Month: August 2007

Reading an article this morning that discussed our country’s policies on “illegal immigrants”; I was struck by how the information was presented. More often than not, discussions like this happen with an “us/them” mentality. But here are some interesting points they made:

1. As members of the body of Christ, we are called to allegiance to Christ, above country, above lifestyle, above everything. To see anything else before we see Christ, in ourselves or another person, could be idolatry of that thing.

2. Currently, over 9.4 million of our nations undocumented residents come from Mexico, and other spanish-speaking areas.

3. Over 78% of Latino residents surveyed, confess Christian faith.

4. That means, over 8.1 million people in our Christian family are affected by our nations’ views/legal stances on citizenship, etc.

A great article about how some in the church are responding, that’s far too long to copy/paste, but a very interesting read, can be found here.

It’s hard to combine rational, “take care of our country/future/safety/etc” thinking, and the grace these writers are speaking of. I’m not sure if I’m ready to personally offer my basement bedroom to an undocumented family, even if they are a part of the family of God. (just ask my biological family, sometimes I just want my house all to myself) How does all of this combine with submitting to authority?

Maybe someday, like those in the article….I’ll be forced to decide where I stand. In that moment, may God be with me. Until then, I suppose that’s why it’s good to be thinking/praying/discussing these things. Because I doubt this is an issue that will go away ever…and the way the Church abroad responds will play a HUGE role in our communicating the gospel to the World.

Recently I’ve experienced God in a way I would not have expected, and I have my greedy nature, and Wheel of Fortune to thank.

Most of you know by now, that this past Thursday I competed on Wheel of Fortune. The show will air on Monday, September 17th, and you can all watch me make a fool of myself. What you won’t see, however, is the peace in my soul that day.

I struggled with so many aspects of the show. Obviously, I prayed fervently that God would somehow “bless the wheel” so that I could do well on the show. For the 2 weeks leading up to that date, it was on my heart and mind more than I care to admit. About a week before the show aired, I was struck by how much of my energy was spent asking God to bless me that day….and how little time I had spent praying for others recently.

My whole being seemed consumed by this opportunity. I’m ashamed to think of the prayers/conversations I may have overlooked because of this preoccupation in those days…but I smile remembering the times spent with God those few days before we left. I prayed for His forgiveness…I gave the burden of caring about the show into His capable hands, and asked that He would teach me to pray more, and pray less selfishly. (which I suppose, could still sound selfish).

If any of that makes sense or not, the point is this: Sometimes we forget how much we believe in prayer, until we find something that (even selfishly) reminds us…we believe prayer is effective. So with this realization came a renewed sense that I need to be praying. Praying for people in my life. Praying for my family. Praying for my church. Why? I believe God has created us as “beings that pray”.

As for the show….we had a great time, and whether God touched the wheel Himself or not……we don’t know for sure. But I’m still thankful for the experience, and for the reminder that PRAYER plays an important role in my life….and I need to be involved in it more often.

The question for you then…might be…what would motivate you to pray more? Why wait until something does? If you believe in prayer…pray. 🙂

God loves me.

He has shown me this recently through the Hershey’s sub-company of Reese’s.

Anyone who knows me well….knows that since early in High School…I’ve been frustrated at Ice Cream toppings in general. Disappointed that the only way I can get decent peanut butter on my ice cream is to go all the way to Dairy Queen or Culver’s. Or buy an entire can of their topping, and somehow keep it at home.

I’ve always wondered why no company was taking advantage of putting liquid peanut butter in a squeeze bottle (much different than Skippy’s tube version) so that I could enjoy it at home.

Until now. Recently, at our local Kroger…I’ve discovered Reese’s Peanut Butter Ice Cream topping….right there near the chocolate syrup. WHOOO HOO!!!

I’ve looked it up online a little….and so far can’t find it listed as a product…so I wonder if we’re a test market, or if they don’t make it anymore….either way….I should buy a lot. 🙂

That is my joy of the day. 🙂