Like any Momma, I am crazy about my kiddos. For tons of reasons, but one being that they make me slow down. They help me to see things with their eyes, on their level. And with them, ordinary life is touched with wonder.
Today we saw:
A bird busy stuffing too much brush in her puny little beak.
Perennials poking their heads up through the mushy ground.
Pink buds in mid-sprout coloring the trees.
A dog flying through the air to retrieve a ball. (To which Adden responded with much applause.)
The sun blanketed us with warmth and the coats got ditched real quick. We tricycled and ran and sang and slid in the mud. Adden's giddy laugh was contagious, as were Selah's new discoveries of the world in our own backyard. After a long, drab winter, spring is sure welcome round these parts. Not only welcome, but necessary.
Necessary cause I need to see God making all things new again. The visual of spring is dynamic. It's necessary to know that He creates and He reconciles. He forms beauty again out of the dirt. He takes a skeleton of a tree and colors it with life one more time. "The old has gone, the new has come." The dead has gone, the life has come.
It's necessary for me to know that I can be made new. Old habits can change. Patterns of wrong can be made right. Tucked away dreams can be pursued, with the vigor of that dog today retrieving a tennis ball - tail waggin' delight, sprinting after one target, breathless with anticipation for what lies ahead.
Spring is just around the corner on our calendar. But in Christ, there is always the promise of spring no matter what day of the year; there is hope of new life, yet again.
Showing posts with label hope. Show all posts
Showing posts with label hope. Show all posts
3/17/09
3/6/09
Dia De Luz
This is Braddigan's Dia De Luz (Day of Light) that they celebrated in Managua. I love, love, love the message of hope here.
12/12/08
All is Not Lost
He brought me out into a spacious place;
He rescued me because He delighted in me.
- a song of David
He carried me out of my confinement
the prison of my fears
my aching alone.
He set me free TO BE FULLY ALIVE
to run like a banshee in the pouring rain
to swing dance with my children
and sing that song so loud
and enjoy the gift of my husband
and laugh till I cry and cry till I laugh.
And He gave me the gift of simple wonder. And hope.
All is not lost.
He rescued me
Because He delighted in me.
He smiles over me. Even if I think I'm quite the piece of work.
He smiles.
There's a song of rescue to be sung.
May you know today that He delights in you.
His eyes light up at the very thought of you.
Let Him carry you
And
Every concern that stresses you and every fear that prevents you
From living in that spacious place.
All is not lost,
Kristin
He rescued me because He delighted in me.
- a song of David
He carried me out of my confinement
the prison of my fears
my aching alone.
He set me free TO BE FULLY ALIVE
to run like a banshee in the pouring rain
to swing dance with my children
and sing that song so loud
and enjoy the gift of my husband
and laugh till I cry and cry till I laugh.
And He gave me the gift of simple wonder. And hope.
All is not lost.
He rescued me
Because He delighted in me.
He smiles over me. Even if I think I'm quite the piece of work.
He smiles.
There's a song of rescue to be sung.
May you know today that He delights in you.
His eyes light up at the very thought of you.
Let Him carry you
And
Every concern that stresses you and every fear that prevents you
From living in that spacious place.
All is not lost,
Kristin
8/12/08
Our Team Who Loved Out Loud
Included here is a sampling of what some of our students (and one of our leaders) learned on their most recent mission trip to inner city Cincinatti. The students made me tear up quite a few times as they recounted things that they saw that broke their hearts. Like, for instance, kids coming to the boys and girls center and eating 4 helpings of lunch because it was their only meal of the day.
They also had me in hysterics as they told the tale of a crazy lice infestation. It's not a funny scenario to be found in (63 or so of the 90 some students had it!) but the students were real troopers. Instead of freaking out and taking off, most of them stayed the course, served through it all, and became lice trivia experts. (Like did you know if you are of pure African descent, you can't acquire lice? Huh...) We give a lot of credit to Rob, who held the team together through the infestation and resulting quarintine.
Anyway, enough of me talking. Here is what they had to say:
Rob (the fearless leader):
I really enjoyed being challenged to forgive others, and just as importantly to be mindful of our own flaws and to seek out forgiveness, cause I'm sure I offend people and don't think twice about it. I wish I'd found it at the time, but Acts 14:21-22 was helpful to me. We might've faced challenges, but not the greatest, and we know that challenges help to grow us in faith and our dependence on God.
Meghan:
I have learned so much from this trip to Cincinnati. My favorite lesson though was learning to be unselfish. When things stirred up, most people spent a lot of their time helping others instead of worrying about themselves. It made me think a lot on how much we should love others, even enough to help out when it was unexpected. I guess that true love means that when you're willing to help out until it hurts, your connection with God grows even more.
Cheyenne:
I learned just how great God's forgiveness is and how much we take it for granted. I know I sure do anyway. I've been challenged to forgive others their transgressions because our trespasses against God are way bigger than others' against us. I've also been challenged to remember how undeserving I am of God's forgiveness and how lucky I am to have been given it.
Amy:
I know I have now said this a couple of times.... but the fact that God pays just as much attention to the little stuff as the big stuff. Just like one sin is the same as another. Plus, through devos and experiences, I have learned to serve when I don't feel like it, and love when I don't feel like it (and have a VERY long way to go)...
They also had me in hysterics as they told the tale of a crazy lice infestation. It's not a funny scenario to be found in (63 or so of the 90 some students had it!) but the students were real troopers. Instead of freaking out and taking off, most of them stayed the course, served through it all, and became lice trivia experts. (Like did you know if you are of pure African descent, you can't acquire lice? Huh...) We give a lot of credit to Rob, who held the team together through the infestation and resulting quarintine.
Anyway, enough of me talking. Here is what they had to say:
Rob (the fearless leader):
I really enjoyed being challenged to forgive others, and just as importantly to be mindful of our own flaws and to seek out forgiveness, cause I'm sure I offend people and don't think twice about it. I wish I'd found it at the time, but Acts 14:21-22 was helpful to me. We might've faced challenges, but not the greatest, and we know that challenges help to grow us in faith and our dependence on God.
Meghan:
I have learned so much from this trip to Cincinnati. My favorite lesson though was learning to be unselfish. When things stirred up, most people spent a lot of their time helping others instead of worrying about themselves. It made me think a lot on how much we should love others, even enough to help out when it was unexpected. I guess that true love means that when you're willing to help out until it hurts, your connection with God grows even more.
Cheyenne:
I learned just how great God's forgiveness is and how much we take it for granted. I know I sure do anyway. I've been challenged to forgive others their transgressions because our trespasses against God are way bigger than others' against us. I've also been challenged to remember how undeserving I am of God's forgiveness and how lucky I am to have been given it.
Amy:
I know I have now said this a couple of times.... but the fact that God pays just as much attention to the little stuff as the big stuff. Just like one sin is the same as another. Plus, through devos and experiences, I have learned to serve when I don't feel like it, and love when I don't feel like it (and have a VERY long way to go)...
7/27/08
Week of Hope
This week some of our youth group students and leaders are serving with Week of Hope in Cincinnati, OH. We would love your prayer for them.
Pray that God would make Himself known to each of the team members.
Pray that our team would reflect our God of hope in each of their assignments:
The Boys and Girls Club of Cincinnati, CityCURE, a local homeless shelter, working with disabled children, and repairing a nature trail in the city.
Pray that God would rescue, heal, and restore the lives of those they meet.
Pray that God would make Himself known to each of the team members.
Pray that our team would reflect our God of hope in each of their assignments:
The Boys and Girls Club of Cincinnati, CityCURE, a local homeless shelter, working with disabled children, and repairing a nature trail in the city.
Pray that God would rescue, heal, and restore the lives of those they meet.
7/25/08
Rescue Coverage
I received this email today from International Justice Mission:
Dateline NBC this evening will feature a special update on IJM undercover work in Svay Pak, Cambodia that resulted in the rescue of 37 girls. The Dateline NBC story, entitled “Children for Sale,” originally aired in January 2004 and has received significant airtime as well as two Emmy awards.
Tonight’s update will include a new interview with Gary Haugen as well as interviews with several of the young girls rescued by IJM in the original raids.
9pm EDT/PDTDateline NBC
Please watch and spread the word to friends who may be new to IJM!
Gratefully–
International Justice Mission
P.S. Feel free to visit www.ijm.org/presscenter for previous Dateline NBC footage along with recent IJM media coverage. For more information surrounding the Svay Pak operation, please read Terrify No More by Gary Haugen.
Dateline NBC this evening will feature a special update on IJM undercover work in Svay Pak, Cambodia that resulted in the rescue of 37 girls. The Dateline NBC story, entitled “Children for Sale,” originally aired in January 2004 and has received significant airtime as well as two Emmy awards.
Tonight’s update will include a new interview with Gary Haugen as well as interviews with several of the young girls rescued by IJM in the original raids.
9pm EDT/PDTDateline NBC
Please watch and spread the word to friends who may be new to IJM!
Gratefully–
International Justice Mission
P.S. Feel free to visit www.ijm.org/presscenter for previous Dateline NBC footage along with recent IJM media coverage. For more information surrounding the Svay Pak operation, please read Terrify No More by Gary Haugen.
6/17/08
My Only Hope
He is still the Hope
of all the ends of the earth
and of the farthest seas.
He is
the hope of the nations
the hope for the homeless
the hope for our children
the hope of tomorrow
the hope for broken hearts
the hope for addicts
the hope for orphans
the hope for healing
the hope for the imprisoned
the hope of the church
the hope for those in bondage
the hope for the lost
the hope for the forgotten
the hope for the rich
the hope for the poor
the hope for the widow
the hope for racial reconciliation
the hope for injustice
the hope for our cities
the hope for our country
the hope when all has been lost
the hope when you can't cry anymore
the hope when you've had enough
the hope when you want more out of this life
He was and is and will be
my only hope, this Jesus
The hope is in our hands
to hold and to give away
Surely this is our God,
we trusted in Him and
He saved us.
of all the ends of the earth
and of the farthest seas.
He is
the hope of the nations
the hope for the homeless
the hope for our children
the hope of tomorrow
the hope for broken hearts
the hope for addicts
the hope for orphans
the hope for healing
the hope for the imprisoned
the hope of the church
the hope for those in bondage
the hope for the lost
the hope for the forgotten
the hope for the rich
the hope for the poor
the hope for the widow
the hope for racial reconciliation
the hope for injustice
the hope for our cities
the hope for our country
the hope when all has been lost
the hope when you can't cry anymore
the hope when you've had enough
the hope when you want more out of this life
He was and is and will be
my only hope, this Jesus
The hope is in our hands
to hold and to give away
Surely this is our God,
we trusted in Him and
He saved us.
4/7/08
Money and Time and Words and Life
In honor of a little Ugandan boy named Dickens, David Kuo writes, "I just know that I am required to do something. That means money and time and words and life. And it means remembering a little boy and finding the strength to believe that I will see him again one day and when I do I will not recognize him because he will not be poor and he will not be sick and he will have no tears and no disease. "
The rest of this article is a heart breaker, but is a necessary read. I especially appreciated his packed suitcase as his visual reminder of the pain and suffering that is taking place around the world. I think we all need some sort of similar object in our homes, not to depress us, but to encourage us to provide hope to those who need it - hope in the form of money and time and words and life. Hope in the form of something more than inactivity and apathy.
The rest of this article is a heart breaker, but is a necessary read. I especially appreciated his packed suitcase as his visual reminder of the pain and suffering that is taking place around the world. I think we all need some sort of similar object in our homes, not to depress us, but to encourage us to provide hope to those who need it - hope in the form of money and time and words and life. Hope in the form of something more than inactivity and apathy.
3/20/08
A Gesture of Hope
Nothing is sweet or easy about community. Community is a fellowship of people who do not hide their joys and sorrows but make them visible to each other in a gesture of hope. In community we say," Life is full of gains and losses, joys and sorrows, ups and downs- but we do not have to do it alone. We want to drink our cup together and thus celebrate the truth that the wounds of our individual lives, which seem intolerable when lived alone, become sources of healing when we live them as part of a fellowship of mutual care."
-Henry Nouwen
I stumbled across this quote today and fell in love with it. In our individualistic society, we often shun community because we think we can do everything ourselves. So every evening, we escape into our places of refuge and lock the doors. We don't know our neighbors and sometimes we don't even know our friends.
I will admit to you that I am one of the worst offenders. It's really hard for me to connect with people sometimes. One, because I'm so awkward and often uncomfortable in my own skin. I feel like people won't really like the person that they get to know. Second, when I invite others to live life together with me, they see my vulnerabilities. And then I am found out, unmasked, transparent. In this case, it's good for me to remind myself that none of us have it all together, ever. And in the realization of that, there is freedom.
The truth is, I know that I need others. We all do. God created us to laugh with each other and to cry with each other. He created us to challenge one another and to confess our failings to one another. Too often I find myself concealing weakness or minimizing hurt. And I assume that I'm not alone in my guise of perfection.
So I guess what I'm trying to say is this - call me to community. Yeah, I need tons of alone time, but I also need others. And if we get together, I'll look past your inadequacies if you can pretend you don't see all the clutter in my living room, that annoying eye twitter of mine, or the fact that I can rarely piece two legitimate sentences together these days.
-Henry Nouwen
I stumbled across this quote today and fell in love with it. In our individualistic society, we often shun community because we think we can do everything ourselves. So every evening, we escape into our places of refuge and lock the doors. We don't know our neighbors and sometimes we don't even know our friends.
I will admit to you that I am one of the worst offenders. It's really hard for me to connect with people sometimes. One, because I'm so awkward and often uncomfortable in my own skin. I feel like people won't really like the person that they get to know. Second, when I invite others to live life together with me, they see my vulnerabilities. And then I am found out, unmasked, transparent. In this case, it's good for me to remind myself that none of us have it all together, ever. And in the realization of that, there is freedom.
The truth is, I know that I need others. We all do. God created us to laugh with each other and to cry with each other. He created us to challenge one another and to confess our failings to one another. Too often I find myself concealing weakness or minimizing hurt. And I assume that I'm not alone in my guise of perfection.
So I guess what I'm trying to say is this - call me to community. Yeah, I need tons of alone time, but I also need others. And if we get together, I'll look past your inadequacies if you can pretend you don't see all the clutter in my living room, that annoying eye twitter of mine, or the fact that I can rarely piece two legitimate sentences together these days.
3/13/08
How Does God Allow Evil?
I asked God how He could allow suffering.
And He said, "I don't. You do."
-David Kuo
Paul directed me to this blog entry today and it coincided with some reading that I got to do today - all about bringing our presence into another's pain - loneliness, poverty, disease, hopelessness, whatever.
As a follower of Christ, when we bring our presence, we bring the presence of someone much more significant than ourselves. We enter into the face of suffering with the God of all hope, all comfort, and all compassion. We make our invisible God visible.
Henry Nouwen said that, "Compassion, to be with others when and where they suffer and to willingly enter into a fellowship of the weak, is God's way to justice and peace among people."
We need to not allow suffering anymore, when it is well within our power to do something.
And He said, "I don't. You do."
-David Kuo
Paul directed me to this blog entry today and it coincided with some reading that I got to do today - all about bringing our presence into another's pain - loneliness, poverty, disease, hopelessness, whatever.
As a follower of Christ, when we bring our presence, we bring the presence of someone much more significant than ourselves. We enter into the face of suffering with the God of all hope, all comfort, and all compassion. We make our invisible God visible.
Henry Nouwen said that, "Compassion, to be with others when and where they suffer and to willingly enter into a fellowship of the weak, is God's way to justice and peace among people."
We need to not allow suffering anymore, when it is well within our power to do something.
3/6/08
I Saw What I Saw
As many of you know, this is my favorite musician, Sara Groves (with Crowder coming in as a close second.) Paul got to attend one of her concerts during the Cincinnati Youth Conference, for which I was quite jealous. But that's okay, I play her music constantly at home. Anyway, the following is a video to one of her songs, "I Saw What I Saw." It is quite moving, so please take the time to watch it. It's a reflection on her most recent trip to Rwanda.
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