Wonderings and Wanderings

I’m a slacker.  Sue me.

I’ve literally been on the road six of the last eight weeks. It is officially crazy summer time. Don’t get me wrong.  I love what I do and the opportunities I get to experience.  It just makes for an incredibly busy life where I long ago dropped all the balls or the plates or my marbles.

The trips to Kenya and the Dominican were amazing.  God has such amazing people at work there and it is so humbling to go serve with them and learn from them.  They teach me so much about faith, servanthood, sacrifice, priorities.  God has blessed us with some amazing partners.  And of course, the children.  Simply amazing.  God’s best work. Being in their presence totally makes the “faith of a child” charge by Jesus come alive.  They love so much and judge so little.

When I get busy like this, I often don’t have the time or make the time to process.  This is a shame because there is so much amazing life happening around us on any given day.  It reminds me of my most favorite bit of prose by Elizabeth Barrett Browning.

Earth’s crammed with heaven,

And every common bush afire with God;

But only he who sees takes off his shoes-

The rest sit round and pluck blackberries.

Anyone want some blackberry muffins?  I’ve got an abundance right now.

I leave for Kenya Monday morning at 9:30 am. The team covets your prayers for safe travels and for God to bless every aspect of our trip. 

My 4-year-old nephew and I were hanging out at church before service ended.  A friend said, “Aunt Moe would do anything for you, Blake.”

I said, “That’s right. Blake – if you want the moon, I’d get it for you.” 

Blake says, “What moon?”

I said, “The moon in the sky.  Do you think Aunt Moe would get you the moon if you wanted it?”

Blake nodded yes.  “But we will have to build a really, really big ladder.  I have wood at my house.”

We need to dream like children. Nothing is impossible.

On Friday evening, one of my youth girls, Erin, was involved in a car accident – along with her grandma and her little sister, Margaret.  Erin broke her hand in the wreck and her grandma has some bruising from the seatbelt and I’m sure both are quite sore today from the impact.  Along with these physical injuries, they are hurting emotionally.  Margaret, who is just 5 years old, is in very critical condition.

She was life-flighted from the wreck  and suffered brain trauma, a broken neck, two broken femurs, and serious lung issues.  Friday night and today have been very long days and they did not give the family much hope. But we have seen small but miraculous progress today.  Margaret is still in critical condition and there are many things unknown.  But she is still with us and she is a fighter and has ten-times more spunk than most of us.  She is the little angel with the tilted halo, the pink cowboy boots, and the mischievious grin that you live to see.

You can read updates about her progress here.

Please pray:

• For little Margaret and her healing.
• For Erin as she deals with the accident.
• For the Romph family for strength, peace, and wisdom hour by hour.
• For the staff at University Hospital as they care for Margaret.

May God be glorified in and through all things.

I heard tonight about a new church plant in Jefferson City so I checked out the website to see what it was about.  I was hopeful.  Although I’m on staff at another church, there are more than enough people to love and serve in this community and a lot of different styles and communities are needed to honor the diversity that exists among believers and unChristians. I’m  not a believer in mega-churches so I’m grateful for other churches and faith communities. However, I do have a desire to have more faith communities that, in my opinion, represent God with humility, mystery, and grace and that create a faith community that is about grace and dignity for all and the unique G0d-given gifts that they bring to the table.  That is why I was disappointed to see these statements listed under their “What We Believe” category:

• We are not liberals who embrace culture without discernment and compromise the distinctives of the gospel.
• We are not egalitarians and do believe that men should head their homes and male elders should lead their churches with masculine love like Jesus.
•  We are not relativists and do gladly embrace Scripture as our highest authority above such things as culture, experience, philosophy, and other forms of revelation.
• We are not Universalists and do believe that many people will spend eternity in the torments of hell as the Bible teaches.
• We are not evangelical feminists and do believe that God reveals Himself as a Father and is to be honored by the names He reveals to us without apology.
• We are not embarrassed by the bloody death of Jesus and do believe He died as a substitute for the sins of His people in selfless love.

Sigh…..

After church, I drove a friend to the airport in St. Louis. On my way back, I headed to Columbia for an evening with my Peer Learning Group. They are an amazing group of friends and it has been a highlight of 2008 to connect with them. We came together as a group early in 2008 with a shared interest in church planting and the emergent church. We get together to have fun, to encourage one another, to not feel alone in our dreams and our frustrations, to read and discuss relevant books, and to seek God’s guidance.

It was a blessing tonight to gather for supper and also to meet the newest addition to the group – a 6 month old boy from Ethiopia. One of the couples has two youngs son and just adopted this young boy – going to Ethiopia in October to bring him home. He is adorable and sweet and so easy going.
He is amazingly blessed to be their son.

I’m back to work tomorrow after a lot of days off. Hope I can get into the routine again.