Read this book!!!

I am reading a book that is turning my life upside down, literally—and I’m only 50 pages into it! It is called “Red Moon Rising” and there is a whole bunch of information about it below. This book has made me realize how tired my faith has become, how shallow my prayer life really is, and how I limit what the Holy Spirit can do in my life, my church, and the world. It is call to let God be God on a much bigger scale than we usually do. I recommend this book to anyone who loves God and wants to love Him more. Be careful, though. Your paradigms will be shifted, you will feel convicted, and the Holy Spirit may just call you out of your very safe comfort zones. But I guarantee, it will be worth it!

If you want to read this, I will personally buy it for you! Just send me your address in an email and I will send one your way. Or you can go to the www.relevantmagazine.com website to get one even faster.

Red Moon Rising: How 24-7 Prayer is Awakening a Generation
by Peter Greig and Dave Roberts
--available from the Relevant website for $5.99 plus s&h; Go to: www.relevantstore.com/product_info.php?cPath=&products_id=77

Book Description:

An Army is Emerging
Even with the world getting darker, a new generation is learning to pray and obey like never before. This is their extraordinary story, an honest account of pain and perseverance alongside a pioneering mission and miraculous answers to prayer. It's the story of the 24-7 Prayer movement, which started in 1999 in England and has since exploded to more than fifty countries. An army of normal individuals are now simultaneously praying night and day around the world. Things will never be the same (from the Relevant website).

(all the following from amazon.com...don't buy the book there, though; it costs almost twice as much from amazon)
Book Description
An extraordinary story about the adventure of faith and the power of persevering prayer…
On a summer’s day in 1727 a community of Moravians started praying and didn’t stop for more than 100 years. Throughout history God has mobilized such movements and moments of 24/7 prayer – from the Upper Room of Pentecost to Azusa Street in Los Angeles, through ancient Celtic saints and extraordinary characters like Alexander the Sleepless.

This is the story of a movement of the Spirit in our time, a move as ancient as it is modern.

As young people desert the church and AIDS orphans Africa, a new generation is learning to pray and obey like never before. From Communist China to Washington DC and from the ranks of the Salvation Army to anarchic German punks, the 24-7 Prayer movement has been interceding continually, night and day, since 1999 in more than fifty countries. This is their extraordinary story; an honest account of pain and perseverance alongside pioneering mission and miraculous answers to prayer.

From the Author
Red Moon Rising is about the adventure of faith and the power of persevering prayer. It’s about what can happen when ordinary people dare to dream extraordinary dreams, responding recklessly to the whispered invitations of God. Our prayer is that readers will be inspired to say ‘yes’ to the Holy Spirit whatever that means for them and however inadequate they may sometimes feel.

From the Inside Flap
"Red Moon Rising is not just a book; it's an invitation. I have accepted the invitation. I think you will too, once you listen to the Spirit as he speaks through these pages. I invite you to join Pete and myself and many others in giving our hearts to this one thing - to prepare for a great harvest that will usher in the return of Jesus." (From the Foreword by Floyd McClung)

About the Authors
PETE GREIG founded 24-7prayer.com in 1999. He teaches and preaches all over the world and is one of the leaders of Revelation church and of Cultural Shift—a church planting team. He's married to Sam and has 2 kids.

DAVE ROBERTS graduated from being on stage as a deejay and emcee at large Christian festivals to a 10 year stint as an editor of leading UK Christian publications, including the award winning Renewal magazine. He has helped pioneer several large scale training conferences including Worship Together and helped co-found leading youth ministry resource Youthwork magazine. He is now an author, speaker and publishing consultant. He is on the leadership team of Living Stones Church in his hometown of East Sussex,England.

My favorite prayer...

I'm so tired. Sunday evening is not the best time for deep thinking--at least not when you work in a church. Your whole week is geared toward Sunday...and when Sunday comes to a close, so does your brain. However, the shame of my recent blog slacking has inspired a renewed resolve to blog each day: NO MATTER WHAT!!! Lacking any great and wondrous thoughts of my own, I thought I'd post one of my all time favorite prayers. I have prayed this--more times that I could possibly admit--when my own words failed me. I offer it to you and pray it will bless you, as it has blessed me.

My Lord God, I have no idea where I am going.
I do not see the road ahead of me.
I cannot know for certain where it will end.
Nor do I really know myself.
And the fact that I think that I am following your will
does not mean that I am actually doing so.
But I believe that the desire to please you, does, in fact, please you.
And I hope that I have that desire in all that I am doing.
I hope that I will never do anything apart from that desire.
And I know that if I do this, you will lead me by the right road
though I may know nothing about it.
Therefore I will trust you always
though I may seem to be lost and in the shadow of death.
I will not fear, for you are ever with me,
and you will never leave me to face my perils alone.
--Thomas Merton

Words to live by...

Let nothing trouble you.
Let nothing scare you.
All is fleeting.
God alone is unchanging.
Patience
Everything obtains.
Who possesses God
Nothing wants.
God alone suffices.
~Teresa of Avila

Political Parodies and the Christian Message

My major source of news is, embarrassingly enough, a parody of a political news show: The Colbert Report, starring Stephen Colbert (on Comedy Central). From what I read, it is a growing trend for people my generation (and younger) to get most of their news from political satires, such as The Colbert Report or its parent show, The Daily Show. Stephen Colbert—with an extensive background in improvisational comedy—“plays” a hyper-conservative, right-wing, uber-Republican newscaster. He gives his commentary on politics and society from that perspective. His “character” is admittedly Christian, but you do wonder if there isn’t a little bit of truth is some of his religious beliefs. In real life, Colbert is reportedly a faithful Catholic and even, allegedly, teaches Sunday school. I have to say this for him, the man knows his Bible and Christian doctrine. He is a brilliant man, with razor-sharp wit and incredibly fast-paced come backs--and he rarely laughs at his own overwhelming hilarious jokes. That is how a 30-minute parody centered mostly around Colbert and his thoughts—airing Monday through Thursday--is one of the most popular shows on TV. I try to keep in mind that it’s a comedy show, but Colbert certainly keeps me up to date on current events. Every now and then, he steps over the line and says something that will make me blush, but then again, it’s a cable show that airs at 11:30pm…it’s not Disney. Overall, though, the show makes me think and laugh. My own mother, after being forced to watch countless episodes, will finally admit that Colbert is “so funny”.

All of this introduction is a set-up to talk about the interview section from last night’s show. The show always closes with an interview with some person of relative fame, usually in the political sphere. Last night, the guest was Ayaan Hirsi Ali. Ayaan Hirsi Ali is a feminist and political writer, daughter of the Somali warlord Hirsi Magan Isse. She is a prominent and controversial author, film maker, former member of Dutch Parliament, atheist, and critic of Islam and Christianity. She has received numerous awards for her human rights work, and in 2005, was named by Time magazine as one of the 100 most influential people in the world. She is currently a fellow at the think tank American Enterprise Institute (biographical info. taken from Wikipedia). She was interviewed on THE COLBERT REPORT because of her newest book, Infidel, which was published in February 2007.

I want to share part of that interview with you (pardon my rough transcription):
Ayaan: We have been taught in Islam, submission to the will of allah, that’s in the Koran…
Colbert: So the idea of submission bothers you?
Ayaan: The idea of submission bothers me; I don’t want to submit…no.
Colbert: You don’t submit?
Ayaan: No
Coblert: Well, is that why you became an atheist?
Ayaan: Well, in part, yes.
Colbert: Well because submission is also part of the Christian tradition too…our father…our father who art in heaven, hallowed by thy name, THY Kingdom come, THY will be done, on earth as it is in heaven…it’s not our choice, it’s what God decides. What’s the difference between, in that, between Islam and Christianity? Do you see any difference there?
Ayaan: I see a difference in the response between Muslims and Christians. Many Muslims refuse to question the doctrine itself—the submission within Islam--as opposed to the majority of Christians who’ve been questioning it for ages and who have now developed a Christianity that is defined only as love--love they neighbor--where they have abolished a hell. Whereas, in Islam, most Muslims believe not only in a hereafter but in a hell…you are not allowed to put question marks on what is in the Koran.
Colbert: I don’t know what Christianity you’ve been studying, but uh, hell is still fairly prominent in some of the churches I’ve been to…
(the interview continues, but I will stop there)

Two things jumped out at me from this interview. First, the concept of submission. I think Ayaan summed up the problem with most people...and most Christians. We have a problem with submission. We want to be in control. We want to call the shots. Yet, If Jesus shows us the fullness of what God is like, then his actions in the Garden of Gethsemane tell us that submission is paramount in a relationship with the Father. Jesus asks to be spared the coming suffering, if possible, but ultimately prays: “Not my will, but Thine”. That is what it means to love God and follow Jesus: to be one hundred percent sold out to the will of God…less of me, more of Him. Our basic sin nature tells us we need to be in control in order for life to be meaningful. However, we cannot find true, real, everlasting life until we come to the end of ourselves. That is truth. We can fight it or accept it. There really is no middle ground.

The second thing bothering me about the interview was that Christianity is reduced to nothing more than loving your neighbor. Seriously? Is that how the world summarizes Christianity? The Holy Creator of the world takes on human flesh and walks the dusty corridors of our experience…then He dies a criminal’s death on a cross to pay the penalty for our sins (past, present, future)…that true God of true Gods rises from the deathly tomb, conquering sin, death, despair, evil…not just that, but the Holy Spirit—that same Spirit which raised Jesus from the dead--is given to believers (every believer), to give us power beyond all imagination: to heal disease and brokenness, to release captives from every kind of prison, to bring hope where there is only despair, to forgive and love beyond human limitations, to become the very best versions of who were created to be…to actually be “little Christs” in this world of darkness. It really burns my butter that everything God is and has done for us—and everything we are meant to do and be in response--gets reduced to the “Christians are meant to be nice, loving people” mentality. Jesus did not die to make us NICE!!! He died to make us new, set us free, transform the world, bring a whole new revolutionary Kingdom to pass, right here and right now.

I wasn’t going to address her comments about Hell, other than to say I believe in an actual Hell. As far as who ends up there, that’s not my call and I stopped trying to guess a long time ago. The Bible tells us to “preach Christ and Him crucified”…so I am sticking with what I know--and what I know is that Jesus Christ is freaking amazing and I want the whole world to know Him. I want this Ayaan woman to know Him too. Let’s pray for her, that she might come to know the life-saving, soul-changing love of God that is found in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Rethinking Sloth

For Lent this year, our church is doing a study on the “seven deadly sins”. The sermons, throughout Lent, each focus on one particular deadly sin. The sin of the week for this Sunday is sloth. Those who know me well are chuckling, thinking of me preaching about sloth. Me preaching about sloth is equal to a pig standing at the front of the farm yard, telling the other pigs to stop rolling in their poo. Most every Sunday I find the Lord is speaking to me, personally, through what I think is MY sermon. The joke is on me! This week, the irony is more blatant than most weeks...so laugh, if you must.

Maybe I’m trying to make myself feel better, but “sloth” seems to encompass a whole lot more than just being lazy…you know, more than not making your bed or not cleaning your room, or not putting dishes in the dishwasher, or not cleaning out your car…ahhhh, the guilt is growing!! Procrastination--and just plain old being a bum--are part of sloth, but not the whole. As I do research, sloth appears to have more complex spiritual dimensions than I originally realized. Sloth has a lot to do with the “sin of omission": the good that we fail to do.

A brief description of this comes from www.beliefnet.com/story/110/story_11083_1.html in an article entitled, “The Spiritual Side of Sloth”:
“In many faiths, sloth is more than just laziness--though couch potatoes are frowned upon, too. World religions view sloth as more than simply lying on the couch for an entire afternoon. Though sloth today usually means physical laziness, in the original seven deadly sins, sloth was sadness, or depression. The word for sloth, acedia (from the Greek "akedia," or "not to care") meant "spiritual sloth." In many religions, sloth is seen as inhibiting or preventing virtuous conduct. It is considered sinful or wrong because inaction, in both the spiritual and wordly realms, can be just as bad as wrong actions. Sloth does include being a couch potato, but it is also often interpreted as wasting precious time, not doing enough to help the world, and avoiding a rigorous spiritual journey.”

A short story, from the same article, articulates the above sentiment:
“Orthodox Christians similarly view sloth as a spiritual idleness. This story from the Desert Fathers explains this view: A beginning monk, who went to a certain elder to confess, posed, among others, this question: 'Why, Father, do I fall so often into sloth?'
‘You lack the faith which makes you see God everywhere; for this reason you can be careless and lazy about your salvation,' the discerning elder wisely explained.’”

So, to be a spiritual sloth means failing to be the person God calls you to be. We were created to glorify God. Any time we fail to glorify God, we enter into sloth. This, of course, begs the question: what does it mean to glorify God? My short answer to that: I have no idea! My longer answer to that: It has something to do with the two greatest commandments. We are meant to love God first and most, and then to love others as much as we love ourselves. I do wonder, however, what that really means--what that really looks like in the midst of our every day actions. In part, it has to mean something about our responses to the world. A wise counselor once told me that, in my most difficult relationships, I needed to examine my thoughts, promptings and actions and ask: “What is the loving response here?” And by “loving”, he meant what is the most Christ-like response, what is in the best interest of the other (in the long run, not necessarily the short term...meaning, not always what that person likes/wants right now, but what will be of most benefit overall...you know, "tough love" and all that).

I had a teenager tell me one time that, if all he had to do was love God and love others, he already did that. I think that young man had a much smaller vision of love (and a pretty shallow understanding of himself and his motivations) than Jesus does. This love stuff—this sacrifice stuff—it is hard…and it rubs against the very grain of what we want and what we think we need. It is easier to NOT love at all…thus enters the sloth!

For my sermon this Sunday, I chose a familiar text to illustrate “sloth”…though, at face value, you might not label it as such. I chose the story of Mary and Martha. It might surprise you, but in that story, I think it was Martha who was most guilty of sloth. God calls us to do what will bring Him the most glory in the present moment. Meaning, there may well be an occasion where Mary needs to get off her butt and start doing some dishes. But in this particular story, Martha was the one making the wrong choice in the moment--the one who fails to chose love of God and neighbor above self. Some may argue (as I know my mom would!! Love you, mom!): “What could be more loving than wanting to provide a nice meal for your guests and family? People do need to eat.” That is true! But it is about timing, about attitude, and about where God is leading you in the present moment. Martha was focused on her sister’s lack of help in the kitchen, not focused on a sacrificial gift of love. Martha was not letting her sister be free to make her own choices to love and glorify God as He called her to do. For Martha, it was “me, me, me”. Maybe that is a good definition for sloth, or any sin: “me, me, me”.

This whole story (and when I say “story”, I do mean TRUE story) tells me that what it means for me, Tina Marie Dietsch, to glorify God in a certain circumstance may be totally different than what glorifying God would look like for another person in that same circumstance. There are people who are so busy, so driven, so overloaded that the most God-honoring thing they could do would be to take a nap. I had a professor say one time: “Sometimes the most spiritual thing you can do is take a nap”. I loved that! But, if you have been napping too much, if there are tasks undone, and people unloved in your midst--for you--the sloth-less thing to do would involve some kind of action.

It makes me think of “Chariots of Fire”, where Eric Liddell talks about why he runs. He says something like: “God made me fast and when I run, I feel His pleasure”. Within each of us, there are God-given gifts and graces, things that are peculiar and unique to us. When we fail to exercise those gifts, we enter into the realm of sloth. For Eric Liddell, NOT to run would be sloth. Is God calling me, Tina, to run? I hope not…because no one wants to see that! But there ARE things I must personally do to bring pleasure to God—and failing to do those things is failing to bring Him glory...meaning sloth.

Perhaps the question to ask, as we go through our days--making choices for action or inaction—should be: “What will bring God the most pleasure?” Too often, I think we ask: “Will this make God mad at me?” or “What is the most I can get away with and not end up in hell?” The more important question, in all that we do and chose, is: “Will this please God? Will He smile upon me? Will I be able to feel His pleasure?” The way to avoid sloth is seeking to please God, above all else. As the Westminster catechism so aptly states: “What is the chief end of man? Man’s chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy him forever.”

Amazing Grace, Amazing Change

About two weeks ago, our youth group went to see the movie “Amazing Grace”. The movie chronicles the life of William Wilberforce, a famous British abolitionist who spent his life (and health) working to abolish slavery in Great Britain. Turns out, he succeeded, along with the help of countless friends and supporters. Wilberforce’s great dilemma in life was the choice between serving the Lord as a minister or working in the public sphere to create a more just world. Through the influence of his pastor, John Newton (former slave trader and author of the song, “Amazing Grace”), Wilberforce became convinced God was calling him to make a difference in the world by working against slavery. It was a great message about serving the Lord with your life in every aspect…and about how you don’t have to become a pastor to make a significant difference for the Kingdom!

The movie, itself, was inspiring, but did drag in parts. One of my junior high boys entertained himself during the slow parts by “fake snoring”. Yet, in the end, I think most everyone was touched and inspired by the film…minus a few junior high boys; I comforted myself with the fact that most everything--of significance--is lost on that age/gender bracket! I would recommend the movie to anyone, Christian and non-Christian alike. It was a good and powerful TRUE story; that 'true' part is what spoke most powerfully to me. This is not something "made up". It happened. Someone actually made that kind of difference in the history of the world. Wow! Albert Finney’s performance as John Newton, alone, was worth the cost of the movie. My favorite quote—from Finney’s character, John Newton: “Although my memory's fading, I remember two things very clearly: I'm a great sinner and Christ is a great Savior.” Amen!

The thing that is most powerful to me, however, is what I have discovered since viewing the movie. I have read some extraordinary statistics on slavery, specifically from the website: www.amazingchange.com which is an outgrowth of the movie, serving to continue Wilberforce’s unfinished work of ridding the world of slavery. That site (which I highly urge you to visit) states: "It's estimated that 27 million people are in slavery around the world". Seriously? Still? I feel so uninformed, so blind, really.

I am pasting some statistics directly from www.amazingchage.com (below). At least go to the site and sign the petition against modern day slavery. If you have time, look around at some of what they have there. It is eye-opening…especially when you had no idea your eyes were shut so tightly to the suffering of the world.

Statistics on Modern Day Slavery:
27 Million: Number of people in modern-day slavery across the world
Sourced by the UN, New York Times, Amnesty International, The Christian Science Monitor, and Free The Slaves, among others.

800,000: Number of persons trafficked across international borders each year
Sourced by the US State Department, International Justice Mission, and Antislavery.org, among others.

17,500: Number of foreign nationals who are trafficked into the U.S. every year
Sourced by the US House Of Representatives, and the Polaris Project, among others.

91: Number of cities in the United States with reported cases of trafficking
Sourced by Georgia State Representative Jack Kingston, Freetheslaves.net, and Polaris Project, among others.

50: Percent of all victims are children
Sourced by the US House of Representatives Committee on International Relations, and the US Department of State, among others.

$50 Million: US Government budget for efforts against human trafficking
Sourced by the US State Department.

$19 Billion: US Government budget for efforts against drug trafficking
Sourced by the White House Drug Policy website.

20 Million: Number of bonded laborers in the world
Sourced by Free The Slaves.

218 Million: Estimated number of children working aged between five and seventeen
Sourced by the International Labor Organization.

126 Million: Estimated number of children who work in the worst forms of child labor - one in every twelve of the world's five to seventeen year olds.
Sourced by the International Labor Organization, UNICEF, and the US Embassy in Uruguay, among others.

300,000: Estimated number of child soldiers involved in over 30 areas of conflict worldwide, some younger than 10 years old.
Sourced by UNICEF, the BBC, and Amnesty International, among others

Letting God be God

I remember the first night I ever cried myself to sleep. It was because, in my young girlhood, I felt sad and alone. In contrast, I remember the first time a bout of nocturnal crying was not self-motivated or self-referenced. I was crying over the fate of someone’s soul…fearing that soul would be lost…wrestling in prayer for God to step in and rescue what seemed unredeemable. Over the years, crying and wrestling with God on behalf of another has become a common experience for me. As I’ve continually and sincerely prayed, “God, break my heart with the things that break Your heart”, God’s been faithful in answering that prayer. In my teenage years, I prayed fervently for my relatives who did not know Jesus Christ, fearing for their eternity, heart-broken for their present circumstances. Becoming a pastor, I was introduced to a whole new set of people with souls--souls for which I was now, somehow, responsible. But that is another blog entirely!

I distinctly remember one of my youth telling me, pompously, that he didn’t want to follow Jesus anymore because it was too hard and he wanted to be popular, instead. How I cried and prayed and mourned for him! There have been others in my “care” who’ve blatantly walked away from Jesus. Some cannot bring themselves to fully believe it: "it" being that Jesus is Lord and has rightful claims on my life and soul. The majority of those who “walk away”, though, do it quietly…little by little, day by day. When faced with who Jesus is and what Jesus offers, they say, “so what?” My heart hurts for these people. I find myself praying for people—fervent, tear-filled, demon-fighting prayers. It would be overwhelming, without balance. Somehow, I am learning to balance spiritual passion with "letting God be God"...not doing it perfectly, but learning.

When I was younger, I believed (deep down, in some hidden place that I could not admit to myself) that I was responsible for the salvation of the world--that if I failed to bring people to Jesus, the world would be lost, or at least all the people who mattered most to me (which was the extent of my “world”, back in the day). Somehow, I believed I was the messiah instead of Jesus. I didn't really think I was Jesus, mind you, but I felt this huge weight of responsibility for something that I could not possibly be responsbile for (i.e. the eternal destiny of people that I love). I have a friend who calls this kind of beahvior "being the Holy Spirit, Jr.” (like God needs an assistant or something). While God graciously allows us to participate in what He is doing in the world, the whole of God’s will does not rest on any one person’s shoulders. God repeatedly responds to my “prayers” (often my thinly veiled “instructions” for God on how to do His job) and says: “Tina, I know. I am working on that. It isn’t like this all took my by surprise or something. What seems overwhelming to you is not so overwhelming to Me. Let me do my job. You do yours. Don’t get your job and My job confused”.

What is my job, as a Christian (not as a pastor, mind you, but as a Christian)? Well, I have been thinking about that a lot lately. I think being a Christian means being passionate; it means caring about the things God cares about (things like people’s souls and eternity and injustice and holiness, just to name a few). Yet, somehow that passion needs to be tempered with a kind of abiding: a deep resting in God’s goodness, providence and power. That means, even if I fail or falter, still God is big enough to bring His purposes to pass. That means even though the Devil (and his cause) may appear to be winning the battle, we must remember that God WILL win the war. It is my job, as a Christian, to pray fervently, to inspire others toward prayer and action, to speak truth in love, to live a faithful and obedient life, to fan the flame of my love for God and inspire the same in others, to show and tell about Christ and Him crucified, and to trust completely in God’s all surpassing goodness, grace and power. That means I don’t have to be the savior of the world…Jesus has that covered. I need to remind myself of that from time to time. I need to let God be God...and most times, I just need to get Tina out of the way.

"He must become greater, I must become less".

~John 3:30

Taste and See

I see it has been 12 days since my last post...my sincerest apologies. Today, I don't offer something of my own--instead, I bring something that moved me. Being that I have the flu right now, moving my soul is a difficult task. But, before I placed my throbbing head on a pillow for some needed rest, I checked my email and found this little gem in my inbox. I thought I'd share it with you, my blogging friends...the ones who are still sticking with me, even during my days (dare I say, "seasons") of silence. May you taste and see, today, that God is good!

This is taken, in it’s entirety, from:

Christianity Today March 2007

"'Ordinary' Delights: Let us praise the consoling banality of good."

(for those who don't use the word "banality" in every day conversation, it means: devoid of freshness or originality; hackneyed; trite)

by Agnieszka Tennant posted 3/13/2007 08:35AM

There are no ordinary pleasures. Every good thing, no matter how trivial, can elicit delight. And delight is potent. Something of little significance provokes glee, and the spirit leaps. If you pay attention—and if you count all good things as coming from God—then the mundane can help you glimpse the maker of all delight.

Momentous thrills—a wedding day, the birth of a child, reconciliation between hardened enemies, and a stunning answer to prayer when you're low on hope—point to God more noticeably. So do tragedies, mistakes, and sins. But I'm talking about delights that we encounter more frequently, those we have at our disposal and to which we have become accustomed—the terrain of the trivial, the minor, the normal, the everyday, the routine, even the boring. They, too, reside in the realm of providence.

People shudder, rightly, at what political theorist Hannah Arendt called the banality of evil. As she pointed out, malevolence is good corrupted. If we don't relish the uncorrupted goodness around us, then evil—which is but a dreadful reverie that will never fully come true—is likely to overwhelm us.

So let us give praise for the consoling banality of good.

Ask the woman who anointed Jesus' feet with nard oil and the widow who offered her two mites, and they'd tell you: God takes pleasure in the seemingly insignificant. Ask the hemorrhaging woman who touched Christ's robe amid a pressing crowd, and she'd tell you: The barely noticeable matters to him. Ask the wedding guests in Cana, and they'd tell you: God pays attention to details like wine chemistry, even when it doesn't seem to matter to anyone else.Finally, consult your body, and it will tell you (chances are, it already has, many times): God wants us to partake in all kinds of pleasures.

"Love, and do as you please," said Augustine in a sermon on 1 John 7, 8. Folded into this advice is an implicit warning against addiction: You are not free to love God with all your heart, soul, strength, and mind when you're owned by pleasure. But when you experience enjoyment within the constraint of loving God, it can only be good.

Besides being enjoyable, everyday pleasures can be useful. During those darker times when I cannot bring myself to face God, I still cannot turn off delight. I am stuck with goodness. Sometimes, it seems as though all I have to hold on to is one small enjoyment. Something feels good, and no one can take it from me—sun rays on my face, a toddler's hand in mine, managing to tell the truth, a shower, a day without a headache, the five minutes I spend reading an article in The Economist that makes my world both stranger and easier to grasp.

On those unguarded occasions when I can taste, see, feel, smell, and know that, in Gerard Manley Hopkins's words, "the world is charged with the grandeur of God," I revel a little. I notice. Something must have propelled the sun from behind the clouds. Some power must have suspended it in just the right spot.

Suddenly, without putting much thought into it, I find myself saying thank you. A lungful of marvel becomes a prayer of gratitude. Supposedly ordinary acts turn sacramental, with no effort on my part.

This, too, is worship: to receive all good things and to bow our heads in the knowledge that they come from God. To take whatever is lovely, splendid, pure, noble, and true—and to follow where it leads. To taste and see that the Lord is good.

In her Pulitzer-winning study of nature's microcosm in a Blue Ridge Mountains valley, Pilgrim at Tinker Creek, Annie Dillard cautions against "taking leave of our senses," by which she means ceasing to marvel at the world around us. Our curiosity must be like that of children, she says, whose senses work overtime.

"Only children can hear the song of the male house mouse," she writes. "Only children keep their eyes open. The only thing they have got is sense; they have highly developed 'input systems,' admitting all data indiscriminately." If we must become like children to enter the kingdom of heaven, then something tells me that commonplace revelry is part of the package.

I know this for sure: Goodness is prelapsarian. Before things turned bad, they were unqualifiedly good. Pleasure helps us see discontent as aberrant. And discontent cannot help but witness to goodness, even if backhandedly: It reminds us that something's amiss from the way things ought to be.

When a fleeting delight promises a lasting one, we glimpse the goodness of God.

Anything that does that is not ordinary.

One of those days...

Today has been "one of those days". First, I was running late to everything...which, if you know me, is nothing terribly new--so I really shouldn't count that as part of today's "badness". However, I believe my tardiness added to the first major annoyance of the day. Running late and lost on OSU campus this morning, I finally figured out where I needed to be headed--and I was going in the opposite direction. Turning around on the nearest street, I realized I was driving the wrong way down a one way street. I quickly turned into the nearest alley, only to be followed by a police man. Where did he come from?!!! I still haven't figured that out! The first thing he asked me was, "Do you realize you were driving the wrong way on a one-way street?" Seriously, are police trained to ask the most idiodic questions possible? Of course I realized that! I resisted every urge to be sarcastic and threw down my helpless female card. He was very nice and didn't give me a ticket, but warned me to "be careful in the future"...like I was on some crime-spree, driving like an upstreaming salmon down every one way street I could find. Arrrrgghhhhh....


Then, I had a wonderful lunch with some kids who used to be in my youth group (before they got old and I got even older!). Of course, I parked on the busiest street in Columbus, at a parking meter with a one-hour limit. I figured we were all on a tight enough time schedule that I would easily be back in an hour. Well, I got to talkin'...and showed up at my car one hour and 13 minutes later. Guess who had a ticket? Yeah. It was me...$20 worth of ticket. Seriously, TWENTY DOLLARS. That is $1.54 for each minute over an hour. Is the city of Columbus repaving a lot of roads or something, because that seems like a lot of money.


Perhaps there are days when you're destined to have a run in with the law. I had two such encounters in less than an hour and a half. A pastor and a rebel...that's me.


The rest of the day was filled with lots of other mishaps and mayhem. I won't bore you. But I will say, if you are going to get your two dogs groomed at Petsmart--and if you decide to purchase the "top dog" package--pick a day where there aren't unrelenting torrential downpours and flood warnings. Ariel and Pepper looked really cute parading their newly-groomed selves around the store. By the time we got to the car, it was all a distant memory. Ahhhh, the smell of wet dog in the car...truly, a joy for all ages.


We've all had those days...the days where everything that can go wrong, will go wrong. I think some people call that "Murphy's Law"; however, since one of my dearest friends from college had the last name 'Murphy', I've hated the idea of associating bad things with that name. There are probably just some days where it's better to stay in bed...unfortunately, I got up...


It makes me think of a phrase I've heard pastors say (at different times, in different ways): "Nothing is wasted in God's economy". The things that seem pointless and lost to us...well, that's just our limited perspective, really. Certainly, God brings good out of all things (even the annoyingly bad days). A lot of Scripture promises God will restore and redeem all that seems lost--but especially Romans 8:28, "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose." I love this passage in the Message paraphrase (starting back a little further, with verse 26):


Romans 8:26-30 (The Message)

"Meanwhile, the moment we get tired in the waiting, God's Spirit is right alongside helping us along. If we don't know how or what to pray, it doesn't matter. He does our praying in and for us, making prayer out of our wordless sighs, our aching groans. He knows us far better than we know ourselves, knows our pregnant condition, and keeps us present before God. That's why we can be so sure that every detail in our lives of love for God is worked into something good.

God knew what he was doing from the very beginning. He decided from the outset to shape the lives of those who love him along the same lines as the life of his Son. The Son stands first in the line of humanity he restored. We see the original and intended shape of our lives there in him. After God made that decision of what his children should be like, he followed it up by calling people by name. After he called them by name, he set them on a solid basis with himself. And then, after getting them established, he stayed with them to the end, gloriously completing what he had begun."


I'm not sure what that all means for each individual life, but think it has something to do with loving God and trying your best to be His person in this world; if that is your focus, then everything has meaning and purpose...even those grumpy, cranky, police-chase days; Somehow, God is using all of it to bring us closer to Him. So, we can be thankful, even in the midst of the crap...because God is at work, behind the scenes of what seems pointless and lame...doing something that no human could understand or imagine.


Really, that means we should be grateful--even on the bad days--for what is coming from God's Hand, remembering that we have limited, faltering vision. I'm not quite thankful for today yet, but after some serious sleep--and if the grumpies residing in my soul will pack up and go home--I may see it all in a better light. I like that phrase: "Nothing is lost in God's economy". According to that logic, even today had a purpose and a point. That's a good thing to know, even when you don't especially feel it.

Why I Love Harry Potter

There are some, in the Christian world, who believe just looking at a Harry Potter book cover is a one-way ticket to the fiery furnace. While I do not condone "witchcraft" as a lifestyle, I do love these books (and the movies, the fan sites, the discussions, etc.) Since the final book of the series (Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows) is scheduled for release on July 21, 2007, there is a lot of interest/discussion all over the internet about all things Harry. I thought I'd throw my two cents into the ring.


First, let me say this about "witchcraft": I took 4 years of Latin when I was in school. I even particpated in Latin Convention and took the National Latin Exam on several occassions (if I haven't already outed myself as a complete geek, here it is!). As I have read the Harry Potter books, I can say this--from my relatively "expert" perspective--over 95% of the "spells" in the books are actually Latin words or phrases, not the very real spells used by practicing witches or proponents of authentic withcraft. One example out of a million: the "spell" to freeze or stun someone (I believe) in the HP books is "stupefy" or "stupify", look at the definition below (from dictionary.com)
stu·pe·fy
1.to put into a state of little or no sensibility; benumb the faculties of; put into a stupor.2.to stun, as with a narcotic, a shock, or a strong emotion.3.to overwhelm with amazement; astound; astonish.From Latin stupefacere, meaning to benumb

I have been VERY IMPRESSED by J.K. Rowling's (from this point on refered to as "JKR") use of, not just the English language, but other languages/origins, as well (most noticably Latin). She alludes to great literature, myths, legends, and archtypes. People who call her a witch or refer to her use of "witchcraft" (again, not the same as the practice refered to by Scriptures as evil and off limits) have no understanding of what real witchcraft is...and, most likely, have never studied Latin, because those books read like a Latin vocab. primer!


Ok...now, why I love Harry Potter:
USE OF IMAGINATION
I used to dream and imagine and write all kinds of fantastical stories when I was a girl. Then real life came along and I had to grow up and stop dreaming. Enter Harry Potter: suddenly imagination and dreaming are not off limits anymore, even to adults. It has opened up a part of my mind that I closed down. I am forever in JKR's debt for resurrecting my imagination. Her greatest gift, I belive, is her imagination. Her writing is good, but there have been better writers in the history of the world. JKR's imagination, though, is where she excels as an author. There are few writers who come close to her level of creativity and innovation. Her imagination has inspired me--and millions of others--to think bigger thoughts, dream more vivid dreams, imagine outside of what is rational. I thank her for that!


SENSE OF HOPE
The character of Harry is a character of hope. He lives and survives, despite life events which should have squelched his spirit at the least, or ended his life at the worst. More than that, this very ordinary boy finds out that he is, in fact, extrodinary. That discovery speaks to something deep in the heart of the reader. We all want to be special. We want to feel that our lives are significant--that there is something unique about us...to know we may very well change the world--and that, even if we don't alter history, we at least have the ability to change it. Harry gives us the hope of possibility. There is much more we could accomplish in our lives, if only we had hope. Harry Potter reminds us that hope is a viable option...that something special may be lurking deep within even the most ordinary among us.


NEED FOR COMMUNITY
Harry has friends who balance out his strengths and weaknesses. While Harry is the "star" of the books, he becomes who he is only through his relationships. There is Hermione, who is smart, logical, and intense, and teaches Harry to reign in his emotions and think (literary scholars have called her the "superego" of the trio). There is Ron, who is fun, wild, goofy, and spontaneous (the "id"), who teaches Harry to loosen up--to feel things freely and fully. Harry, himself (the "ego"), learns to be a balance of the extremes of his friends. He learns to depend on others--and the reader sees what it means to care about others as much (if not more) than you care about yourself. None of us can make it through this world on our own; we need each other. The friendship of this trio reinforces that need in us.


BATTLE BETWEEN GOOD AND EVIL
Every Harry Potter book has some confrontation between good (i.e. Harry and his cronies) and evil (i.e. Voldemort and his followers). JKR has given evil a very personal face in Voldemort. You despise him and root against him--and you long for Harry to defeat him. Yet, despite how purely evil he is, there are those who follow Voldemort because they want power and unedning life. Harry (and those on the side of good) realize there are more important things than power...and, ultimately, more important things than life--especially "life at all costs", which is Voldemort's way of operating in the world. Character, bravery, and compassion are values that are consistently lifted up and celebrated as good and victorious. In my mind, the world needs more stories that celebrate values and morals that are good, right, and godly. I see that in Harry Potter. Right choices are more important than success. That is a very counter-cultural message, especially if you look at contemporary media. The world lifts up the idea that "it's all about you". In these books, I see something different at work. "You" are not the end goal of life in these books. There are things worth dying for, things more important than your own safety and comfort. What is true, right, noble, and enduring...these things are the highest good. This is, perhaps, the most consistent theme in all the Harry Potter books.

There are a gazillion other things I love about these books...and maybe I will share more in future blogs...but that is a good start.

Again, for those concerned Christians out there...I promise, I do not worship Satan. I am merely a fan of some books that promote good values and have re-awakened a love of literature and reading in this generation of children. Praise God for that!