Archive for July, 2014

26 Jul

Nothing Happened This Week

Posted by kingdomcivics in Citizenship 101.

Here I am at the end of another week, and I almost didn’t blog.  I actually had the time to do so, and as a lifelong journaller, I enjoy the chance to process the past week, but it was just that, “Nothing happened.”

Thinking casually back over the week, I just couldn’t think of many clear memories.  I enjoyed sometime at the end of the week to relax and unwind, I remember that, but what happened before?

Then I looked at my pictures.  There weren’t a ton of them, but they reminded me that this past week where “nothing happened” was actually a week rich in friendships and family time and memories.

For instance, nothing happened this week except that when we got home from Murphy on Sunday, my mom had left a bunch of clothes for the kids on my kitchen table.  She had stopped by on her way home from Louisville.

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So nothing happened besides the fact that my mom showed yet again her amazing generosity and her love for all of us.

And nothing happened besides Greg getting to take his first day off in a long while on Monday.  Our family went up to Y.E.S. for lunch because one of our college friends, Shana, was providing it (but that’s “nothing,” right?  Everyone has amazing friends from college who help out in their ministries, right?)  We wanted to see her and to see the kids at Y.E.S.  Our kids ate lunch there, too, and enjoyed playing for awhile before we headed on to take a nature walk.

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It was “nothing.”  Just some rock-skipping lessons on the edge of a calm lake on a beautiful day.  Nothing to see here, folks.

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Nothing happened but a family walk and a chance to catch up with my husband.

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We haven’t seen a lot of him this summer; he’s been busy with camps and trips with the teens, pouring himself into ministry, and acing grad school.  I’m so proud of this man—and so is Anna, who gave him the flower that is behind his ear!

That evening, nothing happened, except that I made two dinners, one for my friend, Heidi, and one for us.  I ended up staying and talking to Heidi for longer than expected, so I told my family to just eat without me:).  But really, that’s nothing.  Getting to talk to a wonderful friend who has just moved back and feed a bottle to her beautiful baby…nothing special there! 

I got home in time to eat dinner and pop popcorn for our movie night:

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But it was nothing.  Just another movie night with the family that I love so much.

On Tuesday morning, nothing much happened besides a visit from our friends, the Steeds.  Afterward, they talked Luke into coming home and spending the night with them, but having good friends like that (and having a bff who knows everything about you) is “nothing.”  Not worth blogging about, certainly.

Once they left, Anna and I didn’t do anything besides go to a local park where she rode her scooter:

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Absolutely nothing happened there besides a beautiful evening with my daughter.

On Wednesday morning, there was nothing to do besides go roller skating with Anna.  After all, Luke and Greg do not like roller skating, so we needed to take advantage of the time when neither of them were there! 

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Nothing happened at the skating rink besides the fact that I got to watch my daughter’s amazing determination yet again.  I got to see her fall, then fall again, and again, and every time, bounce back up with a determined smile on her face.  She skated for miles that morning. 

We ended up sharing the rink with a YMCA camp group, which worked out because there were several games.  Anna’s favorite was limbo.

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She was one of the five people who never got out!  But that’s really “nothing,” right?

That evening, I gave my testimony at church.  It could only be about ten minutes long, so this was the condensed version, and I didn’t pass out or throw up, so I’m counting it as a win.  The most surprising part was when I was mobbed by little girls while I was talking!

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At the time, I was so confused by what made Anna come running to me, followed closely by her cohorts.  Afterward, Greg pointed out that I had been highlighting things that I still needed to work on as a Christian (selfishness, impatience, etc).  My point was not to put myself down, but to explain that as Christians, we can be honest about our flaws without letting them discourage us.  The whole point of my talk was how God gradually transforms us, so we know that, if we let Him, He is going to keep making us more and more like His Son.  Anna didn’t let me get that far, however, before she came running, out, apparently, to comfort me:).  Her friends were all giggly and happy, so even though it was a couple minutes before we restored order, at least it was a cute interruption!

After I finished, they all promptly piled on my lap. 

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I felt very loved.  I had been nervous about speaking in front of everybody, so I’ve gotta say, this wasn’t a bad way to be greeted after I finished!

So yeah…nothing happened on Wednesday night besides the fact that I talked in front of my church for the first time and then got love-mobbed by a ton of adorable little girls.  Happens all the time, right?

On Thursday morning, we had nothing to do besides meet some friends at the zoo:

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I didn’t get many pictures, and Anna and I couldn’t stay long, but we had a good time with the Burnells, the Wilsons, and my friend, Melissa.  It’s probably bad to say, but my favorite part of the zoo that day was seeing the kangaroos fight:

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I normally don’t enjoy watching animals fight, but kangaroos are just so comical!

But besides the awesome kangaroos and the time spent with a great group of friends, nothing really happened there, you know?

Luke had ended up spending two nights with the Steeds, so we went to pick him up after we left the zoo.  Then it was home for a relaxing afternoon.  Nothing really happened that night, just that my friend, Caroline, came over for dinner.  She and I had really needed to catch up, and we shared a deep chat, with both tears and laughter, for hours.  But that was it, nothing else…well, nothing besides the fact that we each got a text/call from a teen from church, Brenda, who wanted to come over.  At first, we were worried that something awful had happened…but no, she had just texted Greg in grad school, and he told her we were at the house.  Brenda was excited that she had gotten her driver’s license, so she and her brother, Fidel, stopped by. 

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Around 10:00, Greg got home from grad school, and the five of us sat and talked on the couch, and I think I laughed harder than I had all week.  Brenda is crazy!  It was 11:00 before everyone left and our kids were in bed. 

So really…”nothing happened” that night besides a deep conversation with an amazing friend, my husband’s completion of his summer grad school course, his giving of a GREAT presentation in class, and a happy group of friends in our living room, laughing until we cried.

Friday was a much-needed “home recovery” day.  I did nothing besides clean, organize, hang out with my kids, and then grill out with my family and have dinner together on the back porch.  “Nothing.”

And today, nothing happened besides having dinner with some great people:

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So that’s it.  As you can see, nothing really happened this week.  Nothing besides coming home to a surprise from my mom; getting some much-needed time with Greg; visiting with my best friend, Courtney; spending some quality time with Anna; feeling amazing love from the little girls at church; hanging out at the zoo with church friends; catching up with my friend, Caroline; celebrating with Brenda and Fidel; and eating dinner with our long-time friends, Heidi and Michael.

Honestly, when I first thought over this week, I thought of its stressors:  things that were really not worth blogging about, simply because they are unoriginal and there’s not much I can even do about them.  But looking at my pictures reminded me of all the blessings of the week, all the times where God’s love and faithfulness were showered on me through my physical family and my church family.  I really think that God purposely lavished me with love this week from His people, and that love filled me with joy and peace.  In the One Year Bible this week, I read Romans 8, which reminded me that nothing can separate me from that love.  Looking back at this week’s blessings, I see how true those verses are.

And that’s a lot of comfort from a week where, really, “nothing happened.”

23 Jul

Things that Happen in Russian Prisons and Minnesota Malls

Posted by kingdomcivics in Kingdom Voices.

When you are gone, what do you want to leave behind?

What impact do you want to have made?

russian prison cellI ask, because I just finished a book called The Insanity of God, in which a man writes about his many interviews with Christians who have faced intense persecution.  Reading it, I was amazed at the impact that such simple things could have on others.  One story that stuck with me was from a man who had spent fifteen years in a prison in the USSR.  He was imprisoned for his faith, tortured, and starved for so long.  The only things that kept him faithful were two practices he had.  One was to get up first thing every morning, stand at attention, and loudly sing a worship song.  It was always the same worship song.  The book called it a HeartSong, but I don’t really know what that means.  Anyway, he sang it every morning.  The other thing he did was whenever he found a scrap of paper and something to write with, he would fill the paper with all the Scripture he could fit on it and then stick it to a freezing pole in his room.  He met great opposition with these two practices.  When he sang his HeartSong, for instance, all the other prisoners would jeer and mock him and even throw their own excrement into his cell to stop him.  And when he put up scripture, it was inevitably discovered, which led to more torture and mistreatment.

After years of maintaining these two practices, the authorities decided that he was to be executed.  They came to his cell and started to lead him away.  It was then that an amazing thing happened:

 The prison held 1,500 prisoners, and all of them got up, stood at attention, and started singing this man’s HeartSong.

Can you picture that?  Can you picture one man’s faithful behavior day after day, one simple act repeated, that inspired a whole prison around him?  What an amazing image.

And happily, the guards were so astonished and terrified that they thought the man had special powers and they let him live, which is how we know the story today.

Thinking about the impact of that single prisoner makes me think of my own impact in life, even in circumstances very different from his.  I think we have no idea the effect we can have on others through the witness of our actions.  I’m still not sure what a HeartSong is, but I do think every life has a central message that it shares with others, whether we mean for it to or not.  And the challenge for Christians is for that message, that song that we sing, to point to Jesus, in hopes that even when we are gone, our “song” will continue.

I saw a great illustration of this idea yesterday.  You may have heard the story of Zach Sobiech, a teenager who was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer and decided to make the most of the time he had left.  One of the things he did that made the biggest impact was write songs as a way to process what was happening to him.  His song, “Clouds,” was extremely popular on youtube.  The link above goes to a short documentary on his life, but this three-minute video also gives a good recap.

I had heard of Zach before he died, and now he has passed away.  What I didn’t know until yesterday, was that a year after his death, a huge group of 5,000  people who had heard of him and loved him gathered together to sing his song in the Mall of America.  The video is amazing:

When I saw that video, tears came to my eyes.  It just provided such a beautiful image of the impact we can have on others through the way we live our lives.

And when I think about that Russian prisoner and American teenager, I can’t help but think of others, like Greg’s Granddaddy Kirby, whose “song” of faithfulness to God and family is still being sung by every one of his descendants.

I think of Uncle Rob, whose song of joy in adversity impacted everyone who met him.

And I think of my brother, who left behind so many literal songs, some of which I still sing to my children–and to myself, when I need them.

And I also think of my own life.

How will my life impact others?

What song is my life singing?

And will others sing it after I’m gone?

18 Jul

Reading History as a Spiritual Practice

Posted by kingdomcivics in Reading History as a Spiritual Practice.

I understand that a lot of people “don’t like History.”

I just don’t understand why.

And so I put “don’t like History” in quotes because part of me suspects that people really do like History–they just have been wrongly taught what it is.

They have been taught to think that History is memorizing a bunch of names and dates about people and events that are irrelevant to their lives.  But that’s not what History is.  For one thing, History is not the study of “names and dates”: it’s the study of people.  History is the story of how people have lived on this earth, and how they have handled the circumstances life threw at them, like power or disaster or wealth or pain or opportunity.

And it’s not irrelevant to our lives.  In a very real way, History explains what you see when you look out the window.  It explains why you do the things you do, drive on the roads you drive on, eat the foods you eat, think the thoughts you think.  It explains in large part why you see the world the way you do and why that way is different from your fellow man across the street or the country or the globe.  In other words, History examines the complex forces which have come together to form this present moment.

To me, that is fascinating.  Learning about people is fascinating.  And learning about myself is fascinating.  So with all that fascination, what’s not to like?

Lately, though, I’ve realized that reading about History is not simply an entertaining and informative practice in my life; it is also a kind of spiritual exercise.  This makes me happy because my life hypothesis is that everything I do can be to the glory of God.  And I’ve always assumed that reading History falls into that category because it improves the mind God gave me and also gives me a better understanding of the world He created.  I still believe that, but now I’m seeing so many added benefits of History, benefits that directly affect my relationship with God and my ability to my “good works” in this world.  For instance…

History relieves my stress.

Like a lot of people, I struggle with worry and anxiety.  Over the years, I’ve realized that worry and anxiety consume me when I am too focused on my immediate circumstances.  I think there is such a think as mentally drowning in your surroundings:  YOUR health, YOUR family, YOUR finances, YOUR plans.  When those things begin to take up too much of my focus, my anxiety over them skyrockets.  Conversely, I’ve found that “getting outside myself” and serving others gives me back that freeing perspective that comes with knowing the world is bigger than my problems.  Allowing others’ lives and perspectives into my thoughts helps put my own in perspective.

trumanThe same thing happens when I read History.  I read David McCullough’s excellent biography, Truman, for example, in a time of great financial stress for Greg and me.  We were trying to sell our house in South Carolina and having to still make payments on it while also carrying a mortgage on our house in Tennessee.  It was bad.   It caused me lots of anxiety.  And nothing helped relieve that anxiety than by reading about all Harry Truman went through as President.   I drew actual comfort while reading about this average American who grew up on a farm was thrust into the highest office in the land without so much of a briefing of how World War 2 was going…how he was expected to negotiate the end of the war in Europe…to make a decision about dropping a terrible weapon to end the war in the Pacific…and forced to take the lead in rebuilding the world.  At one point, he and his advisers thought they were literally faced with the beginning of World War 3 and were frantically trying to avoid it, and Truman’s stoicism and courage in that time was such a inspiration to me.

And I can honestly say that “watching” that man navigate and handle such immense stress in his own life really put my own stress in perspective.  It helped me to relax about my financial situation, and realize that it truly wasn’t the end of the world.  At least, not in the same way that World War 3 would be the end of the world!

History calms my fears.

Sometimes when you look at the scope of the whole world and all that is going on, it seems very scary.  History doesn’t necessarily negate that awareness, but when I read History, I’m reminded that the world has always been scary…and that lots of times have been way scarier than these times.  Reading History also reminds me that the scary times pass, and that’s comforting to me.  On September 11, 2001, a day that was full of fear and turmoil, one of the most genuinely comforting thoughts I had was picturing the wording that my high school History textbook, The American Pageant, would use to describe the event in twenty years.  Maybe that seems like a weird source of comfort, but there is something inherently calming in knowing that what seems so huge and tumultuous and fearful will one day be just another source of boredom to a disinterested high school student.

History gives me perspective on my life situation.

This is a huge spiritual benefit of reading History.  I think humans naturally tend to assume that our experience is normal, whereas History reminds us of all the ways our circumstances are unique.  For example, in our area of the country and time and History, we might assume a certain house size is “normal,” a certain amount of clothes are “normal,” or the ways we spend our money are “normal.”  History tells us that it isn’t.  In fact, History tells us that today’ “normal” lifestyle in America is actually quite excessive, and knowing that helps me to better evaluate my use of resources.  That’s just one example of how History has redefined my life expectations.  I could also talk about my expectations of “normal” when it comes to experiencing pain or educating my children or eating food or a number of other issues.  But suffice it to say that History has both made me more grateful and more thoughtful about how I live my life.

History provides me with useful examples of how to live this life.

This may sound crazy, but when you read hundreds of pages on a person’s life, get to nose through all their private correspondence and peer into their relationships…well, you kind of feel like you’re friends at the end of it.  At least, you sort of feel like you know them.  You know how something will happen, and you’ll think, I wonder what so-and-so would think of this, so-and-so being your spouse or family member or good friend.  And you know that person well enough to hazard an educated guess on their reaction or what they might say.  Well, I now think that thought, not only about my own family and friends, but about a variety of past Presidents and statesmen!  When I first read Walter Isaacson’s biography on Ben Franklin, I spent way too much time looking at the circumstances of this current world and wondering, “What would Ben Franklin think of this?”  Like, what would he think about…cars…or the radio…or the state of civil rights…or even women’s dress these days (RE that last one, I think that after he got over being appalled, he would LOVE it!)

Now, in addition to, “What would Ben Franklin think of this,” I can reasonable ask myself, “What would Harry Truman do in this situation?” or “How would Teddy Roosevelt handle this?”

This is more than a nerdy/fun mental exercise.  Because of my Christian beliefs, I am inspired to use my little life to the absolute best of my abilities, and the more advisers and examples I can have, the better.  And I’m not talking about some one-dimensional perspective like, “I should always do what Harry Truman did.”  No, that’s not it at all.  It’s more like, by observing these influential people and the way they spent their little lives, I can glean lessons and inspiration for my own–both through their triumphs and their faults.

I guess you could say that History deepens my understanding and experience of humanity by giving me a rich source of varied experiences from which to draw.

Those are just some of the ways that reading History shapes me on a spiritual level.  To demonstrate this, I’d like to occasionally review History books I’ve read and specifically point out their spiritual lessons.  And I have a great book to start with…stay tuned!

Do you like History?  Why or why not?

 

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