Update #141 - Happy Holidays 2010

Display at Bellevue Botanical Gardens, Bellevue, WA (The flowers made from lights...SO PRETTY!)

Since I started blogging and entering people’s lives twice a month, I stopped writing and sending annual Christmas letters. This year, since I am “blocked” on the devotional front, I thought I would resurrect the practice.

2010, as you know, was a year of travel for me. In fact, I just reached MVP status with one of my mileage award programs…no more paying for checked luggage!!! I had 10 trips this last year; four of which were international. I feel very privileged to experience what I have of the world – and be exposed to different cultures, practices…and food!

The stamps in my passport are impressive; trip photographs tell a stunning story, yet, that is not who I am – that is what I did, what I saw, what I accomplished – not the girl inside.

I was reflecting on 2010 last week. What had God done? (Tons) Where had God moved? (Everywhere) When had I seen God in action? (Almost daily) Who had I become?

The last question took a bit of time to answer. And, as all good writers / speakers, the answer came in alliterative terms: Fenced, Freedom, Favor.

The first several months of 2010 I felt “fenced” – everything I tried, all I put my hand to, it seemed, failed. I heard a lot of “not now, later.” I experienced delay, I struggled through several personal trials and felt as if I was pulling, not pushing, a large boulder up a mountain. The apex of this confinement came in May – in Cape Town – with a team of 35 around me. I’ll spare you the details but God did some major re-ordering of my thinking / perspectives and paradigms about the world and people.

This ushered in “freedom.” After months of perceived “internment” it was a breath of fresh air. All of the “not nows” disappeared, the bolder made it to the top of the hill seemingly on its own, and all that I put my hand to was easy and light, not burdensome. I continued learning new things, was stretched in good ways, and spent a lot of time laughing.

The Bible says that “a merry heart does good like a medicine” (Proverbs 17:22). I felt I had experienced a huge dose of high-quality medicine and life was good. I didn’t expect it to elevate to great.

But that is what happened. Favor hit. Favor, in my definition, is “doing nothing and receiving everything.” It is portrayed pretty well in this YouTube video. The guys are doing nothing, yet the fish are jumping into their boat – no lines, not net, no bait; but they haul a great catch!

Miraculous things are a weekly, almost daily occurrence for me. It started with my eyesight being restored and not having to wear glasses / contacts on a daily basis, getting to go to Bali and Egypt and watch all the things God did there, coming home and having the opportunity to speak at my church, watch my sister get healed of a long time heart condition, and on, and on, and on. I giggle when I reflect on all the favor and glory God has granted in my life!

So, “Who have I become in 2010?” – one who has gone from fenced to favor. One who has experienced the glories of God in new, deeper and more exciting ways. One who is naturally supernatural and expectant of God to move and breathe in every and all situations.

If you have followed my blog over the last year you will have known of my “doings” – so this letter / posting is more about my “being” – an unusual approach to an end of year letter, but then again, when have you known me to fit the mold!

Merry Christmas and Happy Holiday Season to you and your family and may the God of Peace, Joy and Love enter your lives in a radical and new ways in 2011!

Update #140 - Definition of Ministry

"Don't you know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and who was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourselves but to God; he bought you for a price. So use your bodies for God's glory." I Corinthians 6:19-20

Brett, Lyn and I in Cairo, Egypt

“God has taken away my ministry.” my friend commented to me one evening over dinner.

An astonished “What?” escaped my lips as I mentally reviewed all in which he was involved (working with youth, 1:1 prayer counseling, worship leading, the arts, etc.). I was stymied.

He continued; told me a story of how his platform for “ministry” had been shaken, dismantled, and ultimately disappeared.

I listened, asked clarifying questions and then invited God’s opinion as to what was happening. It boiled down to my friend’s definition of “ministry.”

His “ministry” was still intact – he was spreading God’s joy, love, peace and righteousness to others through his work life, home life and his spare-time activities. God hadn’t taken away his “ministry”; he had removed one of the platforms from which it was practiced.

So often the two are confused. The guy up front preaching, the woman singing in the worship band, the person with the microphone is the one “ministering” – but me, the one sitting in the pew receiving isn’t a minister in my own right - I don’t have the platform so I mustn’t be a minister.

Wrong! (Accompanied by loud annoying buzzer.)

We are all ministers. If you are a Christian you are a “little Christ” (that is what Christian means) and the Holy Spirit lives inside of you. All of us have the same power, same anointing, same mandate as Jesus…to glorify God though our actions. Some of us do this by caring for children, through providing goods and services to others, through repairing cars, washing windows, preparing accounts, consolidating reports, cleaning floors, writing ad copy for a product…it if is done to the best of our ability and in a God honoring way, it is “ministry.”

A lot of Christians don’t see themselves as ministers. They are involved in their churches - serving the youth, tending children, providing meals, cultivating gardens, leading cell groups, bible studies, retreats and labeling it their “ministry.” But what about all the other hours of the week?

God uses everything. Eve-ry-thing. He makes the most of every experience, every position, every contact, every moment. Why wouldn’t he make the most of you and what you do?

Would your viewpoint of work change if you saw it as your primary place of ministry? You spend most of your time there, you build relationships there, you are known and “watched” there…do you think God could use your job, your office, your business as an outlet for his love to be shown, his joy to be released and his peace to be bestowed?

I am not asking you to start an evangelistic campaign from your cubicle. I am not asking you to start a mid-week Bible study with tea and cookies. I am challenging you, however, to seek God and ask him how he would like to be revealed and shown in your place of employment. It may be as simple as changing the décor or adding a tea station to your lobby. It may mean changing the configuration of your office so your back isn’t to the door when it is opened. It may be how your treat and respond to others or how you make decisions and plan your day.

How can you bring more of God into your workplace so your co-workers, suppliers, customers, clients, employees might start to ask questions and inquire about the God you serve?

God just isn’t in the church. God is in the marketplace – and if invited he will be in your place of business as well. How will you make him known?

Updates:

•Work – Egypt was AMAZING and I can’t wait to return! The contacts we made will be life-long, the avenues and doors God opened were incredible. It was a fun, albeit short trip. I am now back at my desk prepping for the upcoming worship night, Christmas party, staff retreat / planning meeting, recruiting activities, upcoming rep training, and all the other stuff I do!

•Heath – I am 90% - much, much, much better! I am sleeping really well and jet lag was almost a non-issue this trip (not enough time to really acclimate before returning home – so I was only a bit messed up and sleepy for about a week!)

•Travel – made it home from Egypt without issue and all my baggage arrived with me. The airport in Paris, where I had a short layover, had been closed on and off due to snow accumulation. Thank God my flight arrived during a window when they were OPEN!

Requests:

•Health – That I will be 100% in the next few days. I have been sleeping well, eating right and taking needed down time to recoup from my recent travel. I would like to be totally healthy when I head home to Seattle for Christmas.

•Travel – I head to Seattle on the 22nd.

•Writing – I have had a bit of writers block recently, and no “oomph” to produce any updates… please pray that I will be re-energized, refocused, and if God chooses to continue to spread his love in this manner I’ll hear what he has to say.