just resort to linking to others. And so here I go:
Here's an article that really interested me. It's discussing immigration, and how the church and really any of us should respond. I don't picture it being too popular among too many, but I actually agreed with most of it if I'm honest. As much as we celebrate the good old U.S.A., in reality, it's just some artificially defined boundary that someone's power over someone else created.
This article from the same site as above addresses multi-ethnicity. Again, it might not interest anyone else, but it made me think. I've been rolling thoughts and questions around in my head for a while now about how we always try to categorize everything/everyone, mainly for our own convenience, and sometimes out of our fear of complexity. Things that we can't define, and by defining, control to a degree, make us uncomfortable, and we don't like to be uncomfortable.
Stuff Christians Like has to be one of my favorite sites. If you've never read it before, give it a try.
A couple of sites that I've really been digging around on lately are these:
hopefororphans.org
showhope.org
The ABBA Fund - I especially enjoy the blog.
Well, maybe that will be keep you thinking for now. I hope everyone is doing well.
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
A plug for my wife's blog post.
In case anyone missed it, I wanted to make sure and point you to a post on my wife's blog which I think is very good and very important. She addresses a great point about adoption and helps clear up a major misconception many people tend to have.
Please read it here.
I'm biased obviously, but I'm proud of her for writing it.
Thanks!
Please read it here.
I'm biased obviously, but I'm proud of her for writing it.
Thanks!
Sunday, March 8, 2009
Saving for a Rainy Day
Here's where I'm really going crazy. It's absolutely one of those things that has me unsure of what in the world is going on in this brain and heart of mine. Lately, I've become increasingly more and more unsure if the time tested idea of saving for a rainy day is actually Biblical. I'm ALMOST to the point of being fairly sure in some ways it's not.
Going back to Matthew 6, verse 34, where God is speaking about providing everything we need, even the basics, he says:
34Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
Then there's the old testament story of manna. Remember the principle God taught the people there. He provided for them one day at a time. In fact, anyone who tried to get just a little extra for the next day, found a nice jar of nastiness in the morning.
And there was a certain rich fool in Luke 12:13-21. He was going to build some barns for all he had saved up. That didn't go so well for him if you read the story.
Is it really related? Well, keep reading again in Luke. It's back to the do not worry about what you'll eat drink or wear as related in that book, so, yeah, I think it definitely is.
What does all this exactly mean? I'm still working on that part. And still praying. But something tells me things cannot just remain the same. And, if you did keep reading in Luke, don't worry. Verse 12:33 scares me a bit also.
Going back to Matthew 6, verse 34, where God is speaking about providing everything we need, even the basics, he says:
34Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
Then there's the old testament story of manna. Remember the principle God taught the people there. He provided for them one day at a time. In fact, anyone who tried to get just a little extra for the next day, found a nice jar of nastiness in the morning.
And there was a certain rich fool in Luke 12:13-21. He was going to build some barns for all he had saved up. That didn't go so well for him if you read the story.
Is it really related? Well, keep reading again in Luke. It's back to the do not worry about what you'll eat drink or wear as related in that book, so, yeah, I think it definitely is.
What does all this exactly mean? I'm still working on that part. And still praying. But something tells me things cannot just remain the same. And, if you did keep reading in Luke, don't worry. Verse 12:33 scares me a bit also.
Treasures
"Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal." Matthew 6:19
This verse and the following passage have been on my mind a lot lately. Perhaps it's the constant talk of the economy that seems to be everywhere. Some of it has to do with questions I've been asking myself lately about some decisions that might have significant impact on the future.
While my world is still relatively small, adoption did open it significantly, and I pray daily my eyes continue to open to what is outside what we know.
Trouble is, the more I see, the less sure my footing sometimes becomes. I only seem to question what I've mostly always been taught and what constitutes regular expectations in most people around me. To say it very harshly, I'm not sure that the "American Dream" isn't one of satan's greatest tools. Rarely do we ever truly define success by anything other than monetary gain. We push kids through increasing levels of education to get a better job. Then, somewhere, we reach a point where we have so much, that we then constantly are fighting just to keep what we have and get more.
We get accustomed to doing it ourselves, and working harder, so that we no longer have to trust or seek the Lord. Then we no longer have time if we wanted to. As a man, I'll admit there's the feeling that I have to provide everything my family needs. It's hard not to worry about that sometimes. Yet, God promises us what we need. He tells us not to worry about them, not even the basic stuff, like food or drink or clothes. Our heavenly Father knows that I need them. If I seek first His kingdom, and His righteousness, He will provide these things.
He doesn't say only if I work as hard as I can for them. He doesn't think like we think. He wants to show us His glory sometimes, and He can't always do that if we're constantly getting in the way.
A note to any potential readers: This may not make any sense. I'm okay with that. It sort of doesn't make sense to me either. I am in a process. I'm not exactly sure what that process is. I am mainly blogging here to myself, trying to sort some of that out. If you've landed here, pray for me. I promise to do the same for you.
This verse and the following passage have been on my mind a lot lately. Perhaps it's the constant talk of the economy that seems to be everywhere. Some of it has to do with questions I've been asking myself lately about some decisions that might have significant impact on the future.
While my world is still relatively small, adoption did open it significantly, and I pray daily my eyes continue to open to what is outside what we know.
Trouble is, the more I see, the less sure my footing sometimes becomes. I only seem to question what I've mostly always been taught and what constitutes regular expectations in most people around me. To say it very harshly, I'm not sure that the "American Dream" isn't one of satan's greatest tools. Rarely do we ever truly define success by anything other than monetary gain. We push kids through increasing levels of education to get a better job. Then, somewhere, we reach a point where we have so much, that we then constantly are fighting just to keep what we have and get more.
We get accustomed to doing it ourselves, and working harder, so that we no longer have to trust or seek the Lord. Then we no longer have time if we wanted to. As a man, I'll admit there's the feeling that I have to provide everything my family needs. It's hard not to worry about that sometimes. Yet, God promises us what we need. He tells us not to worry about them, not even the basic stuff, like food or drink or clothes. Our heavenly Father knows that I need them. If I seek first His kingdom, and His righteousness, He will provide these things.
He doesn't say only if I work as hard as I can for them. He doesn't think like we think. He wants to show us His glory sometimes, and He can't always do that if we're constantly getting in the way.
A note to any potential readers: This may not make any sense. I'm okay with that. It sort of doesn't make sense to me either. I am in a process. I'm not exactly sure what that process is. I am mainly blogging here to myself, trying to sort some of that out. If you've landed here, pray for me. I promise to do the same for you.
Monday, March 2, 2009
The Valley
Psalm 23:4
4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.
In the past, I think I tended to think of this verse as an interlude. This was the part where I messed up and wandered off, and the Shepherd had to come find me before we get back to the good stuff. That certainly happens. Perhaps a bit too often.
However, I'm really just not so sure that's what is being said here. Sometimes the 'valley of the shadow of death' is exactly where the Shepherd is leading us. Note it says His rod and staff comforts us. It doesn't say it corrects or rescues us. It says He is with us, not that he comes to us.
Not every trial faced is punishment (though some may be). Sometimes the valley, dark as it may be, is just the proper path to the green pastures, still water, and the feast prepared for us.
4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.
In the past, I think I tended to think of this verse as an interlude. This was the part where I messed up and wandered off, and the Shepherd had to come find me before we get back to the good stuff. That certainly happens. Perhaps a bit too often.
However, I'm really just not so sure that's what is being said here. Sometimes the 'valley of the shadow of death' is exactly where the Shepherd is leading us. Note it says His rod and staff comforts us. It doesn't say it corrects or rescues us. It says He is with us, not that he comes to us.
Not every trial faced is punishment (though some may be). Sometimes the valley, dark as it may be, is just the proper path to the green pastures, still water, and the feast prepared for us.
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Two Houses
In Matthew 7:24-27, Jesus tells us about two men who built two houses. If you ever went to Sunday School as a child, this is probably where you start singing the song in your head. If you weren't before, I probably just made you think about it. (Incidentally, I sort of hope that becomes a theme here on this blog, making you think about things. However, I digress.)
Something I thought about the other day struck me in this passage though. I've always pictured the actual houses differently in my mind. I sort of pictured the wise or sensible man's house as a glorious mansion, but the foolish man's house as a bit of a shack. Looking again, I don't really think that was the case. The focus is the foundation, what the house is built upon. It is not the actual house. They might have been identical in the rest of the construction. However, because of the different foundations, they were indeed very different.
Do you have a good foundation? Do you realize what words Jesus was referring to and calling people to act on? This passage happens to come at the end of the 'Sermon on the Mount'. Here's just a very small smattering of those words:
reconcile with your brother 5:24
give to the one who asks you (and give more than they ask) 5:42
love your enemies 5:44
don't collect treasures on earth 6:19
do not worry about what you will eat, drink, or wear 6:31
do not judge 7:1
Something I thought about the other day struck me in this passage though. I've always pictured the actual houses differently in my mind. I sort of pictured the wise or sensible man's house as a glorious mansion, but the foolish man's house as a bit of a shack. Looking again, I don't really think that was the case. The focus is the foundation, what the house is built upon. It is not the actual house. They might have been identical in the rest of the construction. However, because of the different foundations, they were indeed very different.
Do you have a good foundation? Do you realize what words Jesus was referring to and calling people to act on? This passage happens to come at the end of the 'Sermon on the Mount'. Here's just a very small smattering of those words:
reconcile with your brother 5:24
give to the one who asks you (and give more than they ask) 5:42
love your enemies 5:44
don't collect treasures on earth 6:19
do not worry about what you will eat, drink, or wear 6:31
do not judge 7:1
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