Category Archives: Current Events

gun(out of) control

I try not to get entangled in the affairs of man, in the political system or the endless debates of right vs left. So I rarely comment on those types of posts, and I certainly avoid writing about them myself. But sometimes, you know. Sometimes a thing is just too big to ignore. Sometimes what’s happening makes me cry. Surprisingly, it’s not the school shootings I’m referring to (although they make my heart break hard and imagine my grandchildren and feel overwhelmed with sorrow). It’s the inevitable aftermath of biting and devouring that happens in this nation that makes me weep. It’s two sides that refuse to back down and who turn on one another because there is no one else to turn on. It’s all of us blaming each other because someone has to be responsible for this horrible thing, and it can’t be us.

I lean to the right. Conservative. I vote Republican. And I firmly believe in the right for citizens to bear arms, to be able to protect themselves and their families.

But something has to change. Someone has to step out of the ranks and move toward the middle ground. So I’m re-thinking my stand. Not entirely, just considering whether or not I’m standing there because it’s the right place to stand, or because that’s where a conservative, Republican-voting, right-leaning person is supposed to stand. Because I don’t think the luxury of that exists anymore. I don’t think we can just band together to try to outnumber the other side. I don’t think that voting a certain way means that I cannot think for myself.

Because our nation’s children are being killed off. And because of who I am, I lay that blame at the feet of Satan. Because of who I am, I know that this is a spiritual battle first and a gun control battle second. And because of who I am, I believe that we are not helpless. I believe things can be changed and the tables can be turned. I believe this is the role the Church must play. The role of prayer and covering and warfare belongs to us.

I believe that the generation the devil is trying to wipe out can become his greatest nightmare, if the Church will engage the war on a spiritual level.

But I also believe that something needs to shift in the natural as well. So I’m trying to really nail down where I want to take my stand. I don’t think it has to be all or nothing. Take away all guns or take away none. That’s the lie being sown into the battlefield between left and right. Sure, there are some who think no ordinary citizen should own a gun, and there are some who think that ordinary citizens should be able to have their own arsenal of mass destruction. But here, in the land of reality, I don’t think the majority are thinking either of those things.

I wish we could all just come to the table, and leave our hostility outside. Leave our political persuasions outside. Leave our pride and our anger outside, and just, for the love of good and our children, come to the table with a desire for a solution.

I’m willing to step out of the ranks of my conservative, right-leaning army and say that I do not believe that a 19-year-old boy should have access to an AR-15, for any reason. I  believe there needs to be a drastic change to how anyone of any age is able to get access to any kind of gun, and by that I mean it needs to be a very hard process.  I think there should be over the top punishments given for any crime involving a gun, as in NO crime that involved a gun should end up with a ruling of “probation”. Jail time every time. And three strikes you’re out. I think those who sell guns have to be at this table and they have to want to make it hard for someone to buy what they’re selling. For the sake of our children.

Beyond that, I don’t know. I just know that a house (nation) divided against itself will not stand, so at some point everyone trying to take a stand will no longer have that freedom. So it may be a good idea for us to consider sitting down. Together. As humans. As citizens of a nation that is imploding. As mothers and fathers. As people who think that our children are more important than our political beliefs. More important than our rights. More important than our need to be right. More important than left or right, liberal or conservative. Our children are important enough to lay aside our politics and come to the table with actual ideas. And a willingness to listen. That means we have to be able to acknowledge that the other side is not necessarily wrong, just because they are on the other side.

I believe that we are parents and grandparents and aunts and uncles and we love the kids in our lives and we are sick and tired of people shooting at them. So what are we going to do about it?

Comments are good. Dialogue…good thing. A conversation about this epidemic is most welcome. But either side spewing out the same old opinions, justifications, and explanations? Nah. We have to start a new conversation.

hashtag breathe

Sometimes it feels like I can’t breathe. There’s too much coming too fast and none of it brings peace. It’s like the whole darn country is having 10,000 different arguments with itself and it just can’t stop. And our children are watching. Growing up in an angry house nation with angry adults who seem to have no control over their own emotions or words. Makes it hard to breathe, y’all.

We’re mad at everything and everyone, while living with more freedom and opportunity than most of the world. Having access to so much that we waste most of what we have. We don’t have to dig to try to find clean water. We live in a nation known for its wealth, although we do have our own level of poverty.

But, come on–

 

 

 

 

Ditto with the levels of corruption in our leaders. As much as some want to think we are under the rule of a madman, we are not. Because we live here, not over there, where a real madman is at the wheel.  And he kills anyone who speaks against him.

{Imagine it.}

We can go to church and sing and clap out loud without dying for it. We can kneel and pray, make the sign of the cross, put ashes on our forehead, chant, bow to any god we want, and we can do it all without dying.

Our women can work, drive, vote and pretty much dress any way they want, without being beaten or killed. We can be CEOs or stay-at-home moms. Our choice. We can marry who we want, travel where we want, and we can look a man in the eye and tell him what we think. Without dying for it. It’s a low bar, I know, but there are many people who can’t reach the low bar, while we soar far above it. But we’re still mad. We’re still fighting. We’re still marching for more.

{#iamnotavictim}

And I want us to breathe. For a minute, just take breaths and look around and wonder why we are lucky enough to be here instead of there. I want us to be thankful instead of angry. I want us to stop finding excuses to be offended and find reasons to be grateful. To remember how good it is here. To remember that we are free. That we are blessed.  I want us to look beyond our selves, beyond our own borders and discover how privileged we really are – all of us.

I want us to remember that our children are watching. Learning what it looks like to be an adult. Learning how to respond when things aren’t just the way we want them to be. Learning how to want more and expect more, despite having the most. What they’re seeing teaches them that we should respond to everything we see and hear, no matter how ridiculous.

They see the Church as wrapped up in what goes on in the world as everyone else. As argumentative, opinionated and just as angry. They can hear us bickering, see us protesting, watch as we go toe to toe with those on the left, or on the right, or anywhere in between. They see the world’s fight becoming ours. They see the pitting of women against men and they hear the cry to rise up and demand the respect we deserve.

If our children are seeing what I’m seeing, they see angry Christians in an angry world. Demanding to be heard. Hashtagging it out with everyone else.

We need to breathe in some different air. Holy air. Inhale some peace. Because we are citizens of heaven and the air there is thick with glory, not anger. Our mission is not to gain equality, or even to be treated fairly. We are ambassadors of Christ in a foreign land and we are to represent Him well. We are sent ones, equipped with a rescue message, to go into darkness and bring people out.

We are salt and light and different. As in not the same. Their fight is not our fight and their weapons are not ours. As much as we want to link arms with them and march it out for justice…that is not what we do or how we do it.

“For our battle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the world powers of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavens.”  – Ephesians 6:12

Breathe, Church, breathe. Jesus left us footprints. Let’s follow them.

{He bestowed honor on women without inciting hatred against the men who dishonored them. He lifted people up and out without turning them against one another. He said “your faith has healed you”, not “#metoo”.}

church huddle

huddle-upCan we just huddle up for a moment, Church? You, me and Jesus…can we make a plan, get our story straight? Because it’s about to become very armageddon-ish out there, and I think we just need to set the ground rules, do some pinky swearin’, re-up on who we are, you know? Because it’s goin’ down tomorrow, and we can be sure of one thing — emotions will be running high on both ends of the feeling stick. So we’ve got one day to make a decision.

As the royal priesthood of God, those who have been entrusted with the gospel, with the very message of Christ, those who are called to walk in love, in mercy, in kindness, and in compassion. As children of the unmoving, unchanging, all-knowing, all-powerful, ever-present King of kings — how will we respond?

If we don’t know how we’re going to handle it if one candidate wins instead of the other, then I’m thinking we need to introduce our faces to the carpet and let them meet together until we reach a decision. We have the mandate to walk in the Spirit but you and I both know the temptation to walk in flesh will be oh so strong. We are human, and we’re about to have some very human emotions, so we need to figure out what we’re going to do.

We need to decide today who we’re going to be tomorrow.

So, since I’m the one with the talking stick at the moment, here I go.

mean-kidsNo name calling. No accusations of self-righteousness, idiocy, traitor and the like. I know, it shouldn’t even need to be said, but it does. Because I’ve been on the playground too and I’ve heard it. From us. Let’s just go ahead and decide now not to be the mean kids.

No fear mongering. No throwing our hands up and saying all is lost. We are not chicken littles and the sky is not falling. We are the Church, and God is in charge of the sky staying where it is. Or not.

No gloating. If the person you voted for wins, you will not act like you parted the sea and saved our country. You did not. At best, you obeyed God in the voting booth. Any and all glory for anything whatsoever always belongs to God. Amen?

No political party blaming. That’s right. We don’t do that because that is beneath who we are. We will not attempt to accuse or blame people who have a different political persuasion than us that they have just ended the world as we know it. We will not throw dramatic hissy fits. Or hissy fits in general. It’s unattractive.

We will not engage in senseless arguments that end up pushing others away as we try to make ourselves feel better, validated, vindicated or better than, letting our flesh have a dance party all over the place. Seriously. No one wants to see that.

We will, as God’s chosen ones, holy and loved, put on heartfelt compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. Because this is what we do, this is how we live. This is who we are.

We will be at peace because we were called to peace.

We will dwell on whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable. 

We will maintain our stance, not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the world powers of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavens. 

That’s right. Whoever wins the battle for the White House, we are still at war. But we do not fight on the enemy’s terms. While he would have us drawing blood from one another, leaving him unscathed and uninterrupted, we are the Church and we. don’t. play. like. that.

We will take our fight to the battlefield on which we are most equipped for victory. As those who are called by His name, we will humble ourselves and pray and seek His face and turn from our wicked ways. Because we know, don’t we Church? We know His promise.

…then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.

We will take up our cross and deny ourselves. We will love the Lord our God with all our heart and with all our soul and with all our mind, and we will love others as ourselves. We will not return evil for evil, but will overcome evil with good. We will speak the truth in love, not shout it in anger. We will do this in our own lives, in our homes, in our cities, and in our country. Because that is how the Church does war. That is how we refuse the enemy’s attempts to drag us through the mud during an election.

Whatever happens, Church, we don’t break rank. We do not behave as people we are not. No matter what, we will conduct ourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. Yes? Let me hear you, Church.

Good huddle everyone. You are awesome and I know that, by the power and grace of God, we can do this!

 

eph-3-20

battle strong

“First of all, then, I urge that petitions, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for everyone, for kings and all those who are in authority, so that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity.  This is good, and it pleases God our Savior, who wants everyone to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.” – 1 Timothy 2:1-4

I’ve tried staying out of it. Just stay low and go on with my life as though nothing was hitting the fan. Give no opinion, stay out of the ring, rise above. But between me and God, there have been questions. Lots of them. Because oh, I have opinions. Big ones. I also have enough years on me to know that no matter how glassfirm my opinion, how right it seems, how important it feels…it isn’t. It is simply an opinion. One person’s answers to life based on seeing things through a glass darkly. So I began to ask God His opinion.Continue reading “battle strong”

what we can do

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

I’ve waited to respond to the recent decision of the Supreme Court concerning gay marriage. First, I wanted to see what others in the Body of Christ are saying, while at the same time seek the voice of God on the issue. I know, I know. It should be obvious what God has said. He is very clear about both homosexuality and marriage. But I needed to hear His voice on more than that. I wanted Him to speak into how He wants us, the Church to respond. How He wants me to respond.  I knew we couldn’t change what had been done, but I also knew there must be something we can do. Something I can do.Continue reading “what we can do”

legacy

I really don’t know much about Margaret Thatcher, but the news headlines I read today told me far more than I found on Wikipedia.

thatcher“Hundreds of opponents of former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher partied in London’s Trafalgar Square to celebrate her death, sipping booze and chanting “Ding Dong!”

That was the headline. The very sad headline.

She was a wife and a mother. The first woman to become Prime Minister of her country. Her name was known all over the world. But the legacy she is leaving behind is one that moved people to celebrate the fact that she is dead. My heart felt heavy, wondering if she had any idea how she would be remembered.

Someday, we will all be someone’s ancestor. What will those who come after us remember?

I think ‘legacy’ is hard for the young to think about for too long. The strong. The world-changing ones. Leaving their mark on the world.  Give them a sword, a war cry,  and a dragon to slay. Because they are young and free and strong and brave, and they are marking the world with their presence. The world is smitten by the young.

But time happens, and young doesn’t stay young for long, and then they have children. (We, too, are smitten by the young.) We soon discover that there is little time for making a mark or slaying anything and suddenly we don’t feel so brave anymore. We feel scared. We feel the weight of responsibility and life becomes a series of “right now” moments. Everything demands us “right now” and there is little time to really think about “someday”.

But it will come. I promise, someday will come. Someday, you will find yourself sitting in a chair, feeling a beautiful breeze coming through your open window, and you will read a headline. And you will wonder what will be remembered of you. What will they take away from your life?

And in that small moment, legacy will matter. What you leave for those coming after you will matter.

It will matter whether or not they saw more peace in you than anger.More grace than criticism.

More faith than fear.

Did they see an over achiever, or an overcomer, who actually overcame? Because we can call ourselves overcomers in Christ, and never really overcome anything.

It will not matter that you didn’t make lots of money. It won’t even matter if you did. What will matter is whether or not they saw that you were content either way.

Were you always waiting for something good to happen, or were you making good happen right where you were?

Were you continually chasing after something, or were you steadfastly following Someone?

Did they hear you talk about caring for the poor, turning the other cheek, loving your neighbor as yourself, obeying God…or did they see you do them?

Did you believe in God, or did you believe God? There is a difference, and the difference matters.

Whether you have children or not, legacy matters. Because you will be an ancestor to someone. There are people watching you live life. What will they remember?

legacy2

a King is coming. no vote required.

November 6, 2012. The candidates will once again line up and let this country’s citizens choose their leader, and the great machine called democracy will roar to life at voting booths everywhere.

At no time in my life has the political arena been more prominent to me than these past few years. The election of President Obama, if it did nothing else, stirred people’s indignation like no other in my memory. And while I have stayed blissfully ignorant of most political issues, I often found myself joining in the fiery frenzy of the great Republican outcry, but all the while it felt like I was shouting and shaking my fist at something that had little or nothing to do with me. I think God was whispering to me; I just needed to stop shouting so I could hear Him.  I discovered that there is something familiar in our shouting.

The Jewish people had been promised a Messiah, and they eagerly waited for Him to appear. But it turns out, their reason for wanting a Messiah was different than God’s reason for giving them one. They were looking for a political ruler, a King who would free them from tyranny, and set up His rule over Israel. He did not meet their expectations, so they turned on Him and crucified Him.

Even after His death and resurrection, we see His disciples’ inability to fully grasp what Jesus came here to do. They had embraced Him as the true Messiah, were confused at His death, and were still trying to get the picture in focus after His resurrection, when He spoke with them of the Kingdom of God. Their question shows the fuzziness of  that picture.

“So when they met together, they asked him, ‘Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?'” (Acts 1:6) 

We aren’t all that different, if you ask me. Don’t we elect our president with the hopes for restoration of America? Those in the Church ally themselves with the candidate who looks most like us, and on election day we are essentially asking the same question the disciples asked. “Lord, are You at this time going to restore America to You? (did we cast enough votes, Lord?)”

And we, including those in the Church, are outraged by those on the other side of our political alliance, who, in our minds, vote for the darkness to increase. I think our outrage is rooted in a mistaken belief that we have a right to live in a darkness-free zone because, after all, this is America (one of roughly 196 nations on the earth, and not even the one referred to as the apple of His eye…but still), and our money clearly says we trust in God.  

So, in our great indignation we rail against the government/president/mayor/grocery store manager. We can see them, so its easier than railing against the “rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms” that we cannot see. Wait. Did you catch that? Rewind it. “against the powers of this dark world…”.  And there you have it. Our world, all 196 nations, is dark, and getting darker. As it turns out, it’s not the Democrats’ fault. Who knew?

We will never be able to vote darkness out of our country. We are the light of the world, and our light is to draw people out of darkness. It is to reveal not a political ruler, but a crucified Savior. Our agenda is the Kingdom of God, not the kingdom of America. By virtue of living in a democracy, we have the civic right to cast our vote for a leader, but we are not voting in the one man who can turn back the darkness. Scripture clearly tells us that darkness will increase.

“But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God…” (2Timothy 3:1-4)

But, lest we become discouraged, let us also remember that there is an end in sight. There is a King. He has made the world a promise, and He will fulfill it.

Yes, a King will come, and the light will be taken from the world.

“For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first.  After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. Therefore encourage each other with these words. “ (1Thessalonians 4:16-18)

A King will come, and it will be a bad day for darkness.

 “I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True… He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and his name is the Word of God. The armies of heaven were following him, riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen, white and clean….He treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God Almighty. On his robe and on his thigh he has this name written:

   KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.” (Revelation 19:11-16)

A King will come, and the darkness will be no more.

“And the devil, who deceived them, was thrown into the lake of burning sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet had been thrown. They will be tormented day and night for ever and ever.” (Revelation 20:10)

A King will come, and it will truly be finished.

“Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea.  I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” (Revelation 21:1-4)

In the meantime, darkness does threaten. But when we read scripture, primarily Paul’s letters to the churches, we see that he wasn’t so much concerned about the darkness outside the church as he was the darkness threatening the church from within. 

There are rulers, authorities, powers of this dark world and spiritual forces of evil that target our own hearts and minds, our homes and our families, and thus, the Church. 

Does it have our full attention? Are we casting aside our own deeds of darkness, renewing our own minds, guarding what our eyes see and our tongues speak? Are we asking God to ruthlessly search our hearts and expose our own darkness?

Or are we just convinced it’s all the President’s fault, while we hope that this time we’ll vote darkness outa here and once again be right with God?