For such a time as this...

Have you ever been told that you talk to much or that you just need to shut up?  I hear that occasionally.  I hear about being too passionate or talking about things too much.  I hear it from others and sometimes even inside my own head.  “Why can’t you just shut up?"

The story of Esther shows how one woman who said what needed to be said, saved her people.  Do you know the story of Esther?  If you don’t you should probably read it cuz it’s cool.  Basically God orchestrates it so that one person is in the right place at the right time and her saying what needed to e said woman saved her people.

One of my favorite verses is Esther 4:13 where it says “

For if you keep silent at this time, relief and deliverance will rise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father's house will perish. And who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this?”

Wow.   God wanted to use her — and basically he was going to get the task done one way or another, but Esther is reminded that relief and deliverance could be her doing.   Her words could be the ones that made the difference.

So who around you needs relief and deliverance?  Have you been placed on the earth for such a time is this to talk…. and not stop talking … until that deliverance comes to pass?

If you’ve never heard this Wayne Watson song from back in the day (and even if you have) you should listen to it.  And it’s based on that verse from Esther.

So I won't stop talking about CarePortal or Vision 30 (check out the new website) because as long as their are children and families in our world who needing relief and deliverance, I refuse to keep silent.  

https://youtu.be/LXcJUIAJNW0

and or so that...

If you have been involved in the “child welfare space” as a Christian these words from James 1:27 have become engraved in your heart:

Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.

These words were motivation for us as we began our foster care journey.  I mean if you’re going to have religion — it might as well be a religion that the Father accepts as pure and faultless right?  Is any other kind good enough?

The two parts of the verse seemed disconnected to me, though.  I mean what does keeping oneself from being polluted by the world have to do with looking after orphans and widows?

And then it hit me.   What if it’s because they are mutually exclusive?

If you and I are busy looking after the needs of orphans and widows — we won’t have time to become polluted by the world.  I would even go so far as to say that the fatherless — the orphan — the brokenness and pain that comes with those situations — are so close to the heart of God that if we are with those folks and walking with them in their brokenness, the world can’t polite us.   

The word fatherless or orphan is in the Bible 45 times and it is so clear how much God wants his people to step into this space.  I won’t quote all of them, but here are a couple of them:

Learn to do good;

Seek justice,

Reprove the ruthless,

Defend the orphan,

Plead for the widow.

(Isaiah 1:17)

‘Cursed is he who distorts the justice due an alien, orphan, and widow.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’ (Deuteronomy 27:19)  Wow.  Storng words.  

So if it is your goal to keep yourself from being polluted by the world, look after orphans and widows.  It’s hard to allow the world to grab ahold of your heart, when you are holding a baby, or looking into the eyes of a child,  or giving a ride to a teenager knowing that you are diving into their brokenness in order to discover the heart of God.  

I shared this song and video four years ago.  I know the family in the video and this song hits me every time.   Maybe God isn’t asking you to fly across the waves and bring home a baby from a special needs orphan in China — but he may be asking you to invite a single mom and her kids over for dinner even if it means driving to pick them up in a neighborhood you try to avoid.  

Whatever he asks you to do - -I guarantee you that it will be much harder to become polluted by the world if your heart and your eyes are on the fatherless.

https://youtu.be/BBVYBYZXafI

Funk

 I've been in kind of a funk the last week or so.   I'm trying to figure out why.  I think it boils down to a few things:

1). I'm very discouraged by the fact that several of my children are dealing with their issues by either drinking or smoking weed.  The smell of marijuana is a huge trigger for me (going back to my high school days and being reinforced for the last twenty years or so) and now that is is about to be legal in Virginia the smell is everywhere.  But when it is on my property it is very troubling to me.  It makes me feel unappreciated and disrespected since we are subsidizing everyone's finances by having them here and it's one of the very few rules we have.   

In addition to me hating it, it makes me sad that instead of going to therapy and resolving the issues that lead them to needing those substances, they cover them.  It isn't going to lead to any kind of healing.

2). A few things that have happened at work (more than likely just misunderstandings) have led me to feeling as though my intentions and integrity are being questions.  And if you know me at all that is very troubling to me.

3). Life seems pretty monotonous and it has been for what?  13 months?  Not a lot of variety and not much to be excited about.  

4).   I haven't done as well with my food lately and that always messes with my mood.  Unfortunately I feel crappy when I eat crappy.

The nice thing about my personality is that I don't like myself much when I get into a funk... so I'll pull out  of it soon.

But that's how today started.

Definition of the Wicked

Check out these verses from Jeremiah 5:

For wicked men are found among my people; they lurk like fowlers lying in wait.They set a trap and they catch men.

Like a cage full of birds, their houses are full of deceit; therefore they have become great and rich; they have grown fat and sleek.

They know no bounds in deeds of evil; they judge not with justice the cause of the fatherless, to make it prosper, and they do not defend the rights of the needy.

Ok, you know me pretty well.  What words stand out to me?  See if you can guess.

Did you guess “They judge not with justice the cause of the fatherless?”

Then you were right.

Wicked men miss how important it is to God that we care for the fatherless and fight for justice for them.

That’s pure Vision 30 people.  That is what I get to do at work every day.   We are the opposite of these wicked folks.

We are all serving the fatherless — at camp, through CarePortal, in HFT every day, and definitely through the ministries of our Care Team.

Let’s not forget how important this is to God as we are blessed to be paid to care for those who are closest to the heart of God.

https://youtu.be/HA_U11B1Ss8

All Things?

I had another doozy of a morning.  Two in a row.  I won’t overshare but dang.    Today was even more stressful than yesterday.

But I heard a song on my way to work this morning that reminded me of this verse in Revelation 21:

And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”

And I asked myself, “All things?  Really?  Because some things it seems are going to never change.”

And yet the verse says ALL things.  Maybe not now.  Maybe not exactly how I think he should, but yes, the answer is that some day God will make ALL things new.

Maybe you needed to hear this today as much as I did.

Great song:

But God

My day has not started well.   I won’t go into details — and it’s nothing really bad — just a bunch of irritating things in a row.  Kind of like last Wednesday but I think I shut my car door this morning at least.

Check out this cool verse from Acts:

And the patriarchs, jealous of Joseph, sold him into Egypt; but God was with him  and rescued him out of all his afflictions and gave him favor and wisdom 

The story of Joseph is so cool because even though all kinds of bad things happened to him, God was with him.

So if your story is starting out bad today — or this week — or this month — little irritations or something huge and awful — remember those two words.

but God.

It may seem hopeless now… but God.

https://youtu.be/1t1mUHbFCGg

Saturdays.....

 So here's my brain dump for a Saturday morning.

Since I don't write emails to my staff with devotionals on weekends, and since I don't typically link these weekends posts to Facebook, these are posts that are similar to what I used to post 10 or 15 years ago.

But I'm not feeling too whiny today, so that might be good :-)

I'm still door dashing and learning a lot from the experience.   I like doing it because it puts me into a different category than I am usually in.  People often look at me like they feel sorry for me -- because I'm old and fat and the stairs take a long time.   I am not often in a position where people pity me.  I keep it as my secret that this isn't my only job -- because it's good for me to not feel important or significant sometimes.  Typically I just get the boys to do the running, but when I do it myself and Bart drives, it's a good exercise for me.

It also is taking us to parts of town where we have never been before and it makes me very well aware of the needs of people around me.  It also makes me feel very very grateful.   

For example, CVS now has this thing where you actually go in and shop for people and then deliver with door dash.  So I delivered baby bottles and a nose syringe (that thing you use to suck out boogers) and a pregnancy kit to section eight housing and when I met the girl she was very nice to me.  But my heart went out to her and I kind of hoped she wasn't pregnant again already.  Life is so hard for a lot of people.

It also gives Bart and I time to talk without the distractions of the other kids or grandkids or other temptations in the house.  So I'm enjoying spending time with him.  And our adventures give us stuff to think and talk about as we get to know our city better.   It's like the Amazing Race except you get paid and you don't have to scale high mountains.

I am also trying to decide how to spend my PTO.  I've been short tempered at work lately, and realizing it's probably because I should use some of those 6 weeks of PTO that I have accumulated.  I have taken about 3 or 4 days so far this year and it's almost May.  So I took of yesterday and I am taking off Monday and Tuesday, except I have a few work meetings I can't miss, so I'm not totally taking it off.

We are taking two weeks to go to Minnesota in June to see Sadie's new baby girl (going to be born in May) and to attend the wedding of Rand and Amanda who have been married for a year.  I know, I know, the complexities of COVID-19.

We are also contemplating a trip to Utah in the fall and possibly another trip somewhere else this summer. It's our 25th Anniversary and we were saving for a cruise but that doesn't seem to be on the horizon any time soon.

Our friends Mike and Kari are on their way to Virginia and we are having lunch with hem in an hour.  Pretty excited about that.

And then Jimmy wants to door dash.  He's the most fun of the kids to go with because he doesn't argue or tell me how to drive.

That's all for today!

PTO :-). or :-(

 I confess that I am not good at taking time off.  First of all, I absolutely love what I do.  So that makes it hard to walk away from my work.

Also, I do not have any thing I would rather do.  So I have to force myself to find things that I can do to get the mental break and often I'm at a loss.

My boss has intervened and insisted I take more PTO so I am taking of a few days.  

I'll get started once I get caught up on my email.  :-)

Blessed Be (and what I did last night)

Several years ago … more than ten now — I was blessed to attend a family camp for children with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder.   We have several kids who have this and it is really a hard, hard thing.   For no fault of their own, these people’s brains were messed up by alcohol before they were even born.   

At that camp, Jason Grey entertained us.  He’s a Minnesotan and this was before he hit the big time.  He impressed me so much with the way he handled the kids and how much the songs he shared that night were so appropriate for those kids and us as their parents.

Last night my awesome friend Kari posted the link to one of his songs on Facebook.   I read it after my family and I had just worked together to entertain a family of five who now live in James Crossing that I met through CarePortal.  She is 21, he just turned 18, and they have two babies together, one is 11 months and one is 2 weeks old.  She also has a daughter who just turned 7 that she had back when she was 14 and legally free for adopted…. except that nobody adopted her.   

We met last May through Care Portal and since then we have been through many ups and downs.  She’s been in and out of jail.  She has been in and out of the hospital.   Their relationship has been up and down.  But over time we have been there for them …. not every day ore even every week… but when they need us.   So yesterday my daughter went shopping to buy a gift for that beautiful little 7 year old.   Her car was the only one big enough for everyone, so she drove down to Greenfield Drive to pick them up.   My sons Dominyk and Wilson helped to clean the house…. and we ordered chicken from Moore’s Country Store because our son Jimmy is the cook there and he wanted to be part of things.   Our granddaughter Gabby set the table and cut the strawberries.     We had the dinner that she requested — fried chicken, homemade mac and cheese, green beans, rolls and strawberry shortcake.   And the night was complete with a JoJo Siwa outfit, complete with lots of shiny stuff on the skirt.

Tying this all back together, when I heard the song it made me remember something that my friend Patrick mentions.  God lives with the broken.   We had a great night…. I held a two week old baby.  I got to watch my kids and grandkids caring for others.  And I recognized that Jesus was at the table with us in so many ways.

The song is taken from the beatitudes in Matthew 5.   it’s so interesting to see who Jesus says are blessed.

The poor in spirit.

Those who mourn.

The weak.

The hungry and thirsty.

Wow.   The broken are the blessed.  The Losers.

Here are the lyrics to that song:

Losers
All the lovely losers
Never thought you'd hear your name
Outside
Always on the outside
Empty at the wishing well
But time will tell

Chorus:
Blessed Be
The ones who know that they are weak
They shall see
The kingdom come to the broken ones
Blessed be

Thirsty
Like you're drinking from a salt sea
But one day you'll be satisfied
Hungry
For the taste of mercy
Aching just to have your fill
One day you will

Chorus:

Not for the strong, beautiful the brave
Not for the ones who think they've got it made
It's for the poor, broken and meek
It's for the ones who look a lot like you and me

Blessed Be
Losers
All the lovely losers

https://youtu.be/1MzrLQTjNxI

I almost forgot to blog today

Very very seldom do I forget a staff devotional -- I did today.   It's been a very very busy day.

But let me tell you this....   it's been a day.

I left my car door open when I came into work and a coworker did this with the picture and sent it to everyone on staff.

It's been a day.

 

God's Still Good and He's Still Got it All In Control.

It’s #WAYTOOBUSYTuesday complete with 7 hours of pure undefiled budget crunching joy.

(OK, so we might get done early but that’s what’s on my calendar for today).

Listen to this great song.  Heard it for the first time this morning.

Peace be with You

 What kind of weekend did you have?

I hope it was relaxing…. restarting…. regenerative…. pleasant.

If it wasn’t, these thoughts may be just what you need.  And if it was, i’m sure you can relate to those whose weekend was anything but those things.  Because all of us have times when things just aren’t great.

Take the disciples for instance.

They had quite the weekend.   Friday they watched the man they had been following around for years, devoting their lives to, killed at the hand of his enemies.  They spent Saturday in shock, trying to figure out what to do.  Sunday morning some of them said they had been told he was no longer dead, and that was just weird.

That night they are in their favorite hangout and Jesus shows up.   Knowing what they had been through that weekend, what were his first words to them.

Peace be with you.

Peace.   

That was his first word.

And so regardless of what is happening in your world today, this is my first word to you.

Peace.

a couple songs that are worth the listen if your weekend was less than peaceful — externally or internally.

https://youtu.be/6kj8pzDLcc8

https://youtu.be/D73UGGK1EJE

(Note:   As is typical on Mondays, these thoughts were brought to you via a great sermon I heard yesterday :-)

the only one

I almost posted this on Facebook but it kinda makes me sound needy and like I’m begging for sympathy but I’m not. 

But I am weary of the role of being one of two people  in the world who will still love our kids no matter what happens because when they are angry I get the brunt of it.  

So .... if my only role is to be that person then I guess I’ll play it but it isn't fun. 

for the first time in my life

I am relying on tips to determine the hourly wage my boys and I get when we door dash. 

People who don’t tip are ... well I have no words to describe the feeling. 

Give to Everyone Who Asks of You

 Yup, that's a Bible verse in Luke 6:30.  Pretty intense huh?   I can already hear you saying "but what about......"

I've struggled with this verse many times in my life, particularly when living in Mexico where there were always so many folks who were asking.  Beggars on every corner, small children, single moms, homeless and distraught, asking for a few pesos.

I've also struggled with it as a clergy spouse when we are asked as a church or as a couple to give to someone who needs a hotel night's stay or a ride somewhere.   Many times we knew that there was a chance that we were being scammed but we gave anyway.

I struggle with it now whenever a CarePortal request doesn't go quite as planned because I want resources to go to people who will be able to move forward in their lives because of the gift.

But I have realized in all these situations that I might be missing the point.  What if the verse was nothing to do with the recipient and everything to do with the giver?   

What if the point is that God wants us to give because he wants us to get the blessing that comes from obedience, regardless of whether or not the recipient will do what we want them to do with the gift.

Thoughts to ponder on a Friday.

A unique prayer

 Just a short thought to share with you today.

I was in a meeting yesterday where an older pastor prayed an interesting sentence that I’m not sure I ever heard prayed before.

It reminded me of this verse in Matthew 6:8:

"your Father knows what you need before you ask him."

He said:

don't forget to give us the things for which we forget to ask...

Isn’t that a profound thought?  That God knows what we need and sometimes he give us even the things for which we forget to ask.

Keep that in mind today.

Grateful

 

This happened yesterday.  Bart's car.  Nobody injured.

He feels fine today though the experience was traumatic.

We have insurance and have a rental to drive for a while.

Everyone is safe.  Cars can be replaced... or repaired .... or fixed.   

He's the best and any thought of losing him makes panic rise in my throat.  And we're only 57.

Wonder how married couples live into their 80s and 90s wondering when they have to say goodbye? 

What do these stones stand for?

When I was in high school I had to drive a car that looked a lot like this  except it was older and uglier. By the time we got it it was at least 15 years old   It wasn’t quite as ugly as the rusty royal blue station wagon that it replaced, but harder to drive because it was a three speed with a clutch.  And before you say that I should have been lucky to have a car, please realize that the one vehicle was shared with four drivers, (my parents, my brother and I) and so most of the time I road the city bus to work.

But the car has a story.  And that story is a powerful one.

The blue station wagon died one day.  I remember sitting at the dining room table, hearing of her death.  My dad announced that the mechanic had said there was no way to fix it again.  He solemnly let us know that he wasn’t sure how we were going to get around because there was no money for a new car.  (My parents lived on a very small income and always prioritized tithe and giving to mission BEFORE groceries, so we often didn’t have meat with our meals during weeks where there was a surprise expense (but they never missed paying their tithe and the missionaries always got the monthly pledge)

After my dad’s announcement, my mom said, “Well kids, I guess we’re just going to have to ask God for a car.  And my dad, as he often did, said in his prayer that night, “We commit our ways to thee now.”

The very next day my mom got a call from former neighbors.  They said to my mom, “I’m not sure why, but I think God was leading me to ask you if you want the car we have in our back yard.  It runs fine, but we don’t need it any more and we will sell it to you for a dollar.”

Check out this story from Joshua 4 (EXV)

Then Joshua called the twelve men from the people of Israel, whom he had appointed, a man from each tribe. And Joshua said to them, “Pass on before the ark of the Lord your God into the midst of the Jordan, and take up each of you a stone upon his shoulder, according to the number of the tribes of the people of Israel,  that this may be a sign among you. When your children ask in time to come, ‘What do those stones mean to you?’  then you shall tell them that the waters of the Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the Lord. When it passed over the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off. So these stones shall be to the people of Israel a memorial forever.”

In Scripture this kind of monument was referred to as an Ebenezer, now defined as a "commemoration of divine assistance”.  It’s something we point to when it’s time to remember what God has done.

The old 3 speed clutch car became one of the many Ebenezers of my childhood.   Many times when we were running into hard times, someone would say, “Remember, God when gave us a car for a buck?”

In essence we would ask the question “what do these stones mean to you” and our parents would tell of all the things God had done for us.

Do you have an Ebenezer but didn’t know it?  Take a minute to look back today on something you can point to when your friends, or your kids or grandkids wonder if God can do as he promised.  

Here I raise my Ebenezer
Hither by Thy help I've come
And I hope by Thy good pleasure
Safely to arrive at home

https://youtu.be/EYrTqBioaZ4

Don't be alarmed!

Even after all of the Easter sermons I have heard over the years, until yesterday when an excellent preacher I know helped this thought to stand out to me,

In Mark 16, the women come to the empty tomb and find a man dressed in white who says:

Don’t be alarmed,” he said. “You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid him.  But go, tell his disciples and Peter, ‘He is going ahead of you into Galilee.”

If you consolidate the first message given by what we assume was an angel to the distraught women who found the empty tomb, here is the message.

Don’t be afraid — he is going ahead of you.

Whatever you are facing today, don’t be afraid.  He is going ahead of you.

so you have soup in your bedroom?

I just noticed that we do.  Tucked on a shelf near medications, books and boxes of Q tips are two cans of soup. 

Why? You ask.  Because Bart likes soup. And if it is in the kitchen someone will eat it.  Or possibly someone will pour it into a bowl, stick it in the microwave and then leave for work without remembering they were going to eat.  

so  yeah.  We have soup in our bedroom. 

time off

I really stink at it.  Everything non work related was done by 9 am.  Now I have a whole day ahead of me.  Books and Netflix I guess.  

Why in the world would I Door Dash?

I know.  It's weird.   I have a very fulfilling full time job and I don't have to door dash.  So why am I doing it?  What do I like about it?

Well, first of all, I am not doing it alone.  So it gives me windshield time with those who go with me.  It's kind of like immersion therapy or whatever it's called.  If I am with them for extended periods of time I get more acclimated to their thought patterns and they drive me less crazy than if I am only with them periodically. This may not make sense, but it is working.

Secondly, the money they are earning often ends up paying back debt to us -- at least that's a theory.

There are other reasons I'm enjoying it aren't connected to who I do it with.

It has stats.  I love stats.  I love seeing what my percentages is and the challenge of doing it right.  I know, weird, huh?

I also am reminded to be grateful that I have transportation and can easily go pick up whatever I want or need.  A lot of the folks who use door dash don't.

And it humbles me to serve others.  Bart and I had 45 minutes to kill this morning before delivering a CarePortal item, so he drove and I door-dashed.  There was a woman who lives in subsidized housing who had ordered a burger, fries and coke.  Timing worked out perfectly so I was 20 minutes early and the food was nice and hot.      I could tell that she was really looking forward to it -- that it may have been the highlight of the day.   She was so pleased that it was both early and warm.   I told her it was goign to be good -- that I had watched them make it and it was nice and fresh.  She thanked me for being early.  I was gracious and kind to her and I smiled under my mask and wished her a great day.

She could have had a crabby driver with a bad attitude that could have messed it up.  But I wanted her to feel special today.  

I'm also learning a lot more about the city I live in and how to get around in it.  I think Lynchburg is complicated, so it's nice to start putting it together.

Finally, I don't always have a lot to do lately.   Bart is very busy with all kinds of things, I"m trying really hard not to work all the time -- and it's a nice diversion.  I am a little behind on some TV, but I can catch up.

Bart says I like it cuz it's new.  And that's probably true.  I probably won't like it forever.  But right now I"m in line to be a TOP DASHER and if anyone is going to tell me I'm a top anything, I'm going to be excited!

I know.  I know.  I'm kinda nuts.

For you

 Let’s say you’re walking toward the building and I say — “let me get the door for you.”   it means two things, right?

It means — let me do that for you as a gift — a gift for you —

and let me do it in place of you — or so you don’t have to.

Or, the same thing holds true if you are trying to follow a food plan and there is, hypothetically speaking,. a Cadbury egg on your desk and I were to say, “Let me eat that for you” it would mean two things.

It means i’m doing this for you, as a favor, so you don’t go off your food plan and I am eating it for you, in your place, so you don’t have to.

Doesn’t this apply as we approach Good Friday and think of the sacrifice Jesus made for us?

Not only did it die for us — as a gift, but he died for us — in our place, so we don’t have to.

A profound act, a matchless gift, the ultimate game changer.