Friday, February 25, 2011

Do you hear the people sing?


I have often said that I would love to study revolutions. What a great thing to get a PhD in. It is fascinating to think that a group of courageous people with a vision bigger than themselves could fundamentally change the environment they live in. Not a rebellion , but a revolution. A rebellion is based on people's personal attitudes toward something...a revolution is a force of action based on something you believe to be true and necessary. Thomas Jefferson once said that every generation needs a new revolution. We are made for it.
Religion, politics, society, technology...all have experienced revolutions. My heart is stirred by what is happening in the world right now. Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, now parts of North Korea.

South Korea has been dropping pamphlets into North Korea telling them about the overthrowing of governments, much like their own, in the middle east. Sure, there are political motives too, but how powerful to inform people that the way they live should and could change. I wish I were more like South Korea.

So often I think about things that should change. Sex trafficking, domestic violence, abusive parents, child soldiers, hunger and clean water crisis...SO many things.

The church is called to do what South Korea is doing. We are each individually called to do it. When we see broken lives that are filled with hopelessness, individual people devalued by abusive partners or mean co-workers, and when an entire generation is plagued by slavery of any form...we are meant to step in & change it.

My heart is on fire when I imagine the Church globally taking up the call for justice. Big, small and one step at a time. The title of this post is from a song in Les Miserables. Arguably one of the best musicals of all time & this is one of my favorite songs from it. The chorus is as follows:

Do you hear the people sing?
Singing the songs of angry men?
It is the music of a people who will not be slaves again
When the beating of your heart, echos the beating of the drums
There is a life about to start when tomorrow comes

This is just food for thought. The earth is groaning, crying out in their crisis. I as a follower of Jesus carry a banner of hope and restoration. Salvation in their time of need. My heart is on fire.

Monday, February 21, 2011

Reflecting on a Freckle

This post is being typed very slowly due to the stitches in my left palm. I am unable to open my hand completely which makes both typing and packing up my house ( we move in 2 weeks!) difficult. Why do I have stitches in my palm? There developed a small freckle on my palm. Been there for years. It has slowly grown in size but nothing alarming. I kinda forgot about it.

At my doctors urging, I went to the dermatologist last week. He was concerned. It appears that only 5% of people will ever develop a benign mole/freckle on their palms...so statistics weren't looking that great for me. That means 95% of the time it is melanoma. And since it has been there for years, that wouldn't be a good thing. The chance that the cancer could have spread to other body parts would then be likely.

Today I got the results back that confirmed it was fine and I was one of the 5% that gets a mole on their palm just because. Thank you Jesus.

But it does make you think. I had lots of opportunity to keep my vain imagination in check. To ignore my paranoia that my body felt different and take thoughts captive that stole from my peace, joy and trust in Jesus. Not kicking fear in the face was draining me emotionally and mentally...had been for years but this was my chance to realize it.

I had a lot more patience with my kids. Getting up with them in the middle of the night wasn't so painful b/c I remembered how valuable spending time with them was. Even if it is 2 a.m. The mess Tait made from putting dog food in the dishwasher would end up a funny story one day. And what a gift to live long enough to tell funny stories. Saying goodbye to Seattle and it's people wasn't so bittersweet...what an honor to have walked with these people for six years and share life together.

Something so small as a freckle offered a perspective shift when it was needed most.

Friday, February 4, 2011

Amy The Wonderful



This is Amy. She is wonderful. I've always liked her, even though she pledged Chi Omega instead of Kappa. We got the opportunity to travel the Thailand together last fall. This is when I discovered just how great she is. She brought big fuzzy socks for the flight, a large tub of facewash in her carry on, went along with the gag about me being famous in the Taiwan airport...but most of all she ministered so gracefully in the Holy Spirit.

She has wisdom beyond her years, a gift to council and teach. Thankfully, she is a writer and can share her insights with an eager audience. Her books are going to bring revelation to our generation. I am always amazed at the depth of her heart and how well she loves people. She has the glue gift. You know, the ability to connect with people no matter how diverse. And they stick. They stick to her because she is wonderful.

I love the ideas that this lady comes up with. An entrepreneur for the Kingdom. She has a beautiful mind full of vision and concepts. The way she thinks is a blessing to our church and any group she is a part of. She is faithful to her friends, gets behinds them, supports them and is a rock for pretty much any relationship she is in.

I love adventure and I love spur of the moment. Amy has been a fabulous adventuring partner. Helping me navigate the alley ways of downtown as I try to find antique malls, scouting out the hello kitty lounge in the airport in Taiwan...wish there had been time for many more explorations like these. Cheers Amy!