inspiration

The One In Which I Sob

by oh amanda on February 16, 2008

in africa,compassion,faith,giving,God,inspiration,Jesus,me,money,uganda

I usually keep up to date with Shannon from Rocks in My Dryer and Sophie aka Boomama. And I knew (and was insanely jealous) that they were going to Uganda with Compassion International. Live blogging about the lives of children who need love and Jesus? That’s my kinda gig.

For whatever reason, I missed out on their posts when they left for Uganda. I guess it was when my internet was acting all selfish. I glanced at their sites the other day but knew I didn’t have time to sit down and spend the time I needed with them. Now it’s Saturday, Les is playing golf and Lydia is napping. I knew it was time for me to visit Uganda.

I have now read all of Shannon‘s posts, all of Sophie‘s and most of the rest of the Uganda Bloggers.

And I’ve been sobbing.

Sobbing because although I KNOW that there is poverty and children living without parents and without food and without medical care and WITHOUT Jesus, I still complain about my bed. I still buy an extra set of dishes when they’re 50% off at Target. I still dislike Lydia’s plush carpet in her playroom. I still wish I had another pair of jeans that fit!

And I know being guilted into caring about poverty is not the point. But you know what? It is! If we don’t know about the poverty, we’ll never do anything about it! Playing on our emotions is the right thing to do! We are SO blessed and SO rich here it would be hard for even the most selfless of people to focus on someone 8000 miles away!

I heard an awesome quote from Sara Groves about this very thing. (It’s not a direct quote, it’s just from memory.)

When I see tragedy in the world, I no longer wonder, “Where is God?” I wonder, “Where are God’s people?”

WHERE ARE GOD’S PEOPLE?

I think most of us sit here and blame God for poverty. We do. We think if God was really loving, He’d do something about AIDS and hunger.

But what are we doing?

What are we doing?!

This is one of those things that can go overboard. Les and I have enough money we could sell half of everything we owned, including one of our cars and still live like kings in comparison to the kids in Uganda. I’m not suggesting God is expecting us to do that. (He might be…) But the point is, we CAN do SOMETHING.

And as soon as Les gets home we’re going to search through the faces of the children who need us. They need our money. Period. They need food, they need love, they need support, they need Jesus. And my 32 bucks a month can bring that to them.

THIRTY-TWO DOLLARS.

I think it will be 32 holy dollars. And I do not say that lightly or flippantly. I think God will use that money to make an eternal difference in the life of a child.

Please go read the blogs. Look at the pictures. Watch the videos. Listen.

{ 14 comments }

oh! ho! ho! the last.

by oh amanda on December 17, 2007

in books,God,history,holiday,inspiration,Jesus,life,me,oh ho ho,reading

Luke 2
At that time the Roman emperor, Augustus, decreed that a census should be taken throughout the Roman Empire… All returned to their own ancestral towns to register for this census. And because Joseph was a descendant of King David, he had to go to Bethlehem in Judea, David’s ancient home…He took with him Mary, his fiancée, who was now obviously pregnant. And while they were there, the time came for her baby to be born. She gave birth to her first child, a son. She wrapped him snugly in strips of cloth and laid him in a manger, because there was no lodging available for them.That night there were shepherds staying in the fields nearby, guarding their flocks of sheep. Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared among them, and the radiance of the Lord’s glory surrounded them. They were terrified, but the angel reassured them. “Don’t be afraid!” he said. “I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people. The Savior—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David! And you will recognize him by this sign: You will find a baby wrapped snugly in strips of cloth, lying in a manger.”Suddenly, the angel was joined by a vast host of others—the armies of heaven—praising God and saying, “Glory to God in highest heaven, and peace on earth to those with whom God is pleased.”When the angels had returned to heaven, the shepherds said to each other, “Let’s go to Bethlehem! Let’s see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”They hurried to the village and found Mary and Joseph. And there was the baby, lying in the manger.After seeing him, the shepherds told everyone what had happened and what the angel had said to them about this child. All who heard the shepherds’ story were astonished, but Mary kept all these things in her heart and thought about them often. The shepherds went back to their flocks, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen. It was just as the angel had told them.

Did you just read that story or skip over it because you’ve heard it so many times? I know it’s tempting for me to just glance at it. It doesn’t seem that exciting. It’s the word-picture that matches the manger scene on your end table. It’s the obligatory story read before opening presents. But do you ever stop to read it and wonder? Wonder why things happened the way they did? Why Mary? Why Joseph? Why the shepherds? Why Bethlehem? Why a manger?

Growing up, reading the Christmas story so many times and hearing sermons preached and lessons taught, I knew Jesus had to be born in Bethlehem because God prophesied it long ago. It was like a sign. You know a little check to mark off so you can make sure this Jesus guy is really the Messiah. And I’d always heard the angels told the shepherds about Jesus first because they were humble fellows–that’s who Jesus came for–regular folk. Personally, I’ve always thought the angels went to the shepherds first because they were the closest to the stable. You know, because after a journey through time and space, they were too tired to travel any further. Ahem.

Then I began to read some books by Brock & Bodie Thoene. If you aren’t familiar with Brock & Bodie Thoene, you are missing out on a significant experience in your life. They are prolific fiction authors–not just fun chick-lit or amusing stories. They are real historical researchers who have written several series based on God’s chosen people. Their series range from the Great Depression in the United States, the Holocaust of World War II, the rebirth of Israel and their current series, the history of Jesus on earth. I can honestly say, no other books have influenced me the way these books have. (I have so much to say about them and their books, but that will have to wait. I’m reading one right now, so when I’m done, I’ll be back to gush.)

Now they’ve got a new series of mini-books (try 83 pages) that answer the big…well, little questions about Jesus. Little questions that have big answers! There are three so far: Why A Manger?, Why A Shepherd? and Why A Crown? I picked up Why A Manger? a few weeks ago and read it last night. To say it was good is an understatement.

Each chapter answers one of the questions I had above. One of my favorite questions was “Why Bethlehem?”

They explain that Bethlehem is the place where the Temple sheep were born and raised. These were the sheep that would be chosen and bought by people to sacrifice and atone for their sins. The sheep of Bethlehem were thought to be holy–because they were set apart for a holy purpose. These sheep were raised by shepherds to be sacrificed for the sins of the Israelites.

So, where else would Jesus, the Lamb of God be born? He had to be born in Bethlehem! Not just to mark off a qualification for Messiah, but to be a picture to everyone who met him. To be a symbol and a fulfillment of God’s real plan!

And who got to meet Jesus first? Not just any old shepherds! Not just some regular old guys! THE shepherds! The shepherds that raised the sacrificial lambs! The shepherds who knew more than anyone what this sacrifice meant! Raising a little lamb from birth and then sending it to the slaughter—for a bunch of dumb, wicked people! Oh, what those shepherds understood about sacrifice! What it must have meant to them! They were the first ones to meet the Lamb of God, because they were the ones who would really understand.

WOW. Isn’t that amazing? Isn’t God cool?! Each chapter of this little book has insight like this. I won’t give away the answer to “why a manger”, I’ll let you read it for yourself. (Just know that it made me cry.) Because for this last installment of my bloggy Christmas, I’m giving away Brock & Bodie’s book Why a Manger? to two winners. Just leave me a comment and you’ll be entered to win!

Now, my prayer for you…

I remember how it felt the hours and days after Lydia’s birth. I was emotional, tired and overwhelmed. I remember how my husband acted when holding our newborn baby. I remember the nurses wrapping my daughter in a swaddling blanket. I remember the friends and family that came to ooh and aah over my child.

What would it have been like to know that a miracle baby was in your arms? That the one who had planned His own coming, His own sacrifice, His own resurrection, was cooing in your arms? I don’t think they could understand. They hadn’t read the story a hundred times like we have. They were experiencing it, living it!

I pray the same for you. I pray during this Christmas season you experience the miraculous birth of the Lamb of God in your life. The Lamb that was born in the only place he could be born, among the sacrificial lambs of Bethlehem. Born in the little town of Bethlehem as reminder that The Lamb would grow up to die in your place, just as the lambs in the fields had been born to do.

Merry Christmas!

(ps–If you haven’t read anything by Brock & Bodie, GO OUT AND BUY SOME NOW! They are my absolute favorite! And if you start reading their blog, be prepared–it’s amazing!)

 

CONGRATS TO OUR WINNERS! 

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Something Beautiful Happened Today…

by oh amanda on November 27, 2007

in books,faith,God,inspiration,Jesus,me,ministry,prayer,reading

…God spoke to me. He did. I know I’ve mentioned if a few times, but my husband and I are very uncertain of our future. We’ve been out of full-time vocational ministry for over a year. We’ve always always always known that’s what we were supposed to do with our life. But after two very hard ministry positions, we’re just at home in Atlanta being “normal” people.

And I struggle with it sometimes. I don’t feel like I’m doing “what God wants”. In fact, I don’t even know what God wants. So, today, after too many days of not spending time in my Bible, I picked up my nouveau devo, Take Flight and began to read. This book is written by one of my favorite authors, Robin Jones Gunn. I know I’ve blogged about her several times, her books gave my friends and I the great title of “sisterchicks”. But I really started reading Robin Jones Gunn’s teen series about Christy Miller when I was in 6th or 7th grade. I identified so much with Christy that I wrote Robin Jones Gunn a letter that said, “I think your books should be called the Amanda series!” Even today, there are things I think about that come from those books.

Anyway, here’s what I read today from one of my far away mentors, Robin Jones Gunn…

“I was convinced that the best–and probably only–way I could honor God with my life was by devoting myself to full-time ministry.” And so Robin applied to be a laundry supervisor at a mission in Nairobi, Kenya. But was rejected because she lacked “sufficient experience and abilities for this position”. She says, “I never expected such a response. Apparently I was too ungifted and untalented to wash clothes for Jesus in Kenya. What then, could I possibly do for Him?”

That Sunday she went to the junior high girls’ Sunday school class she taught to tell them she wouldn’t be going to Nairobi. The girls suggested, “You should tell stories…Your stories make us think about God in a new way.” Robin was devastated. She “needed to do something tangible for the Lord. Something solid. Not something airy and capricious, like spinning fanciful tales.” So, she stayed at home, got married, had kids and continued to teach junior high Sunday school but “in a concealed part of my spirit, I felt as if I had turned out to be a big disappointment. Yes, I was serving God with my husband in full-time ministry, but I wasn’t like…a missionary in Peru doing great work for God.”

Robin continues, “Then, on a camping trip with our youth group, a tent full of thirteen-year-old girls challenged me to write the kind of stories they wanted to read. They even volunteered to help me by telling me everything I did wrong. It took two years and weekly critique sessions with those teens before my first novel was published in what became the Christy Miller series. That book, Summer Promise, has been translated into five languages, and mail has come in from girls around the world saying that they gave their hearts to Christ after reading that story.”

(I was in tears at this point…)

One of the girls that read Summer Promise was a girl named Wambura. Robin met her at a writer’s conference. Wambura was a young author who wanted to write similar stories for the girls of her home in…wait for it…Nairobi, Kenya. Robin told Wambura that she had wanted to go to Kenya but never got to go. Wambura replied, “Ah, but your story did come to Africa. Perhaps you were never supposed to come. Only your stories. You sent your stories, and they have washed the hearts of many young girls just like me. In Nairobi and around the world. Do you see? God’s will has been accomplished. You have been a supervisor of laundry.”

Did you see that? Did you hear it? God’s will was accomplished! Robin thought it was in this big, hard ministry to Kenya. She even felt rejected and disappointed that she wasn’t doing what God wanted. When in fact, he had been leading her step by step into his perfect and amazing will.

It’s hard to imagine that God is at work in us when we are waiting. It doesn’t seem possible that the places and things I think I should have accomplished by now are not the things I should have accomplished. You remember the story of Joseph, right? The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat guy? Well, his brothers hated him and his big dreams. They said, “Come now, let’s kill him and throw him into one of these cisterns and say that a ferocious animal devoured him. Then we’ll see what comes of his dreams!” And I picture God just shaking His head saying, “As if that would throw off my plan! Joseph’s dreams will come true because I gave them to him.” God had to lead Joseph through several terrible situations. I’m sure there were times when Joseph wrestled with disappointments and rejection. But through it all God was leading him step by step. God’s will was being accomplished.

And one day when hindsight is 20/20, I’ll see those steps. And I’ll see that God’s will was accomplished. I’ll see my “laundry supervision” morph and develop into the big plan that God planted in my heart long ago.

Thank you God, for not seeing us as rejected. Thank you for not being disappointed in us. I pray we’d say with Mary, “I am the Lord’s servant…” Amen.

{ps–read the comments to see a special comment from Wambura!}

{ 26 comments }

Cheerful Giver, Indeed

September 18, 2007 bill clinton

Hello. Hellooooo! I know why Oprah won’t answer her phone. I have 9 Oprah shows tivoed! I haven’t watched all season! She’s mad at me. So, I sat down and watched one today. It was the episode with Bill Clinton. He was there promoting his book, Giving: How Each of Us Can Change the World. [...]

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