Five Minute Friday ~ Common

I've NEVER written a FMF post this way before, but when I saw the prompt... remembered this photo taken just a few weeks ago... thought about the past few weeks...

I knew I had to at least give it a try.

So, I'm tapping away on my android, in a dark room, in the home of people I'd never met before last night... after flying all day Wednesday and then driving 500+ miles Thursday to bring my third child on a college visit (HOW we can be at this point with THIRD child is a fact that leaves me a little dizzy from all the spinning).

But that's  all superfluous stuff.

Last month, Tim and I had a day-long date. We were in the States for two different training conferences, with a day off in between the end of one and the beginning of the next. So we took that day and drove to the outskirts of DC, rode the Metro to the station nearest the "Mall" and spent all day discovering our nation's capital. On an October day warm enough for shorts and sleeveless shirt, we spent the entire day outside... traversed over 14 miles on foot - from the outside of the White House, to the Marine service monument pictured above, to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, to Jefferson's Memorial to the Capital Building... and just about EVERYTHING in between. Exhausting, and we were oh-so-sore the next day, but? Oh so worth it! The time together and the experience of who and what we are... at least pieces... as Americans was pretty special!

It was standing at the monument above, though, that I was most "bouleversed"  (that's the English-ified way of saying bowled over), in the midst of snapping pics, to just experience that blown away feeling. For THAT quote -inscribed on the pedestal- should, ESPECIALLY in this season...

give us all pause.

For right now, in such a time as this, we need 

uncommon valor to be, perhaps, the MOST COMMON virtue.

We need to recognize the "valor" exhibited by both Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton as they chose to place themselves under unbelievable scrutiny, all for the opportunity to serve us and our country (regardless of whether I agree with idealogy, past actions or future plans... I think that took courage). 

We need to see the valor in those who voted or didn't vote, uncompromisingly living their personal convictions. 

We need to choose valor TODAY, in this moment, as we seek to live next to, interact with, build bridges and relationships, with ALL around us - speaking truth in love, learning to listen and understand first, standing firm on truth.

Like other Americans before us, who faced challenging times although different circumstances... like our current fellow Americans who face this present challenging time with different understandings of our current circumstances...

We all need to choose, by God's grace, this uncommon valor as THE common virtue.

It is a heritage we can and should live up to...

Longevity in Ministry - If you don't want to shorten your ministry... obediently abide.

Four weeks ago, I started a series that I'm hoping will be both a challenge and encouragement to you, based off of a sermon by the senior pastor at my sending church. The first post focused on that oxymoron that the God is sovereign, but that men are also responsible. Imagining those two truths as a horseshoe where, as mere humans, only see and comprehend the ends. God, on the other hand, looks at the whole and thus can see how two things that appear contradictory do actually work together. The second post considered one of the ends of that horseshoe: trusting God, not only because He is sovereign - but also because He is sufficient in that sovereignty.

Today's post will look at the other end of that horseshoe: Man's responsibility, which, to put it both succinctly and bluntly, is obedience. 

I have to be honest - this was the part of the sermon which made me most uncomfortable. I'm quite comfortable with working, doing my best, keeping busy and thinking that the success of any project with which I'm involved depends mostly on me - thus ignoring the sovereignty of God. I'm not so comfortable with the idea that I can be working like mad, doing what I think is best, exhausting myself for good causes... only to finally figure out that it has all been well-intentioned, but good intentions, careful planning and hard work have nothing to do with obedience or disobedience.

I think that is a position where exhausted, burning-out missionaries often find themselves.

I was driving to a doctor's appointment the other day. I'd just navigated a four-way stop and was back up to the 35 mph speed limit... cruising along, my thoughts flying along a lot faster than the car was moving. All of a sudden, the car behind me darted around then lurched back in front of me, cutting me off....

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Please join me over @ Missionary Mom's Companion, where I'm posting today, part three in a series on longevity in ministry.

"God has given each one of us a little chunk of eternity called time."

I find that quote to be a powerful one - a reminder that life, each moment, is a gift from God. Some are gifted larger chunks of eternity; others aren't so large. But each one is responsible to steward whatever size chunk he or she has been given. To steward well, one must be focused... intentional... and not distracted by things that can easily render useless... things like refusing to forgive and hanging on to bitterness.

Easter break was over and I was driving my oldest to the Detroit airport to catch his flight back to Harrisburg PA and Messiah College, where he had three-ish weeks of school and finals left before coming home (Yes!!! That thought still makes my heart glad even though it is now a done deal!). After leaving him at the airport and starting the drive home, I was looking for any distraction on the radio so that the tears wouldn't start. (I usually manage to hold it together until after he's out of sight and I have to start the leaving to go back to the rest of my Wrightlings.) So I started listening to an interview with a woman named Kathy Sanders... and then when I got home, I ordered her book.

Here story is a compelling one. On April 19th, the Murrah Federal Building was bombed. She was at work about a block away and immediately ran to the scene because her two grandsons were in the daycare facility housed in that building. Joined by her daughter (the boys' mother), they searched for the two toddlers - to eventually discover that both had been killed as a result of the blast.

Now You See Me is Kathy Sanders' story. This event totally and completely devastated her and her family; this book details her journey to a point of healing - acceptance, finally being able to continue on and celebrate her present gift of life as well as the brief moments she had with her grandsons. This book tells how God empowered her, by His grace, to forgive the unforgivable. As she went to great lengths to try and understand why this crime was committed, she chose to rub shoulders with those responsible for this crime - and in doing so, God truly opened her heart to see them as real people with real stories now living horrific consequences. Perhaps most astonishing was how she befriended Terry Nichols' family... and eventually Terry Nichols himself.

She never learned exactly what she wanted to learn - and is convinced that there has been a cover-up by the government; she no longer, however, lives under the shadow of a desperate need for answers, choosing to trust God and to love others, even those most would consider enemies.

While, at times, the tone of the book becomes overbearing and redundant - the powerful grace of God working in and through this woman is continuously present - convicting and challenging, exhorting as well as encouraging readers to thoroughly examine their lives to determine if there are any seeds of anger, bitterness, jealousy... that need to be brought before the throne of God.

And so I do recommend this book.

Leave me a comment - if you are interested in receiving my copy. I'd be delighted to pass it along! 

photo credit: bcfought via photopin cc

When it rains, it pours...

When it lightenings, it thunders...

When it snows, it blizzards...

AND in the Midwest... when it blows, it tornadoes...

We actually drove through some pretty wild weather last week as we were traveling... but cliché-ish statements like these describe how I've been feeling the past few days... weeks...

Let me be the very first to say ~ I don't think those clichés imply ALL bad... I love to play outside, singing and dancing away in a good downpour. In my opinion, watching a wild thunderstorm is better than any movie I've ever seen (and you should ask Tim sometime how July 4th fireworks compare to heavenly fireworks when you watch 'em from 30 000 feet!) Winter blizzards bring memories of silent white, snow days, and snow men. Maybe it is my Okie upbringing - but tornadoes mesmerize, thrill, horrify, terrify and fascinate all at the same time and that tornado warning beeping on the television starts a quick adrenalin rush, every time.

But those clichés CAN and, at this moment, DO imply a breathless "What's next?" questioning that I'm whispering after the past three weeks, which have included 

• flurries to blizzards of activity, 
• showers of obligations with downpours of miles in the van, 
• whirlwinds of friends, faces and places... 
• and too many thunderous strikes of loved ones seriously sick way too close for comfort... and seemingly all at once.

And so, yet once again, this blog has been sadly neglected.

To quickly summarize ~ We had an amazingly great trip to Iowa where we reported to and visited with an awesome and totally-spoiled-us-rotten group of partnering churches. We caught up with dear folks we had seen in a few years and the fellowship resumed like there'd never been any interruption. It was truly a delight in every which way.

Our way too brief day at the Omaha Zoo was a blast... more photos to come, very soon!

We briefly caught up with Niger friends in Illinois and then relaxed for a small chunk of time with family in SE Missouri before heading back to Michigan.

While we were traveling, we received word that both Tim's dad and Richelle's dad were quite seriously ill and hospitalized. Thankfully, Tim's dad is now out of the hospital, regaining strength and hopefully working on some good habits to prevent a similar occurrence in the near future.

Richelle's dad is still in the hospital. After major surgery and at least 3 major medical procedures in 4 days, he's got several weeks of the recovery road to travel before he'll be dancing with his granddaughters, again. We are thankful for talented doctors, surgeons, nurses, technicians and other hospital personnel who have not only done their jobs with expertise, but who have/are also gently, kindly, patiently and repeatedly explained/explaining what was/is happening: detailing problems, solutions and results, even when their words were sometimes hard to accept.

We are so thankful that the Lord has granted this good and perfect gift of nearness during this year, for this season. 

Even in the hard, it is a treasure.

And can we ask you to please keep praying for our dads?

Thanks!

We really appreciate it!

We knew we could count on you!

~ Best of 2013 ~ The top 15 posts from Our Wrighting Pad these last 12 months... as we wish you a GRACE-FILLED 2014!

A recap of 2013's most popular posts (measured by both number of comments, number of views as well as Facebook response...

Comment... let us know which post/series was YOUR favorite!

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Tied for #15:

HOME ~
At the beginning of this school year, my two oldest were given a writing assignment - to describe a space or a place that made them feel "at home." As a parent of TCKs - kids who often, according to the literature, have a hard time defining a place to call home - I was very interested to see what they'd write. I loved this glimpse into their hearts and minds and beings. Their daddy did, too... reading these essays just about brought him to tears, literally.

So, to use a much cliché-ed quote... without further ado here are Brendan's and Rebekah's essays (and a few recent, favorite, pictures)... 

FIRST GLIMPSES OF BREN @ MESSIAH ~

Ever wonder why when they do those introductory - meet and find out about new people - you end up doing things that make some people feel like complete idiots and totally foolish while others just love it and shine once the silliness starts?

I do. Those things, while I can appreciate their purpose and see their validity and effectiveness... drive me crazy.


Don't know if Brendan was thinking the same thing as he played "Dead Bug Tag..."

#14

MODELING THOSE NEW DRESSES...  ~
(Photos of Nadia, Anna and Tori)

#13

ARE YOU WATCHING OUT FOR THOSE DRESS CODE POLICE?  ~ 

Dress codes are one of those things I get and don't get... all at the same time. 

Parents, not schools or other organizations, are the ones responsible for determining a dress code for their own children. As a parent, I also believe that in general, we can't leave teenagers to independently establish a dress standard that the adults in their lives will deem acceptable. It is not, however, the role of the school to come up with a standard of dress that they think every person needs to follow. I do understand that there needs to be some sort of standard or guidelines...

#12

SHE  ~ 

She misses her bro...

Butterscotch and Beethoven...

Climbing her favorite tree...

Even when it meant our not-so-little-anymore-buck-goat-would keep her treed there...

#11

OUR BIGGEST OF THE LITTLES MIGHT BE SMALL IN STATURE... 

We took our littles to the county fair today/tonight. It wasn't their first visit, but only Victoria vaguely remembers going before - and what she mostly remembers is the animals... and watching the big cat show... from the last time! It's been four years, after all!

After a couple of hours there this morning/afternoon and a yummy-but-way-too-expensive-and-bad-for-your-health lunch with the whole family, we had to bring our biggers home for their sports practices and we decided that we'd return later in the evening, after the midway (i.e. the rides) opened, with just the littles. I figured they'd want to go through the fun houses, play a few games, ride the carousel and the ferris wheel and maybe the kiddie roller coaster. After all, they'd never been to an "amusement park" before in their entire lives.

#10

PHOTOS FROM JOE AND ANDI'S WEDDING  ~ 

#09

HOMELAND SECURITY  ~ 

Is it weird to say that I felt safer with my family...

• living in W Africa with all the possibilities for disease, injury or illness
• knowing (as we watched military planes fly up river and then return) that there was a full-fledged war going on just a couple hundred miles up river
• recognizing that terrorist activity was all around us... and probably infiltrating our "neighborhood" as well
• driving in developing country traffic every single day...

...than I do living in the developed west?

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(A post written for another blog site where I regularly contribute)

#08

RHYTHM  ~ 

There's a definite rhythm to missionary life - goodbye... hello... goodbye... hello...

But then again, in this day and age, this world that we live in, isn't that pretty much the rhythm of all life - from first hellos to final goodbyes?

That doesn't make it any easier, for anyone, in any place, at any time, in any position or "calling."

I strive to do well those hellos...

#07

TODAY HE AND I ARE LEAVING FOR UNI ~ 

Some mamas dread this day.

I'm not sure what I'm feeling because it won't be the day

for which I'd been preparing myself.

I had expected our goodbye to take place in a small W. African capital city before he hopped on a plane with his daddy for a vacation in Ireland and then a return to Michigan...

#06

BELONG  ~ 

To be... long

Existing for a significant time 

or 

covering a substantial distance

To long... to be

          Wishing, craving, yearning,

aspiring, desiring to be 

present, current, real

To belong

fitting, feeling right, measuring appropriately...

classifying or assigning rightly to a specific place or time...

including, blending, complementing, conforming...

harmonizing...

#05

BRAVE  ~ 

...So many qualify brave as about self... a choosing to set aside my own fear to do something remarkable and courageous, often wonderful and serving; it's a deliberate disregard of all the best reasons why not to stand on the single reason to say... or shout... or even faintly whisper... "Yes..."

Tempting, to let brave become all about me instead of all about others. After all, who doesn't desire to be seen "beautiful and brave?" Does that desire sully the splendor? Cower the courage?

Perhaps. For all in this imperfect world is dulled by the tarnish of sin....

#04

SQUIRREL SOUP  ~ 

Sometimes dinner at our house is pretty normal. Other times it is anything but.

Sometimes it is hard to actually eat the food due to the conversation. Other times, conversation is child-led strategy to somehow escape eating a less than favorite meal.

For the next 31 days, I'm planning to post about dinner time at our house as part of an annual writing challenge hosted by the nester.

Hopefully, you'll get a humorous... very real... glimpse into life, {um - dinner}, chez les Wrightlings... all 8 {um I guess it is more accurate to say 7 of them since the biggest one will be mostly off at school} - of 'em!

Last night, we ate squirrel soup...

#03

AFRAID  ~ 

The harmattan haze is here...

It is uncomfortably gusty this year.

Usually, this is my favorite time of the year in Niger, even with the nonstop dusting and removal-of-desert-from-dwelling-place... but this year?

Our relatively calm, overgrown and sprawling village-turned-capital-city has changed dramatically due to political and military events in the land next door. Police checks, bombers and attack helicopters roaring by overhead, car searches where they make sure it really is veggies and not explosives, military escort required to leave the city limits and armed soldiers at the gates of the kids' schools... every single day. The convoy of tanks headed into the thick of things literally passed by within a stone's throw...

Is my family is actual danger? 

#02

APPROXIMATELY HOW MANY TIMES A MONTH DO YOU GO OUT TO EAT? ~ 

(Another post on another site I write for each month...)

I can’t remember the first time we received one of those questionnaires in the mail…

Since that time, many more have arrived – although now it is not  uncommon for a link to show up in our inbox, requesting us to respond to a list of questions at an online site which then tabulates our input  and communicates our replies to whatever agency posted the questions. You would think I would have grown accustomed to this. I haven’t. Instead, I find it harder and harder to keep a good attitude, simply answer the questions and send them back. At the same time, I do understand the motivation behind and the significance of those questionnaires; in theory, I support their validity and see their worth… which makes it hard to argue that they shouldn’t be sent.

So I won’t.

On the other hand those questionnaires never fail to, at very best, discourage me. At worst, I get downright angry – as in sinfully angry...

#01

A series on the kids in preparation for our return to the States last summer... 

Since our home assignment is imminent, friends and family are asking us how to best pray for our children as we prepare to bring them back to our home and plop them in the middle of Mid-Michigan; we do what we can to help them adjust, but basically, we try to trust God as He leads and hope for the best.

Doesn't sound too proactive to write it out that way, does it?

We're open for better ideas, if you have any?

Anyways, I thought I'd dedicate a post to each one of our school children - and maybe it would give you some ideas as to how to pray for these wonderful munchkins as well as the-not-so-much-anymore-munchkins that we commonly refer to as Wrightlings (It really is the perfect term for them, coined by our buddy Ryan! Thanks, Ryan!)

• MARY  ~ 
• ELSIE MAE  ~
• JONATHAN ~
• VICTORIA ~ 
• ANNA  ~
• NADIA  ~
• REBEKAH JOY  ~
• BRENDAN  ~ 

"I just don't feel like you love me!"

That statement, flung at me by one of my daughters, was first prefaced with the claim that she and I must speak different love languages and was in the context of an angry, grumpy, exhausted day where said daughter felt she was entitled to something (that was hers) the very moment she demanded it.

It reminded me of all that volcanic activity that we saw while we were out in Yellowstone last summer.

Her comment angered me and frankly, my first "reactive" thoughts ran along the lines of, "Fine then. Why don't I just give you a very tangible taste of what it would really 'feel' like if I didn't love you."

Which infuriated me. Not just my daughter's angry and hurtful words. My initial response, I mean.

I so totally despise that feeling of infuriating myself... It usually means that in my thought life (if not actually acted out in real time), I'm acting no differently or better than a child... my child.

The temptation is always there. I want to walk through life, assuming a landscape of entitlement, insisting that things go just the way I think they should with self at the center of all. That might be because I think I've worked hard enough and I deserve it... or because things have been so bad and hard lately I should get a break... or because I am important (for this or that reason) and people around me should recognize that and value me... or because my contribution is a little more vital and they'd really miss me if I stopped [contributing] so they'd better not tick me off... or because...

I could keep on going, couldn't I.

The problem with living that way is that I'm just like a volcanic landscape.

Sometimes those feelings bubble and boiling to the surface, little poofs of steam sometimes shoot up, all hinting and giving glimpses of the ugly underneath when too much life pressure builds up. That odor permeating the area? It's distinct - not overpowering but always noticeable. Kinda sulfery. Most would be hard-pressed to describe it sweet, mild, pleasant - or a place to hang out for a significant time.

Other times, there's not noticeable fuming or exploding. But clearly? Something unhealthy is going on underneath, for the visible landscape it missing something. I has a desolate air to it: things once growing and vibrant have died and signs of new life are nonexistent. People who tread that landscape always do so hesitantly, scared of what all that energy just below the obvious surface might do to them should it be unleashed. Who wants to stick it out long term when that sort of blackmail threat is always buried, just out of sight, but still palpable?

Then there are always those who begin to rumble and grumble and then just spew heat and hate and anger and entitlement... sometimes predictably, sometimes only every so often and clearly not when expected, sometimes large and wide, sometimes narrow and high with deadly force and precision.

I don't imagine many would say, "I want people to think of a geologic nightmare, intriguing and fascinating though it may be, like the landscape of Yellowstone... when they think of me." Personally, Yellowstone was the kind of place that was nice to visit. But it wasn't one of the places we saw on our travels where I said, "I could just plant myself here and never leave..." It was too volatile- it sometimes felt (and I don't know if this would make any sense to anyone else) voyeuristic, not to mention overstimulating and just plain exhausting.

As I've thought back many times at first, but just recently once again, to my daughter's furious fuming that began this whole mind-and-heart-meander, I had one final light bulb ping.

I make similar statements to God time and time again. Just like Job did. Until he realized. 

What was Job's response?

"I know that You can do all things, And that no purpose of Yours can be thwarted. 'Who is this that hides counsel without knowledge?' Therefore I have declared that which I did not understand, Things too wonderful for me, which I did not know. Hear, now, and I will speak; I will ask You, and You instruct me. I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear; But now my eye sees You; Therefore I retract, And I repent in dust and ashes." (NASB, from Job 42)

 Or phrased another way...

“I’m convinced: You can do anything and everything. Nothing and no one can upset your plans. You asked, ‘Who is this muddying the water, ignorantly confusing the issue, second-guessing my purposes?’ I admit it. I was the one. I babbled on about things far beyond me, made small talk about wonders way over my head. You told me, ‘Listen, and let me do the talking. Let me ask the questions. You give the answers.’ I admit I once lived by rumors of you; now I have it all firsthand—from my own eyes and ears! I’m sorry—forgive me. I’ll never do that again, I promise! I’ll never again live on crusts of hearsay, crumbs of rumor.” (The Message, from Job 42)

Thanks to Anna for her photos of Old Faithful.

Encountering Jesus ~ Wanted "Every When"

Jesus said to them, “Very truly I tell you, it is not Moses who has given you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is the bread that comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” 

“Sir,” they said, “always give us this bread.” 

Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty. But as I told you, you have seen me and still you do not believe. All those the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away. For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me. And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all those he has given me, but raise them up at the last day. For my Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day.” (John 6.30-40)

Jesus fed 5000 with next to nothing. He walked on water and calmed the wind and waves. And He already had a reputation... so all those people who couldn't walk on water still followed Him to the other side of the sea, and there, they began to ask Him questions. They wanted to know how to please God... God's Word tells us that He likes for men and women to seek after Him. That appeared to be what this crowd is doing. But they didn't seem to like or want to agree with the things He said. Their hearts did not seem to be teachable and inclined to learn.

What gives me this impression? This crowd does the same thing my kids often do when I answer their questions... or when I tell them what they can do to please me. They start trying to figure out a way around... something different... something that they like better or that makes more sense to them... or just something that they decide, their own way rather than submitting to authority. They aren't intent on listening and they aren't content to accept and obey but would rather debate and tell me all the problems they see with what I've just said. Instead of looking for how they can please and obey, they are trying to figure out a way out.

Look at how the people respond after Jesus says that belief in the One He sent is what pleases God: "What sign then will you give that we may see it and believe you? What will You do?"

I think, implied in this statement, was the idea that the Israelites followed Moses because he fed them... And they'd followed Jesus across the sea because He'd fed them. He is showing them that their motive is not a spiritual searching. Rather, they wanted full bellies with little or no effort on their part. So Jesus reminds the people that Moses wasn't the provider - that God was and that He still is.

The people respond ~ 

always

evermore

at all times

literally from the Greek, "every when"

supply and furnish this necessary thing.

They did have one thing right. Bread from heaven is a necessary thing... but not for the reasons they were expecting and not provided in the manner they expected.

And that's what Jesus explains to them next.

That's when He makes the very radical statement, "I am the Bread of Life."

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These few verses have me asking myself what "every whens" I'm insisting Jesus meet or fill or satisfy... at my whim and at my demand.

How about you? 

 this week's gratitude list

(#'s 4082 - 4103)

time at the fair with the family

time at the fair with just the littles

visiting family to the north

visiting family to the south

a very challenging and thought provoking discussion @ a life overseas

coffee with a friend I rarely get to see

another friend feeling better

deciding on an exercise program

the beginning of volleyball practice for my girlies

impromptu-like deciding to watch a softball game

garden fresh veggies

elephant ears at the fair

"free?" corn dogs at the fair

hotel reservations made for my trek to PA with my boy

5 in the bed snuggling one morning this week

a video that reminded me all about why gratefulness for God's infinite graciousness is so life changing

a book arriving in the mail that I can't wait to read

Wednesday night prayer meeting/Bible study

watching her stretch herself as she applies for jobs

another girlie starting her first job

watching him begin to get ready for his written driver's test

little one asking questions about Jesus interspersed with questions about assorted superheroes and getting to explain why Jesus is so much better

 

Ten most recent posts in this series: 

• When Jesus asks me, what is my response?
• "Arise..."
• "...take up thy bed and walk!"
• Jesus Encounter Take Two
• It's the beginning of a showdown!
• Jesus speaks with the Jews in charge
• "And what would YOU have said? What would YOU have done?"
• When seeing God at work just isn't what I expected
• "When did You get here?"
• "How do you know you are making God happy?"
• Because He says, "It is so..."

Click here for all of the titles and their corresponding links in the Encountering Jesus series.