Hammer on Anvil '

My four year old son, Indie, loves to ask questions. Not just the typical, inquisitive kid stuff like "why," but he really enjoys getting to know others. He will ask you what your favorite toy was when you were a child, or how you slept, how much you love the coffee you're drinking, or what Jesus has been telling you.


No, really. He asks this all the time. And then he loves to share what he is learning from the Lord. It's incredible to see this little guy develop his own relationship with the Lord.

Last Sunday I was making dinner when Indie cheerfully came into the kitchen. He stood beside me, looked up, smiled and said, "Jesus loves us just the way we are."

Delighted and somewhat puzzled, I said, "Well, yes He does, buddy. Did you hear that in kids' church this morning?"

"Oh, no, it's just something Jesus told me," he nonchalantly replied.

"Really? Well, what else has Jesus told you?" I inquired.

"We should be thankful for what we already have and keep our hands to ourselves." He stood there sweetly, happy to share what the Lord has been speaking to him.

I didn't even know what to say. I am blown away by his faith, his kindness, his genuine interest in sharing the Lord. I hugged my little guy, and then he brightly asked, "Mom, what has Jesus told you?"

We've made evangelism, discipleship and our faith look and feel way harder than it is. We've put rules and unnecessary limits on what God can or should look like when manifested in our own daily lives. We don't want to get to know God, ask Him the big or little questions, because we keep trying to fit God into our little boxes.

Believers, you can have the bumper sticker, wear the shirt, go to every service that is held, and listen to the clean radio all you want to, but if you don't take the time to get to know the Lord, what you share won't matter. When you do know the Lord, you  cheerfully share Him because He matters to you.

Friends, sharing your faith has very little to do with you "saving" anybody. You can't. Your job is not to save, but to share. Jesus saves. You share what He is doing in your life. That's all.

I pray you take this reminder and go forth to share what light the Lord has shown you.

What has the Lord told you today?

This will probably be the last entry about my trip to South Africa. Though I learned more than I could possibly put into these blogs, I think I have hit on the highlights.

The picture at the right depicts an after-school feeding program that takes place at Lighthouse Christian Church in Mokopane, Limpopo, South Africa. Blessman Ministries feeds 7,000 orphans a day in various venues, and this is one of them.

Nearly 1,000 children are orphaned due to AIDS in South Africa every day. Our team got to spend a couple hours visiting an orphanage one day, and I didn't want to leave. One little girl was noticeably lethargic, and wasn't interested in playing like the other children.  Later I saw her holding her head and crying. Turns out she had a splitting headache. She has advanced HIV and her prognosis is grim.

Then there was Julia, whom I mentioned in my first South Africa blog. She is a 6-year-old bundle of energy. She and I played on the swings and the slides. When we approached the merry-go-round, a bunch of boys were already on it, going at breakneck speed. I told Julia to let me slow it down first so she could get on. But she simply jumped on, seemingly unaware of the possible danger. When I mentioned this to my husband, he said, "Well after what she's been through, what is there to be afraid of?" Sadly, he is right. When you are raped at 18 months of age and placed in an orphanage, what is a recklessly fast merry-go-round in comparison?

James 1:27 tells us, "Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress." It is an admonition that I have chosen to ignore for much of my life. I have helped widows on occasion, but closed my eyes to the problem of unwanted children.

Before my husband and I went to South Africa, God had been moving on our hearts to do foster care. Our trip sealed the deal for us and confirmed what we believed God was telling us to do. One night shortly after we returned from our trip, I was crying out to God on behalf of the children I had seen at the orphanage. In the midst of my prayers God spoke to me, "There are children like that in your own back yard." Yes, indeed there are. We plan to begin foster care training as soon as a class is scheduled.

The best thing about our trip? Well, playing with the orphan children was great. Washing feet and distributing shoes to needy children was awesome. Watching people's vision improve dramatically when we fitted them with the right eyeglass lenses was wonderful. But by far the best thing was allowing God to speak to us and stir our hearts in the midst of the ministry. It wasn't so much about what WE were doing, but what God was doing in each one of us.

Mission trips aren't about going to a faraway place briefly and coming back to "normal life." They're about being challenged in your walk of faith, and coming back forever changed, with a heart pierced anew with the things that pierce the heart of God. I don't want to go back to "normal." To quote Katie Davis, author of Kisses from Katie, "I was forever ruined for comfort, convenience and luxury, preferring instead challenge, sacrifice, and risking everything to do something I believe in."

A few weeks ago when I was working at the convenience store, a regular customer made a comment about how slow I was being (I had paused before asking if he wanted cash back from his debit card). I get really annoyed when people do this sort of thing. I almost always assume that it's their passive aggressive way of saying, "No, seriously, be faster," or whatever their point is. The next time I saw that guy, I was making coffee while he went back to the cooler to get his regular 6-pack and 2 summer shandies. He got to the counter just before I did and asked, "Are you working today, Sarah?" I answered I was and he said, "Are you sure?" That really irritated me. The guy can't wait a few seconds? I mean, I was right behind him. He saw I was there. So, then I thought that I'd show him how much he annoyed me by giving him looks as I rang up his stuff. Maybe I'd smile with gritted teeth or roll my eyes, anything to show him he was being a jerk. 

Days before our big move to our new home, my daughter, Missouri, asked if it was okay to like something now that you once made fun of or even claimed you hated.

Social media is exhausting!

There, I said it.

Jenny and I were talking last night about the some of the effects social media has had in our lives.

It is way easier to keep up with people. There was a time when someone moved away and you lost contact with that person. Maybe a random phone conversation was shared, or a letter. For the most part, people moved on.

That's not the case anymore! Moving away? No problem, just seek that person out through social media! For clarity when I say "social media" I'm referring to:

Facebook
Twitter
Instagram
Vine
Linkedin
Pinterest
Google+
Ask.fm
and others.

There..glad I cleared that up.

It is wonderful to be able to keep up with so many people. I enjoy seeing pictures of old friends or hearing about what they are doing now that I am not physically present in their lives.

However, this causes a lot of exhaustion. With social media comes a whole different world of how connected should I be with my "friends/followers?"

Everyone may not agree, but here are a few tips to help you so social media doesn't become overbearing.

You don't have to add everyone. Some people are social media addicts...Sociholics.. Socimedaholics...you get the point. If they meet you one time at that concert and happen to hear your full name, you can guarantee they will have their smart phone out and be sending a friend request before you leave the event. The good news is, you can deny that request. Your social media sites are for you, and you can add or follow who you like, not who others expect you to.

You can set up visual restrictions. Say crazy Great Uncle Clem sends you a friend request and you just can't bring yourself to deny it. The great news about Facebook is your can set up filters so you see as much or as little of what someone posts as you want. If Uncle Clem just posts pictures that say "like this or go to hell" or "President Obama is up to such and such again" and that's not what you want filling your newsfeed, you can go to your settings and never see another post from crazy Great Uncle Clem again. The great news is, he will never know, because you are still friends so no feelings will be hurt.

Happy Birthday notifications. I always get stressed out when I'm reminded of someone's birthday. I wonder "If I won't tell them happy birthday in person, am I still expected to tell them online?" Then when they post a thank you status to all those who wished them a Happy Birthday I think, "they know I didn't! This status is about me!" Chances are they don't know or care. If you won't tell them in person, don't stress out about not telling them through social media.

Please oh please don't get in comment wars. I've seen so many people trying to solve the world's problems through the comment sections of social media. These do not change the opinions of others. It only make you look petty and often ignorant. Just don't do it. Have a discussion through a one on one message with someone. Talk with a person face to face. Don't try to argue all the points through comments. It just doesn't work the way you think it will.

Social media is meant to be a tool. Use the forms of social media you have for you. Use them to update family and friends on your life. Use it to promote your blog or some project you are working on. It is there to use as you see fit. As Christians we should use it as another way to shine the light of Christ (make sure you are doing that in "real life" too though, and not just through a computer screen).

Have fun with social medias. Shine the light of Christ with them.

Don't let them bog you down.

Last week I talked about gratitude and how I have allowed the culture we live in to influence me in negative ways -- that's a nice way of saying that I am spoiled, as are many Americans who have WAY too much of a good thing. 

The picture at the right is children worshiping at Lighthouse Christian Church near Mokopane. This is the kids' church gathering, which takes place in a separate facility from where the adults meet to worship.

The picture below is of a girls' youth group we were privileged to attend at a private, secular boarding school. The photo does not do it justice, but an average of 900 teenaged girls attend this youth group every Friday night. I knew we were in for a spectacular evening when we arrived half an hour early, and about 20 of the girls were already in the gymnasium. They were walking back and forth, hands raised, praying for God to move powerfully in their midst.



What strikes me about both these photos is the palpable JOY. Though many of these kids have few possessions, and some may not know where their next meal is coming from (if they get a meal at all), they were exuberant in worshiping Jesus. The throng of teenaged girls was so loud that at first I wished I had brought ear plugs -- but as the meeting progressed, I cherished the sound. These girls were serious about giving praise to the King of kings and the Lord of lords. They shouted, they hopped around and danced out of sheer joy in His presence.

Can we learn a lesson from this? I learned that it doesn't matter how much you have or don't have in the way of material possessions. It doesn't matter if you are hungry. It doesn't matter if you have the "proper" clothing to wear to church. Our God is worthy of our praise, wherever and however and as often as we can give it. We need not be reserved and dignified in His presence. Remember King David? In 2 Samuel 6, we are told "David danced before the Lord with all his might" (vs.14). In fact, he made such a spectacle of himself that his wife was embarrassed to the point that she "despised him in her heart" (vs.16).

Have you ever worshiped like that? Or do you stand during worship with your arms folded across your chest? Think about it: if we claim to be Christian, we have been saved from eternity in hell by the precious blood of Jesus. We will not receive the just punishment for all our sins, because Jesus took those sins upon himself and nailed them to the Cross. He has given us life when we deserved death. He has given us His Holy Spirit to dwell in us, and to lead us and guide us into all the truth (John 16:13). How can these truths not inspire unbridled joy?

Perhaps you need to re-think the song part of your church's worship service. Songs are not sung merely to pass the time before the pastor brings the message. This a sacred time when we should put aside everything else to focus on God. Think about why He is worthy of our praise. Think about who He is -- and ALL that He is. Consider praying Psalm 51:15 as the music begins: "Open my lips, Lord, and my mouth will declare Your praise."

I encourage you to make an effort to participate fully as you join your brothers and sisters in worship this weekend. Corporate worship is a powerful thing, and God manifests himself uniquely when His children gather to praise Him.

My wife and I were having a discussion yesterday about introverts and extroverts. Apparently she heard a conversation on Air 1 between Brant Hansen and producer Sherry. We discussed different party etiquette and what is expected of those who attend. 

There is nothing like spending a couple weeks in a third world country to drastically alter your outlook on life. I wanted for God to stretch me and teach me and rattle my cage spiritually, and He more than delivered.

My husband and I, along with a team of 17 others, returned last Tuesday from South Africa. I thought I would have lots to blog about. But when I sat down to write, words wouldn't come. How can I communicate in mere words what I experienced in those two weeks?

For now, I am going to talk about gratitude. As I read the short epistle of Paul to the Colossians this morning, I was struck by the fact that exhortations to be thankful were mentioned five times (in a book with only four chapters!). I began to weep as the Holy Spirit revealed the ingratitude in my heart. He showed me my tendency to complain rather than be thankful. I have allowed the culture I live in to influence me in negative ways.

For the most part, we Americans have no idea how blessed we are. We consider it a hardship if our internet stops working temporarily. We get aggravated if our iPhone drops a call. We are annoyed if our favorite TV show gets preempted by some sports event or the president's State of the Union address. Other drivers provoke us to use language that would make a sailor blush.

Now come with me to South Africa. The little girl in the picture with me above is six years old and has spent her entire life in an orphanage. She was so brutally raped when she was 18 months old that she couldn't walk for some time. Remarkably, though, she seemed to be the happiest and most personable child in the orphanage. I spent about an hour playing with her on the playground. She was smart as a whip, was very articulate, and spoke English well. I didn't know her tragic story until later.

The part of South Africa where we were reminded me a great deal of the Phoenix area -- very dry and dusty, but mountainous and beautiful. I took old tennis shoes because I was told they would get pretty trashed as we played outside with children, walked with lions, etc. The fabric on the inside back of those shoes was already torn away, and after two weeks walking in the red dirt, the mesh parts of the shoes were saturated. As I packed our suitcases for the return home, I decided to trash the tennis shoes. They weren't worth bringing home.

Later that day Jim Blessman, the founder of the ministry we worked with, fished my shoes out of the trash and offered them to one of his employees. The shoes fit her perfectly and she was so delighted to have them that she almost cried. I didn't even think about offering the shoes to anyone because they were so dirty and beat-up. When I said as much to Jim, he responded, "Your worst shoes were better than anything she had."

I think I'm going to stop writing for now. Please take the time to meditate on these two scenarios I have just described, and allow God to speak to your heart. Perhaps, like me, you will need to repent because you do not "Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you" (1 Thessalonians 5:18). Maybe you take for granted the abundance of possessions you have, and gripe that you don't have more.

In subsequent blogs, I will continue to write about our journey. Stay tuned.

In the 90s Kevin Costner classic, Robin Hood Prince of Thieves, there is a scene where the hero is about to make his grand gesture: he's sitting in a catapult about to be launched up in the air, over a wall and into the unknown for the woman he loves.

It's pretty precious, and right before he flies from the contraption, his friend ask if she's worth it?

Last week I told you about how God is working and moving our family into a new home. Yes, well, it's been a crazy week. Basically, when we went to turn on the utilities in our name for the new home, the city said that the gas pipes and the entire furnace of the house are a no go. After three companies gave their bids, we could be facing $30,000 in bills before we even are able to buy the home.

Jeepers creepers.

The tiny, slightly reasonable adult in me is looking at the situation and saying, "Nope."There is no way I can commit to a house that is already racking up nearly half of its listing price, and yet, that still quiet voice is saying, "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understandings. In all of your ways acknowledge Him and He will make your paths straight" (Proverbs 3:5-6).

Azeem: Is she worth it?

At this point I feel I am in a catapult. I am about to launch into scary unknown territory, and although I am well, a little terrified, I know this is something our family has to do. This is where God leading our family. We don't understand all that's happening and we are not sure what will happen from here, but I have a peace that passes understanding and I know I am supposed to make this move.

My dad says it best, "You want to be a part of the Lord's army? This is boot camp. Shut up and do what you're told."

Believers, I am stepping out in faith, doing what I believe I am being told to do. And maybe it's time we all do that. Step out. Get real. Admit you're scared and proceed with boldness, sugar. Life is about to get real scary, but that's okay. Why? Because as my grandpa used to cheerfully proclaim in what we called lyrical Tourettes, "My God is so great. So strong and so mighty. There's nothing that He cannot do for you."

So here it is: Doug and I are moving into the unknown and going, boldly, because we know God is leading us there. We sing out in church, "Where you lead us, we will follow" and now I am putting that faith into action. And friends, sometimes following the Lord is going to make you look like a lunatic. Can you imagine what a loon old Noah looked like? Or Moses? Uh, or Abraham? Jeepers. Faith makes you look crazy, ya'll. That's going to happen. The question is, even when facing something unknown are you going to live by faith? Will you follow? Is God worth that?

The catapult is set. We are flying into the unknown and we know this is the step we must take. Following God, believing in Him, it is worth it. And we couldn't be more excited.

Is God leading you into the unknown? Are you willing to follow where He leads?

Good morning, friends. My niece (and one of my best friends), Catharine Phillips, is guest blogging for me today.  Enjoy!

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That Monday was just one of those mornings. My 4-year-old woke up on the wrong side of the bed and nothing was to his liking. He complained about his breakfast and whined about being asked to get ready for preschool. He decided he didn’t like the clothes he’d picked out and felt that the effort of putting on his underwear was above and beyond what anyone should expect of a boy his age. The final straw came when tooth-brushing degenerated into smearing toothpaste around the bathroom counter and finally, apparently exhausted by the effort of putting on his now toothpaste-covered underwear, he collapsed on the floor, and demanded (over and over again) that I push the button on his battery-operated toothbrush.

I’d had it. I yelled with such volume that he immediately started crying. I was so frustrated that I kept yelling – about his breakfast, his underwear, his clothing choice, the toothpaste covered bathroom and that stupid button on his toothbrush that, until this morning, he has pushed himself every single day for at least a year. Through my clenched teeth and his tear stained face we got ourselves together, out the door and into the car: him to preschool and me to…a leader’s meeting for my Bible study.

I felt like such a failure. How could I possibly be a “leader” of anything, much less a group of women seeking Jesus? Apparently I’d forgotten all about Him that morning – as if Aqua Fresh Children’s “fresh ‘n’ fruity” toothpaste were the kryptonite of Christ-awareness.

The apostle Paul knew the frustration of failure.  He explains that although he "has the desire to do what is right" he lacks "the ability to carry it out" (Romans 7:18-19).  There is comfort in knowing that a spiritual powerhouse like Paul, who was used by God to change the religious complexion of the world, sometimes found himself doing or saying the wrong thing.


I read an article recently by a "reformed yeller," a woman who realized that her yelling was harmful to her kids and, determined not to be "that mom", she just quit doing it. Good for her (I mean that sincerely)!  Unfortunately, my own efforts to "just quit doing it" were a dismal failure.

At first, I did pretty well...until I was faced with a particularly nasty combination of bad attitude, sassy mouth and outright defiance.  My volume increased, my tone sharpened, and I was in mid-yell before I even realized it.  Just like Paul (Romans 7:15) I know what I want to do, but I do the very thing I hate.  And unlike that lovely woman in the article, I couldn't seem to try hard enough to change it consistently.

So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves…the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control…Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to his cross and crucified them there. Since we are living by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives. Galatians 5:16,22-23a, 24-25

Love, joy, peace, patience…yeah, all those things painfully absent in me that Monday morning. To let the Holy Spirit guide my life is to live, not under the whims of my emotions, but by the power of the Almighty God, and the results are dramatically different.

I began to realize that my yelling was just a symptom.  The real problem was that I was allowing myself to be controlled by my son's difficult behavior rather than reacting with the heart of one who belongs to Christ Jesus.  I have to be filled by the Holy Spirit and allow HIM to be my guide, not my precious 4-year-old.

We have an immensely loving Heavenly Father, a Savior who died on a cross to grant us salvation in spite of our failures and missteps.  He longs to minister freedom from continued sin through His Holy Spirit, but He does not force it upon us.  We have to seek after it.  We have to put ourselves in a position to hear His voice and sense His guidance, which we can only do when we are in the Word and in prayer consistently.

Oh, how I struggle with that! 

But it is critically important.


Every part of my life.  Although I seek the Holy Spirit quite intentionally in my role as a Bible Study leader, sometimes as a wife, a mom, a daughter...well, those things I try to handle on my own.  And often, not nearly as well as I should.  I don't intentionally exclude God, but sometimes I don't intentionally include Him either.  More and more I realize how desperately I need the Holy Spirit leading EVERY part of my life.  Not just the "Jesus parts."

Seeking Jesus has to be the most important part of my day, every day. Most of us (especially me) can do a better job of this.  Not in a "feel guilty because you don't have a marathon-quiet-time every day" kind of way, but in a "this is the most important thing you will do all day because God loves you and longs to be a part of your life" kind of way. 

Sometimes I think we try to minimize the importance of time with Jesus.  We don't want anyone to feel bad.  Our Christian friends say, "You know, I'm just not having consistent time with the Lord."

And we say, "Well, that's okay. I'm sure you are doing the best you can." 

I'm not so sure this is the best answer.  I'm not sure it's always okay.  And I'm not sure we're always doing the best we can.  Our battle is a spiritual one and I am convinced that some of Satan’s greatest victories will be not amongst those who ignored God entirely but amongst those of us who claim the name of Jesus but whose neglect of our spiritual lives (i.e. time in the Word and prayer) has rendered us spiritually impotent.

Rather than just trying to make each other feel "okay," let's encourage each other!  Pray for and with each other! Pray that if God is calling us to give Him more of our time that He will reveal where that time needs to come from.  If we feel as if we need to spend a little more time in the Word, it may well be because the Holy Spirit is impressing upon us that, well, we need to spend a little more time in the Word!  God knows whether we're doing the "best we can" or whether we're allowing other things to creep into the place where He belongs.  Let's not be tempted to compare ourselves to each other - but rather let's seek the Lord for the answer as to whether things are good as they are or whether we need to change things up a bit.  And if He's calling us to change it up a bit, do it!

As I've sought to prioritize my time with God, I'm discovering that there is a softening of my reactions to things that once would have set off my yell-o-matic.  I have begun to pray daily over my parenting, asking specifically that the Lord would help me parent with love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness and self-control.  Through the Holy Spirit, I want to reflect Jesus in my home as much as anywhere.

I want to follow the Holy Spirit's leading in every part of my life - especially those parts covered in fresh-n-fruity toothpaste!

I heard a story once about an elderly lady who was well-known for her boldness in faith. She loved to give glory to the Lord and felt everyday was a day meant to praise Him. She would, daily, stand on her front porch and shout to the busy morning traffic, "PRAISE THE LORD!"

Hebrews 11:1 proclaims, "Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see."