Dec20

Whole

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During Advent many people enjoy using “peace” to describe a (hopefully) still and thoughtful season.  In English, “peace” is a narrow word.  We use “peace” to mean an absence of conflict – no one is openly hostile.  Or we just want “a bit of peace” – meaning we desire everything around us to be quiet and calm.  As an elementary school counselor, I can certainly relate to THAT particular desire!  If “quiet” was my sole definition of peace, my life would contain precious little peace!

“Peace” is an English word that tends to have a shallow use amongst the general public, with the exception of a more mystical application amongst Christians.  (For example, many Christians will refer to Jesus Christ rightly as the “Prince of Peace” or refer to the spiritual fruit of “peace” with vague explanations of what “peace” looks like in practice.)  The trouble with restricting peace to a lack of hostility or war, or to the presence of silence, is that we end with a skimpy understanding.  In Scripture, peace is to be recognized as both a rich concept and a glorious reality.  The words most often translated to our simple “peace” are shalom (Hebrew, primarily Old Testament) and eirene (eye-ray-nay – Greek, New Testament).  Though originating from vastly different languages, these two words are applied with congruent meaning in God’s Word.

Shalom.  This is a common greeting in Jewish culture, spoken as a blessing over one another in coming and going.  Shalom means permanent completeness, total wholeness, and soundness or wellbeing in all areas of life.  Given the Advent season, let’s look at a passage from Isaiah, foretelling the birth of Jesus Christ, our Savior:

“For a child is born to us, a son is given to us; dominion will rest on his shoulders, and he will be given the name Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Shalom.” – Isaiah 9:6

Prince of Shalom, Prince of Peace – try reading it again with the definition of “shalom”:

“For a child is born to us….he will be given the name Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of permanent completeness and wellbeing.”

Eirene.  This word is used heavily throughout the Gospels by Jesus.  It also directly opens (and closes) nearly every epistle (letter) in the New Testament, or the concept is tied into the closing.  Eirene means unity to the point of oneness, total and complete wholeness of one’s entire being and life.

“….Grace to you, and eirene [sound wholeness] be yours in full measure.” – 1 Peter 1:2

“Greet one another with a kiss of love.  Eirene [perfect wellbeing] to all who belong to Christ.”
 – 1 Peter 5:14

And for this precious season of celebration: “In the highest heaven, glory to God!  And on earth, eirene [complete wholeness and unity] among people of good will,” the angels declared in praise to the shepherds as Christ was born (Luke 2:8-14).

Through Christ Jesus we do not simply have the absence of conflict or a quiet hush.  All things are made whole and complete in Him, without even a whisper of brokenness.  In Colossians 1:19-20 we read, “For it pleased God to have his full being live in his Son and through his Son to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making eirene [permanent wholeness and perfect unity] through him, through having his Son shed his blood by being executed on a stake.” (I recommend reading the full passage for a more pristine context!)  Because of Jesus we are welcomed into the glorious reality of shalom, of eirene: total and complete wholeness.  Nothing missing, nothing broken.  Wholeness is not our promise for some day in the distant future.  Read the verses from Colossians again.  Our loving Heavenly Father was delighted to restore his creation to its original form: whole.  Complete.  One with him.  It is already done.  On the cross Jesus declared, ‘“It is finished”’ (see John 19:28-30).  This declaration sealed Jesus’ sacrifice as our reconciliation for all eternity.

We have been made totally and completely whole by Jesus’ sacrifice; it is already done.  Now our invitation is to live in the glorious reality of wholeness – permanently.

As each year ends, I begin asking God what word he has for me in the new year to come.  My word for 2022 came immediately, a firm whisper growing to a battle-cry in my soul: wholeness.  I adore and despise the word, because I look at myself and the world around me, still seeing the tattered shroud of brokenness that I know Jesus came to tear away.  I know that wholeness is my portion.  I know that God’s wholeness is total and complete.  Yes, that is a redundant comment, but we are as skimpy in our definitions of “wholeness” as we are of “peace.”  We let mostly-well and not-too-bad be our so-called wholeness and miss the reality of God’s kindness.  I say have a “whole” apple – even when it is bruised and scarred.  A student tells me he “has shoes” when the soles have worn as thin as paper and his toes are free in the wind, laces snapped and knotted back together.  That isn’t wholeness.  Those things aren’t like the wholeness God desires for his children.

“Whole,” but not “well — Photo Credit: Burwalde Juice

I am afraid in some ways, afraid of continuing to contend for promises that God has made for wholeness in my body, my soul; for wholeness in my family; for permanent soundness in my husband’s body and soul; for unity and permanent wellbeing in my community and my students.  I continue to ask, and in some ways I have not seen yet.  My heart breaks with the suffering – mental, emotional, and physical – that I see in my beloved ones.  I feel a gaping hole at the loss of my grandmother, who would have been the first to read my newest writing; I wanted one more hug, one more chance to tell her how much her constant love means to me.

This longing for wholeness wracks the deepest core of my being – it is so strong the desire carries a physical weightiness.  My conversations with God in the dark hours of the night, the vivid dreams that are not yet visible in my physical understanding, the hurts of my loved ones that I cannot take on my own shoulders, the many years of journals filled with honest words that yield my waiting to hope time and again – these linger with me constantly.  I cannot tell you the number of tears and sleepless nights spent in pursuing this longing.

Mark 5:21-34 gives us a stunning picture of the pursuit of wholeness.  Jesus is on his way to save the life of a deathly ill little girl.  As he is moving through the crowds, a desperate woman makes her way to him, determined to touch his garment and claim her healing after over a decade of constant bleeding that no doctor could explain and no money could cure.  There is nothing left for her brokenness aside from Jesus.  But why interrupt now?  Could she not have waited until Jesus healed the girl?  (The girl died, by the way, while this nameless nobody was interrupting Jesus with her brokenness.)  This woman had been bleeding for twelve years – could she not have simply waited another hour or so?!  Yet that is exactly our trouble with wholeness; we don’t pursue it at all costs.  We do not pursue wholeness when we are afraid that we will inconvenience someone else (even Jesus) on our mission to live in the reality of being complete.  I do not think it is a matter of not wanting it enough; I believe it is a matter of not truly recognizing the importance and the release of wholeness.  Jesus does not send away this woman who is clinging to her hope of wholeness, just in case you wondered.  The woman is terrified when Jesus acknowledges her surreptitious touch of his garment and the subsequent instant flow of his Life into her body.  Look carefully, though, at Jesus’ response:

‘“Daughter, your faith has healed you.  Go in eirene [perfect and complete wholeness] and be freed from your suffering.”’ – Mark 5:34

I want to be as committed to my wholeness as Jesus is.  I am ready for “wholeness” to be not merely a half-dressed word but a reality I live in for myself and my loved ones.  I refuse to settle for “good enough” or “not too bad.”  I am sick of mostly-well and sort-of-fine.  I am finished with “okay.”  That isn’t enough for me anymore.  Maybe it was once sufficient, but now I am ready for the fullness of what God has prepared for me. 

I am ready for permanent wholeness to be my reality.  Perhaps it is time for each of us to reject our fear of the unknown to the all-knowing God.  Perhaps the time has come for you and me to yield our understanding to the Living Hope that Does Not Disappoint.  Perhaps it is time to begin pursuing wholeness with reckless abandon and a heart tender to God’s kindness, dear heart.  I bless you in your journey as you learn to live in the perfect wholeness that God has for you.

Shalom be with you, brave heart.

Feb10

Got the Message

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I have found many words written in and around my schools where I serve as the itinerant school counselor.  Horrible sentiments, at times, and vile comments; lies full of heartache and hopelessness; cruel, death-speaking words.  Some of these words have been there so long, scribbled or scratched onto surfaces.  Did no one else notice?  Are we blind to the pain of these words?

Have these ugly words become wallpaper to our eyes?

Jesus, forgive me for the times I am blind; teach me to see with the eyes of your Holy Spirit.

I see these words.  I see them when I am meeting with students, when I am in the halls, when I am entering rooms, when I am administering tests, when I am teaching lessons.  I see, and then I cannot un-see.  I see the pain in the story these words tell – layers of despair that are cutting someone (or many “someones”) deeply.  When I see them I passionately hate these death-giving words because they are a poison that too many have ingested.  How can I protect my students and the people around me?  What stops the reckless destruction inherent to the ugly words that are spewed onto the walls and surfaces of places that should be safe and full of growth?

This is my opportunity to tell you, dear hearts: I got your message – I see.

At first I tried to simply erase the words by giving them a firm scrubbing with wipes or putting some “elbow grease” into using a (large) eraser.  It wasn’t enough.  The words would reappear – sometimes the same, sometimes different, but just as ugly.  Why did the erasure not work?  It did not work – perhaps could not work fully – because I was attempting to erase something much deeper than words.

You cannot simply erase pain by pretending there was never hurt.
You cannot erase lies by pretending they never existed.

Jesus tells a short story of a person tormented by a demon.  The demon was “cast out” — evicted.  The “house” of this person’s heart was cleared out and swept clean, left sparkling and empty.  Not long after, to this vacant house returned the demon, bringing along seven stronger and more horrid than itself, leaving the state of the heart-home far worse than before the “cleaning” (Luke 11:24-26).

Evicting the evil was not enough; the space needed to be filled with good.  Our hearts are the same: if we strip out the ugliness, we need to replace it with fresh beauty.  Too often we do lots of erasing and cleaning in our spaces but make no effort to adjust our living habits.  Because of this lack of real change, what was filled with junk will be filled with even more junk again until we decide that we need a new lifestyle, a new perspective – just like the walls and desks of my schools.

Our hearts and minds are not meant to be junk shops, but they are also not meant to be sterile space.  They are meant to be gloriously filled with life and love and hope.

I may not be able to simply erase the lies and the pain, but I can tell a different story.  I can write the truth.  I am telling a new story in Newtok and Mertarvik, in Tununak, in Quinhagak and Oscarville and Napaskiak.  I am telling a new story – the real story – to myself, to my loved ones, and to my communities.  It is in my power to do so.  It is my right to tell the real story.  Dear hearts, do you know you have the power to declare life to yourself and to those around you?  That is our gift of authority through Jesus Christ, our Savior and our Healer.  We know the real Story, the one in which we are called “Beloved.  Remembered.  Inscribed.”  Whole, healed, free.  Never forgotten and always loved.  Worthy, forgiven, and full of destiny.  Beloved.

Dear hearts, I got the message, and I am going to tell you the truth, now and always.

I refuse to let ugliness become the wallpaper of my life and heart.  I refuse to let lies become the story for myself, my students, and my loved ones.  Never again.  It is time for a spring cleaning in our spaces.  Strip out the dirty carpets and tear down the tatty wallpaper of your hearts, friends; toss out the broken furnishings and sweep out the rubbish.  Then fill your empty places with life – new words of truth, fresh hope.  And after you have taken authority in your heart, take authority in the space around you.  Take authority to declare life over those who are not yet ready to declare it over themselves.  When you feel too weak to remember, I will remind you.  You are not alone.

What lies need evicted from your life today?
What are the new stories you will write today?
What truths do you need to remember today?
It is time for you to tell the real Story, beloved.

Tell me truly…

Sep21

Burn Us Up

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Stripped of everything and everyone.  Led a wandering people into the Promised Land.  Left with a mission to save her people – at the cost of her life.  Tossed into the flames.

Job.  Joshua.  Esther.  Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.

What were the responses of these individuals to seemingly impossible situations – situations so dire, so dangerous and difficult, that there was no earthly hope remaining?

Job.  Job was a man “blameless and upright” who “feared God and shunned evil” – and “he was the wealthiest man in the east” (Iyov/Job 1:2, 3 CJB).  God blessed him greatly: expansive flocks, numerous servants, many sons and daughters, ease.  Protection.  Favor.  Then begins a saga of what seems nothing short of total devastation as the Adversary (Satan) is allowed to test Job’s faithfulness to God.  Within a span of moments, Job’s servants are slaughtered, his flocks are destroyed or stolen, and all his beloved children are killed in a freakishly strange accident.  From head to toe, his body becomes a mass of sores.  His wife bitterly prods him to curse God.  And Job’s so-called friends gather to pity his misery, “offering faulty and simplistic explanations of God’s dealings” (Stern, p. 952), urging Job to repent of supposed sins in order to restore God’s former favor.  Job has questions for God, wondering at God’s justice and dealings with humanity – with him – and, in the end, comes to this:

“‘I know that you can do everything, that no purpose of yours can be thwarted…. Yes, I spoke, without understanding, of wonders far beyond me, which I didn’t know…. I had heard about you with my ears, but now my eye sees you; therefore I detest [myself] and repent in dust and ashes.”’ (Iyov 42:2, 3, 5-6 CJB)

I am utterly undone; there is nothing for me apart from you.

Joshua.  Joshua is a leader trained under the hand of Moses and tasked with leading God’s people Israel to their rest in the Promised Land when Moses no longer was permitted to do so.  Joshua steps into hard situations, facing the opposition of fellow spies who could see only the giants inhabiting the area rather than the wealth of the land and the abundance of God’s favor.  In the face of fear, whining, and disobedience from his people he declares God’s promises confidently, conquering cities with song and bringing the people with him into the victory God was providing.

“‘Therefore fear ADONAI, and serve him truly and sincerely.  Put away the gods your ancestors served beyond the [Euphrates] River and in Egypt, and serve ADONAI!  If it seems bad to you to serve ADONAI, then choose today whom you are going to serve…. As for me and my household, we will serve ADONAI!’”
(Y’hoshua/Joshua 24:14-15 CJB)

Whatever may come, whatever they may choose, my choice is made.

Esther.  The setting: the Jews had been taken into captivity and were now living in the land of the Medes and Persians – strangers in a strange land where ADONAI, the Lord God Most High, is not known.  The story begins: the king of the Medes and Persians, in search of a new queen, gathers the most beautiful of the young virgins for, essentially, an extended beauty pageant.  The winner?  Esther.  Having won the king’s favor above all the other women of the land, she becomes the chosen queen.  Plot twist: the king’s wicked and self-absorbed advisor, Haman, has also curried the king’s favor.  In a fit of temper over the perceived lack of deference toward himself from Esther’s Jewish cousin, Haman tricks the king into signing a proclamation that will have all the Jews slaughtered.  (It does seem excessive, doesn’t it?  Selfishness always has a way of creating evil excesses.)  But Esther herself is also a Jew, and cousin Mordecai pleads with her to rescue her people by going unsummoned before the king – a veritable death warrant.  The tension builds to a climax:

‘Ester had them return this answer to Mordekhai: “Go, assemble all the Jews to be found in Shushan, and have them fast for me, neither eating nor drinking for three days, night and day; also I and the girls attending me will fast the same way.  Then I will go in to the king, which is against the law; and if I perish, I perish”…. On the third day, Ester put on her robes and stood in the inner courtyard of the king’s palace….’ (Ester 4:15-16, 5:1 CJB)

Though I cannot see the end, I am here for such a time as this.

Sometimes we do hard things by simply taking the first steps away from comfort — even if we do it screaming.

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.  The Jews are taken into captivity by the king of Babylon; among these captives are four faithful followers of God: Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.  With their God-given wisdom and steady commitment to righteousness these men win the favor of the pagan king of Babylon.  However, this favor is put into jeopardy when the proud king has a massive statue created of himself – a statue which he demands all his subjects worship to honor him as a god among men.  Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego refuse to worship any other than ADONAI, the Most-High and only God.  Their punishment?  The furnace is stoked to seven times its usual heat – so hot that the guards are incinerated by mere proximity – and these three men are cast into the flames:

‘“Is it true that you neither serve my gods nor worship the gold statue I have set up?….
But if you won’t worship, you will immediately be thrown into a blazing hot furnace – and what god will save you from my power then?”
Shadrakh, Meishakh, and ‘Aved-N’go answered the king, “Your question does not require an answer from us.  Your majesty, if our God, whom we serve, is able to save us, he will save us from the blazing hot furnace and from your power.  But even if he doesn’t, we want you to know, your majesty, that we will neither serve your gods nor worship the gold statue…”’ (Dani’el 3:14, 15, 16-18 CJB)

There is nothing and no one else we will choose, so burn us up.

Have you ever been in an impossible situation?  Have you ever been stripped, suddenly or gradually, of people, of relationships, of title and position, of health, of livelihood, of security, of hope?  Have you ever been crushed so thoroughly that you thought you may never rise again, either literally or figuratively?  Have you ever met with opposition so fierce that you were overwhelmed?  These questions are mostly rhetorical.  To be human in a world still yearning for the soon-coming promise of all things being made new (Revelation 21:1-5) is to know these pains.

As Christians we tend to approach suffering and massive challenges with favorite promises such as Romans 8:28: “Furthermore, we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called in accordance with his purpose.”  We remind ourselves and each other that it will get better, that God in His kindness does not forget us.  David’s words in the Psalms become encouragement: “For you, ADONAI, bless the righteous.  You surround them with favor like a shield” (5:13 CJB).  These promises are true – completely, unerringly trustworthy because they are made by our faithful Promise-Keeper, our good and only God.

But if waiting for the blessing at the end is our only aim, our suffering easily becomes small and self-serving.

“When the night has come and the land is dark, and the moon is the only light you’ll see — no, I won’t be afraid. Oh I won’t shed a tear, just as long as you stand, stand by me.” – “Stand By Me,” NEEDTOBREATHE version

If I endure in impossible situations only because I am awaiting God’s favor, I have missed the glory of living outside myself.  If I persevere only because I am waiting for God’s promises to be fulfilled, I am still living as a slave to self and to comfort rather than as one wholly surrendered to the awesome presence of God Most-High.  If I live with my focus on pleasant outcomes, my hope still rests in having good things directed toward myself rather than in seeing the One who alone is pure Goodness.  I would be serving my own self-interests without needing to surrender myself completely to Jesus Christ, Son of God, who is the Beginning and the End (Rev. 21:6), the Master and Creator of both time and eternity (Col. 1:14-17).

I confess that I often want to settle my hope on the promises God has given me – I know He is faithful, so it becomes easier to look forward to those joys, to that future vision.  So much easier, in fact, that I forget to keep my eyes on my God, who is the giver of every good thing.  I forget all too often that He is my Hope – not the promises, not the vision.  He alone is the Goodness.

‘I said to ADONAI, “You are my Lord; I have nothing good outside of you.”’ (Tehillim/Psalms 16:2)

No good thing apart from Him – I am undone.

“Whom do I have in heaven but you?  And with you, I lack nothing on earth.  My mind and body may fail, but God is the rock for my mind and my portion forever.” (Tehillim 73:25-6)

There are many choices that brought my 2019 graduates to this point. My students did hard things not because they were assured they would arrive successfully — or ever — at this day but because they were doing what was right. #mybravehearts #proudcounselor

What have I apart from Him?  He is my everything.  Even where all else falls away and my flesh is destroyed, He remains.  I am undone.

Doing hard things; choosing what is right over what is easy; choosing what is just over what is safe – we do not endure in righteousness because we are waiting for pots of gold at the end of the rainbow or even for peace after the fury of the storm.  Job did not cling to God and pray for the forgiveness of his misguided friends because he knew God would restore double what he had lost.  Joshua did not choose God above all else, speak fearlessly, or lead a wandering people because his hope was in fame or reward.  Esther did not go before the king because she was guaranteed to walk out alive from the throne room, heralded as rescuer of an entire people.  Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego did not bear the king’s wrath because they were assured of their flame-proof skin and the fearful honor of a pagan king.   All these so-labeled “heroes” of Scripture did what they did because it was right.  They did not do it because they always understood or knew there could be a favorable outcome; they did not do it because they were the most brave, selfless, or saintly individuals to walk the earth.  They took up the tasks and faced the circumstances before them because they knew no other way:

The Lord gives and takes away – all these are wonders far beyond me.
As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.
If I perish, I perish.
Burn us up.

My favorite do-hard-things person: my brother. Climb fearless, brave heart.

It is not that God fails to protect and shield us with favor – quite the contrary!  We can see God working out for good the crazy-impossible situations and sheltering His people with His protective favor.  These accounts in Scripture all have quite “happy endings,” as it were.  But we could look at these stories then protest that John the Baptist was beheaded (Mattityahu/Matthew 14:1-12) and Stephen was stoned (Acts 6-7) – where were God’s favor and protection then?!  Why did Paul so frequently escape dangerous circumstances – stoning, shipwreck, imprisonment, torture – yet others died for doing what was right?

There is a truth deeper than physical security or comfort that every one of these persons understood, whether we can perceive the “happy ending” or not: there is no good thing apart from God.  They made the choices they made, doing hard things, because in the end God is All-in-All.  In Him we lack no good thing.

These individuals found themselves in a place of surrendering fully to the Lord.  They could conceive of no other response, no other way to live.  Burn us up.  We are invited to make these same choices – choices of how to respond verbally, mentally, emotionally, and even physically.  When we choose God’s way, our “yes” to Him is our automatic “no” to fear of man, to fear of death or pain, and to the deceitful glimmer of hope placed in anything other than our God.

When we learn to live wholly surrendered to God, it is not that our lives and circumstances suddenly hold no value.  Rather, it is that we see value beyond the moment because we are already living in the reality of eternity, being filled and sustained purely by the presence of God’s Holy Spirit within us.  Burn us up.

I declare that God Most-High is my Goodness.  I do not fear death, and I would willingly give up my life or bear pain on behalf of righteousness, on behalf of truth and the wellbeing of others.  I would do this not because I am marvelously brave or selfless but because I have already made my choice.  Burn me up.  I make my choice not because I am hopeless or resigned to struggle but because I am thoroughly confident in Living Hope, which is Jesus Christ, my All and my Only.  Burn me up. 

There are many times when I wail or rail or plead to understand.  There are many times when the pain within and the pain without is so great that it surely must be impossible to bear.  There are times when I resent the path my feet walk and the tasks set before me, especially when I hold deep promises for which the time never seems to come.  There are times when the world seems to crumble around my loved ones, and I wish only that I could remove their pain.  Lord, ‘“I do trust – help my lack of trust!”’ (Mark 9:24).  There are times when doing what is right faces so much opposition that I feel I might as well be assailing a brick wall with a toothpick, and I am excruciatingly weary.  So very, very tired.  Yet in all these situations my responses must be shaped by a choice already made, a “yes” already given: I know no other way to live, no way apart from Him.  Burn me up.
 

So I stand, arms spread in humility and need toward the heavens, for I am undone.  Whom have I but you, my Lord, Most-High God?  Burn me up, for I know of no other way to live.  I have no Goodness apart from you.  Burn me up, for there is no greater joy, no place I am more well, and no wholeness more complete than total surrender to the One who gives and takes away with such exquisite kindness and relentless holiness.  Blessed be His name.

Dear hearts, let us learn to do hard things not because we are waiting for better days but because we already know Goodness.  We live in the eternal reality of better days and better promises because our Better has already come: Jesus Christ, our Messiah (see Hebrews).  Let us choose justice over security and righteousness over ease because we know the Giver of life, who holds us faithfully in His love for all eternity.  May our response become “burn us up,” because we know no confidence apart from El-‘Elyon, our Creator and Sustainer.  I bless you this day to walk in the fearlessness of knowing Living Hope as our Lord shows Himself to you.  As with Job, may your eyes now see and your heart be overcome by the awe of Most-High God, the All-in-All.

A quick note regarding the “CJB” and the funny-looking words or names you may have seen:  All Scripture quotations and references, and commentary, are taken from David H. Stern’s Complete Jewish Bible, which is the chosen version for many Messianic Jews (i.e. Jews who have recognized and accepted Jesus as the promised Messiah, the Savior).  I have utilized the transliterated Hebrew versions of words and books of Scripture (e.g. “Tehillim” for the English word “Psalms”) where it was therein used.  I am currently studying the Jewish roots of Scripture, which is an adventure you will likely read more about in the future. 😉

Aug14

Summer Fun

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School starts for us in about two weeks so my family is trying to soak up the last couple days before all of the chaos starts back up. Actually, it’s been somewhat of a chaotic summer as well (haha) with all of our trips and what not. But it’s been a blast spending time with our friends and family.

I’m excited to be officially transitioning into middle school (although that means more stuff to lug in my backpack the first day). I’m not sure about my siblings, but I know I’m going to have a rude awakening when it comes to getting up in the morning!

I hope everyone’s been having a fabulous summer so far; Here are some of my favorite memories!

My sister and I on our trip to Kentucky
My siblings, cousins, and I on 4th of July
My little sister at the park
Flamingos at the John Ball Zoo

Jul29

An Apology

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LOTR MenI have seen the “more LOTR men, please” post shared several times, and most often it comes in form of a lament from women – young ones especially – that there are no men like this.  (I am sorry to confess that there have been moments of despair where I have mourned the same.)  Or the sharing includes derogatory comments about the character of men and their inability to meet this standard in the real world.

But as a woman, and a young one at that, I am saying that I know these men.  I know young men of such gracious honor and steady valor.  I know men whose gentle hearts are their keenest strength, whose gentleness makes others great (Ps. 18:35).  Men of strong arms, strong minds, strong convictions, and strong dreams.  Men who are faithful beyond the point of pain because they know no other way to be.  Men who are as quick to weep over deep sorrows as to step boldly to the defense of others.  Men who are humble leaders.  Men who pursue what is right over what is easy, what is just over what is safe.  Men who live out the reality of “greater love has no one than this, to lay down one’s life for his friends” (Jn. 15:13).  Men with wild hearts full of all the adventure for which they are created, that siren-call of the Wilderlove deep within them.  Students, soldiers, doctors, musicians, pilots, athletes, politicians, businessmen, waiters, leaders, engineers, educators – many titles they hold, and in many places they are found.  I have had some of these men in my life and heart for always, some I have met in the past few years, and some I met even this summer.

As a young woman, this is my apology to you, my brave hearts, for the times when women have not called out your gifts, honored your strengths, treasured your gentleness.  This is my apology for the women who were faithless and shattered your freely-given hearts.  I know you would never have let go, never left, never turned wandering eyes elsewhere.  This is my apology for the mean girls who were willing to degrade your masculinity even while feeling entitled to your best attentions.  This is my apology for the times when my self-beliefs of “too much” and “not enough” overcame my kindness and caused me to push you away.  This is my apology for the ways we knock you down or watch you in your weakest moments and turn away rather than place our hands in yours and forge ahead faithfully.  This is my apology for the toxic femininity that we at times embrace because we don’t know our own gifts – a false femininity that steals from your masculine strength to bolster our own sense of identity.  My brave hearts, of these lies and wrongs I repent on behalf of women and on behalf of my generation.

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You need never adventure alone, brave heart. Credit: imgrumweb.com

My mighty men of valor, you are seen.  I watch the paths of honor you walk, far from the public eye.  I weep with your cries of confusion when the faithfulness of humankind has failed you utterly, and I rejoice as you draw on the deepest wells of strength within you to rise again.  I see the wounds of loss that have ravaged your gentle hearts – and the healing you find beyond the pain.  I watch as you rebuild precious things that have been broken, as you wrestle with your anger over the evils you have witnessed.  I notice as you fight for peace when all around you crumbles violently, when you are shuddering with the shock.  I look on with pride as you pioneer into the unknown, compelled by the belief that the best is always yet to come.  Wild ones, you are seen.

To women, it would be an easy route to simply say that, if you do not known these men, you need to fill your life with better men.  That would be ridiculously easy to say, but I refuse to make that proclamation.  Rather, I will say this, both to women and to men needing other men of valor surrounding them:

If you do not know these men, you need to start looking at the men around you differently.

Are you expecting these men to reveal themselves upon white steeds, clad in shining armor?  Are you expecting them to find you?  Are you expecting them to offer the vulnerable wilds of their adventuresome hearts for your initial inspection?  There may be signs – there usually are – of these mighty men of valor.  But you need to learn how to see them, beyond your assumptions and expectations.  My mind conjures in an instant the gentle-hearted men of honor I know – and the people who have dismissed them, left them behind, refused to come alongside in their pursuit of the dreams burning within them, selfishly used and crushed their amazingly wild hearts.  There is scarcely a fury more fierce that I have known than that of seeing mighty men of valor ready to rise then crushed by those around them, reduced through word or deed or faithless selfishness to lost boys, stripped of the honor and strength they rightly carried.

It must be added, in the spirit of true repentance, that if women are seeking these mighty men of valor in their lives, they must become the mighty women of valor who raise these men up and stand alongside them.  My brave-hearted sisters, if you would seek Samwise, Eomer, Aragorn, Faramir, and Gandalf to stand with in this life, you must be bold enough to be Rosie; to be Arwen, Eowyn, Galadriel.  You must be the type of woman who knows and operates in your own strengths and gifts – and raises those around you to standards of excellence in all they are created to be.  If you cannot be Arwen, do not expect to see Aragorn waiting for you.  If you cannot be a mighty woman of valor, do not expect you will suddenly find yourself surrounded by mighty men of valor (or such women, for that matter).  If you cannot hold your joy in the waiting, cannot remain in faithfulness, cannot be fiercely gentle and love in kindness, cannot make any and every sacrifice on behalf of another, cannot stand in the gap where the need is greatest – if you possess not these traits, you will not be prepared to see men of such valor.  For Christian women, the ideal of being a “Proverbs 31 woman” is pressed often.  Do you know the literal translation of the idea of a virtuous woman or wife, of this amazing feminine standard of grace and glory?  In Proverbs 31 (and in 12:4), this is most correctly translated “a woman or wife of valor; a woman of excellence.”  This exemplary woman is wise and fierce, ensuring that the needs are met — and then reaches farther to meet more.  A relentless, passionate woman of strength and dignity, honor and faithfulness.  A woman who knows the worth of others because she knows her own.  Being daughters of the Most-High King, we are designed as mighty women of valor and excellence – this should be an exciting revelation and an encouraging mandate!  We are designed in this fashion to complement and sustain the mighty men – and to do the same for one another.

It is not about perfection but about truly seeing one another in the glory and excellence for which we are created.

This is my apology to you, my mighty men of valor, and here is my promise.  For my brothers by blood and by heart, for my friends, for my father and uncles and cousins and grandfathers, for my students and colleagues, for the husband I will one day marry, for the sons I will raise and all the generations of sons to come: my promise to you is that I will see you, I will speak to your strengths, and I will release your wild hearts to adventure. 

To all my brave hearts: run wild, love fiercely, hold steady in faithfulness. As sons of the Most-High King, you were created for honor and valor – this is your inheritance, your right, and your mandate.  No one can strip this identity from you, mighty men of valor.  You are free to be relentless, to be full of adventure, to be faithful, to be men of honor because you know how you are created: “Brother” by Kodaline.  Hold on, brothers, my brave hearts.

Jun15

Kentucky Vacation!

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Here we go again! I haven’t posted since our last vacation and it’s about time for another one! Last summer we made a trip to Vermont with some of the family on my mom’s side. We decided to go with some more family and take a trip to Kentucky. We’re leaving tomorrow so I apologize if this post is kind of rushed, but I’m really excited for this trip and wanted to write about what I’m looking forward to. We’re planning on leaving earlier in the morning so everyone got a head-start on their packing. I’m most excited about staying on the lake. There’s some of us that are hoping to rent a pontoon boat so long as the weather behaves!

I also wanted to share about the cute little things that I’m excited to take on this trip. I had to bring this cute little purse and white wallet along and I think they’re perfect for summer! I also love my tiny collection of sunglasses. I came across the bottom pair a few days ago on sale at Kohl’s and decided that they were totally cute!

I’ll definitely make sure to post this summer and I hope you have some incredible vacations to look forward to as well!

Apr9

Hold the Storm

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“Lord, I want to feel again!” – this has been my ongoing conversation with the Lord for the past two years.  Anyone who knows me knows that I am passionate – about (I should be explicitly honest) everything in the way I approach life and people.  Yet 2017 found me utterly…missing.

Missing: Have You Seen ME?

Numbness is often correlated with shock.  Our bodies are most amazingly designed with a physiological fail-safe to become “numb” when confronted with situations or sensations too intense to process in the moment.  When something is overwhelming, the neurons that signal our bodies with different sensations and instructions to act simply stop sending signals because we don’t have the capacity to handle so many messages at once.  In the face of intensity, our bodies shut down the “feeling” parts.  This is numbness, and it can act as a physical, mental, and emotional shield that protects us in moments of intensity.  Numbness happens when people experience hypothermia and frost-bite: too much cold, and the human body ceases to feel the chill.  Numbness protects people, especially small kids, from environments that are over-stimulating (physically or emotionally) by causing them to “zone out” or ignore various situations.  In trauma and grief, numbness can allow persons to distance themselves from the situation(s) and even continue carrying out normal activity.  And, my dear friends, in caving to a challenging season, I went completely numb.

“I don’t know” was my go-to response – and I actually didn’t know; I didn’t know what I wanted, how I felt, whether I was okay.  I really didn’t know; I couldn’t tell.  It wasn’t that I didn’t care.  The problem was that I didn’t even know whether I cared – and that terrified me.  Or maybe it didn’t – I wasn’t sure.  Robotic, mechanical, functioning on autopilot – no terms are too strong for what it was and none, I assure you, are flattering in the least.

Numbness is a coping mechanism, but it is not a solution.

Oh, I was in deep hiding.  I was so far gone that, by the time I realized, I wasn’t certain I could find my way back from the nothingness.  That was a fearful thing, as I consider it now.  If there is anything I am most terrified of after that, it is to be numb again.  It was a separation, a chasm of nothingness, a consuming void – and I could see no light.  Separation from hope, from light, from Jesus – that is hell.  And I had chosen it – in my pain, in my confusion, I surrendered to the void.  I glimpsed that hell.  Sweet Jesus, never again – never again.

Yet even when I would have hidden, when I chose the nothingness, my Savior did not abandon me.  We are never too far gone for Him to rescue and redeem (Psalm 139:7-12).  And He alone knows how much I needed to be rescued, how deep was the scoring of my wounds, how my thoughts writhed in a turmoil of hopelessness.  For me, the freedom from this void came only when I was finally willing to admit it: I was furious, and I was hurt.  Both feelings were legitimate, honest, and even right – but it was not right for me to either keep or hide them.  It is okay to be angry – it is not okay to stay angry.  It is okay to hurt – it is not okay to stay hurting.  These were truly my feelings, but with no acknowledgement or centering peace to give perspective, they became parasites, feeding on my life.  In my nothingness Jesus met me; even in my hiding, He knew where I was.  He knew my need.  “We finally have our Sabra back,” my family wept with relief as I wept to purge the nothingness that had hollowed me for so very long.

I have spent these two years recovering my feeling.  And, if I may be forthright, it is painful.  It can be agony to feel so deeply and thoroughly.  Like a numb limb regaining feeling, there are the pricking stings of lifeblood flowing freely again.  From deadening numbness to full feeling – in His kindness I am healing from my hiding and from my wounds.  There are times when it is so tempting return to my hiding in the nothingness – or equally tempting to cast myself on the raging sea of emotions and be swept away.  How does one control such wild emotion, such feelings and sensations, the pain and the passion?  I do not want to hide, but do I want to feel?  Am I brave enough to feel again?

One of the people most dear to me shared wisdom.  This friend of mine knows what it is to feel, more than most people ever imagine possible.  We were discussing my role as a counselor in this context, how I work with kids in helping them build the skills they need to be emotionally and relationally healthy.  What is the truth, then, that I can speak over my kids?  What should we be speaking to ourselves?  “Deal with it” – yes, but how?  How do we learn?  In the end, it always comes back to one answer, the Truth: Jesus.  My friend spoke of a story…

Jesus sails aboard a boat in the middle of the Sea of Galilee with his disciples.  Under the strength and skill of the disciples – many of them professional fishermen – they have navigated to this point.  With sudden fury an unexpected storm arises, its wild might threatening to consume the small vessel and its passengers.  What can be done?  Even these avid fishermen are powerless – and utterly terrified.  If anyone should have been able to embrace this storm, it is these men – these men who can now do nothing except panic.  “Jesus,” they beg their sleeping Master, “Jesus, we are perishing.”  Why he isn’t panicking with them?  Can there be any salvation in this place of relentless fury?  Yet Jesus is not overwhelmed, for even this fury does not prevail against him.  Why are his disciples worried?  Where is their faith?  Has a storm stripped it from them?  And Jesus speaks stillness to the fury: the wind calms and the waves gentle immediately.  “Peace, be still,” he says, and there descends a perfect peace.  They are still in the sea.  There is still a journey to complete, but now they do it in awed awareness of the Storm Master.  Yes, even wind and waves obey the voice of Jesus.  (See Mark 4:35-41; Matthew 8:23-7; Luke 8:22-25.)

Approaching the Storm…We all have times when we are caught off-guard by emotional storms.  Storms, storms – I could hide, or I could battle it from the boat – are those my only options?  Hiding from the storm was not the answer.  I tried to stay ashore and avoid the storm – but the cost of the nothingness, the hiding, was more than I was willing to pay.  I also was still shy of the raging storm – its wildness was shocking, and I do not like the lack of control (which was especially disconcerting when I had so long prided myself on my self-control – ha!).  I prefer to focus on things that seem to be within my control – and when I do, I miss the deeper answers that God is providing.  Like the disciples, I try to use my strength and skill to solve my problems – then wail in desperation when the fury of the sea is overtaking me.  I continue to wrestle with the sails and oars of my boat when I should be asking Jesus to simply calm the storm.  I look for my control within the boat, while Jesus is standing ready to provide an encompassing peace.  That is the alternative to the hiding and the striving.  The storm is not to be feared, nor is it to be conquered by sheer force of will.

So what did my dear one say?

“Embrace the storm, and let Jesus calm it.”

There is power in the storm, but only Jesus can steady this fury into peaceful strength.  Hold the storm, storm-child; you were made to feel.  I want to know the fullness of God’s heart toward me – and that is no tame shore.  The winds and wild waters exist, but God’s Word is a greater reality: “Peace, be still” (Mark 4:39).  Do not fear the storm; do not fear the feeling.  Hold the storm, storm-child, for you are created for the fullness of it. 

These are the words that God spoke as the peace into my storm:

You feel, but I AM.

And then there was stillness…

This is the reality of embracing the storm, of letting Him be the peace that stills and steadies.  Through it all, He remains I AM.  What would it look like, dear hearts, to chase the storm instead of fearing it?  What would it look like to embrace the heights and depths of emotion in raw honesty, knowing that He is our peace?  What would He speak to us as we stand in the storm and let Him become our stillness, our centering Peace?

Emotions are a gift that allow us to glimpse our Creator-God’s heart toward us, to see as He sees, to take hold of our glory in being made in His image (Genesis 1:26-27).  This is not so that we give in to whims of wayward emotions but so that we relinquish our fear of seeing the full glory in how God made us.  Emotions are true – we truly feel them – but they don’t always tell us the Truth, which is why we need to allow Jesus to be our Storm-Master. Let us feel, my friends.

Hold the storm, storm-child, for the Master of the storm is holding you.

We are not abandoned to the fury.  No more hiding.  No more striving.  Give up your shore and give up your oars.  Embrace the storm and let Jesus calm it.  Let Him speak to and through the storm that you might find fullness in how you are made, for He has declared His creation “very good,” knowing all of you even when you were but a dream and a plan in His heart, not yet born into the world (Genesis 1:31; Psalm 139:13-18).

Perhaps you are emotionally numb now.  Perhaps you are traversing your own terrifying nothingness, seeking your way back to feeling.  Perhaps you know what it is to feel so intensely that the emotion threatens to drown you or that others cringe away from your “outbursts.”  Perhaps you are endeavoring to understand someone who is coping numbly with pain or who startles (even disturbs) you with the intensity of their feeling.  Wherever you are in your seeking and your feeling, remember this, brave hearts:

Revel in wind and waves, for you are in the care of the Storm-Master.

Emotions are a gift from God.  To feel and to grow means that we are alive.  When we cease to feel and grow, we are dead.  Only living things grow.  Only living things feel.  And our God never, ever leaves us alone in the hiding or the feeling.

You are not “too much” for God.  I am not “too much” for Him.  He can handle the fullness of our emotions.  He has given us this beautiful, wild capacity, and He is not afraid of it.  He is not overwhelmed or shocked by our feeling.  He is not disgusted by it, nor by our needing or hiding.  In our feeling, He stills the storm.  In our needing, He does the filling.  In our breaking, He is the Healing.  In our hiding, He does the finding – because He always knows precisely where we are.  He never abandons, beloved.

Hold the storm, storm-child.  Let Jesus, the Storm-Master, still your waters and calm your winds.

Mar10

Florida Trip

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I haven’t posted in a couple weeks because our family took sort of a last-minute trip to Florida to visit a couple family members. We had tons of fun with the family and stayed with our aunt. We also did a couple things like going to antique stores and made sure to hit up the pool and Clearwater beach of course! I must say I lucked out when it came to clothes! We went down to John’s Pass and ate at the most delicious pizza place (It was so good). As I said before, we did take a few trips to antique shops but these were some of my favorite ones (Picture shown below). We found some really fun things and my mom bought a beautiful figurine at our last stop! We stopped by Bealls Outlet a couple times and found some things there. My favorite thing was hanging out with the family and going out to do fun things together! I’m sorry to say we lost a family member close to us just a couple weeks ago and he will be missed by many. We love you grandpa!


Feb10

3 Ways I Style my Nine-West Flats

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Forever21 sweater, cropped pink jeans, Nine-West flats, black camera
Black dress, old magazine, Nine-West flats, rose gold bracelets
White sweater, denim jean skirt, Nine-West flats, multiple blue bracelets

I recently found these multicolor Nine-West flats; They’re so comfy and colorful and make a great edition to my wardrobe! I decided to put together three really fun outfits to wear with these shoes and hopefully these pictures inspire you to play around with your outfits too. I love statement shoes and think that they look super cute when paired with a simple top and bottom. I do tend to add brighter colors and prints with a shoe like this (making sure that the whole outfit doesn’t look to busy). I hope everyone has a blessed week and a great day!

Jan28

It’s A Winter Wonderland!

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I feel so bad because I haven’t posted in so long! We’ve been really busy and have much more to do throughout these next couple months. We didn’t have a lot of really nice weather; It kind of went from rainy to snowing. This week it’s supposed to be so cold and has snowed so much here in Michigan that most everything (including the mall) has been closed for the day.

It’s snowed so much to the point that we’re practically snowed in at our house. Yet our driveway has been shoveled multiple times. So I figured I’d make a day of it and start blogging about what’s been going on and of course, include a comfy winter outfit!

#SnowDay #KeepCalmAndDrinkCoffee

Our holiday’s have been really fun and we’re excited for my school dance-party in February. Shortly after, I’m looking forward to selling my fashion illustrations at a craft fair. We then have plans to make a trip to Florida for spring break which means new swimsuits and going to the beach nonstop!

This outfit is comfy and casual and it’s really warm which I love not to mention will need in this weather! I’m pretty much just wearing this around the house but just in case we had to go out, it’s cute and presentable.

I hope all of you had happy holidays and are very blessed this new year!