28May2014 Joy Filled Noise

Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth!

   Serve the Lord with gladness!

 Come into His presence with singing!

Know that the Lord, He is God!
    It is He who made us, and we are His;
    we are His people, and the sheep of His pasture.

 Enter His gates with thanksgiving,
    and His courts with praise!
    Give thanks to Him; bless His Name!

For the Lord is good;

    His steadfast love endures forever,
    and His faithfulness to all generations.

 

M. had her piano recital this week.  What a beautiful thing to see her making a joyful noise to the Lord!

"Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth;
    break forth into joyous song and sing praises! 

Sing praises to the Lord with the lyre,
    with the lyre and the sound of melody!

With trumpets and the sound of the horn
    make a joyful noise before the King, the Lord!

Let the sea roar, and all that fills it;
    the world and those who dwell in it!

Let the rivers clap their hands;
    let the hills sing for joy together

before the Lord, for He comes
    to judge the earth.
He will judge the world with righteousness,
    and the peoples with equity,"

23May2014 3-Year Search

Usually it's a familiar household item or maybe a TV or possibly a cellphone or access to the internet to contact family back home.  As resource manager for a refugee resettlement organization I've pretty much heard it all.  From the mundane (a larger pan or a pair of tennis shoes) to the pretty outlandish (a car), when new arrivals come to America they will often ask me for things.  It's such a honor to be able to give them these things, as available and within reason.  It truly is more of a blessing to give than to receive.

But my new friend was different. I had the privilege of picking him up at the airport and giving him a lift to his new apartment.  I was a little aggravated by the fact that it was one in the morning and after a rough day of setting up homes for two new families there I was making the trek to and from the airport in midnight darkness  My little pity party came to an abrupt end (and rightly so) when I spotted Ayub, walking through Terminal C, IOM bag in hand, looking from face to face probably wondering which person was there to greet him.  He shared a smile with each individual.  No one smiled back...except yours truly.  I called his name and welcomed him. After breezing through baggage claim (so easy when a refugee arrives with basically nothing) we headed out into the humidity, drove out of the parking deck and headed towards town.

Back to his request.  Ayub considered my question for a minute and said, "I'd like a Bible in my language."  Okay this was a new one so I probed a little bit.  "I've been looking for a Kurdish Bible for three years but have been unable to find one.  I did meet a man in prison* that had one but he only had one so he couldn't give me his."  I couldn't believe it.  A Bible!  Like me you probably have five of them gathering dust on the shelves of your home.  This man had been searching for one for 3 years! "I will find you one!" I blurted.  "I will not forget." I dropped Ayub off at home, declined a cup of tea, bottle of water and fruit and drove home.  It was nearly 3:00am and I was exhausted but guess who was on the internet shopping for Kurdish Bibles that morning

Yesterday, with great joy I put a copy of God's Word in Ayub's hands.  I pray that Father will bless my brother with a lifetime of encouragement, equipping and peace from it.  Please join me in praying for Ayub and the millions of others around the globe who hunger to see and hear Scripture in their heart language.  And may we never take for granted the freedom we are blessed with to have It in ours. 

*Ayub was detained for 10 days prior to coming to the US because he couldn't afford to pay for his exit visa.  He went directly from prison to the airport.

19May2014 Book Recommendation: Kisses ffrom Katie

While we're talking about books, here's another good one.  Not quite as heavy as Insanity but good stuff nonetheless. 

"God has a way of using inadequate people, and sometimes He calls us to reach a little higher or to stretch a little further, even when we feel we can’t do any more. We simply trust Him . And then, He gives us everything we need to do the “more” that He is asking of us."

19May2014 Book Recommendation: Insanity of God

Love this book so much!  Gut-wrenching!  Thought provoking!  World view changing!

"Our hope is that believers around the world will get close enough to the heart of God that the first images that come to mind when we hear the word “Muslim” are not Somali pirates or suicide bombers or violent jihadists or even terrorists . When we hear the word “Muslim,” we need to see and think of each and every individual Muslim as a lost person who is loved by God. We need to see each Muslim as a person in need of God’s grace and forgiveness. We need to see each Muslim as someone for whom Christ died."

 Amen!

17May2014 The Graduate

The guy graduated preschool yesterday.  He's pretty proud of himself and so are we.

14May2014 Long Road

He was standing in the turning lane of a four-lane road.  Straddling his bike.  Staring at his smart phone.   Oblivious to passing traffic, including me, as I drove up.  I cringed a little.  My friend had come a long way from Horn of Africa just to get clobbered by traffic in our little town.  

I parked parallel, driver's side window even with his handle bars and said "Selam!" ("Hello," and the only word I could think of in Tigrinya at the time) startling him.  A big grin spread across Tefay's face.

"Hello, my brother.  So good to see you."  I wanted to smack him in the forehead but refrained, grabbing his arm and pulling him closer to me and farther from an oncoming sedan instead.  "What are you doing out here?  Is something wrong?"  It was tough to scold him.  His demeanor completed disarmed.

"I have found a new apartment and I want to talk to the owner.  The map is here." He showed my his phone.  "Can you help me?  This map says it''s 48 minutes by bicycle."  Several appointments beckoned by I couldn't leave him.  "Sure, I will take you.  Throw you bike in the back of my truck and get in."  Gratitude washed over his face.

I looked at the the office address and looked at his map again.  It didn't compute.  I knew this place.  We were 500 yards away as the crow flies.  48 seconds by car, maybe the same by bike...if he peddled quickly.  Less than a minute later we pulled into the office parking lot.  He looked at his phone again and scratched his head.  I laughed...heartily and patted Tesfay on his shoulders.  "Thank God for you!"  He said pointing to the sky as he began to laugh as well.   He jumped out of the truck, unloaded his bike and yelled "Ciao!  Thank you brother!"over his shoulder.  

I've been thinking about this experience tonight.  What would have happened if I hadn't come along?  Tesfay would have peddled his bike for 48 minutes, in nearly 90 degree temperatures, to the wrong address and then peddled back another 48 minutes home without accomplishing his task.
The same exact thing can happen to us.  GPS withstanding, it's very possible for us to follow poor advice or poor directions, continue along an arduous path, waste a lot of time and energy and not get where we need to be.
Jesus told us He is the WAY, the Truth and the Life.  No man gets to the Father but through Him.  Following other ways, other truths or other lives will most certainly lead us somewhere but it will inevitably lead us to the wrong place.  So get peddling brother, or sister.  BUT first make sure you've got good directions!

7May2014 Had my Hat Handed to Me

 

I had my hat handed to me today.  Not familiar with that phrase?  It's sort of like saying, "They sent me packing." 

In this instance, the owner of the Marlboro above and I were having a discussion about the differences and similarities of our faiths. To my shame he knew way more about his and nearly as much about mine as I did AND he articulated his case much more accurately. Talk about a humbling experience!  I'm praying for wisdom and  looking forward to more talks.