Update #104

“Abstain from every appearance of evil.” 1 Thessalonians 5:22

Morning mist over Saratoga - view from my dining room

Several years ago I was at a large pot-luck BSF dinner party and unashamedly recruiting for a swing dance I was attending later that evening. One of the men in attendance said he would like to go, with one caveat; he had to stop by a birthday party as some point during the evening.

I LOVE to dance; especially the Swing, Lindy, Charleston, Balboa genre. The music is happy, the beat is fun, and the people are usually relaxed and friendly. The venue we visited that night was family oriented so there is little to no alcohol consumption. For a single woman that’s nice; you don’t have to worry about hand slippage or “accidental” grazing of your body parts “due” to intoxication.

We stayed about 2 hours and then headed to his friends birthday party. I was mistaken in thinking that it was going to be at a house. When we pulled up in front of a swanky downtown Seattle bar I was shocked.

“The party is here?” I asked incredulously as look of absolute alarm crossed my face.

Oblivious to my discomfort he replied, “Yep! Let’s go dance!” and shot out of the truck.

Big, black clothed bouncers framed the door. I was patted down and searched for containers carrying alcohol and let in. I must have had a questioning look on my face because the bouncer pointed and bellowed “down the hall babe.” I faced a long, darkly painted passageway. The music’s beat vibrated the wood under my feet; the tunnel grazed my elbows on either side. At one point I stopped because I couldn’t believe the lyrics I was hearing “come on in, take your clothes off, let’s get started”. I turned and bumped into the guy I was with.

“Did you hear the lyrics?” I asked

“Can’t hear anything – too loud” he shouted and nudged me forward.

I entered a packed room. I felt like something out of a 1950’s Better Homes & Gardens ad, whereas the scene in front of me was a layout from a modern day men’s magazine; stylishly attired men and scantily clad women. I had way too many clothes on to fit in to this scene.

“Want something to drink? I’ll be back.” He disappeared to the bar.

I felt like an absolute alien. I didn’t know what to do. There was no place to put my coat, check my purse, put things down, so I went and stood along the back wall.

“I’ll find the birthday girl and introduce ya” he shouted, handed me his coat and disappeared onto the dance floor. He came back with an absolutely stunning brunette who was celebrating her 26th birthday. She was slightly intoxicated and spilled some of her drink down my skirt. Mix that with the vodka spilled previously on my shoe and I was a sticky mess!

I tried to dance. I just couldn’t get into it; all I could hear were the lyrics encouraging me to do things I was shocked to consider. Eventually I became a wallflower and sipped my water.

Sweaty, smelling of aftershave, cologne, and alcohol he jubilantly joined me. “Isn’t it great that we as Christians can go out to a place like this and enjoy it?” he asked.

“Which ones are the Christians?” I answered, sweeping my arm across the room. “I can’t tell.”

A discussion ensued that I will never forget. It ended with him dropping me at my car and saying “we will just have to agree to disagree.”

What were we differing over? What was the discussion around? What qualifies as “appearance of evil.”

When we commit our lives to Jesus we become sanctified. A big word meaning we are set apart, holy; Webster’s defines it as “To cleanse from corruption; to purify from sin; to make holy be detaching the affections from the world and its defilements, and exalting them to a supreme love to God.”

When we are baptized, it symbolizes our old self, old ways, old habits drowning, dying, being taken away so when we emerge from the water we are clean, pure and undefiled.

The problem is, we remember the sweet fruits of our past life; its enticements, its comforts, its pleasures and unless we draw a hard line and bring in staunch accountability we migrate back. Back to what comforted us before; back to what previously brought us pleasure, fun and excitement.

This is the trap. If you are back where you were, how can you be a light where you are? If your life hasn’t drastically changed and you are still haunting the same places, doing the same things how are you set apart for holy purposes?

Jesus was a radical. He turned society on its ear with his lifestyle and we are called to do the same. We are called to eradicate every trace of evil from our lives and live holy and pure unto him.

We are called to live above reproach as painful and inconvenient as that may be. When we intentionally live above reproach we are still judged, but it is harder for the appearance of evil to creep in. And believe you me, evil is looking for every opportunity to bring you down, mar you and your reputation, and give people fodder to point at and talk about.

Where are you on the continuum? Are you here, there, or straddling the fence hopping from one side to the other? What areas of your life may cause others to not have the proper view of Jesus? What life elements aren’t fully set apart, holy, belonging to God?

Where do you fudge in the face of convenience or comfort?

Updates:
Living – My housewarming was a success and I am “settled”. Thanks again to all who helped in the moving process…hopefully I won’t have to do it again for awhile!
Condo – Still for sale. My realtor is holding an open house this Sunday, there have been several showings during the past week and I am praying, hoping, pleading, with God that he will sell it soon.
Work – The retreat was a huge success. God showed up, people were transformed and I think God was glorified. Our first team leaves next week followed by our second the end of October. The last one leaves the first of November – all are gone for about 20 days.
Travel – I am heading to India! I submitted all the paperwork for my visa yesterday and am awaiting approval before I purchase my air ticket. I will hopefully fly out on the 20th of October and return on the 8th of November (Mom, I’ll actually be in the country for your birthday this year!).

Requests:
Condo – Pray that it sells! Each month God has been bringing in the money to pay the mortgage, dues, and special assessment fees (Praise God) but not having the payments loom over my horizon would be even better! Pray that it sells, sells, sells!
Work – We need staff. Our ministry is expanding and we don’t have the people to man all the posts that are coming available! If you are a rēp alumni and are seeking things to do – CONTACT US!

Websites - If you would like to RSS my update vs. getting them by email visit my blog site http://www.denaandrews.blogstpot.com/. To find out more about rēp visit http://www.repurposing.biz/ for information.

Update #103

“we know that to the ones loving God all things work together for good” Romans 8:28a

There was a period of my life where I felt like “Job-ette”. One December, during an unexpected cold spell, my primary household heater exploded in the wall; the following week I discovered my identity had been stolen and my bank accounts emptied; and within the next month, my grandmothers died within 20 days of each other. The first of February brought the news I needed to change careers – or consider loosing the use of my right ankle. Home, financial, family and career had all been decimated within six weeks.

As I look back I see how God restores all things:

· A man from my church specialized in heating installation. He came and fixed it free of charge – I just had to buy the parts. My dad came and re-plastered and painted the wall so it now looks like nothing ever happened. And my cat, Spooky, whose tail was singed in the explosion, came out from under the bed after about 2 weeks.
· Eight weeks and a FBI interview / investigation brought about the return of all but $200.00 of my stolen money (and I count that as a tithe to the government!). My bank did short term loans to help me pay bills, and contacted all my creditors to explain what had happened. They were able to make all the late and bounced payment fees disappear.
· Death separates, but it also unifies. Having one Gran die was hard. She had been ailing for years and her death was somewhat expected. The other was a complete surprise. I watched first my Mom then my Dad deal with their losses – and turn toward each other. I think in a strange way it deepened their relationship to walk through so much pain and grief together.
· I took the orthopedic surgeons warning seriously. I scaled back to half time clinical work and then went into full time clinical administration. Then I lost my job. I wandered around in unemployment land for over a year – but during that time I invested in a ministry that was helping others internationally. I had found my niche and flourished.

God is a good God. There is a verse in Romans chapter 8 that talks about how he turns all things to the good. If we love him, obey his precepts, principles and commands he will work out every situation so we win and succeed. Timing is the varying factor. Although I am sure that God acts with immediacy on our behalf sometimes we don’t see the results for months, years or even decades.

The question is, do you believe that God is good? With things crashing down, the world crumbling, things dying – do you believe that God has a master plan and that he is always good? To be absolutely honest, it took me awhile to grasp that God only gives good things and the bad is a result of circumstance, choice, and consequence.

But now that I understand God’s goodness, God’s grace, and God’s unending care and affection for me it is easier to face the “bad stuff.” I know it isn’t from him to “teach me something,” it isn’t a punishment, vengeance or retribution. It just is. Now that I know the bad stuff in life isn’t from God is it like I have an ally to help me fight it…if he isn’t against me he must with me! And with God on my side – Ha! – the bad stuff is going down!

Updates:
Living – I have been in my new place for about a month. It still feels surreal that I live here! I look out the windows and see the view, look at the high ceilings, new bathroom, kitchen, cozy lanai and am in awe of God’s goodness to me.
Condo – Still for sale. My past renter’s car has been moved (whoo hoo) but his lock is still on the storage unit. I am taking small steps forward to remedy the situation – I am thinking of having a lock cutting ceremony October 2nd!
Work – The Big Weekend is days away…September 18th everyone heads to Scott’s Valley, CA. I am in the throws of final details, prep and confirmations. Right after the retreat ends the teams start to leave – Cape Town, Chennai, and Jakarta.

Requests:
Condo – Please continue to pray that the property will sell. My realtor tells me that traffic through the unit is increasing…which is a really good thing.
Work – We are in need of an overall training lead for our January cycle. It is a full-time position and works not only domestically but internationally as well. Are there any alumni out there who have a passion for transformation, education, and working internationally?
Websites - If you would like to RSS my update vs. getting them by email visit my blog site http://www.denaandrews.blogstpot.com/. To find out more about rēp visit http://www.repurposing.biz/ for information.