Blueberries and Cinnamon

We were at the grocery store in Rochester getting a few things to take back to Hope Lodge.  I picked up a pint of blueberries and Joel stuck them in the top of the cart.  Unfortunately, unbeknown to us, do to their packaging, they slide down the side of the cart.  As they slid the lid opened and blueberries spilled out all over the floor.  We were oblivious until I squished one with my shoe.  I looked down and saw blueberries everywhere.  Before us, behind us, around us.  I was afraid to move.  The cart wheels had squished blueberries coating one wheel, our shoe soles had blueberry spots, and who knows who else was leaving a trail of blueberries in their wake.

Joel tiptoed through the tulips ~ oh that is right~ he tiptoed through the blueberries to find a clerk.  The young man was so nice, reassuring us that it happens more often than you think.  He accepted our apology, took a broom, and began to attempt to sweep up the mess.  And blueberries are great at leaving a mess when squished.  We both just shook our heads, exasperated but at the same time finding the situation a bit humorous.  Especially later. A side note:  ever since that day, we carefully place the blueberries in the bottom of the cart after checking the lid!

It reminded me of a time we went to another store in Rochester several years ago.  We were picking up a few organic items and decided to buy some cinnamon in bulk.  Joel took a plastic bag and then grabbed the cinnamon's container, opening what he thought was the lid, and shaking it into the bag.  He had not opened the container correctly and cinnamon went everywhere.  A cloud of cinnamon went up in the air and landed on the floor, on the shelves, on other containers, on us.  It was a big mess.  Joel even found cinnamon on his boots when we got home later!  The older clerk that came to help us that day was not so nice, nor friendly or reassuring, but kept giving us dirty looks as he scowled at us for the mess we created.  Our apologies were not received well at all.

What a difference in responses to these two messes.  There is something to reflect on here of course.  We did not expect what happened to happen at all.  Sometimes life surprises us that way.  Stuff happens and we have no control over it.  We only have control over how we respond.  It can be as simple as a clerk's response while coming upon 2 shoppers who accidentally scattered blueberries across the floor, or it can be as complex as our response in a messed up relationship.  And let's not ignore how unkind both sides of the aisle act regarding politics in government, cities, neighborhoods, and families.

Treat each other with kindness and grace.  We are to be more like Christ in how we live, and He treated everyone with a heart of love.  A Father's love for His children expressed with  the blood of His only Son.  Kindness and grace comes from a loving heart.  A forgiving heart.  Life is too short, dear ones.  Forgive, embrace with love and be rich in kindness.

The Heavens Weep

I woke up today thinking about the mass shooting at a Wal-mart in El Paso TX yesterday where families were school shopping.  Another domestic terrorist went into a busy area filled with innocent men, women, and children, and began taking their lives with a powerful weapon.  The reason is still being investigated, but it is being called a hate crime.  Soon after waking, I read online that yet another mass shooting occurred in Dayton Ohio overnight.  And last Sunday it was a festival in Gilroy CA.  And before that?  And that?  According to what I read, there have been 22 mass shootings in 2019 so far.  It is overwhelming.

I am so weary of reading about the mass shootings. I am so weary of hearing the arguments, political or personal that do nothing to solve the problem we have in our country with violence and hate.  When God''s creations, His own children, are murdered in the name of hate, racism, anger, and more, the Heavens weep.  Jesus was clear on how we are to treat others.  His message has not changed since it was written in the most important book ever.  The Bible tells us clearly to love one another, forgive one another, care for one another.  Jesus told us the most important commandment of all was to LOVE one another.  And it begins at home.  It begins in our hearts.  It begins with what comes out of our mouth.  There is serious power in our words.

Our family is multi-racial.  We were blessed to adopt children who brought with them a variety of backgrounds.  Chinese, Filipino, Hispanic, African American, Northern Cheyenne.  Our grandchildren are a beautiful blend of these ethnicities along with Korean, Norwegian, Danish, French, Irish, English, and more.  We are so proud of our "rainbow family" as Joel's Aunt Ruth used to call us.  And members of our family have been told "go back to where you came from" in one way or another, have been called derogatory names, been bullied, and mistreated by children and adults alike.  It saddens me greatly.  And the power of those words spoken hurts our family.  And it should hurt you, too.  And the violence and death of so many in our country?  It hurts you too.  What is said and done to others affects us all.

It sickens me when I read and listen to Christians speak hate, prejudice, and bias over others who do not look like them, live like them, believe like them, agree with them.  I don't see that there is just one answer to America's problems with violence and hate.  I certainly don't hold the answers, but I do believe that if each of us not only believe in Jesus but follow Him and truly become more "Christ-like" as the Bible says,  we will be led to live out God's commandment to love one another.

We are called the greatest country in the world for many reasons, one of which is our diversity.  I don't want "the greatest country in the world" to become the worst place to live due to the violence and hate that is spewed out over the country, the cities, our communities, us.  On days like this I turn to Jesus, and I can only ask for mercy on our country, on the loved ones of those who died.  On all of us. 

Today let's bend our knees in prayer.  God be with us all.

Just Keep Loving Others

With Mother's Day just behind us, I found myself remembering a gathering we went to in Minneapolis MN in February of 2018 to hear Judith Franklin speak. She was the personal assistant to Pastor Bill Johnson from Bethel Church in CA and was speaking about God's love, and she was also sharing her gifts of visual encounters and prophetic words with the audience.  Joel had read one of her books and I, another, so we both were interested in hearing what she had to share.

Towards the end of the session, while she was speaking, she suddenly pointed her finger, looking at me, and began to speak.  I actually looked behind me to see who she was talking to, and she let me know it was me she wanted to address.

She said, "I have been looking at you and speaking to you the whole night.  You have a tender heart for others.  You do hold back with it some.  You have a lot of wisdom to teach people.  I could learn so much from you.  If I ever needed a hug I would come to you.  I wish you could be my mother.  I'm your age, but I wish you were my mother.  So much love.  Just keep loving others."

While she was speaking, I found myself arguing with her in my head! I kept thinking, she does not really know me.........And certainly she was wrong about wanting me to be her mother.  I said nothing out loud, but later shared my thoughts with Joel.  He reminded me that God was speaking through Judy and I needed to receive the words spoken over me, embrace them, and step into what God was seeing in me.

It took me time to to absorb these prophetic words that came from an author I looked up to, and I expect I am still in the process of embracing them.  What I have come to realize, though, is that God sees us through eyes of love.  He sees His children and what we can be, desire to be, even what we are..  He loves us and delights in us.  He finds us amazing, and He dotes on us, His children, and sometimes we forget that.

So, how do we see our children?  One of our daughters says that we are our kids biggest cheerleaders.  Still, we can get caught up in the parenting and the challenges that come from raising kids to wholeness, and end up seeing only the negative.  But God........   God truly wants us to see the good.  We don't deny the rest of it all, but God truly wants us to speak over our kids, our grands, our families that which is good and love on them.  He wants us to see the good even while there may be some "ugly" going on.

Too often we are hard on ourselves, so maybe we also need to look in the mirror, reflecting back what God sees.  Maybe we need to see that we are enough, we are good.  Maybe we need to embrace what God says about us through His Word and through the words of others. 

What stands out for me right now in Judy Franklin's words is one short sentence.  "Just keep loving others".  Lately when watching the news, when listening to our elected officials speak hate and division, when social media promotes the negative, this message needs to be spoken.  Just keep loving others.    Maybe when famil,y is saying and doing things we don't agree with, .or we are ourselves behaving badly....... we need to hear it, we need to do it.........Just keep loving others.  

Just Keep Loving Others

Love Brings Us Full Circle

Tomorrow is Valentine's Day, and Joel and I have celebrated this holiday together for 52 years.  Mostly we just exchange cards, giving thanks for each other, and marveling at how time flies.  It is also Ash Wednesday and in our world this is a solomn season, the beginning of Lent.  Ashes to ashes, dust to dust.  For over 35 years Joel uttered those words as he made the sign of a cross on foreheads.  Ashes to ashes, dust to dust.

So this Ash Wednesday we will express joy in our love while remembering with quiet reflection our Savior's suffering and death, and our own mortality.  It seems appropriate, really, this combination of joy and sadness.  You can find both in what Jesus did for us all.  Sadness in the crucifixion, and joy in His resurrection and our salvation.

Spending the last 3 days on the losing side of a battle with a virus I choose not to label,  has had me bonding with our sofa.  This means Ash Wednesday will probably be spent at home.  One of the perks of being married to a pastor is we can have communion anytime we want to, and we do.  In the days I was the girl in the bubble, Joel would have a service with me at home...ashes to ashes on my forehead, communion celebrated.  In remembrance.  It holds special meaning for me.  It is part of our culture. 

In the midst of all this, the Olympics are on TV and we have been enjoying the events. I loved seeing Chloe Kim win her gold and observing the excitement her family felt.  Moving to the US in the 80's and sacrificing so much for their daughter so she could seek out her passion!  A Father's love for his child.  A Father's love for His children nailed Jesus to a tree.   Which brings us back to Lent, Ash Wednesday, and Valentine's Day.  Full circle. 

Broken and Beautiful

I have been reading Katie Davis Majors book, "Daring To Hope:  Finding God's Goodness in the Broken and the Beautiful".  Katie is well known for her first book "Kisses For Katie" and for her non-profit in Uganda ~ Amazina Ministries~ that cares for the vulnerable in that country.  And she happens to be a mom to 14 before she turned the age of thirty.  Thirteen girls adopted in the first 10 years she lived in Uganda, and one son born to her and her husband. 

The words, "Broken and Beautiful" brought up visions of some of the people we saw while traveling.  While on our long trip to California and back, we saw some of the broken in the homeless that were on the road or in the cities.  Often it appeared that mental illness played a part of their journey, if not drug addiction or worse.  It was heartbreaking and to be truthful sometimes uncomfortable to be in their presence.

Two people stand out to me.......one man I expect was in his early 30's and traveling with a dog and a cat.  His clothes were absolutely filthy and torn, and he sat outside of a convenience store/gas station in Park City Utah sharing food and water with his four legged companions.   Park City is a very wealthy area of Utah, so the contrast was vivid.  The second was a woman who was standing over some kind of vent on a street in Redding.  We drove right past her, trying not to notice that she was urinating through her clothes, into the vent in broad daylight.  It was very disturbing.

Broken people.  So many broken people.  My thoughts went to our need to see others through God's eyes, and I cannot help but come up short in my reactions concerning these two.  Certainly our cities, our churches, our neighborhoods are filled with those who are broken.  We all are imperfect in some way, but I have not been able to forget the two whom I mentioned above. God's children, too.

Broken and beautiful.  I believe this is how God seems them.  How He sees us all.  And would He react the same way as His people do?  Maybe with repulsion, indifference, scorn, or disgust?  Would he yell, "Get a job" or look down or away from them?  And how would He expect us to respond?

Katie Davis Majors tells the story of a man who was an alcoholic and dug through garbage for his food, was abusive and mean spirited to others.  One day he fell into a fire while in a drunken stupor.  He was taken to the doctor but they did not have the time or resources to help him so they wanted to amputate his leg if no one could care for him.  Katie was called and ended up adding him to her already full days and nights ~ a drunk in need of having his dressings changed on a daily basis.  She slowly nursed him back to health, quietly witnessing to him about Jesus.  Eventually he stayed in the guest cottage on her property and without access to alcohol, he stopped drinking.  He began listening to what Katie was saying and not only did his leg heal but so did his soul.  He gave his heart to Jesus and eventually was able to get a job and his own apartment while helping  out Katie and her family with chores when he could.  He was so grateful.

Katie saw beyond the broken, smelly, mean spirited man and gave him the care and love that her Jesus would.  She saw that he was both broken and beautiful.  I have had to ask myself, "Could I do the same?"  It might sound more glamorous to be saving the leg of a man in Africa vs helping out someone in our own city with the same circumstances.........but what Jesus asks in Uganda is exactly what He asks of us where we live.......to see others through His eyes and treat them with love.

Hard questions.   Harder answers.  We know it is easy to love the lovable, but Jesus asks more of us.  To love the unlovable.  To be open to loving others He brings into our lives.....whether strangers or members of our family.  That love He requires is given in many different ways.  Certainly not all of us called to nurse a man back to health, but no one can deny that Jesus calls us to see the broken as beautiful.  The Gospels resonate with His thoughts and commands on love.

We are invited, as Katie says, to bring Jesus into the midst of our own messes and brokenness, too......and see ourselves and others as He does.....both broken and beautiful.  Are we up to the challenge?  Certainly not without Jesus.  But then, we are not without Jesus, are we?!

Welcomed As "Framily"

Our Savior's Lutheran

Salt Lake City, Utah

Joel and I have walked through the doors of many different churches over the past 50 years.  From the time we attended The Lutheran Bible Institute until present day, we have worshiped in Cathedrals to country chapels~ all houses of God with one purpose. A place to worship Jesus.   Most are friendly, some not so much, and those few that hold a rare quality that people seek.

All the pulpit hopping Joel has been engaging in lately has had me thinking back on one of those churches that stood out as having the rare quality of making you feel you belong when you step in the door .  While Joel was attending the University of Utah in Salt Lake City we found a smaller Lutheran church a good 25 minutes by Interstate from our apartment near the campus.  What drew us in was not the fact that there were few Lutherans in that city....or in the whole state!  What drew us in was how welcoming everyone was.  It was beyond friendly, to warm and inviting.  We remember walking in the door and having people greet us with hugs and even having someone come up, grabbing Bethany out of my arms and exclaiming what a beautiful baby she was!  We were treated like "framily".  Old friends and family combined.  We still have good friends from that church and amazing memories.  We were so young, and taken under the wings of older members, who shared their wisdom, love, and even gently used furniture!  When our son Matt was born, members came and took care of Beth, showing up at midnight so I could go to the hospital.  After we had been there about a year Joel filled in as their preaching pastor for 9 months while they went through the process of calling a new pastor.  The chaplain on the university's campus officiated at communion, weddings, funerals, and Joel did the rest as a lay person.  He received only encouragement from the congregation.  Little do they know how much they paved the way for him in ministry.

This congregation had that rare quality of having a strong core of people who were sincerely warm, friendly, and welcoming.  As soon as you walked in the door you felt surrounded by love and acceptance.  That love.....the love that comes from intentionally being Jesus with skin on and seeing others through the eyes of our Savior... Oh people our churches need to be Jesus with skin on. Welcoming with open arms those in need.  And are we not all in need in some way?

Isn't that what we are looking for in life ~ love and acceptance?  It is not always easy.  I see this quality to love and embrace people where they are at with friends we admire. There are those who do it well, and we can emulate them.   It is pretty clear that this is what Jesus commands us to do.  Love one another............love your neighbor as yourself.  Hospitality, love, acceptance.  These are not suggestions.   Love those around you.  And don't forget about loving yourself.  Loving others is made more possible when we can love on ourselves.

We owe so much to Marge, Dick, Skip, LeRoy, Lee. and many others who embraced us so long ago as we walked in as strangers and were welcomed into their church, their homes, their lives as framily.

In The Midst Of The Chaos There Is Hope Rising In Jesus

Once again terrorists have attacked and the dead are counted and the numbers of injured are rising. Hearts are breaking, families are searching and grieving, and the atmosphere is electric with fear.

It is difficult to keep peace in front of us as images are played over and over across the TV screen. White sheets soaked in blood, parents holding tight to wailing children, medical personal bent over victims, authorities and police running to and fro.  To be in the midst of it must be numbing.

Yet in the midst of it all a sign appears.....the name of Jesus is firmly planted surrounded by flowers and candles and........hope.

And it is Holy Week.  Jesus rode into the city on a donkey and ended up hanging from a cross just a few days later.  He suffered and died for us all.  I have a bad taste in my mouth when I think He suffered and died for those who do the devil's dirty work of hatred and destruction.  It is hard for me to resolve the feelings I have for the cowards who hide behind the normal and kill the innocent.  They need Jesus, too. Still, the loving your enemies part is hard to digest in the aftermath.  Necessary, but difficult.

The world is weary and its people are broken.  Broken by lack, or by nature's wrath ,and by those who fight for their own agenda whether in the world of terrorism, the world of politics, or our own backyards.  Is there any good answer to the many questions that form every time we hear "breaking news"?

There is good to be found in Good Friday as it looms ahead, a solemn day for us as Christians.  A time to remember what Christ did for us.  Oh how He loved us.  He suffered greatly to fulfill God's plan for us, His children. Some choose to embrace Jesus as Savior, others do not.   With a grateful heart we followers say, Jesus we love you......oh how we love you.  This is where our focus needs to return as we try to digest a world around us that continues to show less than loving behavior.  The love that God calls us to.  Only with Jesus before us, beside us, behind us, and around us can we stand firm in hope when the world shakes so violently.  Jesus,we love You.....You are the One are hearts adore.

Memories of Operation Babylift

I came across a very special letter the other day.  It was written by a commander at Clark Air Base in The Philippine Islands, and addressed to Mrs. Joel Dahlen.  Seeing that letter brought a tidal wave of memories and emotions.  It took me back to that chaotic time when Saigon fell, and plane loads of orphaned children were taken from there by the military and brought to Clark.  I was one of countless volunteers who helped care for the children as they arrived.  From Clark Air Base they went on to their new homes across the world. 

We lived off base in Angeles City, under Marshall Law, so as I recall, we were not allowed out after 10pm without an armed guard due to being at risk or even arrested.   I was told that I was needed for the first night, so the base sent buses and jeepneys around to pick us all up.  We were taken to the base airport with many others to wait for the first plane to arrive.  Unfortunately, our wait was in vain, as that first plane leaving Saigon loaded with children and adults, crashed into a rice paddy after a rear explosion, killing 138 of those who were aboard. 

When American businessman Robert Macauley learned that it would take more than a week to evacuate the surviving orphans due to the lack of military transport planes, he chartered a Boeing 747 and arranged for 300 orphaned children to leave the country, paying for the trip by mortgaging his house.  You can read about it on Wikipedia. 

When we heard the news about the crash, we were stunned and saddened.  After a brief period of time, we were all taken back to our homes until the next plane arrived.  At 4am we were again taken to the base where we were given instructions to line up, walk into the plane and pick up the first child we saw.  I was hoping for a baby, but God had better plans.  The first child I saw was a boy around the age of six, so I picked him up and carried him off the plane and onto the bus that was waiting.  For the next 24 hours this little guy was under my care.  We were taken to a huge quanset building, covered with hundreds of mattresses on the floor. I  found an empty mattress and set him down.  After the mattresses filled up, people came around and told us to take the children to the showers to be washed and de-liced.  I think a shower was a novelty to the kids as he and the others were smiling and even laughing at the warm water coming out of the wall.  I found the little guy clean clothes that I thought would fit and we went back to the mattress to wait.

 Soon we were back on a bus going to the cafeteria to eat, where I observed the kids as they saw all the food available to them. They were almost overwhelmed by it all.   My little guy took an orange and ate even the peelings.  He also held food tucked back into his mouth, which I knew he was saving in case another meal was not available to him.  Poor guy, you knew he had gone hungry a lot.  He was not the only one to keep food in his cheeks.  They looked like little chipmonks.  After eating their fill, we headed back to the mattresses.  He slept awhile but later woke up and began drawing pictures, as he tried to communicate with me.  He drew pictures of planes bombing his village and then of Vietnamese looking men shooting his family.  He evidently had seen his parents killed.

During this time the military personal walked around checking up on everyone.  The Vietnamese women who were married to American soldiers also were present, going from mattress to mattress to talk to the children and reassure them they were safe and going to see their new parents soon. Their endless efforts were amazing.   One officer saw the pictures that my little guy drew, and he took them from me.  I expect it was related to security.  I spent most of the time just comforting this 6 year old who was obviously frightened by all that he was experiencing. 

After Operation Babylift ended, I wondered how he was doing, but did not expect to find out.  And then we received the "Stars and Stripes" military newspaper and there he was on the front page being led off the tarmac in Washington State.  He was holding the hand of an officer and carrying an American flag.  What a blessing for me to see him.   Thank you Jesus!  I don't have the newspaper clipping any longer, but I do have the memory to cherish.

I will never forget this experience.  Being part of Operation Babylift during the fall of Saigon was a great privilege.  Joel and I were both able to play a part.  Joel was a meterologist who briefed pilots flying to and from Viet Nam and I was able to hug and comfort a scared little boy.   It had a powerful affect on my life and I am so grateful and yes, proud, that I was able to be a part of it.  The letter of appreciation was "lost and forgotten" and then it showed up again, and with it a flood of memories and thankfulness. 

Whenever we look back on our lives, I am always grateful and in awe to see God at work bringing his plan for us to fruition.  I pray that young boy was raised in a good home and has become a man of purpose who has God in his life.  I know that would have been part of God's plan. 

It's Just What He Does

We have been sorting through a big box of cards that have accumulated over the years .  Cards from family and from each other, received on birthdays, anniversaries, holidays, or other special occasions.  It's not really the card that holds value, but it is the handwritten words written on those cards that brings a smile to our faces.   It blesses us to hold the ones we love close to our heart....even in a note on a card.

Joel never leaves the house that he does not kiss me good-bye.  And 99% of the time as he drives off in the van, I am standing at the door waving and lifting my hand to form the "I love you" sign for the deaf.   It's just what we do.

When we talk to our kids and grandkids on the phone, we always end our conversations with "Love you..."  It's just what we do.

Over the years, I have talked with people who, as children,  never heard their parents say they were loved. For some, they knew they were loved, but never heard those words spoken.  And across the board, even with those who knew they were loved, 99% were affected by the lack of words.

Words hold power and I am not so sure there are any words that are more important than "I love you."  The Bible tells us "God so loved the world....", "God is perfect love.....", "nothing will separate us from the love of God..", "He loves us with an everlasting love."  Our Lord tells us we are loved throughout the written Word.  It's just what He does.

Have you told God how much you love Him?  After a conversation do you "hang up the phone" with a "love you."?  Recently I heard about a man who had an encounter with God and He realized during this experience that God absolutely adored Him.  He showered him with so much love it was hard to take it all in.  The man, who had been an atheist, now spends his days praying over people for healing as he goes about his daily job.  The love that he encountered changed His heart for God. God is always looking to change the hearts of people and bring them into the family of God.  It's just what He does.

This love thing, it really is key to living a whole and healthy life.  Let us never take it for granted.  Let us always share love and open our arms to receive love, from others and most importantly from God.

 Better sign off now.......Love you!

Be The Light!

Evan's Confirmation



“You’re here to be light, bringing out the God-colors in the world.

God is not a secret to be kept. We’re going public with this, as public as a city on a hill.

If I make you light-bearers, you don’t think I’m going to hide you under a bucket, do you?

I’m putting you on a light stand.

Now that I’ve put you there on a hilltop, on a light stand—shine!

Keep open house; be generous with your lives.

By opening up to others, you’ll prompt people to open up with God,

this generous Father in heaven.”
- Matthew 5:14-16 MSG

{taken from (InCourage) post today}
 

This morning I left a message on Facebook for our oldest grandchild, who turns 16 today.  He celebrated his 3rd birthday on 9-11, one of the most traumatic and now historic times in our country.  We are saddened to think about the horrors of that morning.  No matter where we call home, on some level we were all affected.  It was one of "those days" that changed our world and like a thief stole the innocence of Americans everywhere. 

Thirteen years have passed and some sense of balance is returning.  And we continue to have a choice....to fear the darkness of the evil that rose up and continues to attempt to steal our peace or keep our eyes on the Light that fills the darkness. 

Today I would like to say to our grandson, Evan, who shares his birthday with this tragedy~~

Keep your eyes on the Light. 

 

You are a kind hearted and gentle giant, don't ever let the world change that. In this broken world, tragedy happens and we will have times of tribulation, but that is not where we keep our focus or put our trust.  That is not all there is.

Jesus has overcome the world.  He is our answer to the good, bad, and the ugly.  Jesus.  He is our Light.  He is the Light of this broken world.

And He asks us to be His Light-bearers.  

Continue to be the light Evan.  Be the light that loves, laughs, forgives, empowers, testifies, and changes.  Be the hope for a better world.  Be the one who believes not only in the Light who came for you, but believes that the world can be a better place.  Be the light that makes the world a better place.  Be the light.

Evan and his sister Abbi

Evan and his sister Abbi

 

 

 BE THE LIGHT!

No One A Stranger, Everyone WIth A Story

Wednesday afternoon my cowboy preacher hubby got on his recumbent and rode downtown to observe RAGBRAI as it unfolded in our city here in north Iowa.  RAGBRAI takes place every July for a week as bicyclists from every state come ride together across Iowa, taking different routes each year with different host towns welcoming riders along with way.  It is a serious adventure with real risks as they ride up to 100 miles a day. This year already, two men have died from heart attacks.  There were around 10,000 riders this year, along with others who bring campers, trucks, etc. to follow them on the journey.  Our city was expecting 30,000 to come in...doubling our size.  Joel had made plans to ride the "hump" day, going a "mere" 40 miles, but life intervened and he needed to be elsewhere.  So later Wednesday afternoon  he headed out biking around town to visit with those who were setting up tents or eating at the different churches where they served hot meals for a small cost to those who were hungry. 

Bikes downtown

 

Bikes at the park

 

No one is a stranger with my cowboy preacher.   He struck up conversations with riders from New York, Colorado, and much to his delight a man from The Philippines who now lives in southern Iowa.  He bought meals for a couple of the guys and chatted with them about their passion for biking, even shipping their bikes and flying themselves to Iowa for RAGBRAI.  He heard about their jobs as graphic and industrial engineers and learned a bit about their daily lives.  Another man had an Air Force insignia on his shirt so Joel stopped to chat and found out he was with the Air Force Cycling Team!  Since Joel spent 8 years in the Air Force, a great conversation followed.  Danny, the man from the Philippines was eager to visit about his country.  He shared with Joel that Clark Air Base, where Joel had been stationed so long ago, is now going to be made into the Manila Airport since Manila has grown to over 30 million and cannot enlarge the airport there.  They talked about the Marshall Law under Marcos, our two years in his native country, and more. 

No one is a stranger and everyone has a story to tell.

Which takes me back two days to when my hubby answered to door to a young man selling "books".  Joel stood outside and chatted for awhile.  I was sitting in the living room when I heard them come in the house.  The young man from Estonia needed to use the bathroom so Joel brought him in to use the one right inside our front door.  Ok.  To be honest here, I was not happy.  He was a stranger for heaven's sake.  Was he really selling books?  Was he clean?  Using our bathroom? 

Remember what I said about no one being a stranger to my cowboy preacher? 

It got me thinking.  Past negative experiences had me set up boundaries around our home years ago, and welcoming the book seller with the Russian sounding accent into our home took me back nearly 40 years ago to when Joel brought home a man from a downtown mission for Easter dinner.  The man ended up harassing me with abusive phone calls that had us concerned for the safety of our family.  This was not the only time our family would be in some kind of danger, but we agreed to set firm boundaries back then.  We would help all the people God sends our way, but our home was off limits.  The family needed to be safe.

Joel is not clueless to the dangers in our world.  He just believes God will make him aware of who he can trust and who he can't.  Experience has educated us.   We both enjoy visiting with those we meet.  It is not difficult for either of us to strike up a conversation.  We like to talk.  Too much, in fact.  No stranger....works for Joel and for me....except if it comes home or the radar I have tells me someone is not safe.

But back to RAGBRAI and Joel's visit.  He took plenty of photos, a few of which I am sharing here, and he enjoyed greatly the atmosphere of it all.  As we drove through town together later in the evening we were amazed by all the people...everywhere.  Tent after tent...bike after bike.  Biker after biker.

Tents at a church near our home

 

Tents along the river in the park

Nice place to camp!

 It was fun to see.  We did not stay around for the Bret Michaels concert, but heard there were thousands and thousands in the streets and around city hall who were entertained until the wee hours.  I think Joel was itching to go back into the fray the next morning, but commitments took him elsewhere.  Still he enjoyed his few hours of fun yesterday.  So many people, each with a story to tell....none of them a stranger to my cowboy preacher. 

Advent Week 4: Love Came Down

Going along with Ann Voskamp's beautiful videos for Advent over at A Holy Experience, I am focusing on the fourth week of Advent and LOVE.   Hope, Peace, Joy, and now Love.  As Ann says, "love came down here".  Love in the form of a baby boy who was created to save the world.  Created by God who loves us so much He sent His only son to die on a cross.  Jesus carried and suffered for our sins, diseases, brokenness.  Love came down.

Can we comprehend this gift from our Creator?  Can we absorb how deep, how wide, how long and how high this LOVE  of Christ?

And what does God ask of us concerning this love He speaks of?

This is my commandment, to LOVE one another as I have loved you...............LOVE your neighbors as yourselves...........the greatest of these is LOVE..............LOVE your enemies.........LOVE is patient and kind.....Love is I Corinthians 13.......

Christmas is here.  Families and friends brought together by a time of celebrating baby Jesus birth.   Most will share their festive gatherings and times of worship with others.  Some will go it alone out of necessity, maybe a few out of choice.  It is easy to get focused on the presents, food, football, and electronics.  It is easy to focus on the differences we bring into a gathering.  It is easy to focus on loneliness.   Yet, for all of us LOVE came down.  This is our focus.  The baby.  The babe in the manger.

Jesus came to bring the love of His Heavenly Father to a hurting world.  We, too, are to bring love to a hurting world.  Those close to us, those who live in our community and across the ocean. 

Love came down in the form of a baby and the Bible tells us that same love now lives in us.  And that same love is to come through us in all we say and do.  LOVE came down to change the world, to change you, to change me.

Christmas is here and we worship a precious baby born in a lowly manger. 

LOVE came down.

Just Stop For The One

"I tell you the truth,

when you did it to one of the least

of these my brothers and sisters,

you were doing it for me!"

Matthew 25:40

I have felt so broken lately for those who are broken.  My heart aches for the children discarded in Uganda, the babies dropped off like unwanted garments in The Philippines and Mozambique,  and the young daughters who are trafficked in Haiti and Thailand.  I feel such sadness for the hidden poor and discarded in this country.  The young, the elderly, the fractured in mind and soul.  The needs seem endless and overwhelming.  How do we make a difference?

Today Ann Voskamp, over at A Holy Experience, is writing once again about their family's experiences in Haiti where they have gone to offer what help they can.  Through her eyes we are viewing a world that we do not see outside our windows. Today she talked about how, out of radical grace and love, out of knowing how blessed we are, we in turn help others.  They are trying to make a difference. They are making a difference.

Today I also read a post by Linny over at A Place Called Simplicity that brings to mind the suffering of children and the need so many little ones have for radical love.  If you want to get a good dose of radical and laid down love, visit her cyber home and meet her family and hear about their non profit for the orphans.  Your hearts will break for the things that break God's.

Recently I watched Heidi Baker speak about her and her husband's 30 plus years of missionary work in Mozambique and other countries.  Their ministry cares for over 10.000 children, besides the needs of adults too.  They have started thousands of churches and now have a staff of hundreds.  They refuse no child.  The broken, beaten, starving, suffering and angry are welcome. They open their arms, and make a difference. God told Heidi to "stop for the one".....every single one and she is.

There was a time we did see poverty, sex trafficking, hunger, and emptiness outside our windows on nearly a daily basis.  In 1974-76' we lived in Angeles City, The Philippines.  Joel was a meteorologist in the Air Force stationed at Clark Air Force Base.  The Vietnam Nam war was at its peak, and our family of then four flew 18 hours across land and sea to live in a "third world country".  The two years we spent on the island of Luzon changed our lives forever.  We met and became friend with many Filipino people.  We also became aware of the heartbreaking needs of others on a up close and personal basis..  We watched young children dig through our garbage and eat what scraps we threw away.  We saw other children discarded like garbage or parents willing to sell their children to give them a better life.  We saw young women selling their bodies to soldiers so they could live.  We did what we could to help.  We built three houses for three families.  We fed the those we knew with hundred pound bags of rice, and we supplied others with daily needs at times.  I am not patting our backs for a job well done.  We helped, but we could have done more.  We can always do more.

We do not have to go to far aways lands to find the hungry.  When I was going to school to be an Interpreter for the Deaf, I volunteered at a high rise nursing home in Minneapolis, MN. to visit with a woman who was both blind and deaf. On Christmas Day our family of 7 and my mom went down to attend church and visit other family members.  We stopped at this nursing home first and came away in tears because of the attention our family drew.  People were so happy to have visitors on Christmas Day...so few did.  So few were getting their souls fed.

Reading these stories and remembering our own experiences today has made me realize how complacent I have become....how self absorbed.......how stuffed.......no overstuffed with food, things, and comfort.  Over the years I have breathed in and out with my deep desire to help others through missions here or abroad, but today my heart has opened wide again to the suffering of others.

The needs of the broken are so many.  Some visible, like in Haiti or Uganda.......some hidden behind the smiles of our neighbors, in nursing homes,  or those who sit next to us in church.  It can be overwhelming, if we think we must embrace the whole world.  But what if we concentrate on just the one we see.  What if we let God break our hearts with what breaks His??!  All of us can do something!  What if with grateful hearts, we listen to God's voice and just stop for the one.  Whether in Target, our church, or the streets of Haiti.  Just stop and help the one he brings to you.  One at a time....stop for the one.