Jesus for Christmas

I have a confession to make. We throw around all the time how we are the richest nation in the world. The average person in a third world country lives on $2 a day. I watched a video the other day of children in the Philippines living on miles and miles of trash. I wept with anguish over the way that the world is.

However, here is my confession. I can not stand in front of a group of inner city kids and tell them that they are rich. Not when they are dying in other ways. They are hungry and scrounging and living on candy and chips and soda. They live in trash so often if not on it. We are just better at hiding it here in the US. At the same time, they are not victims. They confuse needs and wants often. They believe that the right pair of shoes will make them happy. But, I have girls who are cutting themselves from the pain of sexual abuse. I have boys who don't even understand why they are so angry all the time. They own one pair of shoes that are three sizes too small. They learn to hide it well. So I can not bring myself to dwell on how much they have and how they need to get over it and look at the rest of the world.

YET, they DO need to see outside of themselves. Looking at what they do not have only perpetuates the need to live in survivor mode. It is easy to turn them into victims. We can turn the tables and allow them to be selfish all the while focusing on "how much they have overcome." I watched a child the other day in a third world country say, "When I grow up I want to have a job." We live in a nation that with some dreaming, support and putting your life in the Lord's hands and you can be just about anything. A job? With enough work and support, prayer and humility, you can become a person in America that lets God use you to change the world. But, these same kids in America will settle for any job, if working at all because they have lost hope.

So what do we do? We teach them that in their place of little, the call is to give it away. "I must become less so the Christ can shine through me," needs to be the lesson. The widow who gave her last pennies to the Lord. We teach them to give in their place of need. We give anyway. You see, we always talk about in America that we give because we have too much. However, the truth is that we give even when we don't think we have.

That is why we have embarked on a journey of giving with the kids in our after school program. It started with Operation Christmas Child. That is the program, through Samaritan's Purse where you put together shoe boxes of stuff for children for Christmas in the third world. The kids brought in dollars and pennies. They brought in unused school supplies that they were given to put in the boxes. We talked about it everyday. We showed them videos of the kids. I told them stories of my friends who are missionaries to Haiti and children who had never seen luxuries like glitter or crayons before. Finally one of our High School girls declared, "There is so much that I think I need, but I never like to get the simple stuff for Christmas. I complain when I get things like socks. These kids actually, really love these things, because they really need them." That is entirely the point.

We are not stopping to give either. After Christmas we are going to vote on where our money should go. We might support a child through World Vision or Compassion. We might raise money for kids who don't have any clean drinking water. We might give money for food in another part of this very nation. All I know is that one of our kids said, "We need to give to the kids who don't have."

That is the point. Even at the depths of thinking we have nothing, we have something. I have to be sensitive. I can't tell these kids how much they have. Some of them will have a Christmas present under the tree only because Urban Youth Impact gave it. Some of them will never sit around a table with their family and have Christmas dinner. Some will not have Christmas trees or lights. On the other hand some of them might receive a bike for Christmas that will get stolen next week. They might get a gaming system and no games. They live in a world that I don't know how to explain to the average person. It is convoluted and mixed up. Telling them what they have doesn't make sense and telling them they are poor only hurts their pride.

HOWEVER, the two greatest laws in the Bible are to love the Lord with your whole being and to love your neighbor as yourself. We do what we do to show them how Christ loves them so much he is the only one worthy of their love. IF we are only living for Him then that love has to pour out. Then we think of others first. Then this brings us back to loving the one and only true God. That is the WHOLE point......

Ministry

Lately, I have been reminded time and again about the true heart of ministry. It is all about relationship. It is all about the willingness to walk out life with others. Showing them that the Lord loves them deeply and wonderfully. We need to grapple together to know the truth of Christ crucified. To be called out of death and into life.

Those that are walking with me in the heart of the city ... need encouragement that this race may be long but it is oh so worthwhile. Those in my community in the city need to know that I am here with them.

Last night I got a phone call from a young women that I had not heard from for at least six months. She had moved. Her Mom's phone had been shut off. My phone was stolen and I lost all of my numbers. She found me. She needed someone to care. She was broken and lonely. She wanted to reconnect to God. She knew that I would love her.

When, she came out to Bible Study she was that girl that is not easy to love. She was the girl that you want to give up on. She was the one that you are sure that the city grab hold of and destroy. There were a couple of us that walked out life with her and her family. She saw the love. We are the family that is always there when she needs us. We loved her anyway.

I am getting emails again from one of my favorite girls. She is part of our family. We have lost touch back and again through the years, but now she just longs to see us and be near us again. We have never stopped praying for her or loving her.

Every time I think of these girls and the others that have come close to my family I am just simply thankful. I know that we need each other. These are the relationships that have made me who I am. They are the reason that I press in so hard to see the city transformed. When I look in their eyes I see hope. I know it can be different.

"I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus." Phillipians 1

I am thankful for the relationships. They have changed me. They have made me more passionate. I know that God is at work here. As I look through the years I am convinced more and more that all programming is just a catalyst to get us into relationships. We can play basket ball or sing or hold outreaches. There can be Bible studies or tutoring or even just plain old church. When we think it is about the program then it falls apart. When we ask how to go deeper into relationship then hearts are softened. People don't just want to hear the Gospel. They want to know that this good news is for "them." The WORD became FLESH for a reason.

Jesus never merely taught the crowds. He let a harlot wash his feet with her tears. He sat with an outcast at a well in the heat of the day. He called each of the twelve by name. He touched and healed with mud , or spit or a look in the eye. Each time he touched. He felt. He wept. He drew us close. Don't you think that he could have saved us with a word from heaven. He didn't want to do it that way. The day we broke it in the garden he called our names. Why did we hide? He wanted to walk with us once more. He wants to walk with us still.

So I ask myself again why do we think that standing in front of a crowd with some words is the end? How do we miss that it is a means to an end? There is power when we tell someone, "I choose you." I want to be YOUR friend. People want to know the truth. They want to be embraced with a love that is real.

I know the only way to get the word out is to hold them close.

Marriage Under Fire....

Yesterday I spent a good portion of the day angry, hurt and just generally disgruntled with my husband. There was time when John and I never fought. Then we discovered that we are both human with our own opinions. When they don't match up then we clash.

However, I can tell you the real reason why we stand off against each other.

I could say that it is because we both are selfish.

I could say the root of it all is pride.

I could say it is because either of us are unwilling to change.

At one time or other all of these things are true. They are the outward expression of an inward battle.

The battle is not with flesh or blood. The war is with the spirit of the air. I give into the temptation. I think like Adam and Eve, that God is holding out on me. But, I believe the real issue here is that Satan hates what I do. He hates what my husband does. He hates that the expression of our love for Christ united leads us to action. So he continually wants to tear us apart.

The Bible mentions in Genesis, the Gospels and then again in Ephesians the same exact statement:

"For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh."

We unite. Two halves become whole. The reality that woman was born out of man and man born for the rest of time out of a woman is made complete. The Lord mentioned it before Christ, when Christ came and after his departure. This is important. It is the way that the Lord meant it to be. For those of us called into marriage it is meant to be a union that makes us more effective for the kingdom.

So let's follow here for a second. Satan wants to be God. He hates God. He hates those who follow Christ in total abandoned relationship. He hates when we advance the Gospel. He wants to make us ineffective. When we are self - focused we are ineffective. When I am worried about being right I am self- focused. Therefore, drive a wedge into my marriage and I want to be right. I want to be most important.

True Christ focused marriage is all about sacrifice. It is the way Christ loves us. It is a husband laying is life down for his bride. It is a wife raising her husband up. Unified and "whole" they are a force to be reckoned with. They can tear down walls.

In the city there is so little marriage. In those marriages an even smaller percentage are grounded in the Word who became flesh. We are the light that shows others how it was intended to be. So it follows that the enemy would want to destroy that.

"Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour." 1 Peter

He wants to devour us and spit out the bones. He wants my marriage to fall. He wants me to believe that my husband has stopped loving me after 12 years. He wants my husband to believe that I no longer put him first. That both of us are too "busy" for each other.

The short version is, the adversary wants to keep us constantly at each other. He wants us to fail. This why Timothy spoke to the church leaders and told them:

"He must manage his own family well and see that his children obey him with proper respect. (If anyone does not know how to manage his own family, how can he take care of God's

church?)" 1 Tim. 3:4 &5

When we know how to put our marriage and our family in order then we know how to truly "love our neighbors as ourselves." It is the greatest light we can shine for our Savior. It will rock the city. When kids grow up and get married to Christ centered followers and then have their children who are brought up in the Lord, there will be a shaking.

The city will be renewed. It will be changed. So I must fight for my marriage. It must stay strong. We must stay a united front. I can not let the lies that flood come into my heart. I am not alone. My husband has not forgotten me. We are not divided.

We are a city on a hill. A house divided against itself can not stand. We are one. Whole. We will stand firm and when it is all done, we will stand.

My love for Christ is too vital. My husband is too important. The call on our lives together is too radical. We will not be rendered useless.

Nothing I think is that important. Let the bickering end....

The Sparrow

How many times am I impatient with the little things? What is it that I am so busy to accomplish today that I can not take the time to love? Who needs my love and patience today?

My husband?

My kids?

My friends?

My family?

My community?

How many times do I simply expect those around me to "get it" and then simply move on? Am I willing to love them enough to walk them all the way through until it makes sense?

How many times does my Savior do the same for me?

We call her K.K......

We have been trying to tame her hair since she was born. It is a lion's maine. Naturally curly, Oh and so much of it. We tried cutting it all off short for about three years because she would barley let us brush it.

I think the Lord gave her this hair because K.K. is not easily "tamed." She is our strong willed child. She will dig her heals in, clench teeth and fists and not back down when she wants her own way. Don't worry though, she doesn't always get it. :)

She is the first to hug you the tightest and just squeeze you as tight as she can. It is a funny sort of "loving." There is not doting. If she hugs you and sort of pats you, she feels like she has solved it all.

K.K. asks the least questions. She just is. It doesn't matter why or how people are. To her they just are. Last year when her friend wouldn't play with her at the program she told her, "she would beat her like a pinata" if she wouldn't play with her. On the other hand you want her on your side for this is the kid that will have your back.

Somedays she is the most absorbed by the culture. This is not always a good thing. She can wag her head, suck her teeth and declare, "Oh no you din't" with the best of them. Other days it is so fun to watch as she dances and plays and loves her friends.

Boo makes me think of me as a child. K.K. has my personality now (minus the hugs that is her talent). We are blunt. We are matter of fact. We just want things to be true and the way that they are supposed to be. She won't like anything she doesn't like. She is in your face. You want her on your side, because she loves fiercely and with wonder.

Her friends just love her and she loves her friends. It isn't that she doesn't notice what they look like or where they come from. She just is there and they are just her friends. She wants them to be with her.

She is happy - She is smart- She is well- adjusted. That is the crazy thing that I know is the Lord. All of my kids are just happy to be kids. They have friends. They want them to be happy, because they are friends. They hurt when their friends hurt.

I know that they are all coming to ages when their friends just might tell them some secrets that they don't know what to do with. I pray that we can talk about it and figure it all out with Jesus....

We call him Bunky...

We really were beginning to believe that this poor child was never going to lose his top teeth. It literally took three days of pulling and the longest root I have ever seen on a tooth- but it finally gave. The other ones shouldn't be far behind.

Bunky is our deep thinker. He asks all of the questions that I never know the answer to. Things like, "When I look around at all the people who do yard work, why does it seem like they are all Mexicans?" "Why are there so many black men on the corner every day?" "Why don't so many of my friends have Dads who live with them?" He analyzes the world and wants to figure it out. He is wrestling with questions that I still wrestle with. I believe the underlying tone is, "How do we define what's fair?"

He is my child that grapples with his sin. He wants to make sure that he has it right. He wants to be right with God. About two months ago when we made the church plant in our community our church home, he expressed how much he liked it better than our other church. When we asked him why he told us, "Well, I think before that I was filling my mind with too much Club Penguin (a cartoon game), now that I am making better choices I think I can hear better from God." This is a child whose greatest sin on most days is whining.

Bunky is also our sensitive one. He wants to be able to get it all right all the time. When he can't he falls apart. If he can't play a sport correctly IMMEDIATELY he thinks he is horrible. The Lord has surrounded him with friends who get this.

Inner city kids as a whole are not known for their sensitivity. Usually, they will eat each other alive. The lesson we focus on the most often is how to show compassion to one another. With Bunky it is different. All everyone ever does and always has done is encourage him. Just last week he was out playing football with a couple of friends. He dropped a pass or something and was beating himself up over it. He friends surrounded him with high fives. In a strange a different way he inspires the kids to be better at thinking of others first.

He has always been the one that is most absorbed into all that we do. He doesn't always want to do it honestly. However, whenever he walks into a room 10 kids at least call out his name. He is the "cool" kid that they all want to be with. He doesn't have a clue. He just sort of hangs and is himself.

He is the youngest in "Drum Disciples," this is the drumming program that we run. This year he is learning to play the kit and he loves it. He loves all sports and tries them all at school. He makes me think so much of his father. That is a very good thing. He just enjoys life.

My prayer for him is that he always feels comfortable in the city. There is a part of me that wants all of my kids called to this ministry. I want the Lord to call them here with us forever. I want it to always be their life too. For today they fall under our covering. This is their calling, but there will come a time when they hear the Lord loud and clear for themselves. I want to see my children press close to Jesus. I want to see them follow him with their whole selves all their lives. I want Bunky to always see those around him here in this place as his friends. May he never be tainted with an "Us. vs. Them" mentality. May he have so many less prejudices than I do. We don't even know the way that we judge each other. May he always just see the city as a another place in need of a Savior.

We call her Boo..

Well, I talk and talk and talk about my kids and our family living out the ministry lifestyle. I thought it might be helpful to talk about each to my kids individually and how this plays out for them.

Boo is the oldest. At 10 she is my ultimate perfectionist. She never procrastinates. Just this past week in a project that she had to do for school, she started it the day that it was assigned. It is funny how my little girl is growing up. Just 4 years ago she would only wear dresses and pink. Now she loves so much to be active that she will not sacrifice the ability to stand on her head for the sake of any dress. Her favorite things in the world are animals (especially horses), rocks (see above), dolphins, and sports. She is a confident kid and yet so insecure. Compassionate and deep she is always watching and thinking. She is a worrier. Yet, she is so brave. She is the one that got on that 32 hour bus without me to Kids Across America this Summer. Her best friend here in West Palm has a Mom that they call "Killer."

Now understand that my kids have never known much less than being immersed in the city and our life here. Boo has been a part of program and day camps and around in some way as long as she can remember. Boo shared a room with a child that we took in for 4 months and became her sister. She is the one that wants to come the outreaches that we have and serve.

Looking around she sees things. She is the one that asked, "Why are there so few "peach" people that live in the public housing projects?" She is also the same one though that doesn't understand why we can't play at certain playgrounds at dusk. At this point I think that she has just resolved herself to the fact that this is the way it is in the city. She is one of three white kids in program. The city we live in is not white. To her that has become normal. I don't honestly, know whether that is a good or bad thing though.

I worry about her. She is my child that is the most introspective. I can't always get her to talk about her feelings. I wonder if I need to teach her compassion as she grows. Yet, at the same time she understands that her good friend may have less food on the table, but she sees her just as a friend. They make friendship rocks for each other. They throw grass in each others hair. They play and run and laugh. I believe that Boo has the ability to inspire her friend to be a child. Her friend, just last year, was one of the roughest kids in program. She was angry and hurting. One day during cheerleading practice they had to do some trick and Boo was paired with her. Apparently, they pulled it off better than anyone else. They have been fast friends since. They were next to each other on that bus to KAA.

Boo is the one that wants to be a part of everything we do. She gets sewing lessons from our Finance Manager and then sells her products to staff and students. She is currently raising money to visit her cousin and best friend in South Carolina. After that though she is planning on using the money to sponsor a child through World Vision.

Boo came to the Lord at 4 years old and asked to be baptized at 7. She get it. She understands her Salvation. She knows how Christ is. She struggles like the rest of us with touching an invisible God. Sometimes I fear that she tries so hard to "do it all right" every day so she can earn Christ's love. But, that is my Martha struggle as well. Her favorite passage in the whole world is Psalm 23. She recites it often. I think it helps her understand how close God really is.

Yet, here doing this, it is just our life. The things she really grapples with are issues like growing up. Every 10 year old does. That is the same as a kid living in ministry or not. This is her normal. Next, Saturday we will take the family and the daughter of Killer to the zoo.