Update #112

“But I say to you, Love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who despitefully use you and persecute you…”Matthew 5:44

Outside Seedorf, where I am staying, we found this sign...frog crossing...which is so funny as the nearest body of water is about 1km away! We laughed a long time!

Erik’s office was on the absolute opposite side of the building from mine. Two long corridors of white walls, grey carpet and closed doors separated us…but I could always hear him coming. Always.

I could hear the murmur long before I could make out the words…they grew more distinct as he came closer to my office. “I love Bill. I LOVE Bill. I love BILL. I love Bill.” over and over and over he repeated the mantra as he marched around the office periphery.

After about his third lap I asked about the weird song. “If I say it enough I may believe it.” He replied and continued walking. Huh?

Erik had pushed a Microsoft based operating system to its limits and beyond. And, in response, it had crashed, died, and refused resurrection. Erik was a bit steamed. He knew the capability of the system; he knew what, in theory, it could do. He was positive that it could go farther, do more, and achieve greater accuracy and efficiency than it was currently. Before he called Microsoft Customer Support he was calming himself down by walking the office halls and reminding himself that he needed to love not hate Microsoft. If he loved Bill he would treat all that Bill had and owned with care and kindness, as if it were his own.

Was my friend deluded? Was he on the short list for mental hospital admittance? No, he was just really, really frustrated. But, I do think he was operating on a few of God’s foundational principles, ie “Love one another as you want to be loved” and “respond in love” (i.e. the opposite spirit because it isn’t usually love being shown to us!).

Erik called, was kind, gentle and instead of lambasting the service reps when they said “no” and “can’t be done” he responded with patience, understanding and persistence. The operating system was up and running after a few long hours of re-programming frustration.

I need to be more like Erik. I need to remember that in loving God I need to love others. Everything on this planet is Gods; God loves every person on this spinning orb – I need to remember that.

I need to be kind to the person cutting me off in the post office, I need to give the last bunch of bananas to the grouchy mother of three in the grocery store, I need to smile at the man who just swiped the parking space I had been patiently waiting for, I need to hold the door open for the woman behind me – even though the man before me let it slam in my face...I need to love them and respond in the opposite spirit projected to me. Not because I am a saint, not because I took my happy pill before I left the house – but because I love God and he loves them.

How do you respond to the grouchy boss, the grumpy secretary, the moody barista? Are you grouchy, grumpy and moody in return? Or do you respond with the opposite spirit and smile at them wishing them a happier day? Let me tell you, when you do, it shocks them – and some even smile back. Try it!

Updates:
Condo – Still for sale. No movement – the realtors advised me to keep it on the market through the holidays because only “serious” buyers are looking right now and hopefully one of them will be interested.
Work – on a bit of a holiday in Switzerland with my co-worker Rebecca. Her dad lives just outside of Bern and I am enjoying the near-freezing temps, scattered snow showers, and countryside.
Travel – was able to sleep a little on the plane (a miracle in itself) – and I was surrounded by well behaved children (another miracle)! Thank you God!

Requests:
Condo – It needs to sell and I need the monthly mortgage payment to come in. I wish the condo would just be snatched up by some lovely buyer and I wouldn’t have to think about it anymore.
Work – we are in the midst of recruiting for the next training cycle and readying for the January kick off.
Travel – I head back to the US on the 7th via American Airlines. Travel has gotten sluggishly slow after the attempted terrorist attack – pray that my journey won’t be too affected by the heightened security.
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 #111

“He spent his life in fellowship with God, and then he disappeared, because God took him away.” Genesis 5:24

Villa Montalvo hiking trail - Saratoga, CA

Enoch is only mentioned a few times in the Bible – mostly in Genesis, and then in a few New Testament references (mostly in “begat” sections). But there are verses, short one liners, that really impact me (in summary):

· Genesis 5:24 – intense intimacy / fellowship with God for 300 years resulting in absence of death
· Hebrews 11:5-6 – faith is what kept him from tasting death – and the famous verse about “faith pleasing God” was inspired by this man

I don’t know about you, but I only know of two men in the world’s history translated off this earth – Enoch and Elijah. We know more about Elijah’s story – just because there is more written in the Bible; great prophet, weird guy, trained Elisha, afraid of Jezebel for a season, able to change weather patterns, ability call down fire to consume a wet altar, slaughtered a bunch of false prophets, etc. And in 2 Kings 2 a fiery chariot from heaven swoops down, picks up Elijah and off to the heavens he goes. There were over 50 eye-witnesses to that incredible event.

I have known, and know, lots of devoted God-followers but none of them have disappeared and are “known no more.” What set Enoch and Elijah apart?

Enoch was married and had kids; Elijah, not. Enoch lived before the flood; Elijah, after. Both were men, both were prophets, both had names starting with the letter E. They were alike in some aspects but very different in others. It is reported in Genesis 5 that Enoch started walking with God after the birth of his son Methuselah…Enoch was 65 (go Gramps Go). Conversely, Elijah appears out of nowhere in 1Kings 17 prophesying in Ahab’s court and not much is said about his genealogy – a bit strange for Jewish culture.

But, I don’t think these facts are the reason they never tasted death.

Why were they zipped up off the planet and not some of the other “greats” of faith? Why these two men and not Billy Graham? These are some of the questions I would like to ask God when I get to heaven. Was it the faith factor? Their intimacy level? That they were men? Was it there were so few others on the earth who were like them God wanted to make examples out of their lives?

Both Enoch and Elijah were radical followers of God; both were able to hear God’s voice and speak it to the nations; both were taken alive into heaven during their “prime.” I don’t know what made them so special to God…but they were. I am not sure what set them apart, but they were. One thing I do know, their faith pleased God.

Does your faith level please God? Does your life depict you need God to show up or you fail? Do you have to trust him for life, breath and everyday energy – or do you have things handled yourself? Do you make God happy with your decisions? Do you please God with your actions?

I doubt that I will be translated off this earth. But I do want to be special in God’s eyes, I do want to be set apart, and I do want to make God happy. Do you?

Updates:
Condo – Still for sale.
Work – Recruiting! Events, applications, documents – yep it is that time of year! Learn to be a minister/pastor in your workplace…http://repurposing.biz/how-to-enroll/
Visitors – Jamie’s visit was so much fun! We walked, talked, shopped, and I got to show her all my favorite places in and around Saratoga. So Fun!
Travel – God provided a ticket for me to travel to Switzerland for the holidays! Yep, I leave Christmas morning to join Rebecca (who is flying from South Africa). I am excited to see and spend time with my friend at her Dad’s house outside Berne.

Requests:
Condo – Needs to sell and I need the monthly mortgage payment to come in. Please pray for a buyer – God has one in mind, I just don’t know where they are!
Work – for 2010 plans – so much to consider, contemplate and pray about! Exciting things are ahead!
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.

PS – Happy Christmas – consider this your Holiday Greeting Card from me! :)

Update #110

“The kicker about deception is you don’t know when it is happening…you don’t know you are being deceived.” – Dennis B.

I don't know who took this picture, but I love it. It exemplifies child-likeness and joy to me!

Dennis is brilliant. He is the “young peoples” pastor at my church and is a raving lunatic when it comes to Jesus – he is completely unhinged. Most youth pastors are a bit on the weird side; I think the odd hours, high-fat foods, and leisure moment choices perpetuate the illusion (who skateboards after midnight or climbs random trees past the age of 20?).

He preached a couple of Sunday’s ago and one of his closing statements stayed with me. “You don’t know you are being deceived.” He is so right – we think we are “all that” and a cup of coffee but really, we are disillusioned, deluded, and deceived about a lot of things. We think we have the truth, “the skinny” as my mom would say, but in all reality most of the time we only have a fraction of the truth and are basing our opinions, reality, justifications on a bad imitation of the real thing. We are basing things on man, on the created, not on the creator.

The question is how do you know when you are deceived, deluded or disillusioned? How do you know when your plumb line isn’t quite straight – that there is a kink somewhere in the cord?

Cops who work counterfeiting don’t study fake bills to discover flaws. They study the real thing - traits of the authentic are compared to the questionable. The counterfeits get easier and easier to distinguish as the detectives get intimately familiar with the original.

How well do you know the original source? How intimate are you with the truth of God?
I think this is key in discovering the areas of deception in our lives.

We all believe lies; but we don’t know them as lies. They are more widely known as “viewpoints.” Take the 1960’s for example. Certain groups of people really believed that the darker-skinned population was less intelligent, less capable, less able to think for themselves and had little to no ability to secure futures for their families. A lie, but readily accepted by societies at large.

Think about the church…there are certain denominations and religions preaching God is no longer active on the earth, that he is judging the world and Christians need to pray, hang on for the ride and wait for heaven to appear at the end of the long dark tunnel. A lie but readily accepted by a large portion of the Christ-believing population today.

Again, how well do you know the original? How well do you know the authentic, the real-deal, the living, active, speaking God? How many veils of deception are you buried under? If you want to know, all you have to do is ask – God will show you.

Jesus came “to announce release to captives and freedom to those in prison” (Isaiah 61:1) – deception is a prison. Deception, disillusionment, fraudulence, aren’t freedom, aren’t abundant life, aren’t peace.

How well acquainted are you with the truth…because it will set you free (John 8:32).

Updates:
Condo – Still for sale – I am praying hard that it will sell this month so I can end 2009 with the sale and wrap up the taxes etc. this year..
Work – We are two-thirds through our annual planning meeting. We have people in from India, Indonesia, and our US offices. Lots of food, fellowship and fun…as well as long hours planning our upcoming year.
Visitors – Jamie arrives on Tuesday!

Requests:
Condo – It needs to sell and I need the monthly mortgage payment to come in. I have been trusting God since July and he has paid it every single time…I wish the condo would just be snatched up by some lovely buyer and I wouldn’t have to think about it anymore.
Work – we are in need of recruits for the next cycle and for a lead to coordinate the local and international training (alumni).
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.