Life is What Happens...

We are standing on a road,
on a road to nowhere
There's a place for all of this
They don't care
We don't care
You can't break us down*

they say that life is what happens when your making other plans. i say life is what happens when other plans make you. In this past two weeks we've seen 22,000 die in Mayanmar after a deadly cyclone, 12,000 are now dead after a massive earthquake rocked China and 30+ died after a series of twisters hit areas throughout the midwest. Add to that the chaos of life that ensued after I learned that my very own mom would need an entire hysterectomy to remove a mass the size of a baseball that had been discovered in or around her ovaries. My grandmother, whom died 5 years before I was born, passed away from Ovarian cancer, on May 8th, 1969. My mom was scheduled for surgery on May 8th, 2008.

After surgery, Doctor Hopkins met with me and one of my sisters and some pastor friends of the family. He disclosed that they had removed the tumor - but that it was throughout her fallopian tubes. It was a very rare form of cancer... some 3.6 out of 1 million woman have been diagnosed with fallopian tubal cancer. It is believed that this kind of cancer is genetically linked to those who had a parent with ovarian cancer. Thankfully, there was no cancer in the surrounding tissue, which is good, but she will need to undergo chemotherapy. My mom's cancer is stage one.

This all came as quite a shock. I was prepared for the surgery and the things that come with that - but i had not begun to think about the possibility of cancer. And so other plans have now made us... much like the many others throughout the world today who have been stuck with disaster... big and small.

And yet i can't stop thinking about what good friend and pastor Carl Kandel said to me as he left the waiting room last Thursday... "God's going to reveal himself in a big way. You watch and see."

that is hard to think about when we realize how much our 'plans' for this summer may change as a result of my mom's treatments. The selfish person inside of me can't help but think how my life will be changed... what about my mothers? our realm of perspective is narrow when disaster strikes. I am having trouble seeing the big picture. I see the thread - but he shows the tapestry... "God's going to reveal himself in a big way. You watch and see." I see the dirt, but he sees the field of flowers... "God's going to reveal himself in a big way. You watch and see." I hear the word - but he speaks the sonnet. "God's going to reveal himself in a big way. You watch and see." I see the tree - but God shows me the forest and the life that dwells within it. "God's going to reveal himself in a big way. You watch and see." I see the ray of light - but he gives me the beautiful sun setting in the distance.

I am learning to trust again... trusting that his canvas is larger than mine... his brush is showing me what Monet never dreamed of. I have to trust that God will provide and will not take away that which has been given to expand the kingdom. In his time.



*The Appleseed Cast - Here We Are (Family in the Hallways)

what sort of legacy will you leave?

i've been thinking a lot about legacy lately. maybe it has to do with thoughts of my father who passed away one year ago last week. i can think of the legacy that he left for me. i can think of the impact he made on others. i can think of the number of persons he mentored - men and women who would eventually follow the Lord's leading as they entered into ministry. but this post isn't really about my father. i honor him and we paid respects to him when we visited the grave this week - but this post is about us... me... you... whoever you are.

what sort of legacy will i leave? what sort of legacy will you leave?













while visiting the cemetery where my dad was laid to rest i couldn't help but look around at all of the other grave sites. some have been there for over two centuries. men who fought and died in the Great American Revolution and in the Civil War; babies who died months after birth, mothers, brothers, sisters, husbands wives; some lived long, some not. with each stone placed in the ground a legacy goes with it.... a story... some untold, forgotten or too far in the past for anyone to know. but there was a legacy left there in the burrows of the green grass.

what were there stories? did they live productive lives? did they struggle with the same struggles as you and i? was life simpler for them? what did they stress about... rejoice about? did they know Christ and follow his teachings? did they have faith and if so, was it visible, plain and seen by one and all?

were they heroic or drunkards? housewives or heretics? what was their vice... their tragic flaw?

What was their legacy? did they even think about what kind of example they were leaving behind and how it might impact the world?

we know of the legacies of so many. Martin Luther King left us a legacy of peace and equality. johnny Cash left us a legacy of music and raw emotion that will sustain us for many years to come. Mother Teresa left us a legacy of service. Bill Gates a legacy of technology. I could go on. So could you. but again - it's not about them. it's now about us.

what legacy will we leave?

in the movie Meet the Fockers (yeah - i'm referencing that movie in a post about legacy...) Greg's future father in law (Jack - played by Robert DeNiro) asks what's truly important in life. Greg replies "love... friendship." Jack reminds him that leaving a legacy behind is of the utmost importance. Jack doesn't want a 'chink in the chain' of his families lineage.

Love... friendship. kind of sounds a lot like what Jesus said was most important...

1. Jesus said, "'Love the Lord your God with all your passion and prayer and intelligence.' This is the most important, the first on any list. But there is a second to set alongside it: 'Love others as well as you love yourself.' These two commands are pegs; everything in God's Law and the Prophets hangs from them." Matthew 22:36-40

Love God. Love People. it's that simple. that should be the foundation of our legacy.

Peter gives further instruction on leaving a legacy.

Finally, all of you, live in harmony with one another; be sympathetic, love as brothers, be compassionate and humble. Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult, but with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing. For,
"Whoever would love life
and see good days
must keep his tongue from evil
and his lips from deceitful speech.
He must turn from evil and do good;
he must seek peace and pursue it.
For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous
and his ears are attentive to their prayer,
but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil."

Who is going to harm you if you are eager to do good?

1 Peter 3:8-13

another fine reminder. what legacy will we leave? what example will we set? what stories will people tell about us and how might those stories further the kingdom of God?


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Now playing: Portishead - Glory Box
via FoxyTunes

exiles in the city

i attended a men's Bible study last nite - a friend of mine - his dad, a pastor, was leading it.
the scripture reference was Jeremiah 29. of course vs. 11 is commonly known by many... it is probably frequently underlined and highlighted...

For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

we looked at more than that commonly quoted verse... we looked at the context... my dad used to say 'a text taken out of context is a preftext.' (or something like that...) so with that - i discovered so much more than that oft recited verse.

if you look at Jeremiah 29:4-14 you will see the bigger picture.

God's people - they had been exiled from Jerusalem to Babylon... on foreign soil... amongst foreign people. what does God ask them to do?
Build houses.
Plant gardens.
Marry.
Have sons & daughters.
Increase in number.

that stuff there - that is the easy stuff. but then in verse 7 - God commands something more...
Seek peace.
Seek prosperity for the city.
Pray for the city to prosper - for if it prospers, you too will prosper.

keep in mind that the people of God had been defeated by Babylon... so they were captives. and yet God asks that they pray for their captors... and pray for them to prosper.

one might conclude they were instructed to 'infiltrate' the enemy and win 'em over to Jesus!' I don't see it quite that way... there is no infiltrating... just living... among people. side by side. not us vs. them. just us.

how does this relate to my city or your city... or our state or nation or even the world?

i think God is saying to all Christians - GET OUT OF THE BUBBLE. we're so good at holing ourselves up in our own subculture 'protected' from the evils of the world. but the bubble doesn't protect us - it prevents us.

Rich Mullins - the late singer/songwriter and ragamuffin theologian once said this:
"Christianity is not about building an absolutely secure little niche in the world where you can live with your perfect little wife and your perfect little children and your beautiful little house where you have no gays or minority groups near you. Christianity is about learning to love as Jesus loved and Jesus loved the poor... and Jesus loved the broken." [July 19, 1997]

how is it that the church seclude itself from the rest of society? we are called... better yet - instructed to be a part of the culture. when the culture prospers - our mission prospers. that makes sense if you think about it.

so the challenge then - that was laid before us last nite was to pray for our cities... our communities. to be out in the community... living.

so back to the key verse that we all know and love.
For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

how 'bout that. we have a hope and a future... but our 'prosperity' comes when we pray for the city. and our prosperity isn't driving Lexus' and having memberships at the country club... i'm not talking 'bout the prosperity gospel here. that's bogus... he will make us strong and we will flourish - because we will be fulfilling his will.

vs. 12 and beyond serve as a nice closer:
"When you call on me, when you come and pray to me, I'll listen. "When you come looking for me, you'll find me. "Yes, when you get serious about finding me and want it more than anything else, I'll make sure you won't be disappointed." [from the Message]

we call on Him. He listens. we look. we find. and we won't be disappointed!
nice.

i have to be honest - this whole passage - about being out there amongst the non-believers and the poor and those who oppress... that kind of living has been giving me a kick in the butt lately. i am striving to be more missional in the way that i live and in the way that i lead the youth group. i pray that we would not be so self-centered... even if out of ignorance.

Power Outage

with 50 mile per hour winds comes the occasional falling tree.
with the occasional falling tree comes a downed power line.

that was the case last evening, two doors down.
the tree fell and was laying on the wires. it then began to catch fire.
about ten minutes and two loud 'pop's and a flashing white light the fire extinguished itself - but electricity for the three blocks of which our house is centrally located was out.

most people probably slept through it all or at least - returned to sleep in the usual dark.
not me. i couldn't sleep. maybe it was the howling wind. maybe it was my four year old sons constant elbows and knees poking me after he had crawled in bed with us. or maybe it was the flashing, whirling lights atop the fire truck parked outside our house.
regardless, i got little rest.

so in the dark, with the flicker of a candle providing some comfort and light i spent a lot of time praying. what else was there to do? what better time than that which was present.

i began to compare my oft spiritual power outages to the situation outside the creaking walls of our house. i began to think about the teens whom i shepherd and how many of them are wandering around in the dark - with little or no desire for spiritual electricity or fire. and those other teens who have been stirring up that fire - with hopes that it would spread to their peers.

i thought about how much we rely on power... on electricity... on light. and yet for so many - when it comes to their faith - they don't seem to think it necessary to 'flip the switch on'. to them, simply having the switch is enough. but what good is that?

so many are resisting the light - like cockroaches scurrying about in the night... when the light comes on - they seek darkness as their shelter. and yet we know that the darkness is deceiving many.

oh how i want the power to come on. for the light bulb light up. for Christ to shine so that more people would be drawn to Him. and now my struggle ahead of me appears to be finding a new, relevant way to present the light to those God has given me to lead. but i also know i don't have to reinvent the wheel. i have to trust the Spirit. this journey that we are on - it is ever changing. the people we encounter along the path... they... they seem to resist - because society dictates what our priorities should be. or maybe because mainline christianity has become a breeder for complacency and comfort. or maybe because of a number of 'something elses'. at this point - i don't know anything anymore. i feel like Solomon... 'Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man.'

i wait patiently for God to guide me to do what he wants me to do in order to reach those wayward sheep in darkness. maybe that is the answer... rescue the lost - one by one.

out of nothing

the beauty of music is that a song, any song can mean a hundred different things to a hundred different people. and although it may not be the intent of the artist a song can speak to any of us in ways that artist couldn't have imagined.

to me, the YOU in this song is temptation. the I'LL SAY GOODBYE is me overcoming it all.

enjoy.



Out of nothing you came to my arms and you're right
I fell every time
You're the first and the last time that I'll ever try
So dry your eyes, I'll say goodbye, I say goodbye...

I'm left hanging like all dancing bears
I need rope to keep me in line
I can't stop them, there's more bombshells coming
I choke
More words, more lies
I'll say goodbye, I'll say goodbye...

I can't believe its come to this
Banging on a sinking ship, hoping someone hears my list
For every trial I take a fall, you never notice it no more
What we had won't conquer all
While the shots still ringing out
You do the worst to bring me down
You do the worst to take me out
I'll say goodbye, I'll say goodbye...













Embrace - Out of Nothing [sound bytes]

YouTube video of the songs dramatic conclusion (live @ Leads)