Resurrection

Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die...."

- John 11:25-26 

Original photo: Easter Lily, a photo by ヘザー heza on Flickr.

Why Killing Cattle Doesn’t Work

Do you ever find yourself reaching an intense spiritual high one moment, only to crash and burn the next? Perhaps you get some wonderful inspiration from a time of prayer and meditation, you make all kinds of fresh resolutions, and then you’re faced with another human being. Then your true colors show when you hit the roof about a tiny problem, or you gripe or gossip, or you do exactly the opposite of what you’d just been intending to do.

Cow, a photo by Atli Harðarson on Flickr.

That’s the story of my life, unfortunately, and it’s coming clear during this time of fasting and prayer. Just as I think I’m doing something wonderfully holy (giving up snacks and dessert—yikes!), I mess everything up by some act of disobedience.

I suspect that I’m not the only one who experiences  this. In fact I know  I’m not the only one, just from looking at the ancient Israelites. You have probably heard the phrase “obedience is better than sacrifice,” but do you know where it comes from? Those are the words of Samuel, the prophet of the Lord, spoken to King Saul after a particularly nasty incident involving the Amalekites. God had commanded Saul to utterly destroy these people, along with their possessions and animals. Saul was more than willing to fight the Amalekites and went out in obedience to God’s command, but when it came to slaughtering all of those perfectly good cattle and sheep—he just couldn’t do it.

For Samuel it must have been like watching a train wreck in slow motion. He was incredibly upset at Saul’s act of outright disobedience, and finally cornered him. What was the king’s excuse? He said that the animals were meant as a sacrifice to the Lord. That sounds wonderful, right? Read Samuel’s response and listen for the frustration in his voice:

One Thousand Gifts: Soap, Friends, Birds, Music, Graffiti, and Pickles

“Eucharisteo—thanksgiving—always precedes the miracle.” 

― Ann Voskamp, One Thousand Gifts: A Dare to Live Fully Right Where You Are

Pear trees bursting out in a froth of blossoms

• Whipping up muffins in the morning
• The perfect sugar cookie: firm outside, fluffy inside
• Messy remnants of good times
• Chicken trucks barreling down our highway
• My brother's "inside voice"
• The carved table in my room--racetrack, palace, desk
• Granddaddy's love living in the woodwork
• An easy burden and a yoke that is light
• The amazing power of prayer
• An intercessor for all my weaknesses
• High scores on college papers!
• Bill Bryson's hilarious travelogue
• "You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world." -1 John 4:4
• Crisp white shirt on a warm afternoon
• The swollen bud of a spring mayapple
• Raindrop, almost invisible, turning the world upside down
• I know that God is listening
• A newly-made bed
• A smile when it's hard
• Sweaty morning exercise
• Piles of muddy weeds
• Clean socks, inside out
• A scribbled Granny letter

Poverty: Finding the Key

When I found out that I had to give a persuasive speech for my college speech class, I knew almost immediately what the topic would be. 

Perhaps you've read what I've written in the past about the nonprofit organization Compassion International (I recently posted a review of a book written by the CEO, Dr. Wess Stafford), and you know that I am an advocate for children living in poverty. I decided to create a presentation that shows how Compassion's child sponsorship program is changing the world by rescuing children from poverty!

What do you think? Is poverty something that we should all be fighting against? Is child sponsorship really the best way? 

Book Review: Radical

“We are settling for a Christianity that revolves around catering to ourselves when the central message of Christianity is actually about abandoning ourselves.” 

― David Platt, Radical: Taking Back Your Faith from the American Dream

Poverty. Persecution. Suffering. Addiction. Darkness. These are things that consume our world, hold happiness in a stranglehold, and suck the life out of billions of people. This planet we call home is riddled with pain, and those of us who are blessed enough to be removed from such horrors as starvation, disease, and filth so easily ignore it all. It is so easy to sit inside our air conditioned houses on cushy couches and make grandiose plans about our futures.

I do not usually read books that I have never heard anything about, but when I saw a book titled Radical: Taking Back Your Faith From the American Dream, I had to check it out. What I found was a gripping, convicting, inspiring call to action that continues to fill my mind and heart with questions and controversies.

Islam: Empire of Faith

Over the past few months I have been studying the religion and culture of Islam extensively in college, trying to learn more about a religion that features so prominently in the media and in Christian circles, seeking to understand where Muslims are coming from, and how they can be reached by the gospel. I have been reading Islamic writings, hearing recitations of the Quran, seeing photographs of Muslims and their architecture, but for me nothing has quite synthesized the whole of Islam with such brevity and beauty as the PBS documentary Islam: Empire of Faith. This remarkable film lays out the rich history of Islamic empires from pre-Islamic Arabia to the reign of Suleiman I, depicting Islamic faith and practice as well as society, politics, and economics in a way that words and pictures on a page could not.

The film goes to great pains to depict Islam in a new light, emphasizing points that a typical American may have never known; for example, the history of Muslim toleration for religious dissidents, their massive contributions to science and literature, and their influence on Europe. The screenwriters seemed a bit biased in their portrayal of Islam’s history, often emphasizing the positive elements without addressing the many issues that non-Muslims have with Islam. However, the historical facts that I saw on screen seemed to line up with what I have been studying this semester.

Damascus, Umayyad Mosque, prayers, a photo by Arian Zwegers on Flickr.

One aspect of the documentary which I found to be especially interesting and challenging was the comparison and contrast of Islam with Christianity. The film is constantly bringing out the sophistication of the Muslim world at the expense of historical Christendom. The impression one gets is that Muslim culture has been economically, scientifically, morally, militarily, agriculturally, and academically superior to anything Western for much of its history. The beauty and enlightenment of the European Renaissance is largely attributed to Muslim scholars and philosophers who sowed the seeds that eventually led to the Scientific Revolution. According to Islam: Empire of Faith, the Crusades actually affected the Europeans far more than the Muslims, as crusaders brought the tastes and traditions Middle Eastern cultures to the West. This is not a perspective that I have often seen, and has challenged me to reevaluate my belief that European culture is so far superior to that of the Middle East.

The New Mosque Istanbul, a photo by Stew Dean on Flickr.

As a viewing experience, Islam was wonderful—even on a low quality setting on YouTube. The on-site filmography and lavish reenactments brought the history to life, and gave me a knew respect for the grandeur and development of Islamic civilization.

I think that if every American knew more about the history and cultural heritage of Islam, even if only by watching a few hours of a documentary like this, there would no doubt be fewer extremist debates and more common-sense discussions. A film like Islam has the power to connect emotionally and visually with an audience, and it has the potential to change some grievous misconceptions about Islam that have plagued the Western world for centuries.

Is God Guilty of Murder?

I don’t like this subject.

Christian apologetics is great, especially if it’s on a subject like Creation vs. Evolution, or the Resurrection of Christ, or Transubstantiation,  but when it gets on a subject like the righteousness of God and his judgment things get a bit messy.

A dear cousin of mine recently called me out on a statement I made about the pro-life vs. pro-choice debate. I was arguing that abortion was unjustified according to God’s law, which eventually degenerated into a debate about the consistency of God’s character concerning murder. This went on for dozens of comments back and forth (we were on a Facebook status update when all of this started), until we both had to sit down and seriously formulate some arguments. I think that Facebook is an awful place to carry on a debate, so I decided to reproduce some of my arguments here, on my blog, for clarity. Perhaps some of my readers have input for me, either encouragement or criticism. Whatever anyone has to offer, I would be appreciative of anything that will help sharpen my wits and keep me grounded in the truth.

Exchanging Burdens

1. Plan my day
2. Put in new contacts
3. Exercise
4. Read books
5. Write Altogether Separate Post
6. Practice Piano
7. Write Granny
8. Call Brent
9. Work on college essay
10. Write for Picture Britain
11. Email Jonathan
12. Write Church newsletter
13. Journal
14. Type notes
15. Come up with ideas for guest posts
16. Go to work for eight hours

This is the kind of to-do list that's been weighing on my chest for the past few weeks, etching lines in my forehead, weighing my steps, tying me to my pillow, stiffening my muscles and eating at my bones. When Solomon said, "anxiety weighs down the heart," he wasn't kidding. I don't have enough time. There's so much to do. People are counting on me!

You probably know that I'm in the middle of reading One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp right now, and it's been challenging me to trust God on a wholly different level. I'm learning that I have to do more than trust Him with my salvation—I must trust Him with the smallest items on every day's to-do list. Do you sometimes make that error too? Will you trust the Lord with your immortal soul but not with your schoolwork or job interview or lunch? "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life...." How easy that sounds, and yet so hard. 

Book Giveaway!

Calling all Christian homeschool girls!

If you haven't checked out www.AltogetherSeparate.com, this is a great time because we're running a lovely giveaway of that book I've been telling you all so much about.

One Thousand Gifts is a New York Times Bestselling book written by Ann Voskamp. Its purpose? Daring you to live fully right where you are by giving thanks in all things. It's something that every Christian should be doing, but how often do we forget to be filled with the joy of the Lord?

“I want to see beauty. In the ugly, in the sink, in the suffering, in the daily, in all the days before I die, the moments before I sleep.”

Ann is really a poet masquerading as a prose-writer. Her words sing off the page as she carries the reader through a journey from brokenness to absolute joy! Ann's search for beauty is not the result of a perfect life that's brought her breakfast in bed from the day she was born; it's a search that was bled out of a horrific wound—many wounds—some that I can't imagine, and some that I can identify with perfectly.  

Her challenge to herself was to find 1,000 gifts in the world around her. They weren't the kind of gifts that we usually thank God for, they were bubbles, and warm sunlight, and weathered wood, and the curl of a child's hair, and her little boy's injured hand, and tulips in a bucket with wooden candlesticks, and her scarred past, and a white fleece shirt, and what the scale read. Ann says, “How my eyes see, perspective, is my key to enter into His gates. I can only do so with thanksgiving. If my inner eye has God seeping up through all things, then can't I give thanks for anything? And if I can give thanks for the good things, the hard things, the absolute everything, I can enter the gates to glory. Living in His presence is fullness of joy—and seeing shows the way in.” This book is where Ann shows us the key to entering those gates to glory.

I know that this is a powerful book, even though I have yet to finish reading it myself. I joined Ann on her quest to find 1,000 gifts in a year (read some of my gifts here), and it's changing the way I see the world.

So, about that giveaway. If you want to be part of this amazing gift-counting experience, then join the community over at Altogether Separate!

Our Modern Vocabulary and the Atrocities Therein

Listen closely to the next podcast or interview that you come across. Practice active listening, and you might be as shocked as I was. In the dock today are 10 primary offenders that have been degrading and decimating the fluency and coherence of English speaking peoples for decades.

1. Umm/Err
2. Umm-uh
3. Like
4. So...
5. Yeah
6. Stuff
7. Whatever
8. Sort of
9. You know
10. I mean

There are many more accomplices waiting in the wings, shaking in their inarticulate boots as they await their sentence (and it won't be a sentence that ends with "but").

People have always been like this, right? This enlightened age does not hold the monopoly on a pathetic vocabulary, does it? Read this, my dear, and say that again: 

...when ascending ‘next the seat of God’ even the Muse of Milton falters and grows weak, and the same diction that is so grand and terrible in the hate and defiances of Satan seems not yet grand enough for a discussion between the persons of the Trinity. Milton’s intellect could get as high as the Devil’s, but no higher.... The glorious or terrible images which almost every line calls up are such as no reader can forget, but which remain within him, a cycle of mystical and eternal pictures....

That was written by a young schoolboy about a hundred years ago. Granted, it is only one example of one man's writing (G.K. Chesterton, if you're interested), but it shows a capacity for expression that one has to hunt and peck for nowadays. Forget about hearing it on the streets.

Have we lost the ability to verbalize abstract thought? Are our minds so full of holes that we feel compelled to fill the gaps with "umms" and "you knows?" Is text-speak the new enemy of the people? In City Journal Clark Whelton wrote, "(Inability to say things is) shifting the burden of communication from speaker to listener. Ambiguity, evasion, and body language . . . were transforming college English into a coded sign language in which speakers worked hard to avoid saying anything definite. I called it Vagueness."

To my shame, I admit that I am a constant offender in this area. My arch nemesis is "I mean". Why do I feel compelled to drop these words into every other sentence? Why do I hardly ever notice when I do it?

What are your arch nemeses? What habits are keeping you back from speaking fluent English?

You're kidding me?, a photo by AlexanderVisuals on Flickr.

Book Review: Bonhoeffer - Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy

" The first call which every Christian experiences is the call to abandon the attachments of this world.” 

- Dietrich Bonhoeffer, The Cost of Discipleship

My Alternate Title:

The Life of Dietrich Bonhoeffer: Abandoned to Christ

Do you have any idea who Dietrich Bonhoeffer was? He was a German theologian and pastor who lived from 1906-1945. He had something to do with a plot against the Nazis, and his death was decidedly from unnatural causes. That was about all I knew when I embarked upon reading his biography.

One of my new year goals was to read some biographies of famous Christians. As I searched the internet for titles I came across this one, found that our library had the unabridged audiobook, and checked it out. I knew so little of this man’s life and legacy, and now my view of the Christian walk has been changed forever.

Bonhoeffer was born into a decent, upper-class German family at the turn of the twentieth century. He had all the advantages of a good upbringing, fine education, and close friendships. His father was an areligious man, his mother a devoted Christian, and Dietrich decided to study theology in school. His doctoral thesis, Sanctorum Communio (which he wrote at age 21), concerned the theology of the church and delved into the complex subjects of authority, freedom, ritual, and eschatology. His career would only climb from there.

Becoming a pastor and mentor to many, Dietrich seemed poised for a life of academic and religious achievement—when the unthinkable happened. Hitler came to power and the church began to buckle. German Christians had just as much patriotic fervor as their neighbors and began backing the Fuhrer (a man gifted in speaking “Christian-ese” at appropriate times). Dietrich saw trouble and began gathering together men who were dedicated first of all to Christ, not Germany.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s life story is the story of the church in Germany during the period of the second world war. What he did was far from easy. He was patriotic too, and recently engaged to the love of his life, Maria von Wedemeyer. As things progressed, however, he found himself fighting against his country and going into more and more danger. “Christians” were caving in all around him, the rotten girders of their theology giving way under the pressure of escalating hostilities. Bonhoeffer wrote of his identification with Jeremiah, who “was upbraided as a disturber of the peace, an enemy of the people, just like all those, throughout the ages until the present day, who have been possessed and seized by God, for whom God had become too strong . . . how gladly would he have shouted peace and Heil with the rest.”

A Light in God's Places

In response to another post, Total Abandonment, I’ve received some wonderful answers and insights! I put the same post on another blog, The Britophile Diaries, and got answers over there as well, so I thought I’d share them for anyone who’s in the same pickle as I’ve been in!

Ana Mari reminded me that no one person can have all the answers, only God. She is a woman who became a missionary to Costa Rica a little over a year ago, sacrificing much but with no regrets! She could have had a life of leisure, but decided that that wasn’t what she wanted. God answered her prayers and gave her the desires of her heart. She said that if my desire is to go to Britain to study, then I can serve the Lord there the same as if I give it all up and go serve the unreached right away.  Psalm 37:4, “Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart.”

Don and Shelly responded to my comment,  "Is this what following Christ is like, or is this what fighting against Him is like?" They say it's a little of both. Sometimes we try so hard to follow the will of God that we miss it entirely.  I should just keep praying to seek His will. They gave a great example: perhaps Noah wanted at first to build a monument to God that would testify to many, but God told him to build an ark instead. Perhaps Britain is my ark, and while donating my money toward a cause could be a good thing, following God’s plan could be a great thing! They reiterated what I’ve heard before on this subject: I mustn’t be “guilted” into or out of anything. I especially liked this point, “Perhaps the test for you here is not as much about making the ultimate "correct" choice, but being able to wait upon Him to give you direction.” I should have patience; hard, but necessary!

"A Bit of Earth"

"Might I," quavered Mary, "might I have a bit of earth?"

If you've never read the book The Secret Garden, then in my opinion you're missing out on a very great pleasure. It's a marvelous little novel, peopled with charming characters, beautiful scenery, an intriguing mystery, trials of the human heart, and a writing style that is not to be missed. The plot centers around an orphan girl named Mary Lennox who has been sent to live with her reclusive uncle in the English countryside. While there she discovers a "secret" garden, one that has been locked up for many years. She falls in love with the place and sets about reclaiming the weed-choked beds. When her uncle asks her if she needs anything (toys, dolls, etc.) she insists that all she wants is "a bit of earth" to grow things in.

This concept of "a bit of earth" has stuck with me over the years. I am currently enjoying a Women of Faith study guide (Understanding Purpose by Carolyn Custis James) in which the author brings up the idea in the context of God giving each of us a bit of earth, "a territory entrusted to us where He calls us to represent Him and to advance His kingdom." 

Bonhoeffer: Denial of Self

Bonhoeffer, a photo by depone on Flickr.

“To deny oneself is to be aware only of Christ and no more of self, to see only Him who goes before and no more the road which is too hard for us.”

-Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Like Costly Perfume

Then Mary took about a pint of pure nard, an expensive perfume; she poured it on Jesus' feet and wiped his feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. But one of his disciples...objected, “Why wasn't this perfume sold and the money given to the poor? It was worth a year's wages."

Amy Carmichael was the daughter of an Irish pastor who left her home and family to spend 55 years--without furlough--ministering to orphans in India. She described missionary life as, "Simply a chance to die." Reach back farther into history and you'll come across women like Jeanne d'Arc who followed what she saw as God's calling, and ended her short life on a fiery stake. Both of these women--along with countless others--wasted their lives.

Shallow Insensitive Hypocritical Nutcases?

In case you didn't know, I am an avid Alan Rickman fan (I made a post after watching a brilliant short film and another after listening to him narrate an audiobook.) and recently heard about a movie of his called Snow Cake. Our library actually had it, so I snatched it up and played it on my laptop while riding in the car.

It's one of those films that you might call "artsy". If your taste leans toward shot-em-up-and-head-for-the-secret-military-base sort of stuff then you probably won't care for this deep, sensitive, character-driven plot. You get to know three or four people who are all tied up with an autistic woman, Linda, and her teenage daughter, Vivienne--who is killed in a car crash. Rickman's character gets involved in their lives after a tragic past of his own, and what follows is an introspective, challenging, and thoroughly entertaining movie.

There was something that really bugged me about it, though--besides the language and some bad aesthetics--the way it portrayed Christians. Practically everyone in the small town of Wawa, Ontario is described as "religious", everyone except for a few main characters. The Christian women who try to help Linda after her daughter's death are shown as well-meaning (maybe), but their good points stop there. They are shallow, nasty-nice, simple, insensitive, completely oblivious, hypocritical, annoying, and prudish. Of course the few irreligious ones are complex, passionate, curious, compassionate, understanding, lively, and extremely interesting. You find yourself cringing every time a middle-aged lady church lady comes on screen, and rejoice at the quasi-prostitute with the kind and engaging personality.

What is wrong with this picture?

If Christians are really the only ones who are in touch with Father God, the Creator of this lovely, deep, intricate universe so full of joy and meaning, shouldn't we be the ones who "get it"? The ones who are fascinating? The ones who are full of love and true selflessness? How have we gotten this sour reputation and why must Hollywood beat it into people's skulls?

Now I'm not saying that atheists and Buddhists and Muslims, etc. can't be wonderful people too, but why do Christians have to be portrayed as such unpleasant nutcases? Steven Crowder wrote an awesome post on this topic called "All Christians Are Serial Killers", I highly recommend reading it. He makes a very good point, "We've never seen Hollywood go after Buddhism, Hinduism, or even Islam." For some reason these groups are handled with kid gloves, while it's OK to make Christianity the media's whipping boy. 

Try paying close attention to the next film you watch. Are there any religious characters? How are their personalities scripted? Does the director have an obvious agenda? 

It's so easy to be brainwashed into accepting the fact that Christians will inevitably be beaten up by the film industry. Next time you see this kind of injustice, consider writing to someone in charge. Make the truth known! 

Teachable Moments

Good morning! Welcome to my Bible study. Settle in on my window seat with a cup of coffee, watch the sun rise, and let's delve into Deuteronomy 8.

I actually found this chapter (like it was lost) after starting to read Matthew 4. I was brought up abruptly for the first time in my life by Jesus's quote at the end, "Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. And after He had fasted forty days and forty nights, He then became hungry. And the tempter came and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.” But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘MAN SHALL NOT LIVE ON BREAD ALONE, BUT ON EVERY WORD THAT PROCEEDS OUT OF THE MOUTH OF GOD.’”


For some reason I had never thought about that quote before, but it suddenly struck me with the image of everyone living their everyday lives, all of it sustained by the words of our Lord's mouth. So I went back to the source of that quote: Deuteronomy 8. The context is God speaking His commandments to Moses after the Lord spoke to the people of Israel from the midst of the fire, causing them to say (paraphrase), "We've seen God's glory and greatness, but please don't show us any more lest we die. For who has heard His voice and lived?" And God said, "They have done well in all that they have spoken. Oh that they had such a heart in them, that they would fear Me and keep all My commandments always, that it may be well with them and with their sons forever!"


Those last words of Father God are the beginning of a theme: a theme that I call "teachable moments." You've heard that "the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom" (Psalm 111:10). The OT is simply chock full of times when the Lord took a circumstance and turned it into an object lesson for His people, to show them how things work in our world: who He is and who we are; the fear of the Lord. 


So to start in on chapter 8 (it would be nice to have a Bible handy, I'll be verse-hopping a bit). first of all, we know why God is giving these commandments, "that you may live and multiply, and go in and possess the land." I'll bring to light a few things which stuck out to me this morning:


vs. 3: "and He humbled you and let you be hungry and fed you with manna which you did not know...that He might make you understand (or know) that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by everything that proceeds out of the mouth of the Lord." How many times does God let people "be hungry"? It's certainly not a pleasant sensation, that's for sure. But perhaps He's doing it so that He can feed them with manna, all for the ultimate purpose--not of filling their stomachs--but of making them understand that He is the one who makes our every breath possible and sustains us every day.

Leap of Faith

Leap of Faith, originally uploaded by eatbitter.

Ideas are cheap and easy. Everyone has them, they're practically lying around for the taking. Just today I was thinking that someone should invent a fluorescent light tube with edges--like a rectangular prism--so that they wouldn't roll off of things so easily. Stupid, I know, but it could possibly inspire the right kind of person to go out there and make a lot of money with a similar concept.


But this doesn't just apply to work, inventions, and new year's resolutions--it's actually critical to our faith.  

Asia Bibi: In Danger for Her Faith

I am a supporter of Voice of the Martyrs, a non-profit, inter-denominational Christian organization that works on behalf of Christian martyrs and their families around the globe. I received this startling message from them in my inbox the other day:

On Nov. 8, 2010 Asia Bibi was the first woman to be sentenced to death by hanging under Pakistan's blasphemy law. Asia Bibi was arrested...

Just A Reminder...

"The question is... How deep do you want to go through the rabbit hole?", originally uploaded by Temari 09.

There you will look for the Lord your God, and if you search for him with all your heart, you will find him. When you are in trouble and all those things happen to you, then you will finally turn to the Lord and obey him. He is a merciful God. He will not abandon you or destroy you, and he will not forget the covenant that he himself made with your ancestors. "Search the past, the time before you were born, all the way back to the time when God created human beings on the earth. Search the entire earth. Has anything as great as this ever happened before? Has anyone ever heard of anything like this? Have any people ever lived after hearing a god speak to them from a fire, as you have? Has any god ever dared to go and take a people from another nation and make them his own, as the Lord your God did for you in Egypt? Before your very eyes he used his great power and strength; he brought plagues and war, worked miracles and wonders, and caused terrifying things to happen. The Lord has shown you this, to prove to you that he alone is God and that there is no other. He let you hear his voice from heaven so that he could instruct you; and here on earth he let you see his holy fire, and he spoke to you from it. Because he loved your ancestors, he chose you, and by his great power he himself brought you out of Egypt. As you advanced, he drove out nations greater and more powerful than you, so that he might bring you in and give you their land, the land which still belongs to you. So remember today and never forget: the Lord is God in heaven and on earth. There is no other god.

-Deuteronomy 4:29-39, Good News Translation