Journal of a missional mom, Entry #5: WHERE?

Talked to the IMB consultant again. There's a job that fits Cody's business skills in a place he told us not to name on the Internet. 

Seriously? 

WHERE?

#missionalmom

Follow this fictional mom as she experiences God's call to the nations and figures out what to do about it. Based on a compilation of experiences of real-life moms called to the nations, we'll post periodic journal entries over the next several months so you can follow along as if the story is happening in real time.

Travel light: Dealing with change

“For the Lord your God has blessed you in all the work of your hands. He has watched over your journey through this immense wilderness. The Lord your God has been with you this past 40 years, and you have lacked nothing.” Deuteronomy 2:7, HCSB

Graphic provided by sayingimages.com

We’ve all been there. The phone call, the conversation, the meeting when suddenly you realize your life is about to change.

Over the years, change has come to our family a number of ways, through a variety of avenues. Some changes have been thrilling and exhilarating. Others have been difficult, even heartbreaking.

In 13 years serving as international Christian workers, we moved houses five times and countries four times. In fact, we joke that every time our company reorganizes, we move: more than five years in the Philippines, four and a half in South Korea, three years in Thailand, and now just over two in Richmond. Rather than leveling off, the pace of change seems to be accelerating.

Living missionally is much like a journey through an immense wilderness. In this life God has called us to, we learn not to hold possessions or positions too tightly. Things change — in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye.

But through every twist and turn our journey has taken, God has watched over us. He has led us. He has never, ever abandoned us, and He has allowed us to be a part of some pretty amazing things.

As the Israelites stood on the cusp of entering the Promised Land, they had no idea the many other changes in store for them. They were only dealing with one: transforming from a nation of sojourners to building a nation in the land God had promised. Learning to live in community. Learning to honor God in the process.

We, however, are still living as sojourners, making Jesus known among the billions who have yet to hear, inviting people to join us in our journey of faith and looking forward to the day when the journey is over. One day, we will all come together as the family of God before the throne of God.

Until then, travel light and wear comfortable shoes. The journey isn’t over. 

#travellight



This week's reading: Deuteronomy 3 - 23.
Post #11: Discovering how to live missionally through a chronological reading of God's Word.

Travel light: Audacious prayers

“But if you don’t drive out the inhabitants of the land before you, those you allow to remain will become thorns in your eyes and in your sides; they will harass you in the land where you live.” Numbers 33:55, HCSB

As we move into the places God has for us, we must deal with the sins and issues before us. Otherwise, they will continue to enslave.

I stood on the top of a mountain in the city where we lived in northern Thailand. We’d been there a few months, and colleagues and I had come to the top of this mountain to pray over the city. I’d not yet found a ministry, but on that mountain, I prayed an audacious prayer: “Lord, shut down the sex industry in my city.”

God took that prayer and grew it into an entire ministry to exploited women and children in that city — a ministry that continues to this day. Some women and men have come to faith in Jesus Christ. Some have been baptized. Some are no longer involved in prostitution. Through the faithfulness of Christian workers, the gospel has been shared with countless women and men in the city's red light districts. Light is penetrating darkness in some of the city’s ickiest areas.

Finding the place God has for us involves confronting the issues and sins before us. Christian workers who move into a new area often spend time “mapping” the area — understanding the culture, the language and the sins that enslave. These often differ from people group to people group. If Christian workers fail to help a people group confront and drive out their “cultural sins" as they are growing in their faith, those sins will maintain a foothold and may resurface later to enslave them again.

The same is true in our own lives. Instead of “cultural sins” we sometimes call them “pet sins.” What sins are such a part of your life that you fail to recognize their power over you? Gossip? Gluttony?  Selfish ambition? Materialism? Greed? The list goes on.

“You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free,” Jesus said in John 8:32 (HCSB). With the help of the Holy Spirit, take some time to “map out” your own heart and examine the sins you take for granted. Then, ask God to help you drive them out so that you can be free to be all that He created you to be. Remember, He wants the best for you, so that through your life you can make Him known.

This week’s reading: Numbers 23 – Deuteronomy 2

Post #10: Discovering how to live missionally through a chronological reading of God’s Word.

#travellight

Happy birthday, Dr. Seuss!

Before Faulkner and Tolstoy and Dickens and Lewis, one author had a profound impact on my life. In fact, we might say he started it all. With his whimsical characters and silly rhymes, he showed me the power of words, imagery and imagination.

His name is Dr. Seuss.

My first Seuss book was Green Eggs and Ham. If I remember correctly, it was a gift from my Uncle Grant. My parents read it to me before I could talk. By the time I was a preschooler, I had it memorized, and my dad and I would go back and forth reciting it to one another.

"That Sam I am! That Sam I am! I do not like that Sam I am!"

Even as I write this post, the refrain is playing in my head: "I do not like green eggs and ham! I do not like them, Sam I am!"

Later, of course, there were other Seuss books, Horton hears a Who!, The Grinch that Stole Christmas, Hop on Pop. The list goes on.

And there were other authors and other books. A Child's Garden of Verses was one of the next books my parents added to my collection. And yes, nearly 50 years later, I still remember lines from Stevenson's poems,

"Oh, how I love to go up in the air, up in the air so high..."
"When I was sick and lay abed, I had two pillows at my head..."

And one about a barn loft that my brother and I used to recreate in the top of my grandfather's barn.

The point is books matter. Reading matters, and yet, according to the Literacy Project Foundation, illiteracy has become such a problem in the U.S. that 44 million adults are unable to read a simple story to their children -- a book like Green Eggs and Ham. Six out of 10 households do not buy a single book a year, and 44 percent of American adults do not read one book a year. Obviously, these trends have significant impacts with far-reaching implications on the national economy and on society as a whole.

So, what can you do about it? Here are a few suggestions:

1. Read to your kids, and take the time to read for pleasure yourself. Turn off the television, get off Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and any other social media venues I may have missed and open a book. (By the way, it's OK to use an electronic device to read a book. Just turn off the notifications while you are reading.) 
2. Check out your local library. Many now provide the opportunity to check out books online. 
3. Don't know where to start? Look over the New York Times Bestseller List, Pulitzer Prize winners from the last several years and National Book Award finalists. Those lists are where I found treasures like The Orphan Master's Son and All the Light We Cannot See. 
4. Join a book club at your local library or with a group of friends. Talk about what you are reading with others. 
5. Start a "book club" with your kids. Set aside an hour or two one night a week to read a book together aloud. Then talk about what you are reading. 

If you aren't a reader, start today! In honor of Dr. Seuss' 111th birthday and "Read Across America Day," carve out a few minutes of time to read a book to your kids. 

Open new worlds and let the fun begin!

Travel light: Isis, Ebola & Earthquakes, OH MY!

“Lord, You have been our refuge in every generation … from eternity to eternity, You are God.” Psalm 90:1-2

isis ebola earthquakes unemployment cancer uncertainty fear death

The struggles of our lives run through our minds like a ticker tape.

first child first step first home young family promotions teenagers graduations weddings grandchildren

Frail humans that we are, we walk a fine line between unspeakable joy and utter despair.

Trusting God. Fearing God. Failing God. Trusting God again.

We aren’t much different from the ancient Israelites, who trusted God to lead them out of slavery in Egypt and experienced His presence and power in incredible ways.  Then when times got hard, they complained about everything — the food, the water, the living conditions. Their faith turned to fear at the first challenge. 

Yes, God grew tired of their whining.  Yes, their cravings destroyed at least some of them. The stories in Numbers 11 are proof of that.

I am no different. I know God gets tired of my whining. I know my cravings threaten to destroy me. I know my faith often turns to fear at the first challenge. I am such a wuss. 

But God never gave up on the Israelites, and He doesn’t give up on me.

Why? Not because of our faithfulness, but because of His faithful love (see Numbers 14:11-19).

The Psalmist says God's faithful love satisfies us. His sacrifice saves us. His mercy supports us. His grace covers us. His Spirit stabilizes us — “in every generation."

“From eternity to eternity, You are God.”

In the schizophrenic chaos of our lives, in moments of unspeakable joy and through every adversity along the way, the promise of a Savior is all we need — One who died to save us, lives as testimony of God's awesome power over sin and death and sent His Spirit to finish the work He started in us for His glory.

All of this happened so that we, in all gratitude and all humility, from generation to generation, may give Him all the glory by making Him known among those who have never heard this good news.

Don't miss this: God saved us so that we can make Him known. We live to make Him known. This is "the work of our hands" (Psalm 90:17, HCSB), the most important work we do, the reason God gives us breath.

So this is my prayer: "Let Your work be seen by Your servants, and Your splendor by their children. Let the favor of the Lord our God be on us; establish the work of our hands —establish the work of our hands!" (Psalm 90:16-17, HCSB). 

This week's reading: Numbers 7-22, Psalm 90

Post #9: Discovering how to live missionally through a chronological reading of God’s Word.

#travellight

Choices: A new Bible study coming soon!

Choices matter. Decisions have consequences. Seemingly random encounters have life-long impacts. The Bible is full of examples of those who made both good and bad decisions that affected not only themselves but the generations who came after them. 

Choices, which has been in the making for a number of years, focuses on our everyday decisions and their impacts by looking at the lives of Eve, Joshua, Samson, Ruth, David and Jesus. We'll explore themes such as temptation, leadership, power, social justice, seduction and forgiveness. I hope you'll make Choices part of your daily devotional time or small group study. It will be available soon in print and as an ebook. 

I'll keep you posted on the release date! 

Until then, travel light!

Ann

Travel light: Nine responses to immigration

“You must regard the foreigner who lives with you as the native-born among you. You are to love him as yourself, for you were foreigners in the land of Egypt; I am Yahweh your God.”

Leviticus 19:34

March 1999: Our family landed in Manila, Philippines, as international Christian workers. Within a few days, we met the Filipinos who would become — and still are — some of our closest friends: language teachers, tutors and members of our local church. They accepted, embraced and loved us, even as we struggled to learn the language and appreciate their culture.

A few years later, we moved to South Korea and a few years after that to Thailand. In every place, local people welcomed us, loved us and helped us figure things out. I determined then that if I ever returned to America I would treat the “foreigners” in our country with the same grace, love and acceptance that I had received. By their example, these friends taught me how to love “the foreigner among us.”

Think about your neighborhood. How has the mix of ethnicities changed in the last 10 years? In 2010 the number of immigrants in the U.S reached a record 40 million people, according to a 2012 report from the Center for Immigration Studies. One in four students in U.S. public schools speaks a language other than English in the home.

These statistics may either frighten you or inspire you. I hope you’ll see these trends for what they are: an unprecedented opportunity to share God’s love with those who may not have heard of Jesus.

Terry Sharp, director and lead strategist for IMB’s urban mobilization strategies, offers nine ways to welcome international students, refugees and immigrants to your community:

1. Become a host family. Contact your local university or other organizations for information on hosting an international student, refugee or immigrant.
2. Pick up new immigrants from the airport and help them get settled in their dorms or apartments.
3. Provide household goods and furniture.
4. Take them shopping. Show them how to pay bills. Introduce them to garage sales, coupons and discount stores.
5. Help them find grocery stores that specialize in ethnic food. Ask them to help you prepare food from their country.
6. Spend time talking with them. Ask about their country and allow them to talk about their ideas, needs and fears over coffee or tea.
7. Help them complete job applications and give them tips on how to conduct themselves in an interview. Remind them that Americans expect truthful people to make direct eye contact.
8. Make them part of your family by including them in family holidays and outings. Invite them to church, birthday parties, weddings and ballgames.
9. Share your faith openly and honestly. Respectfully ask them about theirs. Look for natural opportunities to explain the differences.

Simply put, treat the “foreigners” among you the way you would want those in another country to treat your son or daughter if they were living there.

Make the effort, and you’ll make friends for life.

For more resources on reaching the nations living among you, visit ethnecity.com.

This week’s reading: Leviticus 19 - Numbers 6

Post #8: Discovering how to live missionally through a chronological reading of God’s Word.

#travellight