This week I’m praising God:

1). For friends who text prayers to me over things I’m struggling with.

2). That Jesus is the last word-more on that in my next post.

3). For God-given strength to go to work and plow through despite feeling sick.

4). For a husband who diligently keeps our driveway shoveled. I love to shovel about as much as I love to cook, pay bills and drive!

5). For kids who still publicly display their affection for me.

6). For the pleasure of taking someone else’s burden to Jesus when they just can’t at that moment. Is there a greater honor than that?

7). For music

This is what I’m praising God for this week:

1. For the discipline to get some much-needed writing done. I feel like I’m back in the game!

2. For little nuggets in Scripture I’ve read a thousand times and am just now seeing for the first time.

3  For the day off. I never get Fridays off!

4. That Bible study has finally started back up. If you’re like me, structured group study helps motivate personal study.

5. That God’s goodness to me is not dependent on my goodness to Him.

6. For friends who push me out of my comfort zone.

7. That in 8 weeks I’ll be in sunny California! I hope the sun is hotter there.

Before my family and I moved to our current home, we lived in a house about 15 minutes outside of town. One of the great things about this house was the gate that connected our backyard to the backyard of a family we became good friends with.  To know this family was to love them, and to love them was to love their pig.

I will never forget the day my husband and I drove with them about two hours away to buy a potbelly pig as a surprise gift for their three kids. Taking one look at this bundle of snuggly black sweetness, I fell instantly in love. His baby oinking was no less cute than a kitten’s mew or a puppy’s cry. Completely spellbound, I cuddled him all the way home in the car before grudgingly handing him over to three excited kids.

Albert, as he became known (thanks to my naming prowess) grew and grew and grew. He also spent quite a bit of time in my backyard, snout to the ground snorting up every last piece of blooming weed (wow, that doesn’t sound good!). I loved it. Free lawn care! I also loved Albert. However, he had a mind of his own. Like any human baby, his cuteness started to dim in the light of his attitude, and I had had more than one altercation with this pig.

On one particular day, he was in my backyard snorting up weeds (there’s got to be a better way to say this!) his tail wagging happily. His owners were gone, and I was “keeping an eye on him.”  About an hour into “pig sitting” my next-door neighbor knocked on my door and through the screen beckoned me outside.

“Kathryn, you need to get out here,” she said. “The pig is eating my neighbor’s cherry tomatoes!”

I couldn’t believe it. Where was my head? How’d Albert get out of the backyard? Apparently, someone left the side gate open, and to this day no one’s claiming responsibility for that. No matter. I had bigger problems. Sure enough, there he was inhaling as many cherry tomatoes as he could his tail never missing a beat as it swung back and forth like a pendulum.

Letting out a screech I ran back home and grabbed a box of cereal. This usually worked in getting him to move in the direction you want him to move. But this time he wasn’t budging. Why eat dry cereal when you can have someone else’s ripe tomatoes?

What I did next still baffles me, but desperate times call for desperate measures. I sprinted at that pig like an Olympian and hoisted him up into my arms and out of the vegetable garden. Albert bore absolutely no resemblance to his former cuteness. Gone was the tiny black body replaced by about 100 pounds of flesh and a body full of black prickly hair. His baby oink became what you’d expect from a grown male pig: loud and not cute.

My neighbor starred in awe at first as I attempted to wrangle this creature into submission. I moved as quickly as I could given the sheer heft I was carrying. I huffed and puffed. He oinked and screeched. And then it happened. A warm, wet, gloppy substance ran down my leg. In disbelief I looked at my neighbor, whose head was now thrown back in silent laughter, then back at the pig.

“You stupid pig,” I yelled. “You pooped on my leg!”

Did I really think informing him of his transgression would elicit remorse? First, he knew what he’d done. Second, he so didn’t care. With the strength of a Viking, I ran that pig through my house, out my sliding door, through my backyard and into his own slamming the gate behind me. And then I cried at the grossness running down my legs.

What could this possibly have to do with anything spiritual, you ask? I was reminded of this story earlier this week as I thought about my relationship with the Lord. There are so many times He gently nudges me to move in a direction, that quite frankly I have no desire to move in. I get stuck in my rut with how I spend my time, what I consider a priority and what my goals are.

I often joke that when my husband is in the middle of a graduate class his focus is so razor sharp that the kids and I could be slaying each other with sharp objects and he’d never catch it. He’s that focused.

I’m not so different. Sometimes I can be coaxed into obedience by God’s gentle nudgings. Other times, He’s left with no choice but to pick me up and move me Himself despite my kicking and screaming. Do I behave as irrationally as a pig being moved out of a vegetable garden against their will? Do I look that ridiculous? Am I as pigheaded as a pig? Are you? Just something to think about.

This week I’m praising God for:

 

1). The 2 1/2 days I got to spend with my sister and her family. Love you guys!

2). Teachers who hold my kids accountable and push for excellence

3). Jehovah Jireh, my Provider.

4). The fact that He continually pursues me despite my pigheadedness (which you will be able to read about in my next post).

5). Finding someone that has a clue as to how a Mac works. I think I’ve hit the jackpot on this one!

6). Budgetbytes.com as I’m hoping it will revolutionize my horrible cooking. So far so good! You have to visit this site. Her opening line is “I am broke, and I love to eat.” How I can relate.

7). A partner to do the hardest job on the planet with-parenting.

 

What are you praising God for this week? What big things and little things has He done for you? I’d love to know. Have a great week.

This week I’m praising God for the following:

1). Grocery stores that still sell food at a reasonable price! (Thank you, Aldi)

2). The sun b/c it gives me hope for spring.

3). The fact that it isn’t getting dark before 5:00! Again, spring is coming!!!

4). Being part of a church that is 100% committed to reaching the community it is a part of. Thank you, Riverside!

5). The freedom we have in my city to openly proclaim Christ. A big sign reading “Jesus Is” greets everyone coming into this city from I-74.

6). Finally decoding the mystery to a 44-year old health issue.

7). Free shoes! With sparkles!

 

A couple of weeks ago I was talking to a woman at church and casually asked her how she’d been. Her response, though simple and common, struck a chord with me. “Can’t complain,” she said smiling. I’ve heard this answer often so why did it haunt me for days this time around?

When I look at a painting very often I see the negative space first before the actual picture. In my bedroom hangs a large picture depicting a tropical scene. At the front of the scene is a boardwalk lined with palm trees leading out to the water. At night when the lights are out and I lay there staring at it trying to sleep, I don’t see the palm trees or the sky or the boardwalk. Instead, the palm fronds resemble the feathers of a fancy calligraphy pen which are the hair of a female figure hovering above the water. Quite frankly, it creeps me out. I literally have to sit there and concentrate on picking out the various aspects of the picture that I know are there but can’t see as clearly.

This is how life is for those of us who see everything through a half-empty glass. Never mind what’s left in the glass. All we see is what’s gone! One of the things that God really challenged me with last month was to pick out the good in my life despite my situation. It sounds elementary, but hey some of us are so simple-minded. What choice does He have but to start with the simple things? So with that in mind, I’m starting what I’m calling The Praise Project: 365 Days of Praise.

Here are the details:

1). Every week, starting with this one, you will get seven things I’m praising God for all on one day. Originally, I thought I would post one thing everyday, but for those of you who are subscribers. Getting a post from me everyday in your inbox, even if it is only one sentence, is akin to getting a notice from the local grocery store everyday about a different item that’s on sale . It’s great information, but for heaven’s sake, can’t they just put it all in one ad? Then, if you’re not interested in reading you can push delete once a week instead of every day of the week. You can thank me later.

2). While being thankful is great, praising God is better. What do I mean? “I’m thankful for…” concentrates more on the object of thanks rather than the One who provided that which you’re thankful for. “I’m praising God for…” forces me to recognize who it is that is the giver of all good gifts, and that He is good no matter what I’m going through. This is a big one for me as I tend to run down the rabbit trail leading to thoughts that God is out to get me and make my life miserable.

3). These posts will be short sweet and to the point and will not take the place of my usual (albeit sporadic) posts.

4). If you saved a dollar a day everyday for a year, you’d have $365. Not a lot of money, but you’d be shocked at what I could do with $365! In the same way, praising God for something different everyday for a year is like setting up a spiritual savings account. At the end, you can go back and see the faithfulness of God, the goodness of God and recognize just how rich you are because of what He has given you.

5). There will be no repeats. Some of the things I list will be big, some small. But they will all be different.

6). I really hope you will join me. Leave a comment of what you’re praising God for, or don’t. At least write it down and tell someone everyday what God has done. Let’s be like the Wave at a football game that ripples around the stadium in one beautiful synchronized movement. If ever we needed to be more in tune to the goodness of God and His active involvement in our lives, it’s now!

This week I’m praising God for:

 

1. Time off from the daily grind
2. A furnace that works
3. Living close to the local hospital/ER department
4. My daughter’s recovery from being so sick
5. My job
6. The freedom I have to share Christ on the internet via social media.
7. A husband who is willing to drive me to and from work on his snow day because he “wants to be in charge of my safety.”

 

There you have it. Week one of The Praise Project. Look back over your week. What are you praising God for?

“Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise-the fruit of lips that confess his name” (Hebrews 13:15, NIV).

I have to admit right now that Christmas is my least favorite time of the year. I’m a bit of a Grinch, not wanting to steal Christmas, but rather bypassing it altogether if it’s all the same to you. It’s not that I’m not grateful for the birth of Christ, but for me when I think of Christmas I see dollar signs and expectations. Grim I know, but let’s be honest. Many of us feel this way.

This year has proven to be no different ,and in many ways, it’s been much worse than in years past. At the beginning of the month, we got behind financially. Unexpected medical bills, broken cars and just general financial chaos ensued leaving no money for Christmas presents. So I did what any good journalism major does and began an investigative reporting of sorts, writing the story of my plight and submitting it to the One I knew could fix it.

I followed the inverted pyramid of journalistic reporting, asking the who, what, when, where, why and how of the situation, attempting to get to the bottom of this predicament. In journalism we are taught to say as much as possible in as few words as possible, so I wasn’t looking for long lengthy answers from my Source. I just needed some quick answers followed by equally quick solutions that would get me out of this situation and back into the world of sliver bells, roasting chestnuts, and packages tied up with string. That’s all I wanted.

Of course, any editor worth their salt keeps a tight reign on the writer, never crowding the voice or style of the writer but always steering the story in the direction they want it to go. In college this used to annoy the snot out of me. I thought I’d written a great piece on the school play only to have it returned with so many red pen markings it was nearly impossible to see what I’d actually written. Most of the time the editor felt I was asking the wrong questions. It seems old habits die hard because this time was no different. The following are the questions I was attempting to answer in this particular “story”:

1). Why are you doing this to me, God? Why don’t you want me to have Christmas for my kids?

2). What in the world are you doing, God?

3). How are you going to get us out of this, God?

4). When will this madness be over, God?

5). Who will You send to fix this, God?

6). Where in the world are you, God?

Yeah, that pretty much sums it up. Short, sweet, to the point, and highly confrontational. The other thing about editors is that they’re used to writers throwing fits and disagreeing with them. They’re tough as nails and not easily shaken. Ignoring my tantrum, the Editor sent my story back with some suggested rewrites. Apparently, I was asking the wrong questions…again. Here are the questions, edited so as to move the story in the direction He wanted:

1). Why are you so angry?

2). What is at the core of this anger, resentment, anxiety?

3). How do your children view Christmas in light of your behavior?

4). When will you finally resign yourself to the idea that I’m not out to get you?

5). Who are you to question my provision?

6). Where are you going for answers?

Hmmph! Not what I was hoping for. So I did what any egocentric writer does and shelved the story for a few days and sulked. It wasn’t pretty. However, despite every effort to squelch the answers I was getting, they flooded in bringing to a close the story I’d set out to write.

Here’s what I learned:

1).  In my post-debt lifestyle, there are rules my husband and I follow to maintain that lifestyle. But at Christmas we throw all the rules out the window because it’s Christmas. We deserve to have one time of the year where the rules don’t apply. Entitlement is a ruthless master.  Besides feeding the already inflated it’s-all-about-me attitude, it drives an otherwise sane human being to make illogical decisions.  Things like taking out loans to pay for Christmas (I have not done this but know of people who have), indulging in a pity party when things don’t work out according to plan, questioning God’s provision and comparing it to what we think provision should look like and a myriad of other insane behaviors become the Christmas norm.

2).  Despite my feelings, I need a little Christmas. I need the baby in the manger in the stinky stall surrounded by bleating sheep and mooing cows. I need it because without it all I’m left with are Christmas trees, shiny packages and a bunch of carols about a non-existent guy in a red suit. And while all of this looks beautiful and desirable on the outside, none of it can even begin to penetrate my deepest need which is peace and hope.

3).  Once again I’ve come face-to-face with mankind’s uncanny ability to turn the holiest of days, a day that would usher in world peace forever, into something ugly and enslaving. Christmas is Christmas in its truest meaning no matter what the external circumstances. One of the best ways I’ve found this month to deal with the less than desirable circumstances is to embrace them for what they are, change my thinking and mentally allow myself the joy of what this season is.

4).  You can’t outthink God. I gave Him several suggestions on how He might remedy my situation-things like bigger-than-normal bonuses from my clients, checks for thousands of dollars in my mail box, a stranger stopping me on the street and offering me money, etc. They all sounded pretty good to me. But nothing happened until I took a deep breath and surrendered my warped view of Christmas to God. I am not kidding you when I tell you that within two days of an attitude change the coffers were opened and Christmas came to our house from the most unexpected people and in the most unexpected ways. God has given us over and above what we asked for, and most of it did not come from our pockets. Our kids are getting about a third of their usual Christmas gifts, and they have been brilliant about it. At one point my daughter actually said that we all needed a heart change in the area of Christmas. Hmmm. She did not learn that from me.

So I don’t know what Christmas looks like for you or what baggage you bring into this season. What I do know is that to embrace it for what it is, is to finally begin to experience why it is.

May the peace of God that transcends all understanding guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus this season.

Merry Christmas

 

 

Six weeks ago we started a series I like to call Church is Not a Red-Carpet Event. I began by giving you my background and my past hangups with church as well as what I believe is missing in church based on my study of Acts. In the five weeks that followed we looked at engaging our culture with the message of Jesus, just another term for making disciples. Let’s review:

Embrace your identity. Though my beliefs are in stark contrast to that of a radical Islamist, the fervor with which followers of this religion live is noticeably missing from the average Christian. One of the reasons Islamists experience success in their endeavors is that they have completely embraced who they believe themselves to be-followers of Mohammed with the goal of eradicating the infidels. Until we live as if our existence depends on Jesus, we will be hard -pressed to persuade others of their need for Him.

No is always a choice. God is a God of freedom, freedom to follow Him and freedom to reject Him. He could have created a world full of robots but instead He gave us the freewill to choose Him or not choose Him. Upon coming to Him for salvation, we have opportunities everyday to say no to one thing so we can say yes to God, thereby enabling us to live the calling He has placed on our lives.

Gift of the Holy Spirit came next. Attempting to drive a car on fumes and no gas is senseless and will get you nowhere. The same holds true for a believer attempting to engage her culture without tapping into the power that is hers through the Holy Spirit. Why do we attempt to live out God’s purpose for our lives without His help?

Assess the damage and assess the need. We don’t have to look long and hard to see the damage sin has caused, nor do we have to wonder at the solution.

             “’The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim                       freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.’ Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone were fastened on him, and he began by saying to them, ‘Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing’” (Luke 4:18-21, NIV)

Get up. This involves actually giving ourselves away-our time, our money, our attention. Getting up involves obedience, delayed gratification and total abandonment to the will of God no matter how we’re feeling at the moment. And finally, the last letter, “E.”

Eternal perspective. This is the nuts and bolts of it all, the nitty gritty, where the rubber meets the road. Perspective is what will free you from the distractions of the world and set your sights on the task at hand. Eternal perspective gives us the will to embrace our identity, the courage to say no to things that hinder the working of God in our lives, the ability to see who the Holy Spirit is in light of our calling, the eyes to see the urgent needs of  our culture, the ability to get up and give away with purpose beyond morals and ethics.

Eternal perspective is what I’m desperately trying to pass on to a friend of mine who is entrenched in feelings of hopelessness and questioning. It’s the one thing that her religion with all of its rules and regulations has failed to give her. Without it she is left wondering if God is really there and if He really cares and if all her work is meaningless.

Eternal perspective gives man a reason to live. It’s the natural mindset of a redeemed sinner, the hope of what’s to come, the knowledge that the worst experience we have on this earth is the worst experience we will ever have if we know Jesus.

Eternal perspective is the message of the Bible. It’s the meaning of “seek ye first the kingdom of God,” of the promise “I am going to prepare a place for you.” It’s the shadow cast over our lives, the sieve through which all we believe and do and say and are is filtered. It is this:

“Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, ‘Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of thins has passed away.’ He who was seated on the throne said, ‘I am making everything new!’ Then he said, ‘Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.’ He said to me: ‘It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To him who is thirsty I will give to drink without cost from the spring of the water of life. He who overcomes will inherit all this, and I will be his God and he will be my son’” (Rev. 21:1-7).

Perspective is everything. I wonder how we would engage our world with the message of Jesus if we saw each person in light of what is waiting for them if they only believe?

When my nearly perfect firstborn turned two, she was stricken with a rather worrisome condition. Though never officially diagnosed by a doctor, at our house it became known as “noodle legs.” Noodle legs occur when one person, usually a parent, attempts to coerce another person, typically a toddler, into moving in a direction they aren’t wanting to go.

This is both annoying and dangerous. It’s annoying because my toddler had spent the last year showing off her glorious appendages that afforded her newfound freedom outside the confines of her crib and my arms. Suddenly, she was rendered completely lame by virtue of her will turning her legs into a pile of limp pasta.

It’s dangerous because noodle legs happen in dangerous spots like parking lots and crosswalks. It’s not as if the parent can do much about it since the other hand is occupied with either bags of stuff or, more likely, a ten pound baby carrier with a ten pound baby in it.

This week we address the “G” in ENGAGE, a natural next step to last week’s assessment stage. I’ve titled it “Get up and move!” We see the damage, we see the need. Now it’s time to get up and do what it is that God is calling you to do. I will admit that getting up and obeying is scary. What will He ask me to do? What if it’s completely out of my comfort zone? What if I fail?

As I look back at the times in my life that God has called me to something specific, very often my initial reaction involved spiritual noodle legs-a plopping down in a pile of rebellion, if you will, refusing to move in the direction He was attempting to move me in. We all do this in one form or another. Jonah, rather than doing nothing,  ran the complete opposite direction and ended up in the belly of a whale. Some of us run, some of us sit and refuse to move. Either way, it’s rebellion.

Last year my husband and I were totally unhappy in our current state. We hated our city, the weather, the traffic, the politics, the taxes. We weren’t jumping for joy over our jobs either. Our kids hated school. We were generally unhappy so we did what any reasonable person would do and started readying our house to put it up for sale and sent out resumes all over the country. We dreamed of moving to a warmer climate like Texas where the grass is greener and you can still spank your kids in public and not have them taken away. It’s the Bible belt, for heaven’s sake. Surely God could use us there. We needed a fresh start.

But a fresh start is not what we got, not outside of our city limits, that is. Instead, every job that my husband seemed perfect for ended up being given to someone else. It didn’t take long, and we got the message. The doors were slammed shut. Not even a crack for air was left. We were here, and I was mad. What in the world was God thinking leaving us in this place? We’d spent 20 years here. Surely, that was enough.

At first I responded like the defiant toddler in the parking lot. I plopped myself down mentally and physically refusing to engage in the life that God had given me.  Initially, my “I’ll show you” attitude felt victorious. Fine. I’ll live here in this crime-infested city and go about my life, trying to carve out the most painless existence I can and hope for a future move. However, those feelings quickly caved into misery and guilt which in turn left me feeling far from God. It’s one thing to be a non-christian and know something isn’t right but not know what that something is. It’s quite another to know that your own defiance has caused a gaping hole in your relationship with the Lord. This is what I’ve learned about getting up and moving and sharing the gospel with other people:

1).  As pitiful as it is, sometimes you actually have to ask God for the desire to do His will. I remember finally waving the white flag of surrender and asking God if He was going to keep us here to please place a supernatural love for this city in our hearts. I can honestly say, He has more than done that. There is no place I’d rather be.

2).  Ask God for opportunities to share Him with others in unique ways. The one thing I’ve learned over the years is that His timetable couldn’t be any more different than ours. If you look back at where you’ve been spiritually to where you are now, I’m sure you will see a steady but slow progression. He moves us to the areas of ministry He wants us in, but slowly and with marked intention.

For example, I’ve mentioned before how much I disliked the semester in college that I had to be on the radio. So it will surprise most of you when I tell you that about a month ago I was a caller into a local radio program. They were discussing salvation, of all things and some idea that an Ohio politician had that revolved around helping the poor because someday we would answer to St. Peter. The radio hosts put out the question: “so how does one become saved?’ Without thinking, I dialed the number desperate to get the truth to anyone who was listening. It was only after the phone started ringing and the screener answered that panic set in. I had about a millisecond to freak out and then I heard the words, “Kathryn, you’re on the air. What are your thoughts?” I’ve been out of college for 20 years. My 60 second moment of engaging was a 20-year process!

3).  Getting up involves giving yourself away. It requires our time and sometimes our money. Sometimes it means mowing your neighbor’s lawn, paying for groceries for the person behind you that doesn’t have enough money, being a listening ear when your life is already filled to the brim.

In order to get up and give away our attitude is one of delayed gratification. Of everything I’ve learned about engaging my culture, sacrifice is the consistent requirement whether it’s a moment of ministering or a lifetime calling. But the sacrifice it takes to look different and be different is worth what is waiting for us in heaven. Delayed gratification is a tough sell in a culture where waiting for anything causes us physical pain. It requires supernatural strength, but it is so worth it.

“No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him” (I Corinthians 2:9, NIV).

So what is God calling you to do? Are you giving Him noodle legs or getting up and moving?

When my daughter was two years old and my son was two months old, my husband and I sold our house and moved back to Chicago so he could pursue his Master’s of Divinity. We went back to the school where we met and moved back into the same building I was living in while waiting for him to graduate the first time around.

Part of the master’s program requirements was to attend weekend retreats a couple of times a year. Students were required to go, and families were encouraged to. So we did. The kids and I participated in everything offered for families of grad students.

One weekend in February 2001 we were in a camp in Wisconsin on one of these retreats. We spent the last morning in the camp dining hall eating breakfast. The place was filled with about 300 grad students, their families and faculty. Nick was ten months old at the time. I have to stop here and mention how different my two kids have always been. Abby didn’t crawl until she was 9 months old. She kept her hands to herself, could sit in church on my lap quietly reading, and never showed any interest in anything outside of her immediate reach.

Nick was not like this. Not even a little. His interest piqued over shiny silverware, pieces of fuzz, his sister’s pigtails, anything. He was on the move months earlier than Abby. I frequently dressed him in overalls so that in a moment I could grab him by the straps from the jaws of disaster. Everyone should have a child like this. It’s only fair.

Why I didn’t have this in mind that morning I will never know. Maybe because I hadn’t had my coffee, and the gray matter was still fuzzy. I was attempting to remedy that very thing as I set the cup of scalding hot brain juice in front of me and turned my head for 3 seconds to grab the creamer. Within those three seconds Nick’s busy marshmallow fingers grabbed the cup, and he was wearing it.

His screams drowned out the noise of those 300 people. My husband jumped in, grabbed him from his seat and ordered whoever would listen to rip his clothes off and get him to cold water. When I saw the layers of skin literally peeling back from his stomach, I froze. I didn’t know what to do.

Suddenly, there were about 5 people with nursing degrees, some students some spouses of students, that went into emergency mode and started doing things to help. They asked me questions I should have known the answers to. They handed Nick to me so I could comfort him while waiting for the ambulance. I handed him back. I didn’t know how to comfort a baby writhing in pain who was experiencing this because of my oversight. I couldn’t answer any of their simple questions. I shut down.

This week we take the “A” in ENGAGE. Assess the damage. Assess the need.

I love this quote by musician Kathleen Casey Thiesen:

“Acceptance is not submission; it is acknowledgement of the facts of a situation. Then deciding what you’re going to do about it.”

In the example I gave, protocol demanded that the situation be assessed by those with the correct skills and abilities and then determine what needed to happen next. Not only did I not have any medical training or knowledge, I had nothing mentally to contribute to the situation. Left to my own devices I would have sunk into a pit of despair with the cries of my injured baby somewhere in the distance.

Sounds bleak, but that is exactly where our culture is. If we’ve decided to engage it with the message of Jesus then we’ve taken the first step toward in being a light in the darkness-not burying our heads in the sand and trying to live around it. What comes next is an honest assessment of the damage and then assessing the need.

We see the damage broadcast all over the news, on our college campuses and behind the doors of abortion clinics. We see it on our streets where the homeless wander, at the food banks where the starving wait for a meal. We see it in our courtrooms and on Capitol Hill; some decisions made to undermine righteousness others made in an attempt to “fix” things. And if you look closely you can see the damage on the faces of friends and coworkers who muddle through life wondering “what went wrong with society.” The damage is sin. The need is Jesus.

For those of us who know Him personally, we have the solution to every one of those issues.

In Luke 4:18-21 Jesus stood up in the synagogue and read these words from the prophet Isaiah:

“’The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.’ Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone were fastened on him, and he began by saying to them, ‘Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing’” (NIV).

Jesus just declared Himself the solution to every problem that plagues humanity. Just like I didn’t have it in me to deal with the situation that day, those in our culture  don’t  have what they need to deal with the situations they find themselves in. I needed clearheaded medical professionals to jump in and help Nick and me. The world needs those of us who have access to the Expert. They need what we know.

I can’t imagine how I would have felt to be in a room full of people that, not only couldn’t figure out what needed to be done, but worse, didn’t even get up and assess the situation. To respond that way would have drifted into the area of malpractice for those with medical degrees. How devastating to be in trouble with no acknowledgement of that trouble from those who have the solution.

We’ve heard the saying that “nobody can do everything, but everybody can do something.”

So what are you doing? What are the needs in your family, your neighborhood, your circle of friends, your corner of the world? Who do you know that needs freedom proclaimed to them, good news preached to them, and a release from oppression? You can’t do everything, but you can do something. Assess the damage around you, and assess the need. Then do it.