25December2016 Merry Christmas...to all people

Nativity by L.

"And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people."  

Much love, Merry Christmas and Happy New Years y'all!

23December2016 If we're honest...

If we're honest it's not always easy.  In fact, sometimes going on visits is hard work.  There's the initial awkwardness thing and then there's the whole language barrier thing.  It doesn't take long, however, for all that to change however.  Take today's visit for example. 

We met Moses last month.  He and his family had missed their bus and were making the three-mile trek afoot.   We passed them walking down Main Street and stopped to give them a lift.  We exchanged phone numbers and although Moses and I had spoken several times on the phone, today was our first opportunity to see them face-to-face.  Who has time in this busy, American, holiday....busy existence for visits?  The good-intentions are always there but then life happens and it's tomorrow and another days goes by.  But not today! 

As soon as we entered their home, we were showered with the hospitality and instant friendship given by new Middle Eastern neighbors.  Kissed and hugged by all five children, offered water and tea and coffee and cookies.  And then came the stories.  The sadness of life in Syria.  The loss and tears and death they faced daily.  Escape to a neighboring country.  Giving up wedding jewelry to pay rent and buy bread.  Leaving family and friends, with little to no knowledge of their current condition.  Coming to this place with no language, no job, no community and relying on the service and care of complete strangers.  All of this shared with smiles and laughter.  Oh the sweet laughter.  Mrs. Moses has the most beautiful laugh.  How is this possible?  How can a woman who has seen and experienced the worst of humanity still have the ability to smile or laugh?  

"I love America.  I love the people here and our children's schools and their future.  I love America but my heart breaks for Syria, for my mom and dad, for my sick brother.  My heart is broken for them."  D shared with her that God has a purpose for her life, for the life of her family and that He has brought them her for a reason. Why else would they be here?  

As we climbed into the car, all of us were smiling.  How could we not?  Sweet time with dear people, loving them in His Name, is it's own reward,  If we're honest that's why we go visiting.  Even when it's hard.  

18December2016 Quickshot: Happy D-day

Join us in celebrating this remarkable lady today.  It's her birthday!  Happy #D day yall!

28November2016 Quickshot: Masha Allah

How interesting that we moved 5000 miles from the Middle East and our next door neighbor has this hanging on their door.   It says Masha Allah, in Arabic, which means God has willed (allowed) something to happen.  It's a phrase denoting both joy and gratitude for what He has done.  How appropriate.  We believe there is a reason why God places us in the paths and lives of people.  The same Divine Providence that brought us to our current home brought our neighbors to theirs.  MashaAllah!  We are looking for ways to love them in His good Name.  Please pray for that.

27November2016 Advent

What is advent?  We never really participated in this tradition growing up but have found it is a very encouraging way to focus, take a deep breath and stay connected to the Father throughout the Christmas holiday.
As we kickoff the Advent season, we wanted to make you aware of a couple great resources.  P is following the He Reads Truth series while D is participating in the She Reads Truth.  You can visit them online or download the apps to your phone or tablet.

24November2016 Quickpost: Thankful Game

“It is only with gratitude that life becomes rich!”  –Dietrich Bonhoeffer

We are so happy to be in the States for Thanksgiving this year.  Imagine a holiday just for being grateful! 

As we were driving over the river and through the woods to Grandmothers' house today, we played a pretty elementary game.  Each person was given a letter, we went in alphabetical order, and was supposed to say something starting with that letter they were thankful for.  For example, L had the letter A and said, 'I am thankful for animals."  Now some of the things listed may have been silly....after all arent we all thankful for X-rays?...but it was amazing how easy it was to come up with something, someone we were/are grateful for.  There is just so much. We are just so blessed.  Why does it take a holiday to remind us of that? 

15November2016 Quickshot: No excuses

"For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them.  For His invisible attributes, namely, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse."  Romans 1:19-20

10November2016 a Day of Fasting & Prayer

"What can I do?"  We get the question often.  Maybe you're asking it?  The daily bombardment of news about  suffering and hurt in the Middle East can easily make even the most compassionate person apathetic.  Here's one thing YOU can do.  The folks at Cryout are inviting folks just like us to participate in a Global Day of Fasting & Prayer for the Arab World.  Prayer is not a last resort, it is our highest calling and privilege.  Consider being a part of this.

9November2016 Quickthought: After the Tally

 

As we wake up this morning, post-election, I find myself focusing less on who won and more on what my response will be, what example I am setting for our children, how I walk through it with them.   So here's what I told them at the breakfast table.  "You will have friends, classmates and teachers who are very happy about the election results. Some may gloat and be obnoxious about it.  Dont be like that.  Love them and give them grace.  Other friends, classmates and teachers will be sad about what happened, angry even.  Dont be like that either.  Love them and give them grace as well."

One candidate won, one party had more votes,  but there is such a greater picture than this.  Our Father's position was not and is not affected.  He is above politics and polls.  He loves those on both sides of the aisle.  May we live and love like Him.

3November2016 Quickthought: Something good to tell you

Just caught a quick report on the Cubs' World Series victory on the news.  The newscaster displayed an image, posted by the father of a little boy who was asleep, wearing Cubs pajamas, clutching a toy bat.  Apparently he'd fallen asleep during the long, final game, missing his team's historic victory.  The dad's caption was something along the lines of, "I have some good news for you in the morning."   Beautiful!
Think about this:  Our heavenly Father can just as easily say this to us.  We might not be asleep but we are often unaware of the fact that He has some wonderful news for us.  I can't wait to wake up!

31October2016 Maklouba

This headline caught my attention - Religious life turned upside down by Italian earthquake

مقلوبة maqluba (the Arabic for "upside down") and also one of our favorite Middle Eastern dishes.  Maqluba aptly describes what is happening in Italy as another earthquake struck this week.  Our hearts are broken as the lives of many have been turned maquluba.  
The article's focus was of the lives of nuns and monks affected by last week’s earthquake in Italy however one statement struck a cord with me.

"We have started to accept once more that our life is not our own and God has altered our path once again…”  

Isaiah put it like this, “This people honors Me with their lips, but their heart is far from me, in vain do they worship me…” Jesus echoed these words in Mark 7 adding, "You leave the commandment of God and hold the tradition of men.”  It is so easy to lose focus of the why.  Who are we praising?  Who are we adoring?  Who are we hallowing?  We worship the worship, we adore the tradition all the while forgoing our Father. 

Sometimes we need our “religous life” turned maqluba.  We…I…need all the relics, all the icons, all that mess scrubbed away.  And there, when there is nothing else, but Jesus, we worship, even in life’s earthquakes.

Father, too often have I made it about emotion or person preference or public show.  Create in me a clean heart.  Renew a right spirit within me.  I beg you to never cast me from Your presence. or withhold Your Spirit from me.  Amen!

19October2017 Our Brothers & Sisters: Heroes!

As I read these words this morning, I am shaken.  Not because we are shocked by these words.  No, we have met, worshiped with and prayed with amazing folks just like this.  When I asked why they remain in Syria, they used phrases exactly like the ones below.   I am shaken by the shame and humiliation I feel when I exam my willingness to love others and serve God with such unshakable conviction and passion.  Where does this come from?  What do you do with this?  God forgive us!  We are indeed jars of clay!  But our brothers and sisters...they...are...heroes! 

 ----

The Syrian ministry workers in those villages chose to stay in order to provide aid in the name of Christ to survivors.  “I asked them to leave, but I gave them the freedom to choose,” said the ministry director, his voice tremulous as he recalled their horrific deaths. “As their leader, I should have insisted that they leave.”

They stayed because they believed they were called to share Christ with those caught in the crossfire, he said.

“Every time we talked to them,” the director said, “they were always saying, ‘We want to stay here – this is what God has told us to do. This is what we want to do.’ They just wanted to stay and share the gospel.”

“At several steps on their path to death by beheading and crucifixion last month, 11 indigenous Christian workers near Aleppo, Syria had the option to leave the area and live. The 12-year-old son of a ministry team leader also could have spared his life by denying Christ…”
The Christian Aid Mission account of the fate of Aleppo’s indigenous Christian missionaries is harrowing and humbling. While Western politicians debate whether or not to risk World War III by creating a safe haven in northern Syria and imposing a no-fly zone over Aleppo – with the expectation (/certainty) of US/European forces, sooner or later, having to shoot down a Russian bomber or Syrian fighter jet – we’re hearing a lot about Assad’s (lesser) evil, ISIS barbarism and the pervasive demonic contempt for the human spirit. Women are stoned, men burned alive, girls raped and gays hurled from tall buildings. It is an image of hell.
We’re not hearing much about Aleppo’s Christians: the mainstream media don’t care very much what happens to them:

..The Syrian ministry workers in those villages chose to stay in order to provide aid in the name of Christ to survivors.

“I asked them to leave, but I gave them the freedom to choose,” said the ministry director, his voice tremulous as he recalled their horrific deaths. “As their leader, I should have insisted that they leave.”

They stayed because they believed they were called to share Christ with those caught in the crossfire, he said.

“Every time we talked to them,” the director said, “they were always saying, ‘We want to stay here – this is what God has told us to do. This is what we want to do.’ They just wanted to stay and share the gospel.”

While we drink our Fair Trade coffee and pray for the recovery of our gay pride flags, our brothers and sisters in Christ are risking everything to share the gospel with those who are being lost. They suffer hell on earth to keep people out of hell for eternity. What experience of Jesus have they had which we do not? What God-consciousness do they possess which we have not? What inner life fires them to such certainty, peace and the assurance that to die is gain?

On Aug. 28, the militants asked if they had renounced Islam for Christianity. When the Christians said that they had, the rebels asked if they wanted to return to Islam. The Christians said they would never renounce Christ.

The 41-year-old team leader, his young son and two ministry members in their 20s were questioned at one village site where ISIS militants had summoned a crowd. The team leader presided over nine house churches he had helped to establish. His son was two months away from his 13th birthday.

In front of the team leader and relatives in the crowd, the Islamic extremists cut off the fingertips of the boy and severely beat him, telling his father they would stop the torture only if he, the father, returned to Islam. When the team leader refused, relatives said, the ISIS militants also tortured and beat him and the two other ministry workers. The three men and the boy then met their deaths in crucifixion.

“All were badly brutalized and then crucified,” the ministry leader said. “They were left on their crosses for two days. No one was allowed to remove them.”

The martyrs died beside signs the ISIS militants had put up identifying them as “infidels.”

What manner of demon slices off a boy’s fingertips in the pursuit of religious conversion? What father’s agony can bear being forced to renounce his Saviour in order to spare his son? They are not infidels, but saints, sanctified by the Blood of the Lamb, made holy by being in Christ, the sanctifier. Their eschatological mission transcended race, religion, sex and social status: their loyalty to Christ made them love their enemies, seeking the image of God in the ravaged faces of hate.

Eight other ministry team members, including two women, were taken to another site in the village that day (Aug. 28) and were asked the same questions before a crowd. The women, ages 29 and 33, tried to tell the ISIS militants they were only sharing the peace and love of Christ and asked what they had done wrong to deserve the abuse. The Islamic extremists then publicly raped the women, who continued to pray during the ordeal, leading the ISIS militants to beat them all the more furiously.

As the two women and the six men knelt before they were beheaded, they were all praying.

“Villagers said some were praying in the name of Jesus, others said some were praying the Lord’s prayer, and others said some of them lifted their heads to commend their spirits to Jesus,” the ministry director said. “One of the women looked up and seemed to be almost smiling as she said, ‘Jesus!'”

After they were beheaded, their bodies were hung on crosses, the ministry director said, his voice breaking. He had trained all of the workers for their evangelistic ministry, and he had baptized the team leader and some of the others.

Thus is the vocation of Christian missionaries: without their sacrifice, the whole truth cannot be known. Their fears are real and their grief is great, but the zeal to proclaim the glory of the Risen Christ is more real and far greater. Is there any joy to be found in the torture and murder of a 12-year-old boy? Is the loss of any young life not worth a headline somewhere? Is our world so distorted and deformed that the crucifixion and beheading of Aleppo’s Christian missionaries doesn’t rend the hearts of anyone but their families and fellow missionaries?
These are the real martyrs; the very special dead. May their presence and power rend the veil between earth and heaven. We need their faces and stories in our petty, mundane lives. We might then see Jesus through the molehills.

Full article:  http://archbishopcranmer.com/christian-missionaries-aleppo-crucified-beheaded/

18October2016 عشرة (10)

Nothing says happy birthday like M's favorite thing, cheeseburgers.

10 years ago (Yikes!) we welcomed this beautiful, caring, amazing, fun creature into our, then, family of four. She has added such richness to our lives and vivid color to this world! We are so grateful for M.

This morning her Gma sent #M this verse from Colossians which perfectly deserves our prayer for M. and all #10littlefeet.

"Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him."  Col.3:16-17

17October2016 Quickthought: From Afar

In the place where I took this photo, one of my favorite stories of occurred. Mark 5 and Luke 8 share the account of a tomb-dwelling, demoniac being restored by Jesus, and subsequent drowning of a huge herd of swine.  We all know the story, right?  This morning as I was reading it again, I noticed something interesting.  

As we read about the desperate condition of the man: demon-possessed, living in a graveyard, unrestrainable, always crying out, frequently harming himself, you can't help but pity him.  What a deplorable, sad existence.

Jesus crossed the Sea of Tiberia and walked right into the life of this deplorable man. Before He got to him, notice what happened.  Mark 5:6 states, "And when he saw Jesus from afar, he ran and fell down before Him."  The demoniac saw Jesus from way off, ran to him and fell prostrate before Him.  All it took was one look at the Savior to bring the uncontrollable man under control. Imagine that!  

All around us, today, there are broken, desperate, sad people.  They need Someone who is going to bring order and restoration to their lives.  Now, God, in His wisdom and sovereignty, has seen fit to put us within their circles.  What are they seeing in us?  What are we exhibiting through our words, through our actions...through our Facebook posts?  You, we, know what they need, right?  They need Jesus!  May they see Him in us, even from afar, and be drawn to the storm-calming Savior.  This world needs more of that!

11October2016 Child Brides

"Child marriage has always existed in rural parts of this region. But the war in Syria has made things worse.  With their families struggling for money, many young girls face the prospect of marriage - and childbirth - at a very young age." 

We've met some of them.  Married at 14, not middle school dances and painting your BFF's fingernails at a sleeper over, and a couple children by 16, not getting your driver's license and dreaming of a sweet sixteen party, the prospects for a child-bride are grim.  

Read this article and please pray for the little girls, child brides and teen moms of the Middle East and across the globe.

2October2016 Quickthought: Home

"How do you pick up the threads of an old life? How do you go on, when in your heart you begin to understand... there is no going back?" Frodo Baggins The Return of the King

It's been two months now since the U.S. custom agents checked my passport and with a pleasant smile said, "Welcome home."  I cant tell you how many times we've been told that in the last eight weeks.  Honestly, please bear with me when I say this, I cringe a little every time I hear it.  I know, right!  That sounds so harsh. 

"Welcome home!' 

Am I crazy? How could something so warm, so well meaning, so...innocuous cause such a reaction?  I'm even blogging about it for Pete's sake.  Here's the thing.  We love this place and certainly love our friends and family, much more than the place, but it just doesn't feel like home.  Waffle fries? Check! Water pressure? Check! Green grass, green trees...green everything? Check! And dont get me started on the unbelievable availability of grocery options.  The other day D sent me to the store to pick up some milk and I stood staring, mouth agape, at shelves upon shelves full of Pop Tart flavors, there must have been a hundred and I must have looked like an idiot.  I digress...this really is a wonderful place to be BUT is it home?  

Throughout Scripture, followers of Jesus are referred to as foreigners, pilgrims, exiles and even aliens.  Why?  Because this place, this terra firma, on which we currently tread is not our home.  As Philippians 3:20 states, "our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ."  Ephesians 2:19 says it like this, "you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God."  So maybe it's not so odd to feel this way?  Maybe, just maybe, the feeling that we are wrestling with is not so weird? Maybe we were created this way? 

So, thank you for caring about us.  And thank you for loving our family to ask, "Are you happy to be back home?"   Please dont be offended when I respond, "We'll let you know when we get there." 

Addendum
This topic has me thinking of the old hymn, I'm Bound for the Promised Land.  I prefer the Johnny Cash version. 

26September2016 Quickshot: Changed!

"...if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; 

behold, the new has come." 2 Cor. 5:17

 

"He's already changed." I had no idea what A. was talking about.  He was looking into the woods, gaze locked onto something.  "What's changed, son?" I asked him, looking where he was looking but seeing nothing.  "Right there, Dad! He's on that branch right there."  I followed his pointing finger and realized his very sharp, eight-year old eyes had noticed the shell of a cicada, recently vacated but still attached to the bark of a cut branch.  A. knew exactly what he was looking at, was familiar with the life cycle of the cicada and was paying close enough attention to our surroundings to notice it.  So, I picked up the paper-thin, larva shell and we inspected it together, amazed at the minute intricacies of creation.  Talking about the things we encounter and pointing our kids to the Creator is my favorite part of being in the outdoors.  I highly recommend it. 

22September2016 Mara the Refugee

Mara didn’t wear her bitterness well.  Everyone knew she was bitter.  And why wouldn’t she be?   From the forced migration of her family to the death of loved ones, including her husband and two children, personal loss and tragedy had punctuated Mara’s life.  

A widowed woman’s life in the Middle East is not pleasant, to be sure, but a refugee woman’s life is one to be most pitied.  Isolated by the loss of community, impoverished by the absence of her breadwinning-husband, preyed upon without the protection of her tribe and hopeless with little prospect of this situation changing, it was a bleak existence.  Definitely enough to make even the most pleasant of women bitter. 

Mara’s ruined state became too much so she decided to return to her ruined homeland. Rumors swirled that things may have improved there, but even if they hadn’t it was far better to die at home than to suffer away from home.  So Mara packed up what little she had and returned to her city, to Bethlehem, to the place they knew her by a different name.  She and her daughter-in-law, Ruth, would no longer be refugees and God would soon take away her bitterness.   

We know a lot of Maras.  Over eighty person of Syrian refugees are war widows, wives separated from their husbands or children under the age of eighteen.  They are vulnerable.  They are poor.  They are helpless.  They are hopeless.  But just like Naomi, they have a goel, a redeemer, that it willing to come to their aid and liberate them from their suffering, aid them in their travail and love them in their bitterness.  Pray with us that many refugee women will come to know their great Redeemer, Jesus Christ.

Additional articles:

Article 1

Article 2

Article 3

21September2016 Read this...

Looking past the political rhetoric, there are some great points in this article.

“It’s not unusual that we have politicians timid in the face of fear...But the task of the church is a different one. The church is called to see the image of God in all people and to minister Christ’s presence to all people. That’s what churches are doing.”"

“These are the most hospitable and loving people you’ll ever meet, which is why it’s frustrating to see the different things on the news that all these people are terrorists...They don’t know these people personally.”

9September2106 Must Watch

This video, People of Nowhere by Lior Sperandeo, is a MUST WATCH. We can't watch this, still, without being moved.  What a great reminder to pray for refugees caught in the middle of this madness and the people helping, serving and blessing them.  

26August2016 Quickshot: Among Us

One of the surprising things we've noticed since being back in the States is a seeming increase number of international peoples in our community.  Some may find this disconcerting but we see it through the filter of Providence.  It's so easy to fear what we don't understand but don't fear our...your neighbors.  At the very least smile at them and say, "Hello."  Their being here is not an accident. 

19August2016 Quickshot: Bow

"I have set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth." Genesis 9:13

17August2016 Quickshot: Weary of This!

Oh how we are weary of this!  #ChildrenofSyria #AlanKurdi #Omran

1Aug2016 Quickshot: to be continued

As we headed to the airport this morning we passed this sign.  It dawned on me.  This is not the stop of our work but more of a California roll through.  Maybe "to be continued" is better terminology.  As we spend some time in the States, we hope to visit with many of our friends and supporters, share some of the amazing things happening in this part of the world and hug a lot of necks. 

22July2016 Quickshot: 8ight

We're celebrating this kid's eight birthday today.  Our family....the world...wouldn't be the same without him!

ثمانية

11June2016 Quickshot: Amara

Amara is one of 2,350,000 Syrian refugee children. We can't wrap our minds around a number like that but we can wrap our arms around Amara. She's squishy, and beautiful and amazing and adorable and...you get the point.

9July2016 Quickthought: Reckless Hate

2 thoughts:

As we witness such suffering around the globe, from Texas to Baghdad, Baton Rouge to Indonesia, I find myself wrestling with one of our family’s purposes, “How can we overcome evil with good?”  Can we agree that the source of these events if evil?  Not oppression or brutality, not even racism.  All of these are but symptoms of a very real evil that pervades this planet and if we’re honest, we sometimes feel less like overcomers and more like the overcome.

Like you, we are simply heartbroken by the events of this past week.  Death and fear and fighting and division, oh the division.  These things have that effect on people, right?  Everything within me longs for the return of Jesus, for our loving Father to transform this broken mess into something beautiful again.  It’s one of those gut wrenching longings as we yearn, YEARN!, for this precious promise from Revelation 21 to take place:

“Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man, and He will live with them. They will be His people, and God Himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the former things have passed away.”

He is going to wipe away every tear, every single tear from our eyes.    

     There have been a lot of tears this week.   

No death!   

     There has been too much death this week.   

No mourning!   

     There has been too much mourning this week.   

No crying or pain!   

     There has been so much crying, so much pain this week. 

 We are ready for a change.

6July2016: Quickthought from Ataturk

Two thoughts from Ataturk:
1. Life is a vapor. It was business as usual less than a week after the attack that left 43 dead, 200 injured. Our lives are fleeting. Do something of value.
2. Life is a vapor. Those we come in contact with today could be gone tomorrow. Share something eternal before they meet eternity.

19July2016 Hydrated

One imperative to desert life is you have to stay hydrated.  This can be tricky, dangerous even, because the dry atmosphere evaporates moisture so quickly that sometimes your body is screaming for water but you may not even feel thirsty.  Liquids have to been consumed throughout the day, particular if involved in outdoor activities, or you can rapidly become dehydrated.  

The same is true for our mental health.  This week we had the opportunity to get out of the city for a couple days.  Our hotel had a pool...and a water slide of all things.  As you can see from the photo above, we put it to good use.  At the end of the day, D and I looked at each other and said, "Why in the world have we taken so long to do this?"  We needed it.  Living in this place can dehydrate you physically and emotionally.  I imagine that can happen wherever you call home. A day of respite, swimming, hiking, flying a kite, fishing or just taking a long nap on a hammock can be a balm to the spirit.  Just remember to stay hydrated!

“If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.” John 4:10

14June2016 Faithful not Safe

In light of current events, here's another great article, particularly for parents, by John Huckins.  

God has called us to be faithful, not safe!

In the wake of another heinous attack taking the lives of innocent civilians, the world feels increasingly unstable. The violence “over there” is no longer relegated to headlines on the other side of the world; it is edging closer to our doorsteps and threatens to invade our everyday lives.
In light of this reality, conversations ranging from our coffee shops to the halls of political power are shouting out the necessity to pursue security and safety above anything else.
I get it.

As a father of four little kids, there has never been a season in my life when I’ve felt more compelled toward security and safety. I can’t begin to comprehend the disorientation and paralyzing pain that would come with the harm of my family.

For the past five years, I have regularly been traveling to conflict zones in the Middle East, but the more kids I have waiting for me to safely return home, the harder it gets to step on that plane and make an intentional decision to move toward exposing myself to violence.
In short, when I hear our current political candidates talking about the paramount importance of “security” and “safety,” it strikes a chord and I find myself tempted to stand up and applaud.
AND THEN I PAUSE, step back for a moment, ask some harder questions of where my applause is coming from, and consider my kingdom allegiance marked by One who moved toward, rather than away from, potential violence.

Worshiping the idol of safety greatly inhibits our ability to worship the crucified and risen Jesus.

I’m convicted that my desire to applaud this “security at any cost” rhetoric and policy is a temptation to worship the idol of safety. It is not something to be admired — it is something to be acknowledged, questioned, and repented of (turned away from). Worshiping the idol of safety greatly inhibits our ability to worship the crucified and risen Jesus.

It’s not that I don’t want safety for me, my family, or the world. I actually want that more than ever, but when I look at this through the lens of discipleship (following Jesus), here are the issues I’m wresting with today:

1. The objective of terrorism is to instill fear.
Politicians then use that fear to shape a reality that advances their agendas. What they are offering us is nothing more than a pseudo-reality that requires we have the discernment to see through the smokescreen to what is actually real. My desire for safety is real, but in reality, I should be far more concerned about a car wreck, chronic disease, or natural disaster than terrorism. When I begin making decisions from a place of fear, I not only buy into a pseudo-reality that is being crafted by political power plays, I begin to close my eyes to the new and dynamic ways God is calling me to join in the world God is making.
2. The means through which we pursue safety often forces us to comprise our kingdom identity and can lead to less safety.
First, let me acknowledge that political leaders are responsible to tend to the safety of citizens and can make the decisions they feel are necessary to do so. With that said, we, as the church, can’t allow our political allegiance to trump our kingdom allegiance.

When we worship the idol of “safety,” we can quickly compromise our kingdom witness and begin to justify the means through which safety is achieved.

When we worship the idol of “safety,” we can quickly compromise our kingdom witness.

For example, when we celebrate the death of other human beings because it means we are “safer,” we may be worshiping the idol of safety rather than the enemy-loving God embodied in Jesus. When we demonize and punish entire groups of people (the vast majority of whom have no desire to do us harm) for the sake of our “safety,” we may be worshiping the idol of safety rather than a Jesus who loved indiscriminately. When we reject the very people (many of whom are children!) who are fleeing violence for the sake of our “safety,” we may be worshiping the idol of safety rather than a Jesus who calls us to care for the “strangers in our midst.” Finally, while these may feel like safety measures, it is growingly clear that these means don’t lead to lasting, sustainable security and safety. Rather, they more often lead to resentment, oppression, and instability, which then breeds more violence.
3. I can’t reconcile withdrawal, isolation, and a posture of defense with a God who moved toward violence, brokenness, and “the other” in Jesus.
As I’ve been wresting with this idol of safety, I’ve repeatedly been convicted by this truth: Jesus never called us to be safe; he called us to be faithful.
According to Jesus, faithfulness moves us beyond love of neighbor to love of enemy. If pursuit of my safety trumps my ability to love whomever God has in my path, fear wins, and I distance myself from God’s heart for the world. How can I love my “enemies” if I don’t know them? The idol of safety moves us away from people who are different than us and sends us inward to those who look, think, and act like we do. There is no love outside of relationship; there is only misunderstanding, demonization, and stereotype. Lastly, how can we know our “enemy” if we don’t cross the borders that divide us? The Jesus Way requires we reject the temptation to move inward and continually calls us to move toward “the other.”

Jesus never called us to be safe; he called us to be faithful.

Interestingly, I find myself wresting through this stuff during Holy Week. This is the week in which Jesus models to the world life as it was meant to be lived. It is a life marked not by isolation or triumphant overthrow, but by suffering, sacrifice, and selfless love for the flourishing of others. It is a life that crosses borders and boundaries to reassign the humanity, dignity, and the image of God in all the “wrong” people with whom he should have feared and stayed away from. A life that ended with the uttering of this prayer for his enemies: “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.” These are the stories we tell in Sunday school and say, “Wow, Jesus is a bad ass. He wasn’t scared of anything, and I would do anything to live and love like that.”
Imagine if instead he chose to worship the idol of safety and never left the safety of his little Galilean synagogue so he could read Torah and remain isolated from all the violence of the world? That story would not only suck, it wouldn’t reflect the heart of a God who literally moved into our human neighborhood to remind us what love looks like.
So, during this Holy Week, let’s pay attention to the very understandable fear, paralysis, and temptation to worship the idol of safety. If I’m completely honest, I’m still having a hard time with this. This is not easy stuff, and I’m not happy about having to make these intentional decisions to keep perspective in a world that feels so unstable. But, friends, this is the beauty, challenge and mystery of choosing to follow an enemy-loving God who — this Holy Week — invites us to love to the point of death, while being fueled by the hope and reality of Resurrection.
May it be so.

13June2016 Orlando. Too Good Not to Share

We are heartbroken by what took place in Orlando.  Our homosexual friends and neighbors are probably scared for their lives.  Our Muslim friends and neighbors are probably scared for their lives.  How does the Body of Christ respond in situations like this?  We are called to weep and/or mourn with those who weep and/or mourn.  How  doe we do this? Below are excellent words from Dr. Russell Moore.  We love you Orlando!

We woke up Sunday morning to news of the worst mass shooting in American history, as a terrorist murdered and injured over a hundred people in a gay nightclub in Orlando. In the aftermath, we’ve seen some of the best aspects of America: people lining up, for example, to give blood for the victims. We’ve also seen some of the worst—as the aftermath turned into an excuse for social media wars over everything from gun control to presidential politics. What I wonder is whether the country still has the capacity to grieve, together, in moments of national crisis.
When we’re accustomed to seeing news in real time on our television screens and on our phones, it is sometimes easy to forget that the news we are viewing is real. At least fifty people—created in the image of God—were slaughtered in cold blood. Families who were waiting to see their loved ones are finding out today that they will never see them again in this life. That ought to drive us to mourn.
Our nation has shared moments of crisis and tragedy before. Think of Pearl Harbor, when the country rallied around President Roosevelt and toward a common purpose of defeating the Axis Powers. Think of the John Kennedy assassination when the country—even the Kennedy family’s enemies—seemed to grieve together. Think of September 11—before the fracturing of the Iraq War—when the country looked to common cultural expressions from the service at the National Cathedral to the cold open of Saturday Night Live for a sense of lament together.
It seems now, though, that there’s rarely a time of grieving together. The time of lament morphs almost immediately into arguments over what the President should have said or whether this validates or annihilates someone’s views on guns or immigration or whatever. Some of that, of course, is just the speed of social media. People are able to discuss, rather publicly, issues much quicker than they could before. But there seems to be more than that.
Our national divisions increasingly make it difficult for us not just to work together, but even to pause and weep together. We become more concerned about protecting ourselves from one another’s political pronouncements than we do with mourning with those who mourn.
In some ways, then, national crises like this one feel less like the 1963 John Kennedy assassination than like the attempted George Wallace assassination of 1972. Reports are that some within the Nixon Administration, arguably even the President himself, contemplated planting George McGovern campaign literature in the would-be-assailant Arthur Bremer’s apartment. The shooting in Laurel, Maryland, was about, for them, the campaign itself. That sort of cynicism is, ultimately, dehumanizing.
How then do we weep with those who weep?
Let’s call our congregations to pray together. Let’s realize that, in this case, our gay and lesbian neighbors are likely quite scared. Who wouldn’t be? Demonstrate the sacrificial love of Jesus to them. We don’t have to agree on the meaning of marriage and sexuality to love one another and to see the murderous sin of terrorism. Let’s also pray for our leaders who have challenging decisions to make in the midst of crisis. Let’s mobilize our congregations and others to give blood for the victims. Let’s call for governing authorities to do their primary duty of keeping its people safe from evildoers.
And let’s bear patiently with those who jump the gun, in arguing about the politics on social media. For many of them, the jump to talk about gun control or Islam or military preparedness or any other issue isn’t so much about pontificating as it is about frustration. They, like all of us, want this horror to end, and they want to do something—even if that’s just expressing themselves on Twitter.
As the Body of Christ, though, we can love and serve and weep and mourn. And we can remind ourselves and our neighbors that this is not the way it is supposed to be. We mourn, but we mourn in the hope of a kingdom where blood is not shed and where bullets never fly.

11June2016 A Different Scream

Any parent can tell you, a house with children can be...no, IS noisy.  The amount of noise is directly proportional to  the number of children in said house.  Ours can generally be measured not in decibels but by the Richter scale.   "Get off me!" "Give me that back!" "You are a baby!" "MOM!"  Oh, you thought we are saints and our kids angels?

After constant exposure to a stimuli, you're likely to become immune to it.  So, there comes a point when a parent fails to notice the screaming.   Don't worry. This is relegated to our home.  In public, we are very conscientious of creating any commotions.  Anytime we go to a restaurant, shop, store, etc. we get stared at like we're on a reality show...and that's in America.  Imagine a large, white family walking through the mall in Anytown, Middle East.   We can do without any additional attention. In our apartment though, we sometimes ignore the hullabaloo.   

Last night, D and I were sitting in the living room, I was working on work emails, she was reading on her Kindle. From the other room we heard a scream.  No, it was more like a SCREAM!  Instantly we dropped what were doing and ran into the kids' bedroom.  Pandemonium ensued.  

A. and M. were preparing to watch a DVD on a portable player, which requires a electrical  converter.  While plugging in the player, A. put his hand on an exposed wired and 220 volts of electricity surged through his 50 pound body. THANK GOD, the shock caused A. to fall backward, pulling the wire, which was firmly gripped in his seven-year-old hand, out of the wall socket.  Again, THANK GOD!  Other than a few blisters on his hand and sore muscles (from contracting) and a new found respect for electricity, there are no residual affects of this little experience.  Except for dad.  I can't get the sound of that very different scream out of my head. 

8June2016 Ramadan Prayers

Please join us in praying for our neighbors and friends...and over a billion people around the world that will commemorating the holy month of Ramadan.  When pray for these people it's not out of any sense of pride, moral superiority, or even pity.  We love Muslims and so does their Creator.  Over the next four weeks, let us all look past the political bantering, hate mongering and xenophobia that's so prevalent today and lift these dear people to the Throne of Grace.  Checkout these words from Cryout:

Every year most Muslims fast for a month from sunrise to sunset.
Muslims follow the lunar calendar. In 2016, Ramadan likely will begin June 6 and end on July 5.

Christians serving in the Arab Muslim world are asking you to pray specifically during this time frame as Muslims take the month to fast.

Muslims eat at night during Ramadan, but this fast is a challenge and many take it as a spiritual time.
We pray Muslims will come to know Jesus Christ during this month focused on prayer and fasting.

In this prayer guide, you will find suggested Scriptures to pray through. Many prayer points are from Christians living in each country, and there are prayers of blessing for these nations.

5June2016 Quickshot: Waiting for the Crescent

Many are watching for the crescent moon and waiting for the start of Ramadan.  Looks like it begins tomorrow.  Please pray for our friends & neighbors over the next 30 days! 

31May2016 Quickthought: Saved!

As I watched this unbelievable video, ​ I couldn't help but think of our kids and the thousands of refugee children we have seen, met, played with, hugged, shared Truth with. 

What an amazing picture of EXACTLY how Jesus pulls us from the grip of hell! PRAISE HIM and continue praying that many of our neighbors and friends find salvation in Him!

20May2016 You're climbing on 200 BC!

We spent the day exploring.  There is just so much ANCIENT stuff nearby.  We stumbled upon a Byzantine castle dating back 200 years before Christ.  No barricades, no security, not even a sign say, "Don't touch!"  So what do the kids do?  An impromptu game of freeze-tag breaks out.  I just looked and there's absolutely zero reference to the phrase, "Would you guys get down?  You're climbing on 200 BC!" in the parent handbook.

12May2016 der Jahrestag

Happy anniversary yall!  Well, it may not be your wedding anniversary but please join us in celebrating ours.  We actually sneaked away, far away, for a couple days thanks to some very kind friends watching our children, and frequent flier miles!  It truly is a gift from God that after all these years we still love going on adventures together.  

Below are a few more pictures.

Wienerschnitzel! Almost as fun saying it as it is eating it.

Not exactly something we'd see in our neighborhood.

The beautiful scenery and amount of green nearly took our breath away.

If you live in the desert, you dont mind a rainy day so much.

6May2016 Quickshot: Connected

Think your iPhone is important?  Refugees depend on their mobile phones to stay connected to family back home, learn of safe routes to their next location, document their arduous journeys, translate Greek, Turkish, English etc. into Arabic, store treasured memories and so many other things.  Many are even hearing and learning about the Truth for the first time in their lives because of apps, sites and other tools.

In the photo above a group of men make good use of a charging stations to keep their devices powered.  Another interesting tidbit from the refugee highway.

1May2016 Quickshot: Not here, Risen!

Happy Easter! Orthodox Easter is today. It used to feel strange when holidays (Independence Day, Christmas, Mother's Day and today, Easter) were celebrated on different dates than the US. But really it's an opportunity to celebrate on multiple occasions. Is commemorating the risen Messiah ever a bad thing?

23April2016 Quickshot: 3 Months Later

It's been a little over three months since I shot this on a beach in Lesvos.  More than 40 boats stuffed with fifty to over eighty people each, landed on the beach that day.  I can't help but wonder where these folks are today.  Germany?  Croatia?  Sweden?  Stuck in Greece?  We're praying for a solution to this continuing madness. 

22April2016 Quickshot: Friday Morning Stroll

Two friends, prayer beads in hand, walk to the mosque for Friday morning prayers.

13April2016 Quickshot: Ripe

"Look, I tell you, lift up your eyes, and see that the fields are white for harvest..." John 4:35

10April2016 Quickshot: Aegyptos

With 90+ million people living in there, whats seven more, right?  Our family had to fly out of the country to renew our visas this week so we traveled to Egypt?  We were fortunate, and extremely grateful, to visit such a historical, culture-rich, and amazing place!  Above are just a few highlights.

4April2016 Had to Share: Doha's Story

"Doaa is a 19-year-old aspiring student who was forced by the war to live a grinding existence with her family in exile.

Without a work permit in Egypt, Doaa struggled through day shifts for low wages. As the months passed, she was getting more and more scared. One day, a motorcycle gang tried to kidnap her on the street. The war in Syria that drove her family away was in its fourth year. And the people who once welcomed them in Egypt had become weary of them.

Despite all this, Doaa still had hope, because she was in love with another refugee, called Bassem. He promised to take her to safety in Europe where they would marry and build a new life. Doaa knew the risks. It was August 2014, and more than 2,000 migrants and refugees had already died crossing the Mediterranean that year. She didn’t know how to swim, but for the second time in her life, she felt she had no choice but to flee.

So Bassem paid his life savings to smugglers, $2,500 each, to get them onto an old fishing boat. It was so packed with people that Doaa’s knees were bent to her chest.

After two days at sea she started to get worried, and on the third day she told Bassem: “We will never reach the shore. We will all sink.”

On day four, another boat approached the vessel. It was rusty and when the passengers were ordered to get on, they refused. The smugglers left angrily, and then returned to ram a hole in the side of the hull. “Let the fish eat your flesh,” they shouted, and then they laughed. Within minutes, the boat capsized and sank, with 300 people trapped below deck.

“The sea went black,” said Doaa. “I heard people screaming, and water crashing. I felt like I was going to drown.” She watched the propeller cut a child to pieces. Miraculously, Bassem found a water ring. He held Doaa’s hand and treaded water. There were corpses everywhere. The 100 survivors came together in small groups and prayed for rescue.

But as day turned to night and to day again, many lost hope. Doaa watched as men took off their life vests and drowned. Sensing his end was near, a Palestinian approached with his nine-month-old granddaughter, Malek. “Please take the baby,” he said. “I am very tired.” Then he gave up and let the sea take his life.

Soon after, Bassem had also reached his limit. His last words were, “I am sorry my love. Please forgive me.” He drowned before her eyes. Later that day, a mother struggled towards Doaa with Masa, an 18-month-old girl. “Save her,” she said, “I will not survive.”

Doaa, the 19-year-old who could not swim, who had just watched her fiancé drown, was now in charge of saving two fledgling lives. They were crying, agitated, hungry and thirsty. So she told them stories and played with them. Another day passed, and then another. On the fourth day in the sea, Doaa saw a merchant boat. For two hours she shouted. They spotted her with search lights in the dark and extended a rope – astonished to find a young woman clutching two babies.

Malek died in the boat’s clinic, but Masa pulled through. Doaa’s heroism was praised in the Greek media. On 19 December, one of Greece’s most respected institutions, the Academy of Athens, gave her an award for bravery...."  {Read more}

1April2016 Quickshot: Whithers

The grass withers, the flower fades, But the Word of our God stands forever. Isa.40:8

29March2016 15: Uncharted Territory

He's a groundbreaker.  Always has been. As our firstborn, J has had to endure the many mistakes of rookie parents.  We think he's done great.  Those rookie parents, not so great.  Today marks another first, more uncharted territory.  At 15:30, he turns 15.  J and his brother, Z, are dragging us, kicking and screaming, into the teenage years.  Thank God they are resilient.  Thank Him they have survived all this time.  Thank Him!
For his fifteenth, we are claiming the fifteenth Psalm over J's life:

O Lord, who shall sojourn in Your tent?
    Who shall dwell on Your holy hill?

He who walks blamelessly and does what is right
    and speaks truth in his heart;

who does not slander with his tongue
    and does no evil to his neighbor,
    nor takes up a reproach against his friend;

in whose eyes a vile person is despised,
    but who honors those who fear the Lord;
who swears to his own hurt and does not change;

who does not put out his money at interest
    and does not take a bribe against the innocent.
He who does these things shall never be moved.

Happy birthday J!  We love and are so proud of you!