Pastors all over the world are divided. That is a given. I mean that with far more grace than black and white type on a blog can convey. Having said that, I’m pleased to see a non-biased review of William Paul Young’s book The Shack in a Lutheran Magazine.
Mainline Protestant churches can be a little biased, so for me to see us step out a little and acknowledge the good along side of the “what we disagree with” is a blessing.
The author of this review is LCMS pastor, Rev. Steven B. Borst from Riverside, California. He surprised me by not just hacking the book, like many are doing these days, but rather embracing both the good and the questionable pointing out a major plus in this book.
According to Pastor Borst, “The Shack deals with life under the cross and is not afraid to venture into the deep mysteries of faith.”
We live life under the cross. Life is messy. It is complex. And sometimes, life hurts. And like William Young, or even his main character Mack, we live in a fallen world where losing our innocence, hope, and faith is a part of this life. Hopefully, in time, we find ourselves facing that empty shack, that place where sorrow and hope meet and we find God waiting for us.
My only question in the review was the author’s suggestion that William Young have sought out clergy who could have helped him with his “doctrinal problems.” Sounds easy and is good advice to be sure. My only problem with that is pastors and Christians, as a whole, don’t always agree on doctrine even within their own denominations. Case in point: I spent three years working along side three very gifted pastors not too long ago, we even had a vicar my last year there. I can remember countless times when I would ask doctrinal questions, during devotions, and I would get four different answers from these men. If I had not been taught how to study the Bible Inductively, (By my former pastor and his wife) that would have seriously confused me. Instead, I walk away from those encounters both amused and deeply convicted that I need to study deeper to seek God’s answers and not just man’s interpretation. Ponder the pastoral wisdom and answers yes, and then match it against God’s true word. Every teacher makes mistakes – God’s Word, however, is inerrant. And no teacher is in place of the Holy Spirit and that includes me.
My question to Pastor Borst would be, “Who should William have asked?” Maybe he did ask and got conflicting answers like I do so many times, or maybe he simply wrote this as fiction and not as anything more.
My question to you dear readers – is who do you ask? And what do you do if you get conflicting answers?
Ken Davis teaching at the Professional Communicator's Summit
I’m breaking all rules of blogging today. This is wordless Wed, and yet, I have words. Lots of them. I’m relaying a story and not engaging in a dialog, and I’m very self indulgently using the word “I” more than “you.” Even so, I want you to read this. I’m trying to be careful how I write what I want to write today. Even though I opened with a picture of Ken Davis, this blog isn’t about a person – it isn’t even really about me, it’s about God.
If you walk away from this post with nothing but one thought – I hope it’s this – God meets our needs before we know we have them and if our remember-er breaks, he will make it new.
Have you ever had a dream? I do. This year, I’ve chosen to invest in myself and those dreams that can only come of God. I want to be a professional speaker. You my friends, went with me on the neurotic ride when I stepped out on faith and went to the Professional Communicator’s Summit a few months ago, and I appreciate that.
I was scared spitless traveling to Nashville by myself. I used to travel all the time, but that was before I became MOM. I felt guilty about spending money on a class that could have been used towards the boys. I felt a lot of things. I also felt joy in following something I knew God had placed before me and trusting him with the results. Today’s wordless Wednesday photo is in part a reminder to keep your dreams alive, no matter how you feel on the inside, it is also a reminder to me about the faithfulness of God.
I loved being there, and I’m still digesting everything they taught. I worked up the courage for that by going to Speak Up with Confidence in 2008. The success from that gave me enough personal confidence to take more classes this year.
It’s been a few years since I chosen to invest in myself. The last time I did that was when I joined the Christian Writers Guild writing classes six years ago. We didn’t have the money to pay for it ($2,000) and after much prayer I submitted my application before the funds were available. Not how I typically roll. The following Sunday, I saw an ad in my church bulletin for a church receptionist opening across town. I applied for the job and was hired two weeks later. My classes were now paid for. I acted on faith – not foolish faith – but prayerful faith, and He responded. What I did not expect was the all out spiritual warfare that ensued. I fell on my butt pretty hard and it took me a long time to get over that. I never finished the classes even though I had paid for them.
Choosing to pick that dream back up, and start taking classes again, is scary. Knowing the God is in the middle of it makes it all worth it.
When Jeff told me he was being demoted at work and we needed to cut back on all financial expenditures, I questioned the wisdom of my dream and the money it would take to fulfill it. I also fell into a small pity party, but I’ll spare you those details for today. Today, I want to relay something else.
I have been speaking publicly since Spring of 1979. A family member had joined AA the summer before and I was dragged into Alateen the following Spring, ungrateful and less than willing but present. Strangely enough, I stayed and they stuck me behind a podium to tell my story the following year. Shy as I was, I learned that I have natural talent for speaking and I’ve been speaking nationally at conferences, retreats, and groups since then. Feeling bored with the “adult child” stories, I stopped giving 12 step talks five years ago. They just don’t seem relevant anymore. I do, however, still speak and want to pursue that as a profession today.
I have spent the last five years, learning how to bring my recovery story into church and rework my 12 step talk into my Christian testimony. I’ve had a few false starts, stumbling on words and making people laugh hysterically without meaning to. (Classic testimony gone bad: I have a few catch phrases, one of them being referring to revelations from God as “Burning Bush Moments.” – perfectly acceptable phrase, UNLESS it is paired with a story about how I accidentally set my dress on fire trying to hide the fact that I was smoking from a pastor. I learned what “mortified” really means that day.)
With the financial uncertainties of today’s economy and Jeff’s current demotion, I really started to question myself and doubted that I was really called to do this. I thought that maybe I should find something else. And I know that’s Satan and not God speaking. How I face obstacles speaks volumes of my character. Do I cave at the first sign of difficulty or do I persevere? Do I trust God to provide the means necessary? I’ve learned I do a little bit of both, and that I pray a lot like King David in the process. “How Long, Oh Lord…” (Wrist on forehead for effect.)
And then God, in a way only God can… spoke to my heart when I least expected it. He reminded me of something this Sunday while I was teaching a class.
I went to my very first women’s retreat in 1995ish (I can’t remember the actual year.) My former pastor’s wife was a huge Ken Davis fan and showed his videos a lot. At one of those retreats, the leader showed a video called Healer of the Wounded Heart. It was one of those stories that really touches my heart. It has a great message about how much God loves us and how we should love others, and yet there was a hidden story that I’d forgotten. I really do not remember the story as his, but it must be as it really is in the video- and I have no idea why it’s in his talk – other than as an example of a father’s love.
I own his videos today, and like Lisa, I show them when appropriate. What thrills me about teaching, is how much God teaches me in the process. In my “where are you in this God?” questions over the past two weeks – He chose to remind me of a time he was there before I knew of the need. I showed Wounded Heart in my Sunday School class this week. It’s been years since I’ve watched that video, and I only chose to show it this week because we are in a gap between classes. We just finished one series and do not start the new one until May 10. I brought it because it fit pastor’s sermon for the day: “God Heals a Broken Heart.” I thought the video fit perfectly.
In Wounded Heart, Ken relays a very short story about a time he saw a speaker and while this man was delivering his message a child comes on stage to speak him. Ken was surprised to see the man stop speaking, turn to the child, whisper in his ear and kiss his cheek. Ken asked him about it later – and turns out the child was his son and this was routine. No matter what, at bed time, the child would find his dad and the man would stop what he was doing whisper in his ear, tell him he loves him, and pray over him that God would send his angels to watch over him and protect him while he sleeps. For the sake of the video – it’s really just a nice little story that gives a picture of a Father’s Love. In the grand scheme of the whole video -I thought it was kind of a throw away story. It’s not a key point that one would keep with them or so I thought. It’s not one he stayed on for very long anyway. And it’s not one I recalled hearing, ever.
And yet…
I first saw that video in February of 2000. Lisa had moved away and Zeal was now doing the retreats. This was her keynote video for the retreat. I remember the whole “Love Monster” thing as that is what she pulled out. The whole retreat was about God being the Passionate Pursuer of our Hearts. Christianity isn’t a list of dos and do nots, rather it is about loving one another. It’s about that God Shaped hole in our hearts that needs to be filled. It’s about a lot of things. The over all message was not about praying for angels to watch over a child and yet there it was – a word for me that I apparently received and put into action without realizing it.
I speak at times on the Eyes of Angels – and how when Dillon was first diagnosed with Epilepsy, (Summer of 2000) we would pray for God to send his angels to watch over him while he slept and keep him safe. Up until Sunday, people ask me where I learned to pray that and I would say had no idea, I must have have heard it somewhere. It’s not a normal prayer. It’s not a prayer I’d ever read about or learned about, I just remember I heard it somewhere and thought I’d try it. It is also scripturally accurate. I didn’t know that until I studied it.
I don’ t remember learning that from Wounded Heart, but I must have. The timing fits perfectly.
And so, here God speaks to my heart. “I was there for you then before you knew you had a need, and I’m there for you still. I won’t leave you hanging, I promise.”
God used a video at a retreat, to teach me a new prayer before I even knew I was going to need it. And he used that same video almost ten years later to remind me that he was there for me then, and he is there for me now.
One of the greatest gifts about teaching and about speaking, is how much He teaches me about love, about himself, and about us in the process.
I’ve closed with this in my talks many times, and it is as true for me today as it ever was.
We are at times those eyes of angels sent by God to watch out for one another. Whether it is upfront and personal, or in a talk where we allow him to speak through us. We are also that God with skin on (or the “Love Monster” as Ken calls it in his video)whether it is for that person hiding in the back corners of our churches or someone who may be sitting next to us who is walking through something they have never had to walk through before: Cancer, a divorce, the loss of a job, or maybe the death of a child or spouse. And we know, either for the first time in our lives, or as reminder yet again, that we are never alone.
God is not only in the middle of all that is happening right now, he’s already written the ending. All we have to do is step out the day to day and remember that we are not alone.
What about you? Now that I’ve shared this story with you. Are you willing to share a story about God’s provision in your life? Leave me a comment. Let’s talk about.
Have you ever been called names, as a kid maybe, or worse, as an adult? I have. Have you ever received these lies as truth? Been there, done that as well. I’ll spare you the gritty details, just know that I have. Okay?
There is an old saying that goes along the lines of “sticks and stones may break my bones but names will never hurt me.” There is a lie straight from hell if I ever heard one. Names hurt. Lies hurt. And so many of us, get stuck looking through the wrong mirror that we lose our focus on who God says we are.
I’d like you to join me on Sunday while I interview Christan Speaker, Author, and Bible Teacher, CJ Rapp. CJ has written a new 30 day devotional titled I AM says “You Are…” This study is is designed to allow women to embrace their rock solid identity in Christ and get rid of the lies we’ve carried around with us for so long.
Join us on Sunday to find out more about the wonderful and timely Word for all women today.
1. After I had shared the details of my week with some friends, they told me that God (through the Holy Spirit) had impressed me on their hearts for prayer earlier in the week and did not know why. – He already had people praying for me before I knew I had a need.
2. God had a word for me, before I knew I needed it – Pastor went on vacation for the week and wrote his sermon before he left. He does not know about our week. His scripture verse for today: Lamentations 3:21-25 (New International Version) Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope: Because of the LORD’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. I say to myself, “The LORD is my portion; therefore I will wait for him.” The LORD is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him;
3. I took a road trip to Van Buren Arkansas with my girlfriend Michele VanDusen last night and laughed myself stupid, both on the way and at the show. Girlfriends are great like that. We were even able to pop in during intermission and say hi to Chonda and crew. What a kick. I usually only get to see her when I’m working promotion. This was so much fun. Chonda also picked up two new to her, but not new to comedy gals to perform with her. Zan and Victoria are wonderful and the three of them, make an excellent combination. The show lasted three and a half hours!
Christian Comics, Zan, Chonda Pierce,(me), Victoria Jackson(From SNL), and Michele VanDusen at Intermission.
During the show, Zan said that comics come from the land of misfit toys and I fell out of my chair laughing hysterically. Hanging with comics brings me incredible joy for many reasons. For one, I feel “normal” when I’m around comics. I don’t always say that outloud it sounds like I mean “wow, compared to your messed up self, I feel normal” and that’s not how I mean that.
I have never really fit in anywhere. I kinda of stand out in an uncomfortable way. I have spent my whole life feeling like there was this world I missed where people see through the same lenses I do. The Land of Misfit Toys, that is so it! When I’m with comics, there is a real me that comes out that feels whole and relaxed, and that’s a good thing. At Michele’s encouragement, I am learning a new craft right now. I’m going from teaching and sharing and making people laugh on accident, to finding humor in my stories and in life and learning the timing needed to let people laugh on purpose. My stories are dead on, my set up, the punch lines, are all good and now I am working on delivery. Practice, practice, practice. Stage time is my hardest thing to find. The Looney Bin Open Mic night is a great place for me to learn and practice. All I need now is courage to ride the ride.
I have no idea what God is going to do with this desire and weird gifts that He planted in me, I just know that it will honor him or he wouldn’t have given them to me. I don’t know where it is going to take me. I just know to trust Him and know that in all things (not some things or a few things, but ALL things), He works for the good of those who love him and have been called according to His purpose. – my life verse.
I don’t know how things are going to turn out with Jeff’s job, or Dillon’s school and friends. I just flat don’t know a lot of things. I do, however, know Jesus and that is enough.
Yes, God did really say we have hope that overflows. That is what the entire Bible is about. It’s a book full of hope. But even more so Christianity isn’t about religion, it’s about relationship. Being in a relationship with Jesus Christ, is being in a relationship of certainty, and not just wishful thinking.
(Heb. 11:1) 1Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.
“May the God of hope fill you will all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” (Romans 15:13)
I still don’t understand all of the whys and who’s of what God is doing and has been doing in my life over the past few years. I am still learning how to enjoy the ride and trust that I have a Daddy who LOVES me. And in knowing that, and because of the Holy Spirit, He lavishes me with hope that overflows.
I tell my Sunday School class to keep a prayer journal. Prayer Journals are a way for us to communicate with God. It gets stuff out of my head and down on paper and that act alone can take away the sting of a situation and provide clarity. Prayer journals also help me keep an account of the faithfulness of God.
Four years ago, my prayer journal was full of my concerns for my oldest. Charlie was a freshman then and he was so unhappy. His classmates argued constantly. Everyone seemed harsh and judgemental, and no one liked themselves much less each other.
Oh yeah, freshman year. Lord of the flies from junior high bleeding over into high school.
Charlie had no clue who he was then. He was a loner with very few friends. He hated school and he hated life. My heart ached for my wonderful son who was and is so brilliant, so funny and so endearing. It’s the same heartache I feel for my youngest, who not surprisingly is going through the same questions. “Am I a man? Do I have worth? Where do I fit.” Halfway through 10th grade, Charlie came into his own. He found his identity and he found new friends. He has learned that he has a talent for writing, for comedy, and is graduating top of his class (Three way tie for valedictorian right now). Charlie even has a girlfriend for the first time. He’s doing just fine.
I’ve been here before, watching my boys walk this crazy road called adolescence and I’d forgotten that. Ninth grade is merciless, but it doesn’t last forever. My youngest, will survive just like his brother did and just like we did. I’d forgotten that, but God didn’t. He was faithful then, and He will be faithful now. I just lost my remember-er for a few days.
Have you ever had one of those weeks where by Friday you did not want to handle one more phone call, one more email, or one more person at the door?
That is me this week.
I chewed out my son’s principal, only to find out that I did not have the whole story. At least I was calm in my I think you own me an explanation remarks. I was clear, concise, and respectful with my concerns and asked for an explanation.If the facts had been correct, he would have had one, but they weren’t. He did tell me that I was a lot nicer than he would have expected given the information I was handed. That did not make me feel better. Knowing that my son lied to me and played a deep victim in this situation hurt my heart.
My friend’s mother in law passed away and today was the funeral. I got to be there for her.
My Dad is sick.
There are things going on with my boys I cannot write about. Not yet anyway. What I can say is my oldest is graduating highschool in a month, and my youngest has serious self esteem issues that I do not know how to fix.
And other things I cannot write about.
What has me so fried right now, is the fact that I am powerless over every single thing that happened this week. I cannot fix, control, or change any of it. I don’t like that. I took most of my nervous energy out on my gardens yesterday, and I’m working on setting those blog posts up. My gardens are a place of healing for me. It’s a place where God and I get to meet almost face to face, and I love it. It’s also a place where I have some control. I design it, and plant it. I build and have a hand in creating beauty. It is renewing for me. I wanted to do the same today, but it’s been pouring rain all day. I’ll be back at it tomorrow.
What do you do when you are overwhelmed? Where do you go for rest?
“Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for he who loves his fellowman has fulfilled the law.” Romans 13:8 NIV
This is my memory verse for the next two weeks. When memorizing scripture, the first thing I do is look at the context in several translations. Seeing the context gives me a better idea on what the verse really means.
1Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. 2Consequently, he who rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves. 3For rulers hold no terror for those who do right, but for those who do wrong. Do you want to be free from fear of the one in authority? Then do what is right and he will commend you. 4For he is God’s servant to do you good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword for nothing. He is God’s servant, an agent of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer. 5Therefore, it is necessary to submit to the authorities, not only because of possible punishment but also because of conscience. 6This is also why you pay taxes, for the authorities are God’s servants, who give their full time to governing. 7Give everyone what you owe him: If you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue; if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor.
Love, for the Day is Near
8Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for he who loves his fellowman has fulfilled the law. 9The commandments, “Do not commit adultery,” “Do not murder,” “Do not steal,” “Do not covet,”and whatever other commandment there may be, are summed up in this one rule: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”10Love does no harm to its neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.
11And do this, understanding the present time. The hour has come for you to wake up from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. 12The night is nearly over; the day is almost here. So let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. 13Let us behave decently, as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and debauchery, not in dissension and jealousy. 14Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the sinful nature.
There is a lot to chew on here when I take this verse into context. It’s not a sweet platitude, it’s a list of action items that paints a word picture of love in action.
Neat.
When you see the first half of that verse – “Let no debt remain outstanding…” what does that mean to you?
I am woman of deep convictions. Most people who know me – really know me – know that. I’m passionate and artistic. I love God with my entire soul. I choose to love people the same way. Those who don’t know my heart – think I’m eccentric. I think that’s probably PC for “weird.” I’m passionate in my faith, in my opinions, and in my love. I love deeply and openly – I dance with those who dance, laugh with those who laugh, hurt with those who hurt and I pray for those called to lead us. If that makes me weird, I’m totally okay with that today. If you aren’t okay with that, that’s okay too.
I worked in a church for three years (I no longer do). I know the pressures and burdens carried by church staff and by pastors. I’ve seen them in action. I’ve seen them in prayer. I’ve seen them love with everything they have. I’ve seen them cry. I’ve seen them fail. And I’ve seen them reach out for the Grace and forgiveness of God and try again. I was just the receptionist, and yet I saw so much that my heart shattered. Truthfully, I don’t know that I would change a thing. If I have to choose between loving deeply and grieving, verses never loving at all – I’ll choose love.
I used to prayer walk the church on my lunch hours and my breaks. I remember the day I got “caught” in pastor John’s office – I had laid hands on his chair (he wasn’t there) and was deep in prayer for him when someone walked in and offered a very shocked “WHAT are you doing?”
“Praying for your pastor.” I replied. “You should try it sometime.”
Okay, so add “tacky” to my self descriptive adjectives.
It was also my job to print the bulletins and place them throughout the sanctuary. The pastors wanted copies on the Altar and on the pulpit for reference. If they thought my praying over their chairs was shocking, I can only imagine how they would have reacted to my being in the pulpit and at the altar in prayer every Friday.
There were, and are still, people who mistake my love for something dirty and degrading instead of in the purity it is intended – to them I have learned to say “So what. Get over it.” I learned while working that church, that I serve to an audiance of One – I serve God and God alone. God calls us to be passionate. God calls us to be alive in Christ. Passion for His Word and His people is a gift of the Holy Spirit. We live because He lives.
The world needs people who are alive. The world needs prayer. Praying over that congregation or their pastors was not part of my job description – it was and is part of who I am. I love doing that.
I have a guest blogger today. Len Carter is our music director at my church. This is his article from April’s Footsteps. Len’s words are as needed and relevant today as ever.
Pray for Your Pastor
I was reminded the other day while reading from “Partners in Prayer” by John Maxwell how important it is to lift up our Pastor regularly in prayer. As a staff member and Church Liaison, I get to work hand in hand with Pastor Dreier on a regular basis and see first hand the pressures and struggles he gets to deal with not only personal but for the church, it’s members, and many in our community who seek his counsel.
Pastor Dreier often says of himself, “I’m not perfect even though you might think so.” (That’s his running joke) With that in mind I would like to relate a funny piece called “The Perfect Pastor.” It relates many of the expectations that every pastor feels from his people.
After hundreds of years the perfect pastor’s been found. He is the church elder who’ll please everyone.
He preaches exactly twenty minutes and then sits down. He condemns sin, but never steps on anybody’s toes.
He works from eight in the morning to ten at night, doing everything from preaching sermons to sweeping.
He makes $400 per week, gives $100 a week to the church, drives a late-model car, buys lots of books, wears fine clothes, and has a nice family.
He always stands ready to contribute to every good cause, too, and to help panhandlers who drop by the church on their way to somewhere.
He is thirty-six years old, and has been preaching for forty years.
He is tall, on the short side; heavyset, in a thin sort of way; and handsome.
He has eyes of blue or brown (to fit the occasion),
and wears his hair parted in the middle – left side dark and straight, right side brown and wavy.
He has a burning desire to work with the youth, and spends all his time with the senior citizens.
He smiles all the time while keeping a straight face, because he has a keen sense of humor that finds him seriously dedicated.
He makes fifteen calls a day on church members, spends all his time evangelizing nonmembers, and is always found in his study if he is needed.
Unfortunately he burnt himself out and died at the age of thirty-two.
Pastor Dreier and all church leaders are highly susceptible to stress. All their work has eternal consequences, and that can be a heavy burden. They are also highly visible. They and their families live in a fishbowl, subject to comments and criticisms from everyone who sees them. Where can Pastor Dreier find help to combat all of these difficulties? The answer is prayer. It has the power to overcome any problem or obstacle. Jesus demonstrated this time after time. His prayer at the Garden of Gethsemane just before His death especially emphasized the power of prayer.
He said, “Again, I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything you ask for, it will done for you by my Father in heaven. (Matt. 18:19)
I urge you to agree with me to pray for Pastor Dreier as the spiritual leader of The Lutheran Church of Our Savior.
In His Service, Len
Thank you Len – for that wonderful reminder.
Love the leaders God has called to lead you. Show your love by praying for them.
I saw a twitter post from an acquaintance of mine a while back. He’d posted a picture of his grand daughter making a face. Underneath the picture was the caption – “You can’t hide beauty.”
For some stupid reason that picture and that caption made me cry. I felt like such an idiot and was really glad to be home alone. I mean how in the world could I have explained that to my family?
At first I thought it was because I missed my grandfather and seeing that post brought back those memories. But then the gals in my Sunday School class started asking if we could study “Captivating” by Staci Eldredge next. I bought a copy of the book and started to read.
I found this quote on Eve from chapter two. –
What is Eve telling us about God?
“First, you’ll discover that God is relational to his core, that he has a heart for romance. Second, that he longs to share adventures with us – adventures you cannot accomplish without him. And finally, that God has a beauty to unveil. A beauty that is captivating and powerfully redemptive.”
God has beauty to unveil – and we keep trying to hide it.
“How do you live an authentic life without being so transparent that your story speaks louder than God’s?”
I love the fact that part of our little mission team, full of passion, joy and praise for God – asked that question on Sunday night. I love this question because it has given me something to chew on. Something to take back to God, ask about, reflect on, and dig up. It’s given me a chance to learn something new. It’s a question with depth, and meaning. It’s a question I cannot presently answer in a three point post which means that God wants to teach me something. This blog post is, in a great sense, my discovery journal. I will be sharing the points that answer this question as we find them over the next few weeks –
I’ve asked this question on twitter and facebook and have gotten some excellent replies. Some people think it’s a great question and are pondering it themselves now. Others are asking if it’s possible to allow our story to speak louder than God’s. After all, God is God and we are not.
There is truth in that – God’s story is, was, and always will be bigger than ours – as it should be. Our point in asking this question though is more about how well do we (as humans and as his servants) tell God’s story not just on stage, or behind a podium, but in our lives. We want to be authentic, we want to be transparent and we want to be wise in both.
Why is this question important to me? It is important because I haven’t always been the most authentic or transparent person in my life. I used to take privacy to unhealthy levels and hid behind a heart full of fear and hurt. I’ve shared stories over the years about the lengths I’m capable of going to in order to protect and hide my heart. I can even laugh about them today. I’ve also had times where that pendulum swings the other way where I’m overly transparent, telling people far more about my life than they really wanted to know or worse – more than they could emotionally digest. I’m thankful to God, and my friends on this journey who walk with me, and love me through those stages of life. These people help me to define my communities and appropriate boundaries, but most importantly they keep me focused on Christ.
The path to authenticity for me, starts with believing and not just hoping. I am learning that a heart that loves God first and foremost and knows his forgiveness is a step in the right direction. Taking it from my heads to my heart isn’t always easy. Those 12 inches from my brains to my hearts can seem like miles. It took God a long time to help me go from “I hope” to “I know.”
– “Lord, I believe, help me with my unbelief.” is a powerful prayer.
Living an authentic life has to start with Christ. I have to be real and authentic with Him before I can ever be that with anyone else.
Christian Comics, Zan, Chonda Pierce,(me), Victoria Jackson(From SNL), and Michele VanDusen at Intermission.
Deana O'Hara - Speaker, Comedian, Writer 