It isn't an interesting melody or a unique rhythm and it needs some production but I wanted to put it up as the lyrics to this song are the cry of my heart - God that I would become like you.
Ive been Your echo
Ive been Your shadow
But my heart is to know You so I can be Your voice
Ive stood on mountains
Ive knelt in valleys
From glory to glory my heart will always be Yours
I'm becoming like You
I’m becoming like You
Its the cry of my heart my King
That I’d display Your majesty
I'm becoming like you
I'm becoming like you
Let Your love be all I know
Till Your glory becomes my own
Friday, May 21, 2010
Thursday, May 13, 2010
The Open Table - The Presence - Chapter 3 day 4 - The Original Version
When we bought our last house it was late fall and most of the leaves had fallen off the trees. Everything was bare. When spring arrived the trees started to bud and it was then that we noticed our neighbor’s tree was dead. During the winter it looked like every other tree in the neighborhood but once spring hit, it stood in stark contrast to the life all around us.
Regardless of species, trees all have one thing in common; the first sign of life is always the budding leaf. Some trees go on to bear tastier fruits like apples or walnuts, but the first fruit of a tree is its leaves.
The Bible refers to God as a vine and us, the church, as the branches. John 15:4 says, "I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.”
The vine, God, is always about producing life. In fact, Jesus refers to himself as “life” in John 14:6. So its pretty straight forward, a love relationship with life (God) will bear fruit. And if we engage Gods love, we enter into fruit bearing life. If we say yes to love we are saying yes to life.
So what’s life look like, well, its green and leafy and sometimes there are apples or walnuts. Life is about fruit. Or maybe I should say it this way. Fruit is the evidence of life. My neighbor’s tree, the one without the leaves, it was dead.
Ok Jason, I’m with you, so love bears fruit, how does that apply to community? Well, I’m so glad you asked…
There is another scripture in the Bible that talks about what a community grounded in love looks like using the metaphor of fruit. It say’s, “…the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control…” (Galatians 5:22-23)
A love community is essentially a place that models the fruits of the Spirit. Love always bears fruit, so love communities will always have signs that point to life. A love community will have evidence of Gods presence and that evidence looks like the fruit described in Galatians 5:22-23.
I think when we look for a community to make our own, when we seek mentors, brothers and sisters to live the journey with, we are looking for a people marked by Gods presence, a community with evidence of Galatians 5 fruit.
When I look for a place to find community, I want to know that we are pursuing the same thing – Gods presence. A community is simply a group of people running together toward a common purpose and the purpose of a love community is always the presence of God. I’m not saying we have to agree on everything, true community is not about conformity but transformation - it’s about being transformed into the image of Christ.
If you want to know what Gods presence looks like in a community, look for evidence of the fruits of His Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the revealed presence of God and it always looks like love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. These are the attributes of a love community and this scripture gives us practical mile markers for what community is meant to look like.
When it comes to fruit, be it the leaf, apple or walnut, it takes time. Fruit doesn’t just happen over night. A community of love may not exhibit all the fruits - it’s a journey. But if the presence of God is the central pursuit, there will always be evidence of life.
I encourage you to find and nurture a community of love that is practicing Galatians 5. I encourage you in all things to always seek his presence.
Regardless of species, trees all have one thing in common; the first sign of life is always the budding leaf. Some trees go on to bear tastier fruits like apples or walnuts, but the first fruit of a tree is its leaves.
The Bible refers to God as a vine and us, the church, as the branches. John 15:4 says, "I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.”
The vine, God, is always about producing life. In fact, Jesus refers to himself as “life” in John 14:6. So its pretty straight forward, a love relationship with life (God) will bear fruit. And if we engage Gods love, we enter into fruit bearing life. If we say yes to love we are saying yes to life.
So what’s life look like, well, its green and leafy and sometimes there are apples or walnuts. Life is about fruit. Or maybe I should say it this way. Fruit is the evidence of life. My neighbor’s tree, the one without the leaves, it was dead.
Ok Jason, I’m with you, so love bears fruit, how does that apply to community? Well, I’m so glad you asked…
There is another scripture in the Bible that talks about what a community grounded in love looks like using the metaphor of fruit. It say’s, “…the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control…” (Galatians 5:22-23)
A love community is essentially a place that models the fruits of the Spirit. Love always bears fruit, so love communities will always have signs that point to life. A love community will have evidence of Gods presence and that evidence looks like the fruit described in Galatians 5:22-23.
I think when we look for a community to make our own, when we seek mentors, brothers and sisters to live the journey with, we are looking for a people marked by Gods presence, a community with evidence of Galatians 5 fruit.
When I look for a place to find community, I want to know that we are pursuing the same thing – Gods presence. A community is simply a group of people running together toward a common purpose and the purpose of a love community is always the presence of God. I’m not saying we have to agree on everything, true community is not about conformity but transformation - it’s about being transformed into the image of Christ.
If you want to know what Gods presence looks like in a community, look for evidence of the fruits of His Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the revealed presence of God and it always looks like love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. These are the attributes of a love community and this scripture gives us practical mile markers for what community is meant to look like.
When it comes to fruit, be it the leaf, apple or walnut, it takes time. Fruit doesn’t just happen over night. A community of love may not exhibit all the fruits - it’s a journey. But if the presence of God is the central pursuit, there will always be evidence of life.
I encourage you to find and nurture a community of love that is practicing Galatians 5. I encourage you in all things to always seek his presence.
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
The Open Table - Cover Art
Here it is, the cover art for "The Open Table" This is the DVD but the book design is the same - and no, my name is not on that cover either but I really did write it, I promise.
While there where at least 25 people interviewed for the project, (Its a discipleship guidebook and film in a small group format for new believers) my dad, my daughter and I made it onto the cover. I'm thinking that the folks at Thomas Nelson have a good eye for lookers...or something.
The book releases in August.
The Good News
This is another edit from "The Open Table" releasing in August...
In the early church, the story of Jesus’ love was known as “the good news,” or “the Gospel.” And in Romans 1:16, Paul says about this gospel that it is “the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes.” There was a wonderful thing happening in those early days- still is happening today in fact. The love of God was and is being experienced first hand. The distant God found through religion was suddenly a close
God found in relationship. It is called salvation. Its a beautiful word - salvation.
It is also a word that has been used so often by believers that I think much of its wonder sometimes gets lost. Salvation or “saved” in the New Testament comes from the Greek word sozo, which means, delivered, restored, healed and made whole. Think about it for a moment. When we asked Jesus to be our best friend, when we invited him into our hearts and made him Lord of our life we got saved. Right? And it was an all-encompassing life changing event – this salvation we are talking about.
And the word we use for this decision, for this experience is saved. It’s a good word and true. We once were lost, now we are found. We once were dead and now we are raised with Christ, we are alive. We once were destined to a life of empty striving and now we are promised a day in day out love story where grace and mercy color a purpose filled life adventure.
But how many of us have simply applied the word saved to mean, we no longer are going to hell when we die? That’s not the only power of the gospel. What Paul was saying is that healing, deliverance, restoration; these are all available to those who believe. That’s pretty good news if you ask me.
Its the believing that Jesus loves us that leads us to salvation and this salvation releases us to the power that is the love of God - His goodness, grace, mercy, hope, peace and joy – its all available to us regardless of life’s circumstances. That’s good news! Good news for me and for you, for your friend and their friends and their friends friends…
In the early church, the story of Jesus’ love was known as “the good news,” or “the Gospel.” And in Romans 1:16, Paul says about this gospel that it is “the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes.” There was a wonderful thing happening in those early days- still is happening today in fact. The love of God was and is being experienced first hand. The distant God found through religion was suddenly a close
God found in relationship. It is called salvation. Its a beautiful word - salvation.
It is also a word that has been used so often by believers that I think much of its wonder sometimes gets lost. Salvation or “saved” in the New Testament comes from the Greek word sozo, which means, delivered, restored, healed and made whole. Think about it for a moment. When we asked Jesus to be our best friend, when we invited him into our hearts and made him Lord of our life we got saved. Right? And it was an all-encompassing life changing event – this salvation we are talking about.
And the word we use for this decision, for this experience is saved. It’s a good word and true. We once were lost, now we are found. We once were dead and now we are raised with Christ, we are alive. We once were destined to a life of empty striving and now we are promised a day in day out love story where grace and mercy color a purpose filled life adventure.
But how many of us have simply applied the word saved to mean, we no longer are going to hell when we die? That’s not the only power of the gospel. What Paul was saying is that healing, deliverance, restoration; these are all available to those who believe. That’s pretty good news if you ask me.
Its the believing that Jesus loves us that leads us to salvation and this salvation releases us to the power that is the love of God - His goodness, grace, mercy, hope, peace and joy – its all available to us regardless of life’s circumstances. That’s good news! Good news for me and for you, for your friend and their friends and their friends friends…
Monday, April 5, 2010
Buried Treasure
This blog is actually from the book "The Open Table - An Invitation To Walk With God" which releases with Thomas Nelson in August. Its a Donald Miller project. It is designed for small groups with two films and accompanying guidebooks. I had the incredible honor of writing the second guidebook - well I wrote it first, then the editors did the editing. Due to the way the project was set up I had no involvement in the editing.
This was meant to introduce the chapter titled "On Earth As It Is In Heaven." I think this would have been better than what ended up being edited in. But that's why we have blogs right? I actually will be posting several of the cuts in my blog over coming weeks.
Buried Treasure
Matt 13:46 “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field.
There was once a fella who knew of a treasure that was buried in a field. This treasure was greater than any treasure any mind could conceive. It was beyond imagination. The treasures name was “The Way, The Truth and The Life” (John 14:6).
This fella was so excited about the treasure that he sold everything he owned - right down to the clothes on his back. He gave all that he was and all that he had and naked he went to his field. He began to dig. And there he found his treasure and it was a Kingdom. It was a greater Kingdom than I can describe but I will try nonetheless.
This Kingdom was built on love. In fact, the King of this Kingdom was love (1Cor 13:13). The Kingdoms greatest power was found in joy, which was engaged through believing. Everything about the Kingdom was good. There was no evil in the Kingdom, not even a single drop - not a sliver. There was no sickness or sadness in this Kingdom and because this Kingdom was founded on love, all sorrow was redeemed and restored to joy. In this kingdom all things always worked to good. (Rom 8:28)
Amazingly, this fella, the one who went digging in the nude, well, he became an heir and citizen in this Kingdom. In essence, he was reborn and became a new creation taking on the very nature of His King - love. He was given new clothes and they fit him like a glove. These clothes were righteous and this fella was marvelous to behold because he had the love of His King in Him. Because he became an heir, this fella had access to every aspect of the Kingdom.
This Kingdom had a creed. It was known as the good news. The King spoke it often and the fella’s heart leaped with joy to hear it! It went like this “Thy Kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven” (Matt 6:10).
This next part may seem odd but it is true and truly astounding – over time this fella who became an heir of the King, well, he found that wherever he stepped the King and His Kingdom went with him. Then one day it dawned on the fella that this is why he existed – to know the Kings love and to establish his Kingdom of Love wherever he went…
Ok, I don’t know if you guessed it yet but that fella, he’s me. But wait there’s more. I would like to suggest that the fella, well, he is also you…
At the age of five I found my treasure. I gave Jesus all of me and I asked him into my heart. At that moment, I became an heir of the King and I gained citizenship to the same Kingdom I just described. Since then I have been discovering just how amazing this King and His Kingdom is. Since then, I have been discovering what it means to be an heir of the King and citizen of His Kingdom.
Some refer to this moment in a person’s life as “salvation.” Yep, that’s a good word for it. But it’s not just a moment. Since the age of five, I have been learning that Salvation is the most beautiful of life’s miracles. I once was dead, now I’m alive! I once was clothed in self-centered ignorance, I’m now clothed in love and righteousness. I once was a citizen of a fallen kingdom, I now am a citizen of Heaven (Phil 3:20). What makes the miracle of salvation so much more amazing is the fact that it doesn’t end there. Our salvation is not the end of our story; it’s the beginning of a new one.
If I may put it this way, after saying yes to Jesus, salvation is not only the answer, it’s the question. The question salvation asks is, “how shall we now live?” Most of my life I have understood salvation as an assurance of heaven after I die. Well, yes, that’s true, but I’m discovering that there’s so much more. You see, I am saved to bring heaven to earth while I’m alive.
Just like that fella who bought the field, I have met the King and am taking on His identity as my own. I am becoming love and because of this love, I have His creed burned on my heart… “Thy Kingdom come, on earth as it is in heaven.”
I believe that if you have asked Jesus into your heart, the journey from here on is about discovering the Kings love, who you are within the context of that love and how to live out that love daily.
This was meant to introduce the chapter titled "On Earth As It Is In Heaven." I think this would have been better than what ended up being edited in. But that's why we have blogs right? I actually will be posting several of the cuts in my blog over coming weeks.
Buried Treasure
Matt 13:46 “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field.
There was once a fella who knew of a treasure that was buried in a field. This treasure was greater than any treasure any mind could conceive. It was beyond imagination. The treasures name was “The Way, The Truth and The Life” (John 14:6).
This fella was so excited about the treasure that he sold everything he owned - right down to the clothes on his back. He gave all that he was and all that he had and naked he went to his field. He began to dig. And there he found his treasure and it was a Kingdom. It was a greater Kingdom than I can describe but I will try nonetheless.
This Kingdom was built on love. In fact, the King of this Kingdom was love (1Cor 13:13). The Kingdoms greatest power was found in joy, which was engaged through believing. Everything about the Kingdom was good. There was no evil in the Kingdom, not even a single drop - not a sliver. There was no sickness or sadness in this Kingdom and because this Kingdom was founded on love, all sorrow was redeemed and restored to joy. In this kingdom all things always worked to good. (Rom 8:28)
Amazingly, this fella, the one who went digging in the nude, well, he became an heir and citizen in this Kingdom. In essence, he was reborn and became a new creation taking on the very nature of His King - love. He was given new clothes and they fit him like a glove. These clothes were righteous and this fella was marvelous to behold because he had the love of His King in Him. Because he became an heir, this fella had access to every aspect of the Kingdom.
This Kingdom had a creed. It was known as the good news. The King spoke it often and the fella’s heart leaped with joy to hear it! It went like this “Thy Kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven” (Matt 6:10).
This next part may seem odd but it is true and truly astounding – over time this fella who became an heir of the King, well, he found that wherever he stepped the King and His Kingdom went with him. Then one day it dawned on the fella that this is why he existed – to know the Kings love and to establish his Kingdom of Love wherever he went…
Ok, I don’t know if you guessed it yet but that fella, he’s me. But wait there’s more. I would like to suggest that the fella, well, he is also you…
At the age of five I found my treasure. I gave Jesus all of me and I asked him into my heart. At that moment, I became an heir of the King and I gained citizenship to the same Kingdom I just described. Since then I have been discovering just how amazing this King and His Kingdom is. Since then, I have been discovering what it means to be an heir of the King and citizen of His Kingdom.
Some refer to this moment in a person’s life as “salvation.” Yep, that’s a good word for it. But it’s not just a moment. Since the age of five, I have been learning that Salvation is the most beautiful of life’s miracles. I once was dead, now I’m alive! I once was clothed in self-centered ignorance, I’m now clothed in love and righteousness. I once was a citizen of a fallen kingdom, I now am a citizen of Heaven (Phil 3:20). What makes the miracle of salvation so much more amazing is the fact that it doesn’t end there. Our salvation is not the end of our story; it’s the beginning of a new one.
If I may put it this way, after saying yes to Jesus, salvation is not only the answer, it’s the question. The question salvation asks is, “how shall we now live?” Most of my life I have understood salvation as an assurance of heaven after I die. Well, yes, that’s true, but I’m discovering that there’s so much more. You see, I am saved to bring heaven to earth while I’m alive.
Just like that fella who bought the field, I have met the King and am taking on His identity as my own. I am becoming love and because of this love, I have His creed burned on my heart… “Thy Kingdom come, on earth as it is in heaven.”
I believe that if you have asked Jesus into your heart, the journey from here on is about discovering the Kings love, who you are within the context of that love and how to live out that love daily.
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
The Mexican Hamburger, The Beach, & A Moral?
The Mexican Hamburger
Karen had to be as exhausted as I was. We had flown all night up from Mexico City. Our flights had been substantially lower in cost if we flew out of Toronto, so even though it was a three hour drive from Rochester NY, that’s what we did.
It had been a great mission trip and we were ready to be home and snuggle into a real bed together. We were newly married and had spent a week sleeping in separate tents cause the missionaries we went with were apparently from the 1800,s and “we didn’t want to have any appearance of impropriety,” whatever that means.
We had spent a week up in the hills of a small Mexican town and had been a part of a medical mission. Seeing as neither of us had any credentials in that department we spent our days in practical serving and prayer. We spent our nights freezing in our flimsy sleeping bags, alone. Though the weather was a perfect 70 degrees in the day at night it was colder than a naked Eskimo…Now if only I could make money writing similes...
Karen had also played a large role in preparing our meals with the local women. We had a great time with the name of each of the meals as every meal had the same ingredients, tortillas and beans. Tortilla pancakes for breakfast, with beans! Tortilla sandwiches for lunch, with beans! And tortilla hamburgers for dinner, with beans!
When the mission was done we caught a bus back to Mexico City for our flight home. Needless to say, we all were ready for a good meal at a restaurant. The missionary leading the trip took us to one of his favorite spots before heading to the airport. The menu was in Spanish but its pretty obvious if your looking for it, hamburguesa.
The other thing that had been haunting my cold lonely dreams for a week, hamburguesa!
I asked our team leader if he thought the hamburgers were safe to eat. He shrugged, “Yeah, they should be fine.”
The hamburger didn’t taste right but I ate it anyway. Why? Cause it wasn’t tortillas and beans, I guess; and also, I trusted our team leader.
We caught taxi’s to the airport and after several hours waiting on the tarmac because of mechanical difficulties, we finally headed home.
As I already mentioned, it was an all night flight in which neither my new bride or myself could sleep. We finally arrived in Canada and said goodbye to everyone we had missionary-ed with. Then we caught a shuttle to our car and started the three-hour drive home.
I wasn’t feeling good, I was dizzy, light headed and exhausted but figured it was due to the sleepless night, not bad hamburguesa. Even though I could hardly keep my eyes open I told Karen I would drive; it’s what new husbands do. She let me, its what new wives do.
Karen drifted off. About half an hour into the drive I had already used every tick I knew to fight sleep. The exhaustion seemed oddly overwhelming. I couldn’t understand why. I had done much longer trips with less faintness. At one point I almost pulled over to ask Karen if she would drive. But I thought, “If I’m this tired, she must be as well.” So I soldiered on. We were driving in a flat farmland section of highway when I saw it. It was out in the field to the right of the highway.
It was a rabbit. But this was no ordinary rabbit; it was three stories high and about half a football field long. It was bright pink and it was made out of marshmallow. It looked like a Peeps. You know, those marshmallow candies that are sold during the Easter season.
At first I was awed by the sheer size. Then I became terrified as it looked at me and jumped once, twice and landed directly in front of our car. I jerked the steering wheel violently fishtailing the car onto the right shoulder while slamming my breaks bringing the car to a screeching halt.
Karen woke up screaming. “What? What happened?” I shook my head and rubbed my eyes, the rabbit was still there. It just sat there, in the middle of the road, watching me. “What happened? Did we get a flat? Are you OK? JASON?!”
I finally looked at Karen and said, “A huge pink peeps bunny just jumped out on the road in front of us.” And then “I think you better drive”…
The Beach
A year and a half ago we went on a family vacation to the beach. At the time Eva was two. Weeks before going on this vacation the whole family told her about the ocean. The entire drive to the coast we told her about the ocean. She was primed for big water. When we checked into the 30-story beachfront hotel we immediately went out onto our balcony 18 stories up to finally show Eva the unending body of water. Her eyes took it in and she understood. The ocean was big.
If you have been on vacation with small kids at a beach then you know it can easily take an hour from the moment you decide to go swimming to the moment you actually leave the hotel room. Especially if you have Anglo Saxon skin like we do. Bathing suites need to go on, boogie boards need to be gathered, towels need to be accounted for and sunscreen needs to be lathered in generous amounts upon every surface that could even possibly see sun.
Along the way, the kids become almost unbearable. There understanding of “be patient” is waiting 3 minutes between asking when we were going swimming. While we prepared Eva got caught up in her older brother and sisters euphoric expectation. The kids would run to the balcony and look at the “osen” as Eva called it and laugh. Then they would find us to ask if we were ready and when could we go.
Finally it was time to head out. We stared out the door and I called for Eva. There was no response. I walked through the Hotel rooms and found her naked in the master bathroom trying to get into the tub. I asked her what she was doing and she said, “Bath daddy.”
My daughter wandering through the rooms, upon seeing the bathtub, forgot about ocean. She had removed her bathing suite and was preparing for a bath. She was more than willing to trade the ocean she had not experienced for the familiarity of the tub.
Water is water right?
Suddenly God spoke to my heart and said, Jason the promises I have for you are the size of the ocean, don’t get distracted by bathtubs.
A Moral?
Just cause you are hungry for a hamburger doesn’t mean you should eat the first one available. And further more, if its not tasting right, for goodness sake, stop eating it.
And
Not all water is created equal.
Karen had to be as exhausted as I was. We had flown all night up from Mexico City. Our flights had been substantially lower in cost if we flew out of Toronto, so even though it was a three hour drive from Rochester NY, that’s what we did.
It had been a great mission trip and we were ready to be home and snuggle into a real bed together. We were newly married and had spent a week sleeping in separate tents cause the missionaries we went with were apparently from the 1800,s and “we didn’t want to have any appearance of impropriety,” whatever that means.
We had spent a week up in the hills of a small Mexican town and had been a part of a medical mission. Seeing as neither of us had any credentials in that department we spent our days in practical serving and prayer. We spent our nights freezing in our flimsy sleeping bags, alone. Though the weather was a perfect 70 degrees in the day at night it was colder than a naked Eskimo…Now if only I could make money writing similes...
Karen had also played a large role in preparing our meals with the local women. We had a great time with the name of each of the meals as every meal had the same ingredients, tortillas and beans. Tortilla pancakes for breakfast, with beans! Tortilla sandwiches for lunch, with beans! And tortilla hamburgers for dinner, with beans!
When the mission was done we caught a bus back to Mexico City for our flight home. Needless to say, we all were ready for a good meal at a restaurant. The missionary leading the trip took us to one of his favorite spots before heading to the airport. The menu was in Spanish but its pretty obvious if your looking for it, hamburguesa.
The other thing that had been haunting my cold lonely dreams for a week, hamburguesa!
I asked our team leader if he thought the hamburgers were safe to eat. He shrugged, “Yeah, they should be fine.”
The hamburger didn’t taste right but I ate it anyway. Why? Cause it wasn’t tortillas and beans, I guess; and also, I trusted our team leader.
We caught taxi’s to the airport and after several hours waiting on the tarmac because of mechanical difficulties, we finally headed home.
As I already mentioned, it was an all night flight in which neither my new bride or myself could sleep. We finally arrived in Canada and said goodbye to everyone we had missionary-ed with. Then we caught a shuttle to our car and started the three-hour drive home.
I wasn’t feeling good, I was dizzy, light headed and exhausted but figured it was due to the sleepless night, not bad hamburguesa. Even though I could hardly keep my eyes open I told Karen I would drive; it’s what new husbands do. She let me, its what new wives do.
Karen drifted off. About half an hour into the drive I had already used every tick I knew to fight sleep. The exhaustion seemed oddly overwhelming. I couldn’t understand why. I had done much longer trips with less faintness. At one point I almost pulled over to ask Karen if she would drive. But I thought, “If I’m this tired, she must be as well.” So I soldiered on. We were driving in a flat farmland section of highway when I saw it. It was out in the field to the right of the highway.
It was a rabbit. But this was no ordinary rabbit; it was three stories high and about half a football field long. It was bright pink and it was made out of marshmallow. It looked like a Peeps. You know, those marshmallow candies that are sold during the Easter season.
At first I was awed by the sheer size. Then I became terrified as it looked at me and jumped once, twice and landed directly in front of our car. I jerked the steering wheel violently fishtailing the car onto the right shoulder while slamming my breaks bringing the car to a screeching halt.
Karen woke up screaming. “What? What happened?” I shook my head and rubbed my eyes, the rabbit was still there. It just sat there, in the middle of the road, watching me. “What happened? Did we get a flat? Are you OK? JASON?!”
I finally looked at Karen and said, “A huge pink peeps bunny just jumped out on the road in front of us.” And then “I think you better drive”…
The Beach
A year and a half ago we went on a family vacation to the beach. At the time Eva was two. Weeks before going on this vacation the whole family told her about the ocean. The entire drive to the coast we told her about the ocean. She was primed for big water. When we checked into the 30-story beachfront hotel we immediately went out onto our balcony 18 stories up to finally show Eva the unending body of water. Her eyes took it in and she understood. The ocean was big.
If you have been on vacation with small kids at a beach then you know it can easily take an hour from the moment you decide to go swimming to the moment you actually leave the hotel room. Especially if you have Anglo Saxon skin like we do. Bathing suites need to go on, boogie boards need to be gathered, towels need to be accounted for and sunscreen needs to be lathered in generous amounts upon every surface that could even possibly see sun.
Along the way, the kids become almost unbearable. There understanding of “be patient” is waiting 3 minutes between asking when we were going swimming. While we prepared Eva got caught up in her older brother and sisters euphoric expectation. The kids would run to the balcony and look at the “osen” as Eva called it and laugh. Then they would find us to ask if we were ready and when could we go.
Finally it was time to head out. We stared out the door and I called for Eva. There was no response. I walked through the Hotel rooms and found her naked in the master bathroom trying to get into the tub. I asked her what she was doing and she said, “Bath daddy.”
My daughter wandering through the rooms, upon seeing the bathtub, forgot about ocean. She had removed her bathing suite and was preparing for a bath. She was more than willing to trade the ocean she had not experienced for the familiarity of the tub.
Water is water right?
Suddenly God spoke to my heart and said, Jason the promises I have for you are the size of the ocean, don’t get distracted by bathtubs.
A Moral?
Just cause you are hungry for a hamburger doesn’t mean you should eat the first one available. And further more, if its not tasting right, for goodness sake, stop eating it.
And
Not all water is created equal.
Thursday, February 4, 2010
Megan & Haiti
My brother Joel and my Sister In-Law Megan are in Haiti today. Megan has been keeping us up to speed on what they are doing and the needs Haiti is facing. We have all been praying for them and have been believing for favor on what they are doing there. Below is the email I received this morning from Megan.
****
Hi again,
Another good morning. I am a little hazy today and very dirty but looking forward to the day.
I spent a lot of yesterday trying to mobilize food aid and nutrition support for a hurting commune/city called Leogone that has not received the medicines, vitamins and food they need. We visited a tent city and heard about the destruction and visited a hospital we partnered with that's been destroyed (I'm writing a grant to rebuild this one) there. We lobbied UNICEF, WFP and USAID for help. The good news is that we have made progress in Leogone and will begin distributing food and formula in the next 2 days, God willing.
Joel has been (with his camera) in the middle of food distributions, talking with the staff, in camps, with medical teams. Its wonderful to be here together.
I need to get started with work now. Lots of love from us,
Megan and Joel
****
Today is Megan's birthday and I was reminded of a note I had written for her last year for her birthday. I thought it pretty applicable for today. The note is below.
****
The fact is, Meghan can do everything and most of it all at once.
For instance, she could dismantle an atomic bomb while preparing Pan-Roasted duck breast, steamed root vegetables and speckled butter beans for a party of ten, while playing Mancala – the 7000 year old Arabic board game - with her husband, while explaining the rules to her husband and then lovingly tolerating his pathetic attempts at cheating... These are the kinds of things Megan can do…
While thinking about Megan, my mind returned to an article I had read recently. I immediately went online and found it. Though the article is not written about Megan, it reminded me so much of her that I thought I would put some of it here.
Please note that I have added to the article in order to better highlight the similarities between the woman being written about and Megan. The changes are (bracketed and in italics.)
Here is the article,
"Jaime Sommers (Megan Nykyforchyn Clark) is nothing but a hard-working woman juggling work as a bartender (International Programs Director) and the responsibility for the care of her younger sister, Becca, (Her husband, Joel).
Although she does not have much, Jaime (Megan) has always enjoyed being as normal as any other human being. However, this all changed when she is hit by a car and seriously injured (when she was born and decided to be awesome).
Following a nearly fatal car accident, (Following her decision to be awesome) Jaime (Megan) receives cybernetic implants, known as bionics. These implants give her superhuman strength and speed, allow her to hear at low volumes and over uncommonly long distances, and gives her 2000/20 vision and mathematical analysis of objects, their speeds, trajectories and so forth................"
Isn’t it amazing? It is uncanny how similar she and "The Bionic Woman” are!
****
While we would all love to be with them, we have been praying for both Megan and Joel and have been living through them. Here is a link to World Hope the organization Megan works with - World Hope This is a great place to give regarding Haiti!
Below are a couple pics Joel posted recently on his FB
Today I pray for Haiti and for Megan and Joel. Today I pray that You will bless Megan with Bionic strength and give here a powerful birthday miracle. In the name of Your Son and my best friend Jesus, Amen
Happy Birthday Megan!
****
Hi again,
Another good morning. I am a little hazy today and very dirty but looking forward to the day.
I spent a lot of yesterday trying to mobilize food aid and nutrition support for a hurting commune/city called Leogone that has not received the medicines, vitamins and food they need. We visited a tent city and heard about the destruction and visited a hospital we partnered with that's been destroyed (I'm writing a grant to rebuild this one) there. We lobbied UNICEF, WFP and USAID for help. The good news is that we have made progress in Leogone and will begin distributing food and formula in the next 2 days, God willing.
Joel has been (with his camera) in the middle of food distributions, talking with the staff, in camps, with medical teams. Its wonderful to be here together.
I need to get started with work now. Lots of love from us,
Megan and Joel
****
Today is Megan's birthday and I was reminded of a note I had written for her last year for her birthday. I thought it pretty applicable for today. The note is below.
****
The fact is, Meghan can do everything and most of it all at once.
For instance, she could dismantle an atomic bomb while preparing Pan-Roasted duck breast, steamed root vegetables and speckled butter beans for a party of ten, while playing Mancala – the 7000 year old Arabic board game - with her husband, while explaining the rules to her husband and then lovingly tolerating his pathetic attempts at cheating... These are the kinds of things Megan can do…
While thinking about Megan, my mind returned to an article I had read recently. I immediately went online and found it. Though the article is not written about Megan, it reminded me so much of her that I thought I would put some of it here.
Please note that I have added to the article in order to better highlight the similarities between the woman being written about and Megan. The changes are (bracketed and in italics.)
Here is the article,
"Jaime Sommers (Megan Nykyforchyn Clark) is nothing but a hard-working woman juggling work as a bartender (International Programs Director) and the responsibility for the care of her younger sister, Becca, (Her husband, Joel).
Although she does not have much, Jaime (Megan) has always enjoyed being as normal as any other human being. However, this all changed when she is hit by a car and seriously injured (when she was born and decided to be awesome).
Following a nearly fatal car accident, (Following her decision to be awesome) Jaime (Megan) receives cybernetic implants, known as bionics. These implants give her superhuman strength and speed, allow her to hear at low volumes and over uncommonly long distances, and gives her 2000/20 vision and mathematical analysis of objects, their speeds, trajectories and so forth................"
Isn’t it amazing? It is uncanny how similar she and "The Bionic Woman” are!
****
While we would all love to be with them, we have been praying for both Megan and Joel and have been living through them. Here is a link to World Hope the organization Megan works with - World Hope This is a great place to give regarding Haiti!
Below are a couple pics Joel posted recently on his FB
Today I pray for Haiti and for Megan and Joel. Today I pray that You will bless Megan with Bionic strength and give here a powerful birthday miracle. In the name of Your Son and my best friend Jesus, Amen
Happy Birthday Megan!
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