It was the worst day in my life. Our daughter Anastasia was two-years-old. We were living in Germany in a townhome, three-stories high with winding, marble stairs. Anastasia, like most two-year-olds, was my shadow and followed me continually up and down the stairs.

I worked busily that morning, getting ready for an overnight guest. The drain to the shower was clogged so I used a spoon to pour with some Draino crystals directly into the pipes. A small amount of the crystals mixed with some water and stuck to the spoon.

At the hospital she was put in the pediatric intensive care ward. We were blessed that the majority of the burns were in her mouth but her saliva had carried some of the chemicals down her esophagus and the doctors needed to see the extent of the damage.

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Do you ever feel your life is full of many “almost made it” opportunities? The interruptions of life continually prevent you from accomplishing your goal and living out your dream. You almost got the promotion, almost got married, almost won the competition, almost got into that college, almost bought the house, almost had a baby, almost beat cancer…

They can happen to us or even our loved ones, either way they put a sharp curve in the road, taking us in another direction, to a destination we have no desire to visit.

Some times these are self-invoked and happen because we (or another around us) turned the steering wheel in the wrong direction due to a bad decision – texting while driving, cheating on our taxes, shaving our legs with a dull razor.  (Uh…TMI on that last one?)

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There is a reason we call this the most wonderful day of the year: Christmas is truly filled with wonder. Or at least it should be. Somehow over the course of 2,000 years our wonder has become somewhat diluted, if not downright negative.

We consider the miracle of the incarnation--God taking on human form--and we pose a question we might ask of an illusionist: "I wonder how he did that?" Or worse, our wonder is more like doubt, mainly because we buy into the notion--on a practical level, at least--that Jesus was a wise teacher and a social justice advocate, but hardly the supernatural being Scripture makes Him out to be.

Neither of these senses of wonder--speculation or doubt--is anywhere near the wonder that Jesus should incite in us. We should be ashamed when we settle for a pedestrian kind of wonder. Our wonder at Jesus and the day He was born should rise far above our normal human emotions to the place where we are literally frightened at the very idea that the most holy God has identified with us in such a personal, self-sacrificial way.

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The Bible is the most remarkable book ever written, read by more people than any other book by a mile, and yet if you're completely honest, you'd have to admit that at times the Bible bores you. We'll admit it. There are times when we read the Bible out of obligation rather than from a heart of expectation. Why is that? Why do we sometimes get bored when we read the Bible?

We've thought about this and have a theory. See what you think. Our theory starts with the fact that we humans are a self-centered bunch. We're always looking for our own best interests, doing things that make us feel better, and basically orienting everything we do around us, including the Bible. Even as followers of Christ, we live as if we're the center of the universe, and so the Bible becomes just one more thing to add to our lives, like a self-help book.

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I love the Bible story of the woman who had been bleeding for twelve years. She’s one of my heroes. Jesus was leaving the area and walked by her. She was about to miss her opportunity but in desperation she reached out and touched the hem of His cloak, thinking to herself, “If I can just touch his clothes, I will get well.”

She didn’t whine, “I guess I wasn’t one of the chosen ones,” and give up on her chance to meet with God.

Nope. She reached out and grabbed Him before He left her. She seized her opportunity.

It gets better. He stops and turns around and then looks at her, “Do not to worry! You are well now because of your faith.”

There are times it feels as if I’m drowning in life and that God is passing me by, as if He’s moving on to more important things. However, this story models to me the importance of reaching out and grabbing for God – even if it requires being drastic. When we do – He stops and we are healed.

A few months ago I was in one of those spiritual ruts when I read of an opportunity to be a blogger for the 2011 Women of Faith – Over the Top conference. My heart was moved and felt led to grab for it. I wanted a chunk of time to reconnect with God.

When I received the email accepting me as a blogger, it felt as if God had stopped and acknowledged my desire to be refreshed spiritually – as if He were looking at me.

Okay – it may seem silly to compare a miraculous healing to a chance to go to a conference but I do need a form of healing. I need one in my heart and, for me, conferences like Women of Faith provide an opportunity for us to be touched and encouraged by God in our own personal way. 

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God is not mad at you. If you are a believer, it is actually impossible for God to be mad at you. For God to hold anger towards you would mean that you are still under wrath. Simply put, if God could be mad or hold any form of condemnation towards believers, covered by the blood of Jesus, then Jesus failed on the cross.

            When I tell Christians this, they often balk. Few believers know how to live their lives in the freedom of Christ-completed work. Instead these believers live lives in a three-step dance of sin, guilt and confession; the second step being unnecessary as guilt is a useless commodity for believers in the kingdom of God.

            This process of sin, guilt and confession is what causes some Christians to hate sin for the wrong reason. Think about it. Why do you hate sin? If you are like me in the past, you've hated sin more for the way it made you feel or the results of your sin then hating sin itself. Yes, we need to hate the consequences of sin, but the primary reason for hating sin is because sin is everything God is not and when we sin we break God’s heart. For God, lack of condemnation towards you and a broken heart can co-exist.

            Thus, the amount you hate sin is tied into how much you experience love for and from God. When you love God, you no longer avoid sin because of the law or fear. Instead, you avoid sin, because you want to bring pleasure to the Father. Your righteousness becomes a love language. This is why freedom from sin is found in the place you least expect it. Freedom from sin comes from focusing on your love relationship with God rather then creating a fail-safe program for sin management.

            Since the Devil knows this, he will continue to convince Christians that God is mad at them. Why? The reason is that we tend to avoid people who are angry with us. When we avoid God, we are also avoiding his love and acceptance.

            Here’s the truth, God’s not mad at you. Go in peace.

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Do your fears ever overtake you - paralyzing you, either momentarily or long-term, to the point where you sit out on life?

Fear is a strong force that God may use to protect and guide us but it’s also a tool the enemy will use to keep us in stalemate preventing us from experiencing and trusting God.

A few weeks ago our daughter had her end-of-the-season soccer party at a new gym in our area. It’s in an old warehouse and high above our party was the ropes course with six platforms and in-between each is a variety of ropes and obstacles.

It looked awesome and the girls immediately asked about it.The manager offered us a deal if each child had an adult to accompany them. We couldn’t pass it up so we did the mini-training, strapped in and waited our turn to climb the rope ladder.

I was with my son, Noah, who quickly climbed the ladder as I belayed him. He made it look easy and I was eager to join him at top. However, as I began my climb the narrow ladder, it began to twist and sway. I quickly realized it was going to be trickier than it appeared.

I felt uncoordinated as I climbed. When it came time for me to reach from the ladder and step onto the platform, a fear of heights took over me that I had never experienced before. I stood on the platform, grasping the pole and afraid to move. I wanted to go down - immediately.

I didn’t want to let Noah down so I tried to gather my nerves. He waited for me to clip him in to his first course while I mentally tried to think of a way to get out of it and without disappointing him. Maybe he’ll hate it and “need” me to go down with him.

No such luck – he loved it.

It was my turn to lean out, grab the rope and step off the firm platform onto a swinging rope. It was unnerving and I hated it at first but I didn’t fall and even ended the day with an adrenaline high.

Here are a few life lessons it taught me. 

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I’m asked the question all the time: How can Jesus be the only way? It’s a universal question that comes from Christians and non-Christians alike.

And it’s a question for which we have to have a clear answer—shared with the right motive—because the answer is the foundation of our faith.

New Twists on an Old Question

Pluralism and competing religious ideas have been a problem for the Christian church since its inception. People wouldn’t have had a problem with Christianity if early Christians had just said, “We follow Jesus, one god among many.” But Christians were persecuted and killed because they took seriously the Scriptures and the words of Jesus that He is the only truth and the only way to get to heaven.

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God and the F-Word: Mumford & Sons Make Me Wonder

 

On Good Friday I went to a really good concert.  The Railroad Revival Tour featuring Old Crow Medicine Show, Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros, and most expectantly Mumford & Sons.

 

 

"This April, Mumford & Sons, Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros, and Old Crow Medicine Show will embark on a tour unlike any in recent memory. Traveling exclusively in vintage rail cars, the three bands will journey across the American Southwest over the course of a week. The aptly titled Railroad Revival Tour will feature the three bands playing concerts at six unique outdoor locations along the route, beginning April 21st in Oakland, California."

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I volunteered in Noah’s 3^rd grade class the other day. As our time came to a close, ten minutes remained in the school day. It wasn’t enough to begin a big project so the teacher gathered the kids in a circle in front of her and pulled out a stack of cards that had random questions on them. She read this question to the kids…

Would you rather be the best player on the worst team or the worst player on the best team?

The kids took turns going around the circle, answering the question and randomly she’d ask a kid to give a brief reason why.

“I wanna be the best player on the worst team because I want to have the most home runs!”

“I’d be the best player on the worst team because I want people to cheer for me.