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Beyond Duck Dynasty

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With so many thoughts surrounding our latest cultural controversy, my mind began to ruminate:

The pundits they line up with points in their mind,

Who is right, who is wrong, a binary truth to define.

polarized left and polarized right;

who said just what is embellished with time.

Sensibilities are offended on the left and the right,

Status updates are filled with a rhetoric of might.

This is freedom of speech!

He’s against my way of life!

Can you feel the battle lines drawn? Can you sense the indignant plight?

The rhetoric is shoveled, will any mind change?

Do we really believe everyone else is insane?

God sighs when both sides use His Words as a weapon,

When grace and peace are disguised, thinly veiled as we threaten.

I wonder, in the midst of the verbal assault,

have we perhaps missed the point?

are our positions at fault?

Have we created a chasm that no one can cross?

Have we argued to death the straw-man that is lost?

Buried beneath the hurling flames,

There are question to ask, not labels to claim.

What does this whirlwind say about us?

as a culture, as a people, what matters so much…

is it ratings and money and how I want to be?

or perhaps as a nation have we worshipped at the altar of me…

Ignorance blinds us to the larger story,

The one where God is displaying His glory.

of love and rescue, of grace and truth,

no lost eyes, and no broken tooth.

Above the schoolyard fights of my way or yours,

There is an answer that is deeper than our Olympus culture wars.

**epilogue

So when the embers have settled and you know that you’re right,

Have you actually won, or have we all lost the fight.

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Don’t Forget Burma…

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A friend of mine (thanks Chris Huber!) sent me a BBC compilation page concerning Burma (Myanmar). As many of you know, we team with the Free Burma Rangers and others to care for over 55 children who have been displaced because of the atrocities and genocide that occurs daily inside the borders of Burma. While that is only a drop in the bucket compared to the devastation that Burma experiences, it is a tangible way to make a difference in the life of some who can allow the ripple effect of transformation to emerge.

If you are looking for an opportunity to make a real difference in the life of a boy or girl, let me encourage you to consider giving to our Burma Project at SVA. feel free to message or email me for more info. and ways to give!

In the mean time, take a look at this page the BBC has put together to educate and advocate for human rights issues in Burma.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-11669604

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Remembering 9/11

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I’m sitting in a great coffee shop in North Bend. Aroma, smiles, laughter, friends. People I know, and people I don’t know, stream in and out as they live out the adventure of life. As I order my favorite drink, a chai latte’ with 2 shots of espresso, I am not worrying about the potential of airplanes or bombs shattering the moment and stealing earth of her most precious commodity, people, but neither were the people in New York worried about atrocious acts of evil on September 11th.

So then, we remember…

we pause and breathe a little deeper, breath is life, and life is precious and vulnerable…

a thought, a prayer, a plea…

we remember of life and loss, of beauty and ash, of heros and goodness…

It is a good thing to remember.

Remembering launches causes to fight for justice;

to love the hurting;

to hold the marginalized;

to name evil and pray that we would be catalysts for good and God.

While we never forget the pain of a day like 9/11, the reality of its darkness also reminds us of the good that poured out through so many people. Ordinary people who became like Wonder Woman and Superman. Of Civil servants who endangered and lost their lives in the salvaging and protection of other lives…

They speak a message that we still need to hear; every human life matters, every human life has value.

May we continue to become people who live each day with redemptive hearts choosing to eliminate evil, injustice and anything that would set itself up against God’s good intentions for life. We were created to be life-givers, divine image-bearers who are able to rise above baser animal instincts toward a greater ethic of love and oneness.

A friend of mine posted a great quote today that captures this well:

“What separates us from the animals, what separates us from the chaos, is our ability to mourn people we’ve never met.” -David Levithan

Here is a great video from the Skit Guys…take a moment and watch it, and send out a prayer…

Skit Guys – 9/11: On That Day.

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The Lord Is My Pace-setter

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We are a stressed-out nation. Very often, we wear our stressed-out, over busy, crazy lifestyles like a badge of honor, all the while knowing that we are losing something very important in the chronic insanity of our culture…our sanity and soul.

There are many reasons that stress is so prevalent, but according to the American Psychological Association, the following are the key issues at hand:

* Money, work and the economy continue to be the most
frequently cited causes of stress for Americans, as they
have every year for the past 5 years. In addition, a growing
number of Americans are citing personal health and their
family’s health as a source of stress.

* Significant sources of stress include money (75 percent),
work (70 percent), the economy (67 percent), relationships
(58 percent), family responsibilities (57 percent), family
health problems (53 percent), personal health concerns
(53 percent), job stability (49 percent), housing costs
(49 percent) and personal safety (32 percent).

* The percentage of adults reporting that family health
problems are causing them stress (53 percent) increased
in 2011 compared to the last 2 years (47 percent for both
2009 and 2010).

An unhealthy pace of life has become an addiction in our country, and is something we desperately need to address if we are to regain our soul, and most importantly, listen to the voice of God. When our lives and minds are drenched in over-stimulation, over-communication, and excessive busyness, the voice of God becomes a distant memory, and we begin to justify why God is no longer speaking. No matter the theological gymnastics and/or other reasons we create to comfort our unease concerning the seeming silence of God, the truth is that He is still speaking, all around us, all the time, but our minds are too full to discern His still small voice in the storm of noise.

I love how Toki Miyashina re-wrote the 23rd Psalm and reminds us that the Lord needs to be our pace-setter:

The Lord is my Pace Setter, I shall not rush,
He makes me stop and rest for quiet intervals,
He provides me with images of stillness,
Which restore my serenity.
He leads me in ways of efficiency,
through calmness of mind; and his guidance is peace.
Even though I have a great many things to accomplish each day,
I will not fret, for his presence is here.
His timelessness, his all-importance will keep me in balance.
He prepares refreshment and renewal in the midst of my activity,
by anointing my head with his oils of tranquility,
My cup of joyous energy overflows.
Surely harmony and effectiveness shall be the fruit of my hours,
For I shall walk in the pace of my Lord,
and dwell in his house for ever.

It’s okay to live with balance…

It’s okay to have moments in your week that are not crammed with rushing around…

It’s okay to still, slow, and even stop in order to breathe more deeply and practice divine awareness…

It’s okay to say “no” to the requests that don’t align with your purpose in life, for if you don’t, you will miss your purpose in life…

It’s okay to be healthy and unable to “one-up” your friends who are trying to impress you with their busy schedules…

It’s okay to have joy in your soul, hope in your heart and serenity in your mind because you choose to allow God to determine your pace, and not the culture or the people around you.

May you have a life that responds to God’s grace with energy, His voice with delight, and His love with service.