/identity/stop-throwing-people-away/

Grace.

Its what I crave most when my guilt is exposed.

The very thing I’m hesitant to extend when I’m confronted with the guilt of others — especially when their guilt has robbed me of something I consider valuable.

– Andy Stanley, The Grace of God

Mercy and forgiveness must be free and unmerited to the wrongdoer. If the wrongdoer has to do something to merit it, then it isn’t mercy, but forgiveness always comes at a cost to the one granting the forgiveness.

– Timothy Keller, The Prodigal God

You have never locked eyes with someone who doesn’t matter to God.

Thank you, Katie Sayer (@appreciatehope)…for teaching me the importance of loving EVERYONE that God puts in my life. Just like HE does!

When I look at my children, I never think about their past. Only their potential.

Thank you, @andystanley…as we face our first semester of high school exams, you remind me that I may see THEIR potential more than they do.  Praying for the words that will inspire them to be the best they can be!

We live in a world where what we want is only what we want until it’s ours.

Thank you, @mamanellie… for reminding me that the important things in life are not material possessions, rather how we use our resources to help those who are deep in the heart of God.

Nothing in your life is arbitrary. It’s all for a purpose

Thank you, @dchrzan… for reminding me that everything that happens in my life is something God wants to use to bring me closer to him.

The more I know MY OWN sinfulness, the less inclined I am to disparage OTHERS” He who’s been forgiven much loves much”Lk7:47

Thank you, @rickwarren…so very, very true.

I’ve spent too much time wanting what was taken from me to appreciate what I was given.

Prince Caspian, Chronicles of Narnia, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader

The holidays for most of us have become a time of reflection.  We look back on our lives and remember (usually with fondness) the earlier years.  Those memories, more often than not, are filled with people rather than things.  And as those we love move on from our lives, it is often the holidays, year after year, that brings those memories rushing back.

This year I have watched the Christmas memories flow on Facebook.  Friends have reflected on the loss of a family member, or missing friends and familiar traditions because of a move or relocation.  Even our own family members who, with both with joy and sorrow, returned foster children to their mother after caring for them for several years.

The pain of letting go of loved ones God has given us and taken away can, at times, seem all-consuming in our lives.

As Prince Caspian reaches the end of his journey in the movie, it has been a long quest in search of his father, who he believes may still be alive.  His life has become so obsessed with finding out what has happened to him that he considers ending his own life if it will give him the answer.  It is at this point where he realizes that his obsession with finding (and making peace with) his father has overtaken his life focus.  As a result, he is missing the opportunities that he has been given.  As the new King of Narnia, he now has the opportunity to make a difference as a leader of the kingdom, however he must first move past the loss that is consuming his life.

But real-life transitions are not as easy as quoting a great movie line.  They take time and work, but hopefully result in life change and growth.

In his book Gracenomics: Unleashing the Power of Second Chance Living, Mike Foster talks about the challenges of moving forward after a traumatic, life changing event.  In Chapter 2 of this book he talks about the recovery process and the importance of remembering and encouraging others in their strength.

Experts claim that it is possible for a tragic event to strike us over and over again over the course of our lives. Meaning that tragedy impacts us once [at the moment when it happens] and again each time we stew on it, analyze it, or talk about it with others.  Giving so much air time to our worst moments can actually impede the healing process.

Foster continues on to cite studies that illustrate: “it is not compassion that inspired them to recover, but rather being told they were strong.”

If we are honest with ourselves, we would see the ongoing injustice and oppression doesn’t lie within the event, but in the belief that we are powerless to move on.

Good and challenging stuff.

Challenging in the sense that I believe that moving on is exactly what God wants us to do.  It may not be easy, but it is an incredible opportunity for us to grow to a new dependence on Him.  If we can bring ourselves to see that in “taking from us,” He is actually trying to give us so much more.  If we will only allow ourselves to look around and appreciate what we’ve been given.

We saw the new Chronicles of Narnia movie over the holidays.  It is a great movie (as they all have been, so much symbolism!).  But one quote really hit me at the end of the movie.

I won’t tell you how it fits into the story, only that the quote is from Prince Caspian.  I’m capturing it here so I won’t forget it, with the hopes that I’ll take time to later to flesh out its meaning to me.

I’ve spent too much time wanting what was taken from me to appreciate what I was given.

– Prince Caspian, Chronicles of Narnia, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader