Give 'Em What They Don't Deserve

We (Aimee’s family) have had some problems recently with our neighbors.  I want to be discreet, so let me just say that this situation has led to some uncomfortable confrontations and the need for mercy on our part, which, at the moment, is not easy.  All of that got me thinking about how we react to people when we feel wronged by them.

It would be very easy to just be mad and to stop there, dwell there, dive into anger and never come up for air.  We could sit around and insist that they are all kinds of bad things, that the person is just a bad person and that’s why they did something bad.  We could smear their names throughout the neighborhood, letting our bad thoughts flow out of our minds and through our mouths.  We could decide to never be kind to them ever again, not talk to them any more, not show consideration of any kind, not care, perhaps even turn around and be mean ourselves.

However, we can’t do that.  It would be easy to do.  Lot’s of people do that stuff.  But we aren’t just any people.  We are children of the living God, and our heavenly Father expects more from us.

When someone else treats us badly it does not give us permission to turn around and treat them badly.  The poor choices of others don’t give us permission to make bad choices ourselves.  That’s not what God wants. 

Jesus told us what it is that God wants:

“You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’  But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven.” (Matt 5:44)

Those who have wronged us need our prayers, our mercy, and our compassion.  They don’t deserve it, but we don’t deserve what God did for us.  As it says in Romans 5:8,

“While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

So, we have to overlook their shortcomings, and remember our own.  We need to open our hearts and consider their point of view, as we would hope others would do for us.

It’s still difficult for us right now because everything is so fresh.  But it’s important that when it’s all fresh to recognize the need for mercy and compassion, even if it’s difficult to really feel it at the moment.  Pray for patience.  Pray for understanding.  If you can’t see it on the horizon yet, pray to the Lord to help you to find your mercy and compassion.

Remember that they may not deserve it, but neither do we.

Here is another excerpt from my book.  This will be the last excerpt for a while.  I would still love to hear your thoughts.  You can find more information on our Facebook page, or you can search for “Still Untitled.”

I hope you enjoy reading this:

Thomas stopped dead in his tracks.  They had finally reached the edge of the forest.  The sight of a small village and people ahead of them had stopped him.  He was so shocked by what he saw that he didn’t seem to know how to even process what he was seeing.  Bernie was concentrating so hard on watching where she stepped that she didn’t notice that Thomas had stopped until she almost ran into him.

“Something wrong?”

Thomas didn’t answer.  He continued to look forward, his gaze frozen. 

Bernie could see nothing around Thomas.  When he didn’t answer, she stepped around him so that she could see what had so fully grabbed his attention.

A giant tree stood in what appeared to be the very center of the village.  They could see the canopy of the tree towering over the top of several small, simple buildings.  Its branches stretched out radialy from the trunk, providing abundant shade for the entire village square.  The tree, as beautiful and massive as it was, was not the most amazing site before their eyes, however.  The tree certainly demanded their attention and was easily the first thing to draw the eye; but their focus immediately moved to and stayed with the people.  They appeared to be human, but not quite.  As familiar as they appeared, there was something un-human about them at the same time.  Their un-humanness was not disturbing; in fact, it was quite the opposite.  Every single person had an inexplicable beauty, captivating the senses.  All of the people, even the children, moved with a grace that neither of them could remember having ever seen before.  Again, it was un-human, mysterious, and breath-taking.  Thomas and Bernie were almost afraid to move towards them or to speak, lest they break the spell of beauty that danced before their eyes. 

Then, Thomas suddenly realized that the people were naked.  He could not image how he had missed it, but it was true; both men and women, adult and child, were naked.  Some of the people were simply lounging in the shade of the giant tree, relaxing and apparently just admiring the beauty around them, or laughing and chatting with others.  Some were walking, alone or with others.  Children were running and playing.  Some people appeared to be working, though from such a distance it was impossible to tell what they were doing.

Slowly, Thomas and Bernie were able to draw their attention away from the people to look at the land around the village, which they had completely ignored until now.  It too had a beauty that was beyond words.  The land was green; a vibrant green unlike they had ever seen before.  Trees, smaller than the large central tree, though still large on their own, were dotted throughout the village.  What Thomas guessed to be homes were small, simple, and seemed to almost be a part of the nature around them.  He did not see a single sign of any synthetic materials in the buildings or in the people’s sparse clothing.  Thomas guessed that the area must have a mild climate all year round, based on the simplicity of the structures.  They did not look like they would stand up to much.

Far to the right was a river running between still more trees in a smaller, less-dense forest than they had just exited and across some fields of what appeared to be some sort of grain.  To the left of the village, fruit trees were heavy with their harvests, and for a couple of minutes Thomas watched a few people with baskets gathering fruit.  Their work was easy.  Most of the people moved around in pairs or small groups, likely talking as they went.  Past the orchards, the land sloped downward.  He could just make out what appeared to be the edge of another village at the end of a long, simple dirt road, surrounded by more trees, and more fields of what he imagined contained other edibles.  Beyond the village, straight in front of them, rose tall mountains.  There was snow on the tops of the mountains and Thomas figured that must be the source of the river on the right.

The spell of the village and the people was broken when he felt Bernie punch him in the arm.  He didn’t speak but immediately turned towards her, and almost as immediately saw what had prompted her to get his attention.  One of the people was staring at them.  The man was standing about 20 meters away from them on their right.  Thomas turned with a jerk almost involuntarily to face the man.  His movement seemed to break a spell over Bernie and she too turned.

The man, like the others in the village, was naked.  In his right hand he held a tall walking stick that reached just past his shoulders.  His facial expression clearly suggested that he was just as astonished to see them as they were to see him.  The man did not appear to be afraid and Thomas was surprised to realize that he was not afraid either.  Being that the man was naked, it was quite clear that he was not carrying any weapons.  The strong feeling that was sweeping over Thomas was intense curiosity.  If she had been able to find a voice, Bernie would have told him that the thoughts running through her head were the same as his own at the moment.  All three of them simply stood where they were, rooted to their spots, and stared at one another.

The man was the first to move.  He closed his eyes and turned his face slightly away and up towards the sky.  He stood still for a few moments in that position.  Then, opening his eyes and dropping his face back down, he walked towards Thomas and Bernie.  They both flinched slightly when the man began moving towards them and then refroze as they watched him move closer and closer.  Their hearts raced.  Thomas realized that he could feel and hear his heartbeat as if the muscle were sitting in his ear canal.  Bernie was suddenly reminded of her cut as she imagined the blood rushing to her head and she instinctively raised a hand to it to be sure that it was not bleeding.

The man did not hesitate nor did he rush.  He strode forward casually and with a small smile as if he were walking towards old friends.  He stopped within a couple of feet of them and said something in what was apparently the language of his people.  Thomas and Bernie both smiled despite themselves at the sound of his voice.  They had no idea what he had said but the language was beautiful and melodic.  Their hearts slowed a little to more normal rhythms.

The man understood almost immediately that they had not understood him.  He closed his eyes and turned his face upwards just as before.  This time, when he looked back at them and spoke again they understood him.

“Greetings,” he said with a warm smile.  “Welcome to our home.”

a cup of joe

Passion: any powerful or compelling emotion or feeling.

I (Sherann) was watching the Food Network the other day, and I came across Chef Anne Burrell making mushroom risotto.  Let me just say that it looked good! I was interested in how to make this wonderful dish and immediately my eyes were glued to the tube.  After 10 minutes of watching her cook, a word popped into my head... "passion."  I know that all the chefs on the Food Network have to be excited about what they are doing, but with Chef Anne, it was more than just "selling" excitement... she has a passion! A passion for food! It simply flows out of her.

After watching her show, I started to reflect on my passions.... so I listed a few:

1.  Passionate about coffee.  I love a good latte, with great foam!  The foam has to be fluffy, thick enough to leave a mustache on your mouth, and it must have a nice burnt caramel color on top.

2.  Passionate about playing the guitar.  I love my martin and the way it sounds!  I love the way it sounds after I changed the strings, I love to play my heart out, and I just love to worship the Lord through a wooden instrument.

3.  Passionate about Jesus.  It gives me chills to know that I have a PERSONAL relationship with Him.  He knows my name.  He calls me His child.  I love the fact that He loved me enough to die for me, even when I don't deserve it!

My friends know that I love coffee.  I drink it and I love to spend time at Starbucks (or any coffee shop). How do they know? Because I talk about it.  They also know that I play the guitar. How? Because I either play when they are around or I talk about it.  And they also know that I'm a Christian. How? Because I talk about Jesus.
I love coffee, but it doesn't save me.  I love the guitar, but it doesn't rescue me.  But Jesus? Well, He rescued me and saved me. More importantly, it's because I have an intimate relationship with Him.  But often times, I wonder... why do we talk more about the other "stuff" and not THE ONE that has the power to save?

If you listed your passions, what is it that you talk more about with your friends? co-workers? random people?  And if Jesus is on your list... do you talk more of Him or the things He created?

soli deo gloria

By 2015

http://www.actstoendmalaria.org/

What do you think?
Can you get on board?
Can you pass on the word?
... the compassion?
... the drive to make a difference?

What can you do?

it's called "random"

Two minutes till midnight and I (sherann) wanted to post a random blog. Who said structure was necessary?
Here's a question... If Jesus never saved you, would it change your perspective on life? Impact your decisions? If so, what would change? Or would anything change?

just a thought.

Soli deo gloria

Perspective

Last week I (Aimee) signed up to be a part of a Lent series through World Vision called “act:s” (www.worldvisionacts.org).  Here’s a paragraph directly from the website:

ACT:S is all about action. We are a network of young activists fighting to change the brokenness in this world, writing our own modern-day Book of Acts. But to truly understand the brokenness brought by global poverty and injustice, we need to take a step back. We need to experience and understand the world – just as Christ took human form to experience the struggles of man.

I’m receiving daily emails that offer questions and insights to challenge my thinking.  I also receive weekly emails with specific stories of people living in poverty, suffering from injustices, struggling to get by.

This week, I read the story of a widow and her three daughers in Africa.  The woman and her two older children (who are still young) work in a gravel quarry.  They dig and search all day long for enough gravel that they can sell, if a buyer happens to come around that day, usually earning a little over $2 a day.  They eat 1 meal a day, and that meal is always simple.  The children don’t go to school because they can’t afford the fees.  They don't even get to stay home and play because they need to help earn enough money to pay their rent and buy food to stay alive.  The youngest daughter, a toddler, is sick, but her mother has to take her to the dusty quarry everyday because there’s no one to watch her at home.

The challenge that followed the story was to go without something physical this week, some luxury or perhaps even a (perceived) necessity, to try and understand a little bit of what this family, and many others like them, deals with everyday. 

I understand the reasoning behind their challenge, but I couldn’t help but think how ironic it was.  You see, I had just gotten home from shopping.  I received my tax refund last week and my mother and I had gone out to get a few things.  We purchased groceries, including a little splurge on some imported cheese.  I had also purchased a new face wash, facial mask, eye crème, and a couple of other similar products.  Then, I came home and read a story about a family who eat 1 meal a day, after I had been complaining cause the store was out of the type of breakfast cereal that I like.  I read about a woman who would dearly love to send her children to school but she can't afford food and school.  And I had just spent money on eye crème cause I was concerned about the beginning appearance of fine lines?!  Needless to say, their story gave me some perspective.

So, I began thinking about what physical things I can go without.  Because of some health issues I can’t skip meals (the fact that it’s even a choice is another little bit of reality check), but I can eat simpler meals and ditch the sweets.  All of the toiletry items I purchased are safely stowed away; I’ll use them eventually, but not right now.  No jewelry.  No video or computer games.  No wasting time online.  I intend on spending more time this week reading, praying, and journaling.

Hopefully, in time, when I begin using products again, when I put on my earrings in the morning, when I check out the latest news on Facebook, I’ll remember not to take these little luxuries for granted, and I’ll work a little harder to make a difference for those in the world who do without everyday.

If you haven’t already done so, I would encourage you to check out World Vision’s act:s series (www.worldvisionacts.org) and even to sign up for the daily and/or weekly emails.  It just might give you a little perspective, too.

Every Good and Perfect Gift

Recently, actually yesterday to be exact, a family from our (Aimee's) church was in a severe car crash.  The driver lost control, spun out, and the vehicle flipped over several times eventually landing right side up.  Their vehicle is totaled.  The mother and three young children were rushed to the hospital.  One of the children came out without a single mark on her.  Another one of the children has a few minor scratches on his leg.  The eldest child (he’s in second grade) has a bruise on his temple and had to have 4 stitches in his chin.  Their mother over-extended her neck and arm (painful, but not life threatening).  That’s it.  They’re shaken up, of course, but no major injuries.

Are you waiting for my point or have you figured it out already?

If you missed it, let me stress a couple of points from the story one more time: (1) their car flipped over several times, (2) the car is completely totaled, and (3) there were no major injuries.

Did you catch it that time?

God was in control!  Praise God!  He had His hand on them last night and He protected every single person in that vehicle who could have easily lost their lives!  Praise God!!

Please don’t hear what I’m (Aimee) not saying.  I’m not saying that when someone dies in an accident (be it a car accident or something else) that God wasn’t watching over them.  I am not saying that.  I am saying that we need to recognize God’s protective hand when people can walk away from a severe accident with only minor injuries.  More than that, and what I really want to get to, is that we need to be better at recognizing the blessings of God in our lives and to thank Him for those blessings!!

It can be really easy for us to turn to God when we’re upset about something.  Whether we believe He’s listening or not (and, by the way, He is listening) many people turn to God in their despair.  When was the last time that you spoke to God just to say thank you, whether it was for some little thing that made your day or some monumental thing that shaped your life?  We forget all too often to thank Him for the blessings that He gives us.

When I thank God for the little things very often a little scene from the movie “Michael” will run through my head.  “Michael” is about an angel who has come to earth and revealed himself to a few chosen people because he came to change their lives for the better… it’s odd, not exactly by the Book, and down-right questionable at some points, but I enjoy it.  Anyway, there is a point where Michael is explaining a little bit about angels to them.  He explains (remember, this is according to the movie, not necessarily biblical) that angels can only perform a limited number of small miracles.  A reference is made along the lines of how some angels waste their abilities by granting silly things like good parking spaces.

I think that some people don’t thank God for the little things because they think that it diminishes God somehow, to suggest that he would waste His time on the little things.  It’s silly to bless someone with a good parking space.  God is huge!  Why would He bother with the little things?  The truth is, to say that God is only involved in the big things is to limit God.  God is involved in everything, everywhere.  He is the Designer, Creator, and Controller of the universe.  To say that God is not in the little things is to imply that there are things that happen outside of God’s will.  But James 1:17 tells us that every good and perfect gift comes from God.  So, be sure to thank Him for the little things as well as the big things.

What are you thankful for?

What’s your story?

Fight!

I've (sherann) been debating on whether or not I should write about a spiritual struggle that I constantly face.  Then, I started to look back at all the reasons why Aimee and I started this blog in the first place.  It's called authenticity.  Rather than building more walls, it's about tearing down the walls.  It's about being raw with your walk as a follower of Christ.  No one walks the perfect "Christian" life and truth is... we are all sinners.  bottom line.  imperfect. sinful people. bottom line.
If you and I had a conversation today, and you were to ask if I love my position at the state level, my response to you would be... "I LOVE MY JOB!"  Simple as that.  I know that God has me here for a reason and I've seen God transform lives, I've seen students respond to the Gospel, I've seen students go out and share the Gospel, and I've seen God transform my walk with Him.  But, I've also seen and experienced the work of the enemy.  Experienced a lot of hardship and pain.  Many nights of crying and begging God to help me through the pain.  It's so true when you are in sync with Him, the enemy is even closer.
The last few months have been a whirlwind and it has been such a blessing to be a small part of God's grand story. A privilege is what I call it. And I don't say that lightly at all.  But, I started to notice a common thread "post-events".  It's called discouragement.  If anyone knows about my struggle with discouragement, it would be Aimee.  (Let me just tell you, she hears a lot of it!) No matter how well things went or how mightily God worked in a student, I constantly find myself analyzing and being in a state of numbness.  As if what I had done was not good enough or I couldn't have done it like Billy Graham.  (Okay, maybe not him... but you get the point)  And truthfully, when I get to this point... everything stops.  My moments with the Lord. My prayer time. My desire for Him.  Everything stops.  I didn't think much of it when I started to notice this awhile back, but this time it got worse.  I was not only discouraged, but I found myself questioning my purpose, calling, choices, etc.  I was terribly numb. And even though I caught this, I knew I had a choice. A choice to either do something about it or let the enemy continue to rob me of the joy and satisfaction that I have in Jesus. So, I decided to fight! I refused to get defeated or let the enemy use my discouragement for his glory. I fought to be in the Word, fought to change my bitterness into worship, and begged God to help me through this. And He did.

Here's the thing. I'm reminded of the Apostle Paul encouraging the Christian believers to press on, continue to run this race... why? Because Jesus is the only prize worth fighting for! He is WORTHY. He is worthy in our difficult seasons, He is worthy during the times of numbness, He is worthy during the times of joy and laughter! Do you get it? He is WORTH fighting for!
So, what about you? Do you fight during dark and trying times? Will you choose to fight for Him? Not because you have to...but because you want to?

"I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus." Phil 3.14

What's your story?

soli deo gloria

My Ministry

Lately I’ve (Aimee) found myself feeling very frustrated with my ministry.  I want to work in the church.  I went to school and received 2 degrees so that I can work in the church someday.  I love it when I have opportunities to actually do ministry in the church.

Then, last week, Sherann and I went to a conference.  Several of the speakers made a comment that I have heard many times before, but this time it touched me differently.  I still felt frustrated when we left the conference, but not so much with God anymore, but more so with myself.

We’re greatly mistaken when we think that ministry is only something that is done in and/or through a church.  We are all called to be ministers; representing God, sharing God, everywhere we are, no matter what we are doing. 

The job that I have that pays my bills is not the work that I do in the church.  It is, however, a ministry opportunity.  I have a chance to represent my Lord and Savior everyday with the children that I work with, with the school staff and teachers that I interact with, and with the occasional parent that I meet.  It may not be the ministry avenue that I would have, or did, choose for myself.  But, God has made it clear that this is where he intends for me to be for now.  I’ve been here for 5 years!

If I could simply work on my attitude, work on my point-of-view, keep my eyes on Jesus even when I am in a public school, then maybe I would feel so frustrated anymore about how I want to be doing more ministry.  Instead, maybe I can fully realize the ministry opportunities that are already right in front of my face.

I’m going to work on that.  I am going to pray for God to help me work on that.

What about you?  Are you looking at your everyday life as a ministry opportunity?  Or are you missing those chances to share Jesus with someone else?

What’s your story?

ME.

this is me... sherann.
this is me... with my Bible.
this is me... with my ESV Bible.
this is me... in my office
this is me... with my glasses
this is me... just turned 29 a couple days ago
this is me... a sinner
this is me... needing grace
this is me... redeemed by the blood of Jesus
this is me... made alive in Christ
this is me... a new creation
this is me... alive
this is me... bought at a price
this is me... created by the Almighty
this is me... sherann.