May's Focus: Voice of the Martyrs

I wasn't going to be able to post this tomorrow since I'll be in KC all day for a meeting, so here you go!

Isaac and I have chosen our focus for the month of May: The Voice of the Martyrs, a non-profit dedicated to serving the persecuted Church worldwide. Founded by Richard Wurmbrand, a pastor imprisoned for almost fifteen years in the then-Communist Romania for his faith in Christ, VOM looks to assist Christians living in restricted and hostile nations as well as to bring the Gospel to these countries through a variety of means.

If you are unfamiliar with The Voice of the Martyrs, I highly recommend checking out this phenomenal organization. Go to their website and sign up for their free monthly newsletter. We have been receiving the newsletter for years; though we consider ourselves well-educated individuals who are aware of the general situation in the world, I am always amazed at the information found within the newsletter; my eyes have been opened to so many situations and issues in the world today that are not mentioned in the general media. By having this knowledge, we are better able to pray for the nations around the world. Each year, they publish a Prayer Map, which helps provide a visual picture of the global situation.



You can find this map here. If you are interested in learning how to better pray for the nations, another one of our favorite resources is a book called Operation World. Check it out.

So far, Isaac and I are really enjoying our new family 'tradition' of supporting a focus of the month. We've found so many amazing causes that we would love to support! We are so excited about this concept that we've already chosen the focus for June, and it's becoming harder and harder to pick just one each month. It is so encouraging to see what people are doing to help their neighbor, to use their God-given talents to serve others, and to bring attention to those who have been forgotten. I pray that you and your family would consider what your role will be in this global community in which we live.

And...I have a bonus video for you today! This is not our focus of the month, but I recently saw this on Phil and Lacy's blog and wanted to share it with you. Thanks for sharing Lacy!

I Was Brave Last Week...

...and got my hair cut. Most of you know that I am an absolute complete weeny when it comes to cutting my hair. No, I'm not exaggerating. Usually when I get my hair cut, this is my spiel to whomever is cutting my hair: "Well, I'm lazy, you see, and I don't like to fix my hair- at all. I want to be able to get out of the shower, blow dry it, and leave the house. I also want to be able to pull it into a ponytail to get it out of the way during work. I usually come to work with my hair down and leave with it up. My hair is really flat, too. It doesn't hold curl, crimp, or even a stay straight with a straightening iron. It does the opposite of what you want it to do. I hate putting products in my hair. I don't even like hairspray, so cut it in a way that I don't have to use any type of product, because as I mentioned before I'm lazy- especially about my hair."

I know, I know. It's ridiculous, really. I mean, it's hair for crying out loud! So...last week, I went it to my fabulous hair stylist (I think it's weird to consider me as having a "stylist") Liz at Green Meadows Hair Company and said, "Well..I haven't been here in almost a year since you know how lazy I am about my hair. But...um...just do whatever you want." Her draw dropped open. Now, she was delicate with me, telling me exactly what she thought would look good and telling me, "Don't be afraid of product, Jenny. It's okay." So I went along with what she said, and this is the result:



Thoughts?

Open Heart, Open Home

Recently, God has been instructing me to become more hospitable. It started with our visit to the wonderful Middle East. I was amazed, absolutely amazed, at how open and hospitable the people are. It is very much a part of their culture. If you read my posts about the Trip of a Lifetime, you'll remember that we were all (a rather large group of about fourteen at the time) invited to a local's house after randomly meeting him at the hot springs. The young man did not invite us over to his home to show off, but rather to get to know us better, to learn more about our culture and to show us more of his. As I look back on the event, I determined that the most beautiful part about the afternoon was that entertaining was not the focus for them; it was simply to be generous and warm people to outsiders and strangers.

When we left the country, I thought to myself, "Wow. Those people are so open and welcoming. Why isn't our country more like that? What a shame." But I didn't do anything to change my attitude toward the concept of hospitality either. What a shame, indeed.

Then Isaac purchased this book, Open Heart, Open Home and put it on the shelf since we were both currently reading numerous books, as usual. Then Isaac (do you see a pattern of Isaac?) and I were driving back from Sikeston a few weeks ago. If you know anything about my husband, you know he loves to listen to sermons and audio books while driving. He really wanted to listen to a message from Sojourn (a church in Louisville) about hospitality, and I obliged. It was a great sermon; he discussed different cultures and their hospitality and what is expected and required of us as believers in terms of hospitality. But one sentence knocked me upside the head:

Hospitality is NOT entertaining. Entertaining is, "Come over and admire all of my beautiful things." Hospitality is, "Here, let me share with you."

So when we got back home, I decided to start reading. This book contained great insight, as well as quite a few convicting passages. It is definitely not a how-to on planning fancy dinners and parties to impress the neighbors with your culinary and decorating skills. Rather, Mains addresses the heart issues behind hospitality. At the end of each chapter are short activities which help the reader to think more deeply and critically about their current approach to hospitality, as well as what they would like their philosophy of hospitality to look like.

As I mentioned before, there was quite a few convicting statements within this short read, and I am considering what the Lord would have me do about some of them. I believe Isaac is planning on reading this book soon, and I look forward to discussing the content with him. We're actually about to start reading through a different book about hospitality together as well. I'll let you know how that one is as well.

For now, I encourage you to consider hospitality and what it means to you. Imagine if we were all just a little bit more hospitable- not just to our friends and family- but to those people who have no friends and family, to those who are hurting, to those who have no place to go, to those who feel they don't deserve anything better because of their past...what would our world look like then?

My Comfort

A feeling of nostalgia sweeps over me
as I gaze on the old, forgotten music box.

Like an old toy,
it was tossed aside long ago.
Once my prized possession,
it now lies in a box,
bereft of attention and the joy it once held.

Childhood dreams still etched
on the box, pictures of a princess
and a glass slipper form in my mind's eye.

The latch-
once brilliantly shining like a new penny-
is now old, broken and tarnished.

I open it,
and the music begins,
like a song from the Heavens-beautiful, sweetly angelic.
The soporific melody puts me in full repose,
making me sleep like a baby-
peacefully and delicately.

Humming the familiar tune,
I sit transfixed,
staring at the beautiful ballerina as she pirouettes
on her spring.

Memories permeate the air
as the music box assuages
my pain, offering unfeigned sympathy
and satiating my need for comfort.

April's Focus: The Traveling Team

I know it's a little bit delayed, but here is the Focus of the Month (my goal is to definitely get these up earlier in the coming months):

April's focus is The Traveling Team, a group dedicated to equipping university students to effectively serve the Lord and spread the Gospel. Each year, teams of mobilizers travel across the country speaking on different college campuses, teaching students about world evangelization and the role that we are all to play in His plan for the nations. The Traveling Team has an excellent website with tons of different resources available online. I highly recommend checking them out.

My friend Amy (a youth minister in Alabama) once wrote, "Almost every major revival in history was sparked by young people..." (side note: check out her blog for some serious-kick-you-in-the-butt-thoughts) So what are we doing to equip those young people who will so shape and mark the future? Something to consider.

The Heavenly Man

My beloved husband finished reading this book several weeks ago and told me that it was a must-read for me and picked it out as my next biography-type book. This is the story of Brother Yun, a Chinese Christian and leader of the house church movement in his home country who faced a great amount of persecution for his faith.

The Heavenly Man is an amazing account of faith and persecution. To an individual living in the West, where we worship in freedom and without fear of persecution, the accounts in this book are shocking, convicting, and encouraging all at once. Called as a teenager to preach the Gospel, Brother Yun did not have a Bible of his own for months. When he finally received one, he committed hours each day to reading and memorizing Scripture. It was his love and knowledge of God's Word that allowed him to endure the suffering he did. Brother Yun was questioned and arrested several times because of his "illegal" activities, which included preaching the truth of the Gospel and refusing to join the state-sponsored church. He was thrown in jail and sentenced to hard labor camps, beaten, starved, and tortured- all for the sake of the Gospel. Even in these circumstances, however, Yun still preached the love of Christ and led others to their Savior.

Though several statements in the book stood out to me, I want to share this one. Brother Yun mentioned that people have often said to him, "We pray that the government of China would change so that Christians may live there more freely." His response: "No! No! That is not what we pray! We do not pray that our load would be lighter, but that our backs would be stronger!" It reminded me of the knowledge that historically, the Church seems to falter in plenty and peace and thrive in persecution and need. So let us pray for China and for all the nations where the Church faces persecution-not necessarily that those living there would have an easier life- but that they would have the strength to endure for the sake of the Gospel and that His praise would be spread unashamedly from shore to shore.

He is not here

"But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they went to the tomb, taking the spices they had prepared. And they found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they went in they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. While they were perplexed about this, behold, two men stood by them in dazzling apparel. And as they were frightened and bowed their faces to the ground, the men said to them, 'Why do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here, but has risen. Remember how he told you, while he was still in Galilee, that the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of the sinful men and be crucified and on the third day rise.' And they remembered the words, and returning from the tomb they told all these things to the eleven and to all the rest."
-Luke 24:1-9 (emphasis mine)

He is risen; He is risen indeed! Below is a video of one of my favorite songs by Hillsong. Watch the video, consider the words, and have a blessed Resurrection Sunday as you remember that Jesus conquered the grave!

Why?

For Good Friday, I wanted to post a video of one of my favorite Easter songs. Unfortunately, I couldn't find anything that I liked enough to share, so I decided to simply post the lyrics, as they are powerful enough without the music behind them. However, I still encourage you to listen to the song at some point today as we think about the crucifixation of Jesus the Christ and what His life, death, and resurrection mean to us.

Why?
by Nichole Nordeman

We rode into town the other day-
just me and my daddy.
He said I'd finally reached that age,
and I could ride next to him on a horse-
that of course was not quite as wide.

We heard a crowd of people shouting,
and so we stopped to find out why.
And there was that Man
that my dad said he loved,
but today there was fear in his eyes.

So I said, "Daddy why are they screaming?
Why are the faces of some of them beaming?
Why is He dressed in that bright purple robe?
I'll bet that crown hurts Him more than He shows.
Daddy, please can't you do something?
He looks as though He's gonna cry.
You said He was stronger than all of those guys;
Daddy, please tell me why-
why does everyone want him to die?"

Later that day the sky grew cloudy,
and Daddy said I should go inside.
Somehow he knew things would get stormy-
boy was he right.
But I could not keep from wondering
if there was something he had to hide.

So after he left, I had to find out-
I was not afraid of getting lost-
so I followed the crowds
to a hill where I knew men had been killed,
and I heard a voice come from the cross.

And it said, "Father, why are they screaming?
Why are the faces of some of them beaming?
Why are they casting their lots for My robe?
This crown of thorns hurts Me more than it shows
Father, please can't You do something?
I know that You must hear My cry.
I thought I could handle a cross of this size;
Father, remind Me why-
why does everyone want Me to die?
When will I understand why?"

"My precious Son, I hear them screaming.
I'm watching the face of the enemy beaming,
but soon I will clothe You in robes of My own.
Jesus, this hurts Me much more than You know,
but this dark hour I must do nothing
though I've heard Your unbearable cry.
The power in Your blood destroys all of the lies;
soon You'll see past their unmerciful eyes.
Look there below, see the child
trembling by her father's side?
Now I can tell You why-
she is why You must die."

Another Reason

Here is another reason to love reading (as if I needed another excuse). So, feel free to read often; it just might save your life.

The Awakening

If you've been following my blog for any amount of time, you know that I've been working through a list of the hundred greatest novels of all time. Of course, determining which books belong on such a list is a very subjective process. I found this list in college and liked how it defined novel in a stricter sense and so have been using it as my guide in this reading adventure. The Awakening by Kate Chopin ranked as number sixty-three on the list, and I hadn't given it a second thought until Jen's roommate Paige saw the list and exclaimed, "The Awakening?!? That's one of my favorite books ever!" So Paige, I decided to read this book because of you.

The Awakening was first published in 1899 and was met with public criticism and private applause. The novel and the responses to the novel itself depict the general social construct of the time. The Awakening is the story of a young married woman, Edna Pontellier, living in New Orleans. Throughout the novel, she becomes frustrated with her identity as a mother, as a wife, as a woman; through a series of events, Edna performs actions which challenge societal expectations at the time. The end of the novel is rather open-ended and the reader is left to determine whether or not Edna finally did discover her ideal identity, or at least come to terms with her identity as it was.

The novel is written beautifully; I found it easy to get wrapped up in the storyline and characters and often found myself reading several chapters at a time without realizing how much time I spent with the book. It is a shorter novel, so if you're looking for a good, short read, this one is an excellent choice. And once you've read it, we can discuss the morality of the characters ad naseum if you like.

My current choice from the list is: Dracula.