Responding to Haitian Hearts

As I have mentioned to some of you recently, God is turning our hearts back to Haiti.


In 2001 Al, Caleb and I spent 8 months living in Haiti, realizing we would never be the same. I remember worshiping with a group of people in a backyard in Neply and thinking, “I can't believe I have the privilege of being here, in this place, with these people, worshiping God.


Since we left we have maintained contact with our friend TiCarme, but we haven't been back. (There was a lot of pain in the leaving.) But it is time...not to go back to live, but it is time to partner with our Haitian friends.


Ticarme has a passion (heart) to help the young men and women who are no longer able to continue their education. Many of them are in 10^th, 11^th or 12^th grade but have lost their sponsors, or there has been a death or illness in the family, etc. Some have no family, but all of them want to finish high school. They know it is crucial for them to get an education for any hope of working and making a living.


Ticarme is starting a mission!! She wants to provide scholarships to enable the students to finish High School. “Help the Children Have an Education” is her rallying cry. She wants to help them be part of a group that cares for her community, tutoring younger students, reaching out to others. She wants them to be able to earn their scholarships and not just see it as another handout from Americans.


We will also be working through Pastor Antoine, a pastor in Neply, who responded with excitement when he heard TiCarme's vision because he knows the young men and women in his congregation who are “stuck,” so close to completing their education.


Our part will be:

• To communicate to the students that we believe in them, and God at work through them.
  
• To communicate how God is at work in Haiti and in the students.
  
• To raise the funds for the scholarships.
  
• To encourage TiCarme and her board.
  

Stay tuned...and
May the Spirit guide!!

Children, Prayer and Dancing again!

God seems to have this dancing thing going on in my life.

Sunday Al and I shared the sermon time in German Valley.  But we realized that there were really 3 sermons. The first was preached by 4 year old Connor.

The children's choir sang...and Connor danced.  As soon as the director hit the CD button and the beat began Connor's feet were moving, his whole body was feeling it. It was beautiful!  All of the children did great.  There were smiles and singing.  It was a moment of joy.

During the children's message Al talked with them about the Micah 6:8 passage where God calls us to "act justly" or for the kids (and us) "do good."  It is different that just behaving.  Connor thought it might mean "doing good things so the rest of the family doesn't get crabby."

That made me think of our "other daughter" Allison, whose little 3 1/2 year old, Karis, said to her the other day, "Mommy, I'm going to disobey you, so just let me pray for you."

At first Allison thought it was a clever manipulative move for a 3 1/2 year old.  But then Karis' prayer went like this:  "Jesus, give Mommy wisdom.  Help her to be a good Mommy.  Help her to be patient."

Karis didn't have a particular disobedient act in mind.  She just knew there would be more times when she was going to disobey, and Mom would need God's help to be a good Mommy... And not get crabby :)

Beautiful honesty...real prayer...amazing insight into how life and faith work.  I love it!  We can learn so much if we listen to the children!

Train Trip

Last Wednesday I took the train from Holland To Chicago.  I was plannning to go to German Valley,IL the weekend before, but the snow and wind would not let up.  I was leading a retreat this past weekend, so decided to be sure and get there by taking the train around the southern tip of Lake Michigan.  What a great idea!!

Plan on a little extra time.  I got in late both going and coming back, but hey, I was warm, comfortable, reading my book, enjoying the scenery.  So I decided to journal a few comments and share my trip with you.

The trip:
There is morning sun on a snow-draped world.  On the east side of the train it looks like we are in a sunbathed white-out.  The train is kicking up the snow as we blow through, but the snow is a golden glow as it whips past the windows.  On the west side of the train the world is calm and beautiful, surreal aand glistening as we pass through woods and fields and towns.

I feel overcome with emotions and am not sure why...but God is here; all around in the beauty, the peace, in the tatooed man sitting in the seat next to mine.  (later I found out the paint gun tatooed up and down his arm symbolized his business of building and painting cars.)

Paths, so many different kinds of paths through the woods and the fields...leading where? Made by whom, or what?

I see an eagle soaring over a field.  I have a book to read, but now I don't want to stop scanning the terrain for wildlife.

We are passing very close to Lake Michigan, which one would hardly know except there are no other landscapes in this part of the world so flat and open...hill-less. tree-less, just a white frozen snowy expanse.  It looks a bit like the Dakotas, but below the snow and ice lies water.

The gentle rocking and warm temps put me to sleep for a while.  Where are we?

Now I see a snowy owl perched high in a tree.  Fortunately the guy in the next seat is asleep or he would probably wonder what in the world I was doing leaning across him to get the best and longest view.

The skyline of Chicago is ahead.  I'm arriving rested and relaxed, feeling full of praise to God...all this is so much better than arriving white-knuckled, stressed and weary.

This will be my mode of transportation this winter on those weekends I make the commute to IL to be with Al.  Train to Chicago and then bus to Rockford.  It's my train from my Holland "room" to my German Valley "room" and back again.  What a good transition!

Dancing with God

Okay, call me a little odd...I can handle it (most of the time).  Or as Charlie Shedd, author of about 40 christian books titled his last one, "I'm Odd, Thank You God."  I think I would have like Charlie.

How do I know I'm odd you ask.  Well, I was raised a good conservative, reformed, Dutch girl.  All 4 grandparents as Dutch as they come.  I was raised to believe you shouldn't be showy, you must not get a big head, and don't make a scene!  We were taught not to smoke, drink or dance...  We took ourselves a bit too seriously!

I never really "Rebelled," but I did learn in early adulthood to relax, discover the JOY of my relationship with Jesus, as well as a freedom from self in my identity in Christ.  This was a very good thing, and yet something that needs to be relearned every so often.

It was a little odd when, in midlife, I began to imagine the people in our congregation dancing on the tops of the pews during times of praise and worship...not on the seats, but on the tops, dancing from pew to pew. It was quite a sight!  (Getting people to dance in the isles would have been miracle enough.)  It was a beautiful sight, and I longed to dance for God.

It was a few years later that I began working with young women in our congregation as we put liturgical signing to music.  Sometimes it was very close to dancing, which touched many lives and perturbed others.

In the last couple of weeks God has brought the theme of dancing to my attention again.  The first time was through a quote from the book, Apprenticeship with Jesus, by Gary Moon.  Gary says, "(Jesus) sends the Holy Spirit with music and a dance chart so that we can learn to waltz with the Trinity, even now, as we wait for the real party to begin.:  The Spirit draws us in to an intimate, joyful relationship with Father, Son and Spirit as we move/dance through our lives.  What is life meant to be like if we can enter this partnership with God?  As we read the Gospel of John, Jesus reveals the Father's desire for this intimacy...it's why Jesus came...reconciling our relationship with God!  Read John 15-17 to hear Jesus heart for this intimacy.

The second quote comes from a pastor named Steve Brown of Key Life Ministries.  Steve says, "You can't dance with God while looking at your feet."  Why would we want to look at our feet?  Maybe because we're embarrassed; "I'm not used to dancing!"  Maybe it's because we are so afraid of doing it wrong.  Maybe we need to trust that we have the Master Teacher, so we can let go, let him lead us, let him pick us up when we stumble.

I really don't think God cares if we are clumsy as we learn to dance with him.  I think he longs to bring us into the JOY of an intimate relationship.  Maybe it helps if we join hands and discover the dance together.  I wonder what most helps you get on the dance floor.

All God's People

I got a phone call yesterday that went like this: “Holly, this is Angel (Spanish pronunciation that sounds like “Onhel.), Angel, the Mexican. I found a toilet on sale.” I love this guy :) Angel and his wife Janelle and children are some of my favorite people right now. Janelle is an RCA pastor, Angel is in seminary, Miss Miriam is 6 and Miss Lorraina is 4.

This family is living in a house we are rehabbing with the goal of renting to college or seminary students. Angel is working off rent, thus the excitement over a toilet on sale. In his life before seminary Angel worked in construction; painting, laying flooring, drywalling, etc. It is such a blessing to have someone willing and able to help us finish the work.

They are blessed to be able to have a way to rent without having to use up all of their savings. It is a win/win. We met them a few years back in British Columbia, and God has just kept us connected every since, despite both of us making cross country moves....to the same place, though we had no idea this was going to happen back then.

Angel has the greatest sense of humor, alongside a heart's desire for community development that honors and respects all people; that recognizes we are all created in the image of God.

I feel so blessed that Angel and Janelle's and the girls are a part of our diverse “family.” Often I am overwhelmed by the people God has placed in my life. People who can teach me so much about God's world...people who stretch me...people who teach me to eat flavorful new foods..people who make me stop to think about the things I assume are Christian, when really they are just cultural...people whose hearts beat with passions I know little about because of my sheltered beginnings...people whose faith impacts mine....people who are different, and yet in our core beings we are all the same...created in the image of God. This is our primary identity...our uniqueness in all creation.

I read the phrase recently, “We are not human beings having a spiritual experience. We are spiritual beings having a human experience.” I wish I could remember who said it, so I could give credit. Imagine the difference it would make if we all believed that each person we encounter has (sometimes hidden) within them the image of God! One thing I am confident of; we best live out our image of God in community! We need each other to be the best we are created to be.

Imagine the difference it will make if we all...each and every one of us realized that we are bearers of the image of God as we walk around our worlds loving the other image bearers...the good, the bad, the beautiful, and the not so beautiful, the likeable and those not so likeable. 

The challenge...Believe it! Embrace it! Live it! Be in a fellowship, a community, that helps you wrestle with what this means.

Psalm 8:4  who is mankind that you take thought of him/her, and the son of man that you care for them?
Genesis 1:26  The God said, "Let us make man(kind) in our own image, in our likeness..."
Genesis 2:7  God breathed into his nostrils the breath of life.

Living in the Room

LIVE IN THE ROOM in which you find yourself.  This simple phrase is one I heard a couple of months ago.  At first it reminded me of the much used phrase, "Bloom where you are planted."  Now that phrase takes me back to colorful hippy posters in the 60/70's.

But this phrase, "Live in the Room in which you find yourself" has been growing on me.  In part, it speaks to my sense of not being planted anywhere.  What with Al doing transitional/interim pastoral work which means we are never sure what the next 6 months will bring, and my totally transitional work with Midlife Momentum we are never quite sure where the next room will be.

Added to this lifestyle I was introduced to this phrase in Australia, a place I love to be, yet I'm not planted there, but I spent all of November in that room.  I volunteered at Lilah's school, getting to know the teachers and her little friends. I helped Cory and Elisa with some projects they wanted to get done before #3 shows up in February, and spent as much time as I could drinking in the wisdom of 2 year old Luka.  I continued to build relationships with wonderful friends as we all grow in our understanding of living into God's plans and purposes for us---His Church.

Most of December was spent in German Valley, IL.  Talk about a contrast!  Small town, rural congregation, full of salt of the earth warm and wonderful people...okay there might be a couple "ornery" people, like you and like I.  God bless all of us.

The phrase has come to my mind over and over again lately...when I'm missing somebody, or wishing I could be more connected with some cause or organization.  When my heart was longing to be with family, or a friend.  It was like the Spirit would whisper, "Live in this room today.  This is where you are, this is where I AM."  It would reorient me back out of my pity party to see what God is up to in this room.

Each room has blessings and struggles.  Each room teaches me something wise and wonderful.  Each room is filled with the presence of God.  Each room has people who bless and challenge me, and God seems to put me in all these different places at this time in my life...for a purpose.

I think I am sensing a paraphrase of what Paul states in Phil. 4:11.  It goes like this...In whatever room I find myself, there I will be content.  Even as I write this I struggle a bit with that surrender.  What if I don't like the next room?  What if there are things in that room I didn't sign up for?  The rooms I am in right now are all pretty good, Thank you, Lord! 

On the other hand...He who has been faithful throughout my life, will be right there in the room with me.

 

Ready?

Luka at 2 1/2 loves his trains.  He is also just begining to talk and put his beautiful thoughts into words. This is probably my very favorite stage of childhood.  A few mornings ago he was very busy setting up his tracks, lining up his Thomas and cars.  Everything was all set up as he played, just talking away to no one but himself.

And this is what I heard him say,"Ready?  Not Yet.  Few Minutes."  Then he just waited on his knees beside his train.  Pretty soon, "Ready?  Not Yet.  Few Minutes."  Some more waiting happened.  He didn't look around.  He didn't add anything.  He just waited and then repeated the same phrases, again.

It fascinated me.  What was he thinking?  What was he waiting for?  I thought about how often we use those phrases with children.  "Not yet, we have to wait a few minutes."  "Just a minute."

It also drew my thoughts to our Father, which art in heaven.  I thought about hearing God prompting and calling me.  Sending that still small voice that asks me to go...to do...to be...to submit...to trust...to love...  I imagined Him waiting, saying, "Ready?"  And all too often my response is, "Not yet.  I'm not prepared, I'm not sure if I'm hearing you right. I need more Bible study...more training...more faith....others could do it so much better...I don't feel comfortable...I'm not ready."

I shared this story with a friend today and immediately she connected it with her prodigal son.  She talked of her struggle to really trust God to love this son of hers, to let go and submit to whatever God needs to do to bring him home to the Father.

We talked about that sense that we are never enough...that our faith is never great enough, that we know we can't conjure up what we think is needed in those kinds of situations.  But we are also incredibly thankful that God's love is so great, God's power is unlimited, God's ways are beyond our understanding, and we can know that God is enough.

Ready?  Okay, Lord.  I believe, help me in my unbelief.  Make me ready.