Scripture of the Day

Matthew 5:14-16

"You are the light of the world - like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden.  No one lights a lamp and then puts it under a basket.  Instead, a lamp is placed on a stand, where it gives light to everyone in the house.  In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father."

Foreign Thinking

Visualize a wide-eyed blank stare of fear, both hands on wheel, paled skin, with a police officer reviewing information behind your back.  I was witness to that scenario [some sort of traffic violation], however I was just driving by.

What would it feel like?  We might know the feeling of getting caught doing something we shouldn't have done or getting pulled over for a ticket, but certainly the legality of our citizenship prevents us from understanding other perspectives...like being called "illegal". 

How would it feel to be considered "illegal"?  Think for yourself.  How would it feel to walk into a grocery store or down a street, knowing that someone sees your physical appearance or hears your accent and immediately labels you "illegal" or unwanted or, recently in Indiana, deemed to go to jail.  Or better yet, how would it feel to leave your home for a foreign land where you don't know anybody, but do know that many in the land will discriminate against you, yet still you believe that it's probably the only way you can provide for your family?  Why do "illegals" do that?  Is it because they want to be American?  Or is it because they "have" to be American in order to survive?  Or neither?  Maybe it's because they want to overrun our nation.

Actually, my opinion is this: why do we ask these questions or attempt to answer them when it's not an issue up for debate...they "have" to come, and our society has actually profited from them.  Our society has taken advantage of their low pay services in order to sustain our lifestyle (manicured lawns, cheaper fruit, etc) at a low price.  Plus their countries were overpowered by our trade policies, our prices, and our overload of excess.  This creates few options and that's what we gotta expect if we strive to be the superpower of the world.  What are we going to do when the low prices begin to disappear? Our lives won't be sustainable unless we cut back on our wants, which we've begun to witness over the last several years, yet we continue to retain our wants.

So instead of debating, we ought to seek other perspectives and see what ideas for solutions come from others (who don't look like us), because yes, immigration is going to be a long-standing political issue whether we deport them [undocumented citizens] or not.  Last time I checked, those of us who call ourselves Christian follow a power that is higher than government...higher than "American" and higher than "citizen." We follow a higher example, one of a man who reaches out to every person and offers acceptance.

I will never forget the wide-eyed blank stare on the face I saw in that car, and I was just driving by.  Only he and our government (and God) know what occurred that day, but I hope that that man is given a voice to share his story, because it is he who knows...not us, "the legals".

You may have a different opinion.  Please retain your right and share with us.

W.I.T.N.E.S.S. and Q of D

Here are some notes from a recent Sunday Teaching from Pastor Jay at Shepherd Community.  The teaching focused on living life in community and through the eyes of God, about being a witness to others through our livelihood; WITNESS.

Way of life   (live as a witness; represent God)

Intentional   (make a reminder list; find people that are in need)

Teach others   (know the Word; be ready and prepared for opportunities to share the Word)

Not up to us for success   (rely on God; seek Him, not money)

Ears...use them   (don't miss the hurt that people have; listen and recognize one's assets)

Share life together   (we live in a world so lonely; community is broken)

Simple   (reflect God's grace; don't get caught up in the business of the world, keep it simple)

"Preach the Word of God, and when necessary use words."  - Anonymous

What are your own thoughts on witnessing or ways to represent God?

F of D

Princess Diana had her navel pierced - and fitted with a 2.8-carat diamond stud - just a few hours before her fatal accident.

Q of D

"Trying times are not the times to stop trying."
          -Ray Owen

Windows and Mirrors - a reflection on war

On Friday, David and I went to a traveling mural project based on the war in Afghanistan. It's called Windows and Mirrors and it's been created by the American Friends Service Committee. I had prepared myself ahead of time...I don't like war. I don't like movies based on war. I don't like seeing images of war. It's all very difficult for me and unsettling. In my opinion, war is a terrible thing. It separates loved ones, it divides countries, it makes people powerless over their own lives, it somehow justifies the taking of life, and it easily creates enemies. This war is now the longest in US history, taking the lives of more than 1,500 American troops and over 8,000 Afghan civilians, and costing the US nearly $2 billion every week. I think one of the most difficult things about going to Windows and Mirrors was accepting my role in this war. I'm an American. I pay taxes. I contribute. Like it or not.

If you've got the time and heart, I encourage you to look at some of these pictures that were drawn by high school students in Kabul. They were asked to draw pictures of their experience with war. What's the old saying? A picture is worth a thousand words...
There was one mural in particular that struck me. It was a web of homes and people and smoke. And the caption read:

"First world, third world - we seem to float on different planes - but, really, it's just this one world. Here we are, sheltered in our intact homes, caught up in the bustle of our lives. Little by little, we have covered it up - that web running through us all...it's abstract - a war happening in another country foreign and distant, but it's up to us to make it realistic - tangible. We must imagine our homes in piles of rubble - our cities up in smoke."

I think this speaks to me on many levels. We can so easily live on a different plane, distant and distracted from the plight of our brothers and sisters all over the world. Our first world status can become a crutch, disabling us from seeing the pain that we are connected to. Disabling us from working to create a change, a better way.

1985 Witness

Imagine being raised with the goal of causing no harm to others, and better yet no knowledge of violence. But then, all of a sudden, you catch wind of a society where guns exist, violence occurs daily, and everyone pursues to benefit themselves. That is the portrayal of the Amish boy in the film "Witness", with Harrison Ford, who acts as a police officer. Yes, it is an older movie.

An Amish community is caring for an injured and endangered Harrison Ford, and the young boy stumbles into holding Ford's hand gun, until he gets scolded by Ford who says "don't ever, ever touch a loaded gun".  Ford, the police officer, ultimately does respect the Amish way of life by handing over his gun, but it's as if he's trying to keep the boy from venturing out into the "world" where the danger lingers.  Don't we all attempt to keep our families and loved ones safe?  Yet do we still advocate for the law to provide us with freedom, the same freedom to which some may choose to cause harm?  I am not seeking to stretch to the point that guns should not exist, but I am seeking for an alternative to our common answer that the best way to protect our loved ones is to hurt someone else's loved one, if need be to our own justification.

The boy sits with his grandfather, who begins teaching the boy a lesson, "We believe it is wrong to take the life; that is only for God. Many times wars have come and people have said to us "you must fight, you must kill. It is the only way to preserve the good."  There is never only one way, remember that," he says. So questions are raised...would you kill another man?  The boy answers "Only the bad man," he would kill ...You know a man is bad by your sight?  "I can see what they do," replies the boy.  Grandfather responds, implying it is a choice, "And having seen [a bad man], you become one of them?  What you take into your hands, you take into your heart."

"Wherefore come out from among them and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing." 2 Corinthians 6:17

-> "The person who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with him" - 1 Corinthians 6:17