Take Courage

Another Tragedy. Once again tragedy has struck. Once again the presence of evil has been made manifest. Once again the papers, news and social media sites have erupted with pictures and stories of the tragic event.

26 dead, 20 injured - 10 remaining in critical condition.

Just a month ago our country was grieving the horrific loss of 59 people killed while attending a music festival in Las Vegas, then, just last week, a truck attack killed 8 in New York, followed by this...26 people killed in church. 

If you're anything like me, you've begun to go numb. 

Numb to the images, numb to the pain.   

While numbing ourselves is a natural response to an overwhelming, and nonsensical pain, those of us who are disciples of Jesus Christ have been given a much different charge - not of retreat, but of moving into the pain and dark places.

Jesus had Compassion. In our society, we have been taught to remain strong, don't show your weakness, and never cry. Jesus models a different way; He models compassion. Jesus saw the crowds, the sick and the lost and was moved with compassion. Compassion involves kindness and goodness to the miserable and the afflicted; joined with a desire to help them. In order to have compassion, Jesus had to look. He had to look on the pain. Look at the people in distress. While I'm not encouraging you to look up images of this tragedy, I am encouraging you to look - look at the loss of life, acknowledge the pain of friends and family, feel the weight of a mourning community. Shed tears and let your heart feel. One of the worst things to come of so much tragedy is a culture immune to the loss of life. Our hearts should break when we hear of such pain and we should be moved with compassion, like Jesus. 

Let your Light Shine. Besides slowly cooking us into a state of numbness, our evil adversary would like nothing better than Christ-followers (His Little Lights) to become afraid and hide. "You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do men light a lamp, and put it under the peck measure, but on the lampstand; and it gives light to all who are in the house." (Mt. 5:14-15) It is our job to shine the Light of Jesus to a dark and dying world. Please do not be afraid- take courage!  "Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that." Martin Luther King Jr. We must go into the world in greater force shinning our light before all people! 

Free Choice of Life. The presence of evil in our world is a reminder to me of a compassionate God who offers us a choice. A choice to choose evil (darkness) or a choice to choose God (light). Evil exists in our world because someone has chosen evil over God. God could have created a people of robots who would follow His commands with no questions asked. As we know, that would not be a true relationship. Relationships need to have choices and the awareness of such horrific and evil acts are a reminder of the choice we each must make daily. 

Hope in the Lord. C.S. Lewis once wrote, "God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks to us in our conscience, but shouts in our pain: It is His megaphone to rouse a deaf world." It is during times of tragedy that people are most receptive to conversations about faith. We have the greatest hope of all - Jesus Christ, the Savior of the world, Redeemer of mankind, and Restorer of all Creation! Let's be people who proclaim the peace of God and bring the hope of Jesus to a world shrouded in darkness.

"These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world." John 16:33

Be at peace, sweet readers, and don't be afraid! "Greater is He that is in me, than He that is in the world." While we can't make sense of tragedies like the shootings in Texas or Las Vegas, we can put our hope in a loving God who promises to be with us and bring justice to our world.

A Parent Perspective on Shoeboxes

It's hard to believe I'm already talking about Christmas as November is barely beginning - but believe it or not - it's Shoebox Time!

Teaching our children to love Jesus and love one another is not an easy task. Parenting is not a one-step, one-conversation experience, but instead layers of discussions, modeling and living out our faith. The Operation Christmas Child project is a way Bret and I have helped expand our children's worldviews larger than themselves.

As our culture becomes more and more "me-centered," it is essential that parents speak the language of "loving the other" and not give into the selfish ideals of our society. I can easily make the assumption that most children in our churches will have more than one Christmas present this year - if not more than two or three Christmas parties! Our children are being inundated with social media narratives of "needing" more things to be happy. They are quickly becoming more and more confused between wants versus needs and are even more lost in our self-absorbed culture of comparison and entitlement.

I am always on the look-out for opportunities to wake us out of our slumber, say no to our culture and provide a different narrative with which to participate. That is where Operation Christmas Child comes in.

When my children were young, I would take them to Target/Walmart, give them a shoebox, let them choose to pack a box for a girl or a boy and then choose the age of the child. Children make good observations when we begin walking around filling a shoebox...

"My box is too small."  Children immediately recognize the toys they personally want would not fit into a tiny shoebox. Not only that, but shoebox toys cannot be electronic, or even need batteries. This concept alone is mind-blowing to a child! A simple stuffed bear, or jacks are great choices instead!

"There's not much room for a toy." I direct my children to fill their boxes with a few hygiene items first. After a toothbrush, toothpaste, hairbrush, soap, and chapstick, the box is well on it's way to being full. This observation is important as they become aware of children who do not have basic needs (soap) and recognize the many luxuries they have daily. Oftentimes (our prayer at least!), this generates not just an awareness of childhood poverty, but thankfulness for a child's own blessings.

As a parent, this little shopping trip has been a worldview changer for my children. It has fostered compassion toward children in third-world countries and opened my children's eyes to the many hurting people around our world. I've even used the globe to show my children where the Shoeboxes were delivered and as we can now track our boxes, we enjoy watching the video Samaritan's Purse puts out of the presents being delivered (this helps expand their worldview in a tremendous way!).

Not just that...but each box has the Gospel message of Jesus Christ placed inside in the child's own language. Boxes are taken to local churches, were children can pick up the presents and then have follow-up spiritual, physical care by a church near them who loves Jesus and speaks the child's language.

I love this project because of the fruit I have seen in my own children and in changing young lives in countries around our world. 

If you have children, I encourage you to help expand your child's worldview beyond themselves in the simple act of filling a shoebox. Follow this link (SHOEBOXES) for additional information!

If you have Shoebox stories to share (even about your shopping experience!) I'd love to hear them!
May God's grace and peace be with you as you intentionally parent your children toward love and good deeds!
Connie