Practical Counsel w/ Paul

Our overnight event for the youth group, "Guard your Heart," took place Nov. 26-27. Here the teens are broken up into groups to discuss the testimonies that were shared. 

I never thought I'd have to answer that infamous future plans question again after high school. 

I also never thought I'd have been a missionary, so I guess God has a funny sense of humor. 

One of the leaders of the youth group was asking me questions about what my life would look like when I returned to the United States. She asked questions like: "Where will you work?" "Where will you live?" "What church will you go to?" "How long will you stay with your parents?" "Will you continue doing ministry?" To each of her questions, all I could do was laugh and tell her that there are many things in my life right now that I don't have answers to.  

"But the funny thing is," I told her, "even without those answers, the peace and certainty that this is the right decision never goes away--it is a peace that surpasses all understanding." 

I tucked the conversation away and didn't think much about it again until I began experiencing a series of life and ministry events that could easily turn someone into an emotional basket case. 

There have been heartbreaking disappointments on our youth group leadership team. There is the normal heaviness of saying goodbye to the young men and women that I have been mentoring for two years and leaving behind a ministry I have watched grow from the baby stages. There is the sadness of saying goodbye to friends, church members and coworkers. There is the anxiety of uprooting a sense of security for a whole lot of unknowns. Sprinkle in some personal family drama and you got yourself one heavy heart. 

As I tried to process through the emotions, I remembered that conversation. 

I pulled out my Bible and started reading Philippians 4 from the beginning, and here is what I noticed:

1. The first thing Paul commands believers to do is STAND FIRM. There will be many times in ministry or in our personal lives when we are tempted to be carried away by overwhelming emotions. Paul knows our tendency to do this and so emphasizes the importance of getting our emotions under control and standing firm in the unchanging truth of who God is. 

Paul makes a similar exhortation in Ephesians 6. 

Paul begins in Ephesians 6:10 by explaining that we are constantly in a spiritual battle and we need to put on the full armor of God so that we can STAND FIRM against the schemes of the evil one. 

"Stand, therefore, with truth like a belt around your waist, righteousness like armor on your chest, and your feet sandaled with readiness for the gospel of peace. In every situation take up the shield of faith with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit--which is the word of God. Pray at all times in the Spirit with every prayer and request, and stay alert with all perseverance and intercession for all the saints" (v. 14-18). 

2. The second thing Paul commands is that we REJOICE. He then even goes so far as to repeat himself. "I will say it again: Rejoice!" (v. 4). From personal experience, it is far too easy to focus on the negative things in ministry: the people who are falling away, the marriages that are ending, the sin issues, and the petty disagreements. We can so easily find that negativity is always on our lips, and for this Paul tells us twice to rejoice! 

And it's not even just Paul who thinks rejoicing is a good idea, even modern science can't deny the psychological effects of gratitude. 

Christina Costa in her TED Talk "How Gratitude Rewires Your Brain" said this: "There are several positive psychological and social outcomes of gratitude, like increases in happiness, decreases in depression, having stronger relationships and experiencing positive emotion. And fMRI studies show us that several parts of our brain and pathways are activated when we experience and show gratitude. One of these parts is the medial prefrontal cortex, an area associated with the management of negative emotions. Together, these changes in neurotransmitters and hormones combined with activated neural pathways, help us cognitively restructure potentially harmful thoughts to better manage our circumstances."  

Either Paul was a time traveler or the Word of God is timeless. 

3. Paul then commands us NOT TO WORRY about anything, but to TAKE EVERYTHING TO HIM IN PRAYER with THANKSGIVING. That means I can't worry about the future of the youth group, my family or any of the details of what my future is going to look like. I get to pray, not complain. I get to pray, not imagine every possible problem. I get to pray with thanksgiving and you know what happens when I do that? Paul tells us in verse 7: "And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Jesus Christ." 

Last weekend we did an overnight event at the church with the youth group. Our theme was "Guard your Heart" from Proverbs 4:23: "Guard your heart above all else, for it is the source of life."

Saturday and Sunday we emphasized what it looks like to guard your heart and why it is important. One common point: guarding your heart looks a lot like guarding your mind and thoughts because your thoughts influence your emotions. If you retrain your mind to focus on truth rather than lies, you have the power to rewrite your emotions. 

When we go to God in prayer and thanksgiving, we no longer carry the burdens of life like they are ours alone to shoulder. The truth that God is in control replaces the lie that we are in control, and the peace of that guards our hearts and minds against becoming emotional basket cases whenever life gets crazy. 

4. Paul again emphasizes the importance of our thoughts, this time commanding that whatever is TRUE, HONORABLE, JUST, PURE, LOVELY, COMMENDABLE, anything with MORAL EXCELLENCE, anything PRAISEWORTHY to DWELL on these things. 

Normally I think of the word "dwell" as a negative word because normally we dwell on negative things: offensive comments, arguments, past mistakes, or anything outside of our control. So not only do we guard our minds against lies, but we guard our minds against the temptation to dwell on things that might be true but are not edifying to our souls. 

I remember one specific night at discipleship group. A couple of the women opened the night with two news articles involving the abuse of children. Even though the topic changed and we eventually settled down to studying the Word, I could not stop thinking about those news articles. My heart felt so heavy and I couldn't get myself to be emotionally present with the women at the study. 

It is not that we remove ourselves from the world or shut our ears to what is happening in this broken sinful world, but there are times when what is a very true and real thing in the world is not worth dwelling on. 

5. Paul commands us to REMEMBER what we have learned so that the God of peace will be with us. 

I love reading through my old journal entries because I am reminded of impactful sermons, lessons the Lord has taught me, or even problems the Lord has delivered me from that I completely forgot about. 

When we remember those things of the past, our hope for the future is renewed because we know that God's character never changes. 

6. Paul drives home the importance of CONTENTMENT. 

"In any and all circumstances I have learned the secret of being content--whether well fed or hungry, whether in abundance or in need. I am able to do all things through him who strengthens me" (v. 12-13). 

What is Paul's secret to bulletproof contentment? Strength that comes from God. Strength that comes from the humility to ask for it when our flesh and spirit are weak. Through Christ, we have everything we need to be content in all circumstances. 

7. Paul brings up the impact that ENCOURAGEMENT from other believers can have in our moments of hardship. 

"I rejoiced in the Lord greatly because once again you renewed your care for me...For even in Thessalonica you sent gifts for my needs several times. Not that I seek the gift, but I seek the profit that is increasing to your account. But I have received everything in full, and I have an abundance. I am fully supplied, having received from Epaphroditus what you provided--a fragrant offering, an acceptable sacrifice, pleasing to God. And my God will supply all your needs according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus" (v. 10-19). 

The body of Christ is a powerful tool when we use it the way God intended us to. Simple acts of encouragement when a fellow believer is walking through a difficult season of life can be a complete game changer for them. 

Not only that but we are rewarded from God with "profit that is increasing to your account" when we have the humility to be others focused, and the irony is that when we become others focused our own needs are not neglected, but God Himself will provide for them. 

So today if you find yourself weary and heavy laden, I pray that the peace of God, that surpasses all understanding will guard your heart and mind in Christ Jesus. 

"The grace of the Lord Jesus be with your spirit" (v. 23). 

You are loved and you are not alone, 

S

You are Replaceable

The Youth Ministry Sal & Luz

In high school, I spent a lot of time in front of a full-length vanity mirror applying makeup, straightening my hair, and trying on seven outfits before I finally picked the one I liked--leaving the others in wrinkled piles on my floor much to the dismay of my older sister who shared the room with me. 

Because I spent so much time in front of that mirror, I would stick post-it notes with Bible verses or other encouraging phrases along the border as daily reminders. 

I wrote things like "You are one of a kind" or "You are loved" or "You are the daughter of the king." 

It would be difficult to imagine me writing something like "You are replaceable" and sticking it to my mirror so I could look at it every day. 

But the truth that has brought me profound peace is that I am replaceable. 

Two years ago, I was hosting an English bible study for a group of teenagers in my home. Every once in a while, I would host a game night or movie night to build friendships with the teens. I was aware the church did not have a youth group at the time, but it wasn't until a particular game night that it dawned on me that this group could easily be the start of a youth group. 

That thought was a spark that quickly set ablaze. 

Soon I was writing a strategic plan, recruiting other leaders, creating a name for the youth group, making T-shirts, using the church every Saturday night to host the youth group, teaching through bible studies and games and lessons, planning special events and outings, getting the church and the parents involved, and watching each student grow tremendously. 

It is hard to describe the pride you can feel watching something come from nothing, knowing you were used in that process. However, if you are not careful, subtle sneaky thoughts can begin to creep in that you must be something special to have done this, that another person couldn't have done it how you did, that anyone who comes after you will fall short of your greatness, that you are irreplaceable. 

I take tremendous ownership of the youth group--it's my pride and joy, my baby, and its successes and failures often feel like a reflection of me as the main leader. 

In the beginning, the pressure I felt trying to win over the parents and the church was so great that I ended up doing many things on my own. It felt like if I asked for help, it meant I wasn't a capable leader. I was wary of asking for help from the other leaders because it didn't feel like they were as invested or committed. It seemed like their standard for doing things was often less than mine. 

I realized I was making myself irreplaceable. 

Now, I know it is a frequently given piece of advice to make yourself irreplaceable at your work. To be irreplaceable means your company will do almost anything to keep you because it would be next to impossible to find someone who could do all that you do with the same level of expertise. 

While that may be the rule for the corporate world, I argue ministry should be different. 

There will be people who are going to disagree with me on this and I can understand why. I am aware business books have been used as helpful tools for churches and I am also aware that company leadership techniques often translate well to the ministry setting. 

So for those predisposed to disagreeing with me, all I ask is that you hear me out. 

One essential reason I think the concept of making yourself irreplaceable is one that shouldn't be carried over into ministry is that the base motivations are fundamentally different. 

When you make yourself irreplaceable in your work, your main focus and concern is you--you want to do good work so the company sees your value and becomes so averse to losing you that they are willing to make wild accommodations and pay raises just to keep you.  

In ministry, your main concern should not be you; it should be ministry. 

Making your greater concern the ministry rather than yourself looks like training others to do the tasks you do and giving them the freedom to take ownership. It looks like wanting to see the ministry succeed whether you are in leadership or not. It looks like wanting to see the longevity of the ministry more than you want to be remembered. 

It is a natural human desire to want to be irreplaceable and it would be easy to allow this desire to drive your motivation for ministry, but nobody ever said ministry was easy. In fact, they actually said it was difficult. 

The life of a Christian is a lifelong process of putting to death the old man.

"Now those who belong to Jesus Christ have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires (Galatians 5:24 CSB).  

"Therefore, brothers and sisters, in view of the mercies of God, I urge you to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God; this is your true worship" (Romans 12:1 CSB). 

The call to be a Christian is a call to a slow painful death.   

In the Practical Shepherding podcast "Trench Talk," Episode 173: Why is Ministry Uniquely Hard?, host Brian Croft describes this slow death that happens for a Christian, specifically for a Christian in ministry. 

Croft lays out five reasons ministry is uniquely hard and how these unique challenges bring about a slow death: 1. Spiritual warfare, 2. Dealing with sinful people, 3. Criticism is given more than encouragement, 4. Physical ailments that come from the stress of ministry, 5. Disappointed expectations.  

It is a dying of self for the good of ministry. 

For me right now, that looks like rejoicing that I am replaceable, specifically in the youth group ministry. 

I had felt peace about the three leaders I was leaving in my place, but I knew they were not the long-term solution--youth ministry was not any of their passions. So I began praying for a long-term solution, that God would bring someone whose passion was youth ministry and who could continue the ministry for many years to come. 

Then, about a month ago, I learned of a couple who had been praying about an opportunity to serve God in this city and their hearts had been specifically burdened for teens. 

The moment I asked them to join the ministry they were committed. This couple has experience hosting a young adult ministry, they have a daughter who will attend the youth group, and they have solid biblical knowledge and an ability to teach well and connect with young people. 

I know the Lord will use them as tools in this ministry just as he used me. 

At dinner with the new youth leaders
and their daughter 

And it's a slow death to my flesh to know they will continue what I started, they will make it better, they will change and rearrange things, they will connect with some students better than I did, and the ministry that I once thought of as my baby will now become their baby. It's a slow death to know that in the lifespan of this ministry I will be a quick blip at the beginning that few will remember. 

But that is what I have prayed for. I have prayed that the ministry would not only continue after I am gone, but that it would become better than it ever was when I was leading it, and that I would love the ministry more than myself. 

From one slowly dying sinner to another, you are loved and you are not alone, 

S 

Confessions of a Wannabe Christian Hedonist

Making a mess in pursuit of sourdough donuts 

In chapter 7 of John Piper's book "Brothers, We Are Not Professionals," Piper introduces a concept he calls the debtor's ethic, otherwise known as the gratitude ethic. 

"The debtor's ethic has a deadly appeal to immature Christians. It comes packaged as a gratitude ethic and says things like: 'God has done so much for you; now what will you do for Him?' 'He gave you His life; now how much will you give to Him?' The Christian life is pictured as an effort to pay back the debt we owe to God. The admission is made that we will never fully pay it off, but the debtor's ethic demands that we work at it. Good deeds and religious acts are the installment payments we make on the unending debt we owe God" (Piper 49-50). 

If you are anything like me, the gratitude ethic is not only familiar but deeply ingrained. What makes this ethic tricky is that there is a very real element of truth to it--we should be so moved with gratitude that our good deeds flow from us naturally, without pretense. 

However, Piper argues that nowhere in the Bible is gratitude ever used as an explicit motive for obedience. 

"Why is it this explicit motive for obedience--which in contemporary Christianity is probably the most commonly used motive for obedience to God--(almost?) totally lacking in the Bible? Could it be that a gratitude ethic so easily slips over into a debtor's ethic that God chose to protect His people from this deadly motivation by not including gratitude as an explicit motive for obedience? (Piper 50). 

After reading that chapter, I gently closed the book and set it beside me in bed. As I stared up at my ceiling, I felt like something in me had been violently upended.  

In very large part, the gratitude ethic was what motivated me to become a missionary in the first place. I had, with full conviction, said phrases like, "God gave me His life, so I will give Him mine." 

I knew being a missionary meant making sacrifices, but I felt that God was more than deserving of them and that my sacrifices, however big and painful they seemed to me at the time, were only a drop in the bucket compared to everything He had given me. 

I had made God the grateful beneficiary of my sacrifices without even realizing it.  

And what is even more humiliating, is to realize that I haven't made a single sacrifice that God has not given me back one-hundredfold. All my efforts to make Him the beneficiary of my "sacrifices" only made me the beneficiary of even more of His gifts. 

"He guards us from the mind-set of a debtor's ethic by reminding us that our Christian labor for Him is a gift from Him (Rom. 11:35-36; 15:18) and therefore cannot be conceived as payment of a debt. In fact, the astonishing thing is that every good deed we do in dependence on Him to 'pay Him back' does just the opposite; it puts us even deeper into debt to His grace" (Piper 50). 

Mark 10:29-31 teaches a similar concept. 

"'Truly I tell you,' Jesus said, 'there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields for my sake and for the sake of the gospel, who will not receive a hundred times more, now at this time--houses, brothers and sisters, mothers and children, and fields, with persecutions--and eternal life in the age to come." 

A couple months ago I read another John Piper book titled: "Desiring God: Meditations of a Christian Hedonist." The impact that book had on me was a huge motivation for me to seek out other books by Piper and ultimately what led me to pick up "Brothers, We Are Not Professionals." 

"Desiring God: Meditations of a Christian Hedonist" had already begun chipping away at this debtor's ethic and sacrificial attitude. 

Piper argues that it is not sinful to seek our own happiness and pleasure, and even more than that, to desire our happiness and pleasure is exactly how God created us. Everything we do, in fact, is based on this cost/reward analysis. However, Piper argues that in order to seek that happiness and pleasure to their highest potential, we must seek after God in obedience. 

God knows we are motivated by reward and so He constantly promises reward for obedience.

We are told to honor our father and mother so that it will go well with us (Ephesians 6:1-3). 

We are told that God rewards those who seek him (Hebrews 11:6). 

We are told that those who fear the Lord and delight in obeying His commands are given joy (Psalm 112:1). 

I think we shy away from talking about the rewards of obedience and of seeking God because we think it somehow takes away from our obedience as if we have tarnished it with selfish motives. 

But disinterested obedience isn't a virtue. 

"Consider the analogy of a wedding anniversary. Mine is on December 21. Suppose on this day I bring home a dozen long-stemmed red roses for Noel. When she meets me at the door, I hold out the roses, and she says, 'O, Johnny, they're beautiful, thank you,' and gives me a big hug. Then suppose I hold up my hand and say matter-of-factly, 'Don't mention it; it's my duty.' What happens? Is not the exercise of duty a noble thing? Do not we honor those we dutifully serve? Not much. Not if there's no heart in it. Dutiful roses are a contradiction in terms. If I am not moved by a spontaneous affection for her as a person, the roses do not honor her. In fact, they belittle her. They are a very thin covering for the fact that she does not have the worth or beauty in my eyes to kindle affection.....If I take my wife out for an evening on our anniversary and she asks me, 'Why do you do this?' the answer that honors her most is, 'Because nothing makes me happier tonight than to be with you.' 'It's my duty,' is a dishonor to her. 'It's my joy,' is an honor" (Piper 72-73). 

And the more we love God, the greater reward we will feel to obey Him. To take away the reward is to stop loving God altogether. 

I think another reason why shy away from talking about the rewards of obedience is that we like to think we are capable of what C.S. Lewis in his book "The Four Loves" calls "Gift-love." 

"Gift-love," is love that needs nothing and asks for nothing, and is able to give solely for the sake of the other. However, the only one capable of this kind of love is God Himself. In our pride, we make ourselves gods, believing that we can love God and others without needing anything in return.

However, all humans are only capable of giving God "Need-love."  

"Every Christian would agree that a man's spiritual health is exactly proportional to his love for God. But man's love for God, from the very nature of the case, must always be very largely, and must often be entirely, a Need-love. This is obvious when we implore forgiveness for our sins or support in our tribulations. But in the long run, it is perhaps even more apparent in our growing - for it ought to be growing - awareness that our whole being by its very nature is one vast need; incomplete, preparatory, empty yet cluttered, crying out for Him who can untie things that are now knotted together and tie up things that are still dangling loose...it would be a bold and silly creature that came before its Creator with the boast 'I'm no beggar. I love you disinterestedly.' Those who come nearest to a Gift-love for God will next moment, even at the very same moment, be beating their breasts with the publican and laying their indigence before the only real Giver" (Lewis 1-2). 

We want to be able to claim that we give God our good works and obedience because we want to honor Him, not because we need anything in return. However, fighting against this is fighting against the very way God created us. He created us to need Him. 

"And God would have it so. He addresses our Need-love: 'Come to me all ye that travail and are heavyladen,' or, in the Old Testament, 'Open your mouth wide and I will fill it'" (Lewis 2).  

It does not honor God to act as if we do not need Him. It honors Him to need Him more every day, to admit that we can give Him nothing that He is in want of or needs, even our good works. 

The moment we master this is the moment we kill our pride for good. 

I feel inclined to make a quick side-note about this idea of "Gift-love" and "Need-love" particularly in what I have observed in the non-Christian, new-agey culture. 

I see a lot of messaging about the highest form of love being "Gift-love." Not only is that type of love to be admired, but we should be capable of displaying that type of love to each other, especially in our romantic relationships. Those who fall short of that divine love haven't yet been "enlightened."

I find it fascinating because all of us are created with an instinctive knowledge that we can be loved completely selflessly, but fail to realize the only place that love will be found is in God Himself. And instead of that instinctive knowledge ultimately pointing us to the only divine and needless Creator, we try to play the role of God to others and expect others to play the role of God to us.  

Piper writes about the first time he ever read C.S. Lewis' sermon "The Weight of Glory."

"There it was in black and white, and to my mind, it was totally compelling: it is not a bad thing to desire our own good. In fact, the great problem of human beings is that they are far too easily pleased. They don't seek pleasure with nearly the resolve and passion that they should. And so they settle for mud pies of appetite instead of infinite delight. I had never in my whole life heard any Christian, let alone a Christian of Lewis's stature, say that all of us not only seek (as Pascal said) but also ought to seek our own happiness. Our mistake lies not in the intensity of our desire for happiness, but in the weakness of it" (Piper 16). 

Piper writes that he consistently sees validation for the concept of Christian Hedonism in the lives of missionaries who know the benefit of giving up lesser pleasures (family, country, comforts) for greater pleasures (purpose, intimacy with God, fruits of the spirit). They aren't sacrificing anything; they are hedonistically striving for more fulfilling pleasures and happiness! 

It wasn't my obedience and sacrificial attitude that led me here in the first place, and it isn't my obedient resolve to grit my teeth and suffer for the gospel's sake that has carried me through these past two years. 

What brought me here was the divine hand of God who loves me so much that He desired to give me more of Himself and thus increase my happiness and pleasure in Him. What has carried me through these last two years has been the abandoning of lesser pleasures for higher pleasures, and not "higher" in the sense of holier, but "higher" in the sense of they fill me with greater happiness than those I abandoned. 

"The chief end of man is to glorify God by enjoying Him forever" (Piper 14). 

And as I near the final months of my time here in Brazil, I am convinced that I have not made a single sacrifice. I have been lucky enough to experience pleasure and happiness on a scale I never could have if I had never become a missionary. And while I am firmly convinced that it is time to close the door on this chapter of my life, I know I will deeply miss this kind of happiness in the Lord. 

You are loved and you are not alone, 

S

What a Friend

A photo I took of my friend Cássia's cat 

Joseph Medlicott Scriven wrote the famous hymn "What a Friend We Have in Jesus" in 1850. 

Familiarity is often accompanied by inattention and unawareness. Rather than skimming through these words in the same way you drive home every day, pretend you are reading them for the very first time.

What a friend we have in Jesus, all our griefs and sins to bear! What a privilege to carry everything to God in prayer! Oh, what peace we often forfeit. Oh, what needless pain we bear. All because we do not carry everything to God in prayer!

Have we trials and temptations? Is there trouble anywhere? We should never be discouraged, take it to the Lord in prayer. Can we find a friend so faithful, who will all our sorrows share? Jesus knows our every weakness; take it to the Lord in prayer. 

Are we weak and heavy laden, cumbered with a load of care? Precious Savior, still our refuge--take it to the Lord in prayer. Do thy friends despise, forsake thee? Take it to the Lord in prayer! In His arms, He'll take and shield thee, thou wilt find a solace there.

Blessed Savior, Thou hast promised Thou wilt all our burdens bear; may we ever, Lord, be bringing all to Thee in earnest prayer. Soon in glory bright, unclouded, there will be no need for prayer--rapture, praise, and endless worship will be our sweet portion there. 

Do the words take on a new meaning for you? They do for me as well. 

As much as I would like to take credit for this exercise, I can't. This song was actually sent to me by my friend Grace who said: 

"Something that hit me fresh and new was some of the lyrics to "What a Friend We Have in Jesus." I've sung this song for years, but I didn't realize what I was singing until now...'Oh, what peace we often forfeit. Oh, what needless pain we bear. All because we do not carry everything to God in prayer.' I feel kind of embarrassed that I've never really listened to the lyrics of this song before, but sheesh, I just had a really big DUH moment when it finally set in. Oh, how much peace I do often forfeit and needless pain, anxieties, fears, *endless list of things* that I put on myself instead of turning to the Lord in prayer." 

Prayer is an area of my life that I have been growing in over this past year. I saw my need to focus on this spiritual discipline when I realized that I had never prayed about a certain area of my life that caused a significant amount of pain, fear, and anxiety. 

I had thought about it, worried about it, talked to others about it, journaled about it, cried about it, and even tried to fix it, but I had, for as much as I could remember, never prayed about it. 

Talk about a really big DUH moment, 

As soon as I began praying, I began to see changes. First, in myself. I found myself humbled before God, willing to admit that I had done everything in my power to remedy this and it was impossible if He didn't intervene. I began to feel hopeful and encouraged rather than defeated. Second, I began to notice the fruit of change in that area of my life. 

The more I began to pray about the smallest, most insignificant details, the more I began to notice God's hand working in the smallest, most insignificant details. 

Like the hymn says: What a privilege to carry everything to God in prayer, even the things we think are too silly or insignificant to pray about. 

I don't remember where I heard this analogy, but I remember reading a book that said that God is a gentleman. He won't intrude, barge in, or take over something I haven't invited Him into. He is like a friend, who, already having a hunch of what I am thinking, won't say anything unless I bring it up first. He already knows what I need, but He's polite enough to wait until I ask for it. 

This means I can't use God's omniscience as an excuse for my laziness or pride.    

I remember talking to a mom who shared with me the changes she was noticing in the independence of her child. She told me how before, her child would come to her for everything whether it was a fingernail that looked funny or a pan smoking downstairs in the kitchen. The reluctance of her child to handle things on her own made it difficult for the mom to have alone time, read, rest, or accomplish other tasks. 

As a child, we don't have to be told to go to our parents for everything, big or small. We do it without thinking, sometimes to the demise of our parents. 

Developing independence and confidence away from our parents is a natural, good and normal thing. It would be weird to see a 45-year-old woman holding onto the back of her mom's shirt, following her everywhere the same way she did as a two-year-old. 

And while our relationship with our parents can be a helpful dim reflection to understanding the way God relates to us, I have found that thinking of God in that way proves to be more of a stumbling block for most people than a helpful analogy. 

How did your dad react when you asked him for the same thing many times? He became angry and maybe even refused to give you what you would have gotten had you not asked 10 times.

However, God tells us to "keep asking, and it will be given to you" (Matthew 7:7 HCSB). 

How did your mom react when you wanted her to hold your hand and go down the slide with you because you were scared? She told you that you were old enough not to need her help anymore and you needed to do it by yourself.  

However, God tells us that "you can do nothing without me" (John 15:5 CSB). 

How did your dad react when you tried to ask him for permission to eat a snack while he was reading the newspaper? He kept reading, not even realizing that you were talking to him. 

However, God tells us that He "hears whatever we ask" (1 John 5:15 CSB). 

And I think my hesitancy to pray about things that I didn't consider "worth God's time" or that I felt I should be able to "handle on my own" or that I had already "asked for a million times" stemmed from a faulty idea of God as an Earthly parent. 

I didn't want to annoy Him, seem incapable or bother Him when He was busy. How silly that all seems when I say it aloud!

How much peace I robbed from myself and how much pleasure I denied Him because I was unwilling to go to Him with everything in prayer!

My prayer is that you would also be reminded and encouraged to "take it to the Lord in Prayer!"

You are loved and you are not alone, 

S

A Case for Community

 

Chris McCandless (February 12, 1968-August 18, 1992) 

In the last few minutes of the 2007 film "Into the Wild" Chris McCandless, starving and alone in the Alaskan wilderness, pulls out his paperback book of plant lore and writes within the margins: "happiness is only real when shared." 

Desiring freedom, self-sufficiency, and a simple life far from the evils of materialism, Chris decided to donate his life savings of $24,000 to charity, give away everything he owned aside from a hunting rifle, ten pounds of rice and the clothes on his back and hike from South Dakota to Alaska.  

Chris had achieved the life he set out for, but soon realized it was incomplete if he didn't have anyone to share it with. 

Four months after he arrived in Alaska, Chris died of starvation. 

"Into the Wild" is based on a true story. On September 6, 1992, 19 days after Chris died, his body was found by two moose hunters in his home he constructed from an abandoned city bus. 

Four years later his story was told by journalist Jon Krakauer in his book "Into the Wild."

I find the life of Chris McCandless striking, because on a certain level I deeply respect what he did and what he valued. Chris desired to live--truly live. He had spent the two years prior to his journey to Alaska without a phone and was known for having few possessions. On another level I sympathize with Chris' prideful attitude that was above needing human connection or depending on community. 

The Lord has done a radical work on this area of my life over the last decade. 

Before I understood the importance of living in community, I was content to maintain my own sense of piety without the inconveniences of messy people. Then, in my late teenage years, I entered into a depression I didn't understand or know how to deal with, but was determined to fix on my own as I had done everything else. What could have been resolved more quickly lasted for years because of my own pride. 

There were many things that contributed to bringing me out of that brain fog, but do you know what contributed to it the most? When I started living in community. 

I began to allow people into my life, I began to be vulnerable and stop putting on a show that I was perfect, I began to walk with others through their own pains and joys and I began to serve others for the sake of loving them and putting their needs before my own. I no longer had the time to sit around all day evaluating how I was feeling, and with time, I realized I wasn't nearly as depressed as I was before. 

I am not saying this is a one size fits all solution for everyone, but I also don't think it would hurt to try. 

Why? Because we were created to live in community. We were created to live in relationships. It is a fundamental human need. 

It is also one of the hardest things you will ever do. 

Any community, no matter how flawless it seems on the surface, will disappoint you. You will find things to disagree about even if everyone in your community voted for the same person in the last election. You will be on the receiving end of careless comments. You won't receive compassion every time you think you deserve it. You will find people who annoy you for no rational reason other than that they seem to breathe irritatingly. You might even be profoundly hurt in a way that takes a long time to forgive. 

And if it seems ironic to you that the thing that leads to our greatest joy is the thing most difficult to do, I would assume you have not been a Christian for very long. 

Let's look at 1 Corinthians 12, where Paul begins verse 12 writing about unity in the Christian community. 

"For just as the body is one and has many parts, and all of the parts of that body, though many, are one body--so also is Christ. For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body--whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free--and we were all given one spirit to drink. Indeed the body is not one part but many. If the foot should say, 'Because I'm not a hand I don't belong to the body,' it is not for that reason any less part of the body. And if the ear should say, 'Because I'm not an eye I don't belong to the body,' it is not for that reason any less part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? But as it is, God has arranged each one of the parts in the body just as he wanted. And if they were all the same part, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, but one body" (1 Corinthians 12:12-20 CSB). 

How beautiful. 

To live in a functioning and loving community we don't have to have the same kind of personalities, the same political ideas, the same interests, the same ages, we don't have the have the same cultural or racial background, we don't all need to be married, we don't all need to have kids, and we don't even need to agree on every single debatable lowercase t theological concept. If we all have the Spirit of Christ, we can have unity. 

Who wouldn't want to be part of a community like that?

But just a verse later Paul begins talking about the divisions that inevitably come. 

"The eye cannot say to the hand, 'I don't need you!' Or again, the head can't say to the feet, 'I don't need you!'" (1 Corinthians 12:21 CSB). 

How all too disappointingly familiar. 

The Bible is full of verses encouraging Christians to continue to strive after unity, and reprimanding them for all the times they seek to destroy unity with their selfishness and pride. 

"Pursue peace with everyone, and holiness--without it no one will see the Lord. Make sure that no one falls short of the grace of God and that no root of bitterness springs up, causing trouble and defiling many" (Hebrews 12:14-15 CSB). 

"Therefore, as God's chosen ones, holy and dearly loved, put on compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience, bearing with one another and forgiving one another if anyone has a grievance against another. Just as the Lord has forgiven you, so are you also to forgive. Above all, put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity" (Colossians 3:12-14 CSB). 

I don't know about you, but the fact that Christians have to be reminded to love each other constantly feels defeating. It means they aren't living this way normally and that the community I dream of and long for is a far off dream that rarely happens on this side of heaven. 

Kind of makes me want to pack up and live alone in the Alaskan wilderness. 

And, in one way or another, that is a conclusion a lot of people come to. They enter into Christian community expecting love, peace, and unity, and quickly become disillusioned and leave the church community altogether.  

I get it. 

But in the same ironic moment that we become critical of the people in our community, we are far too often guilty of the same thing. We gossip with our closest friend about how so-and-so is such a gossip. We cast judgemental, condemning glances at those we deem judgemental and condemning. And the further we isolate ourselves from our community, the more we just self-affirm our own perspective, the further we plummet into pride, and the blinder we become to our own sin. 

You want to know the quickest way to become aware of how sinful you are? Live in community with sinners, they pull that stuff right outta ya. 

The other day I held a baby while a new mother took a nap in peace, something she had not been able to do for months. I felt happy and giddy and totally alive that I was able to give her such a simple gift. I thought about how I could have been spending my morning alone in my apartment doing anything I wanted without any noise and nobody to inconvenience me--I could have been spending my morning in total freedom. 

Instead, for the sake of living in community, for the sake of bearing a burden, for the sake of showing love and counting someone else more important than myself, I spent my morning with a baby and a very tired mother. And you know what? It was the best morning I have had in a long while. 

You are loved and you are not alone, 

S

The Year of Honey

 

This time last year, I received a message from a woman named Bruna, telling me she had found a puppy on the streets. She sent me a photo of the puppy and asked if I wanted her; I said: "yes." 

And as I reflect on having lived out that "yes" for the past year, I am reminded of another yes I gave in May of 2019. 

Just weeks after I graduated college, I flew to Germany for a 10-day missions conference where I ended up meeting missionaries who invited me to join their team in Brazil; I said: "yes."  

I had no way of fully knowing everything that would come about because of saying yes. And there have been days when I have thought: "This isn't what I thought I was saying yes to."

I knew it would be lonely to move to a foreign country away from friends and family, but I didn't know it would be this lonely. I knew a puppy would test my patience, but I didn't know it would test my patience this much. 

Coldplay said it best: "Nobody said it was easy; no one ever said it would be this hard." 

I think it's a mixture of God's grace and sense of humor that keeps us from knowing everything that lies ahead of our chosen road; because for as much as we plan and dream for the future, agonize over details, bullet point pros and cons, and incessantly imagine every single hypothetical, we all walk into our yeses blind. 

And that's because we all walk into the future blind. 

That's not to say we shouldn't do our homework--as much as it depends on us, we should know what we are getting ourselves into before we say yes to something--I am not trying to advocate for a passive or defeatist approach to life here. 

But I am trying to acknowledge a simple fact: that for as much as we think we know exactly how something will go, circumstances and people change and, in a moment, everything is completely different and we find ourselves thinking: "had I known it was going to be like this, I don't know that I would have said yes." 

And we think that because none of us like pain. None of us like to walk the difficult road. None of us like to suffer. And God, who knows our nature, will ask us to take a road He knows will lead to pain for the purpose of our sanctification and growth. Sometimes that's the only way we can learn.  

"For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is going to be revealed to us. For the creation eagerly waits with anticipation for God's sons to be revealed. For the creation was subjected to futility--not willingly, but because of him who subjected it--in the hope that creation itself will also be set free from the bondage to decay into the glorious freedom of God's children. For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together with labor pains until now. Not only that, but we ourselves who have the Spirit as the first fruits--we also groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for adoption, for the redemption of our bodies. Now in this hope, we were saved, but hope that is seen is not hope, because who hopes for what he sees? Now if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with patience" (Romans 8:18-25 CSB). 

Suffering isn't worth comparing to the work sanctification will produce in us. 

Verse 28 continues: "We know all things work together for the good of those who love God, who are called according to His purpose. For those He foreknew He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. And those He predestined, He also called; and those He called, He also justified; and those He justified, He also glorified" (Romans 8:28-30 CSB). 

All hard things we walk through work together for our good. 

Let me talk about Honey for a minute. 

Everyone who sees Honey looks at her honey-colored fur and assumes I gave her that name because of her coloring, but it actually wasn't. When I first received Honey, her fur was more of a chestnut brown, but over time it has become the color of honey.  

In a way, I predestined her to be like honey. 

Through the course of this last year, as she has grown and learned and matured, tripling in size (although she still has not quite grown into her ears), she is being conformed to the image of honey--from the color of her fur to her sweet disposition.

When we go on walks, Honey is loved by everyone she comes in contact with. She wildly wags her tail watching children play, lifts up her front paws to each passing stranger to be petted, and has never once growled or barked at someone she didn't know.  

And in the same way, we are predestined to be like Christ. 

And through our lives, we, who once looked nothing like the image of Christ, slowly are being conformed to look more and more like Him. 

For Honey that happened through my consistent discipline: teaching her to pee outside rather than on my living room floor, teaching her to be comfortable being alone while I am out of the house without crying, teaching her to play gently rather than biting and scratching--I have taught her to listen to my voice and heed my commands. 

Now, she doesn't always listen to my voice. There are times when she has stolen yet another sock and instead of giving it back like I have asked her to, she turns around and trots away, but she does obey much more than she did a year ago. 

And I can't help but think that I look more like Christ now than I did in May of 2019 before I ever set my life and future on the altar and submitted to the Lord by saying "yes" to coming to Brazil as a missionary. 

That happened through confronting my pride through circumstances the Lord brought to my life, realizing the idols of my heart that the Lord allowed me to see for what they truly were, and becoming aware of how weak and helpless I am in my own right and my need for daily dependence on the Lord. 

Do I still struggle against pride? Yes. Do I still have idols in my heart? Again, yes. Have I mastered dependence on the Lord alone? Of course not. But I am not where I was three years ago, and that is what matters.  

So, here's to the year of Honey--the unexpected sweetness of sanctification. 

You are loved and you are not alone, 

S

I Don't Wanna Go (If You're Not Going Before Me)

Sarah and Evie taking a rest at the construction site for the new church in Tupanatinga

These days, I've had one song on repeat.

It has kept me company while I wash dishes, drive, sweep floors, cook, and prepare English lessons. I don't have the exact number of times I have played the song, but if I did it would probably be too embarrassing to share. 

The song is "I Don't Wanna Go" by Chris Renzema. 

I heard the song a few years back, but I never found it that special. Then as quickly as the annoying boy in math class becomes a heartthrob overnight, so an average worship song took on profound personal meaning. 

This last month I was processing through one of the most difficult decisions I have had to make at this point in my life--to extend my contract in Brazil for another year or not. I didn't want to make the decision based on selfish motives or from a place of fear or lack of trust in the Lord. I wanted to make the decision that most pleased the Lord. I knew the decision that I wanted most might not be the decision the Lord asked me to make.  

Like David and the temple, I wanna bring You praise, but like David and his temple plans, Your ways are not my ways. You don't need me to build a temple to know that You love me still, oh.

Part of me wanted to stay, but another part of me didn't. Part of me wanted to pursue other avenues to better use my gifts and talents, but the other part of me wanted to continue investing in the ministry I had already started. I didn't want to just pick something without the Lord's leading. My heart felt like a ship on raging seas and I felt like it would drown before I ever made a decision.  

Like Israel on the shore, all I see is crashing waves, but like Israel on the shore, it's through the wild You make a way. I will go where You go, I will stay where You stay, oh.

I felt a heavy sense of responsibility to the youth ministry in Brazil. I feared that my leaving would hurt the ministry and possibly cause it to die. I knew the importance of that type of community and I didn't want to see it come to an end because of me. I had grown to love each of the students in that ministry. I wanted to see them continue to grow in their faith and I wanted to watch the youth ministry continue to flourish and become all that I dreamed it could become. 

'Cause I don't wanna go if You're not going before me. I don't wanna go if You're not going before me. I don't wanna go if You're not going before me. I don't wanna go if You're not going before me.

I remember laying in bed unable to sleep and I asked myself the simple question: "What do you want?" And for the first time, I admitted to myself that what I wanted was to pursue my talents and gifts through writing. I didn't see myself as a missionary for the rest of my life in the live-overseas-forever type of way and I didn't see myself as a youth leader forever. I have loved doing those things and watching how the Lord has worked through those things, but my passions and gifts are with writing. 

Like Moses in the desert, I wanna see the land, but like Moses in the desert, I can't fully see Your plan. Still Your love doesn't stop, when I see the land from a mountaintop, oh.

But even after coming to that realization, the feelings of responsibility to the youth ministry didn't go away. I imagined myself going home and I felt a pit in my stomach. I knew that as much as that was what I wanted, I couldn't do it without peace from the Lord. I knew fighting against that would only end in pain and suffering for me. I knew I had to believe that if the Lord wanted me to stay, it would be for my best and His glory. Then, on another sleepless night, I finally opened my hands and told Him that if He wanted me to stay for another year I would. I figured that would be the end of this story.  

Like Peter on the hill, I wanna make this my place, but like Peter on the hill, before Your transfigured face. I will go where you go, I will stay where you stay, oh.

Then a week later I woke up and felt like a burden had been lifted off of me. That heavy sense of responsibility was gone. I would think about the youth group or ministry in Brazil and feel a peace and a calm that the Lord would care for them in a way I never did before. I would think about going home and that pit in my stomach was no longer there. It was almost as if the Lord was saying, "You can choose." 

'Cause I don't wanna go if You're not going before me. I don't wanna go if You're not going before me. I don't wanna go if You're not going before me. I don't wanna go if You're not going before me.

I was in disbelief. I never expected to wake up and feel like that. I never expected to be given the choice. I thought it was stay and obey or leave and disobey. I had surrendered that year to the Lord honestly never dreaming that He would ever hand it back to me. 

If You're not going before me, yeah, if You're not going before me, I won't go, I won't go.

I felt joy and fear at the same time. I wanted to be sure that the Lord had really lifted that burden and was giving me the freedom to choose. I continued to pray about it and wonder if things would really be okay if I left. One night I watched the co-leader of the youth group give the lesson and a calm washed over me as if the Lord was saying, "He'll be okay. He can do this." 

Anywhere You are, I wanna be there. It's written on my heart, You're all I've ever needed. Anywhere You go, I wanna be there. It's written on my soul, You're all I've ever needed. Anywhere You are, I wanna be there. It's written on my heart, You're all I ever needed. Anywhere You go, I wanna be there. It's written on my soul, You're all I ever needed.

And so finally at the beginning of this month, I made my official decision to close the chapter here in Brazil. It breaks my heart to leave the friendships, the ministry partners who have become like family, and the youth who have become like little brothers and sisters to me. In spite of that, I feel at peace with the decision. 

I don't wanna go if You're not going before me. I don't wanna go if You're not going before me. I don't wanna go if You're not going before me. I don't wanna go if You're not going before me.

I don't know exactly what the future is going to look like. I know I have a passion for writing and I want to pursue that. I know that doesn't mean that the Lord will make me a famous author, but I do know that He gives us our talents and passions for a reason and I don't want to waste them. I also know that the Lord can use me anywhere, whether in Brazil or not. 

If You're not going before me, I won't go, I won't go, no. Oh, if You're not, if You're not going, I won't go.

My journey in Brazil isn't finished. I still have six months before my time comes to an end. I am looking forward to making the most of the time I have left here and doing all that I can to finish well. But I am also looking forward to a future unknown, knowing I am about to enter into a new season of new and different joys and new and different sorrows. 

Like Jesus in the garden, won't You take this cup from me? But like Jesus in the garden, You don't call where You won't lead. I wanna love like You love, I wanna bleed like you bleed, oh. 

You are loved and you are not alone, 

S