Dec 5, 2009 | Baby Photos, South Africa, Stories
Even when life is tough, I know God is good. But sometimes it’s really nice to give the update that both are good, at the same time. 🙂 I shared with you recently about how settling into this new place has been tough, and how it had been a greater challenge than I expected.
And many of you have asked how I’m doing and been so encouraging, sent emails with words of encouragement, and you’ve prayed for us and for me, which is a wonderful blessing. I just want to give you an update and say thank you for your prayers. The Lord is answering them.
We have settled in at the church we visited when we first arrived. Although I feel certain it was the Lord’s leading for us to take the time to seek His direction about where He would have us, I am really happy that we’ve settled in at the Every Nation Church in Somerset West. We’re beginning to make some lovely friends there, and it is just such water to our souls to be in fellowship again after feeling like nomadic travellers for so long. (Friends, thank the Lord for your friends and your communities and fellowship! Even if it’s sometimes tough to be in community, it is ALWAYS better than NOT being in community, I am convinced.)
We enjoyed attending a Life Group last night, which was actually a big end-of-year Christmas party, and had lots of laughs playing the Bad Santa Christmas game where you draw numbers and get to steal gifts or choose new ones. And Mark stole my homemade brownies, ate one, and gave them back to the person he stole them from after the game. He’s such a hero hubby!
We are also still getting to know our neighbours, which is lovely. We’re making salsa to bring them today as Christmas gifts since we leave for Bloemfontein on Wednesday. And we are networking with other Christians in the community in really exciting ways…meeting with folks from different churches interested in partnering with Samaritan’s Feet, and speaking with people who know people who know about working as a trust…making shoes…and lots of other things that could make our work here just blossom into a powerful ministry for the Kingdom and the glory of God.
We have even been welcomed by believers we’ve met at the gym, and the warm welcome into the community is such sweet water to our souls. So this is a big thank you, from the bottom of my heart (whatever that expression really means…why the bottom) and perhaps from the bottom of Mark’s heart too, and the Bear’s happy bottom… for your prayers and your encouragement. The Lord answers prayers. He is wonderfully good. And I am thankful for your friendship and support, as sometimes a comment on a blog has been enough to get me through a tough moment, here in sunny South Africa, my home 7,500+ miles away from home.
So here’s the big thanks…
THANKS!!!
(Sorry I can’t figure out how to make it any bigger) And I will give the Bear the big kiss I can’t give each of you…
Dec 4, 2009 | Hometastic Goodness, Stories
Does Christmas ever feel a bit icky to you in some strange way? Like you feel like you’d like to do things differently…make it less about Santa and more about Jesus…less about the presents and more about His Presence…less about the twinkly lights and more about letting your light shine? You get the idea.
If so, I just want to share a quick recommendation with you. There’s a website called Christmas Change that I came across the other day, and from what I’ve read so far, I’ve found some great thoughts and encouragement that you might also find inspirational for making some of the changes that will make Christmas less ‘icky’ and more full of peace, love and Jesus! I particularly enjoyed this post — especially the loads and loads of comments. Please read the comments — they’re the best part!
A few of the changes around the Collie household so far…I think I’ve already told you we won’t have a tree in our flat (since we gave it away in Edinburgh and I’d rather save up for a dishwasher!) and we’re not spending money on new decorations. I’ve been trolling the web for ideas of things to do with things we already have. (Like my pom-poms!) I’m hoping we’ll draw names among the adults at our get-together at Mark’s parents’ in Bloemfontein, so that we don’t waste money getting each other something just to get each other something, but everyone still has a little prezzie on Christmas morning. (The Bear will probably still get prezzies from everyone…but that’s okay, he actually needs new toys.)
More than anything else, I am really hoping to take our peaceful time in Bloemfontein as a time of refreshing and reflection, to go after His Presence instead of going out to look for presents, and to share love and a good time with family. (Although I will surely be missing my Mom & Dad & brother & sister!)
Are you planning on making any changes to your Christmas this year? Please do share!
Dec 3, 2009 | Stories
Have you ever washed anybody’s feet? Have you ever had a pedicure and felt kind of sorry for the people washing yours? I am excited that as a part of our ministry here in South Africa, there’s a lot of footwashing in my future.
Every time I read the story of Jesus washing the disciples’ feet in John 13, I find it so striking. I suppose you might think it just takes lots of humility to be humble. But I think it also takes some confidence to be humble in the right way. Verses 13 & 14 explain that “Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into His hands, and that He had come from God and was going to God, rose from supper and laid aside His garments, took a towel and girded Himself.” And there takes place an event so strikingly beautiful, and so strikingly other-worldly to me: Jesus washes the Disciples’ feet.
A while ago I wrote a post about how contrary the ways of the kingdom of God are to the ways of the world. It is beautiful and intriguing to me, as I understand more and more about how the call to follow Jesus is so contrary to the call to live life the way the world might tell you to. Here we have such an incredible, tangible example of the mindboggling paradigm of our Saviour and King. He’s about to die for the sins of the world. He’s about to be denied by those dear to Him, abandoned in His darkest hour, even betrayed by one of those among them…and what does He do? He washes their feet.
And He explains: “You call Me Teacher and Lord, and you say well, for so I am. If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have given you an example, that you should do as I have done to you.” And a little later He points out that this servant attitude, this love we demonstrate, when we love each other (which is obviously intertwined with serving each other) this is the love by which “all will know that you are My disciples.”
Does He tell us to chase after a bigger peace of the pie? No. Does He tell us to make sure we have enough for ourselves before we even consider sharing with anyone else? No. He says love each other. Serve each other. Trust Me to take care of you.
This holiday season, I want to aim to find myself in God. Can I encourage you to do the same? Find out who you are in God. Remember how much He loves you. Remember that’s why He came. And let that knowledge give you the confidence to be a servant. To be an agent for the love of God to flow into the lives of those who need it. I am confident that you will find it more blessed to give than to receive…and I’d encourage you to give not just out of your pocket, but out of your heart and your time. And not just to those who will give back to you, but to those who might be Peters and Judases in your life. That kind of love is the light that shines brighter than any other, and points to God. Tis the Season.
Dec 2, 2009 | Baby Photos, South Africa, Stories, The Good Word
There are a lot of things I love about the Christmas season. A lot of them have to do with twinkly lights, chilly weather, happy smiley faces at shopping malls, pretty window displays, and peppermint mochas at Starbucks. But what I want my heart to be about in this season has nothing to do with a lot of that, and I feel like being halfway around the world again this Christmas is another opportunity for my heart to learn to focus on the real meaning of the season.
Sure there will be an opportunity for books…
And toys…
and even a little sparkle and twinkle…
But as I was reading in Exodus yesterday and today, I was reminded of what really distinguishes the people of God as the people of God: His presence. We celebrate Christmas because Christ has come. And we celebrate the fact that because He has come, He is present with us, dwelling in our hearts, directing our steps, and changing the world through us.
In Exodus 33, Moses was kind of at his wit’s end. He was up on Mt. Sinai for forty days receiving the commands of God, and the people got sort of “impatient” waiting for him…and then things got ‘rowdy’ and ridiculously out of hand. They’d basically decided “Forget Moses…he’s been gone a long time and who knows what happened to him? Let’s find a new god to worship, and have some fun!” Moses and the Lord had a long chat about this unfortunate situation, and God decided He would still give the people the land He promised them, but He wasn’t going to be with them when they went to inherit it. I think He was so mad He thought He’d just wipe them off the face of the earth if He spent any more time with them.
Moses was distraught. He said to the Lord, “If Your Presence does not go with us, do not bring us up from here. For how then will it be known that Your people and I have found grace in Your sight, except You go with us? So we shall be separate, Your people and I, from all the people who are upon the face of the earth.” The Lord had given other people groups land. The Lord had blessed other people groups with promises. But the covenant sign that Moses was seeking was the mark of God’s presence in the lives of His people. If You aren’t going with us… I don’t wanna go!
Moses found grace in the sight of the Lord, and the Lord promised to go with them. And as the story continues into Exodus 34, we find that the being in the presence of God is so unmistakably incredible that when Moses returns to talk to the people, after speaking with God, his face and skin shines so much they have to put a veil over him. There is beautiful, changing power when we get into the presence of God.
So this Christmas, I am looking forward to the things that make my heart a little happier and my step a little lighter, but more than that, I want to celebrate Emmanuel — the God with us, who came to this Earth so that we, like Moses, could find grace in the presence of God, and be transformed. Tis the Season for a lot of things…but for His Presence most of all!
Nov 23, 2009 | Stories, The Good Word
If you will excuse me, dear reader, I would like to make an addendum to a previous post. I have been thinking a good bit about the law and grace, and the promise of God, and I am continually realising my tendency to move away from the grace of God into a desire to earn His graciousness and approval. Is anybody else in this boat? Wouldn’t you rather work for it?
In the aforementioned post, I talked about how it was a good idea to hush if you have a stinky attitude and don’t have anything nice to say, so that you don’t pass on your grumpymugginness to everyone else. But I’m not sure that’s entirely true. I do think it is a good idea to be thoughtful with your words. It’s wise to be careful about what comes out of your mouth — the things you say really are like the toothpaste that can’t go back in the tube. But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be honest about where you are, what you’re experiencing, and if you’re having a hard time.
Lord, please help me to rest in your grace.
If you are anything like me, you might retreat a little bit when times are hard, and put on a happy face so that everyone will think you are fine. (It reminds me of that great Volkswagen commercial with that I’m a Great Pretender song in the background. Have you seen it? I loved it.) Anyway, I can really be a pretender sometimes.
If I’m honest, this is a hard season for me. We’ve just moved to a new country. I thought it was going to be easier than this. I forgot that I moved to Scotland with thirty other people and had an instant friendship circle and a common goal. I made friends at the university quickly and easily. And I was single, so life was flexible, and fancy-free. Things are great here. We’re in a beautiful place, and the Lord has made an amazingly smooth path for us. But still, it’s hard. I’ve traded one set of circumstances for another, completely different. And my heart feels strung out — all over the world. I’ve left so many dear friends behind in Scotland. And my family and friends in the States — I continue to miss them, now even more, as with a greater time difference it’s harder to get in touch.
The way all this ties into grace and the law for me is this: Before there was the law, there was grace, and justification by faith. Abraham simply believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness. Four hundred and thirty years before Moses received those legendary tablets on Mt. Sinai, God made a covenant with Abraham, a promise to bless His descendants, and that through him, all nations would be blessed. So the promise came before the law. And Christ came before I even began to stray from a godly path. Before I could earn God’s love and approval, it was freely given.
What does all that mean? I’ve been reading in Galatians 3 and 4 and here’s what I’m trying to wrap my head around. Grace is available, based on faith, and free. It justifies us by faith, and not by anything we can do. God says His grace is sufficient for us, because His strength is made perfect in our weaknesses. So here I am, admittedly a sinner, and I may struggle to rejoice and find contentment in this new season, and if I’m honest, it’s just hard. But the Good News is, God’s grace is available. And while I am weak, and I feel like I’m failing to deflect the fiery darts of self-pity that would have me consumed with disappointment at another Christmas away from my family, and another week feeling like I don’t have any new friends, praise God that His grace is sufficient. It’s okay to be disappointed. It’s okay to struggle to deal with the way things are going when it’s not your way.
Even more, It is good to be honest about where you are. It is good to be honest with God about how you feel. And sometimes, even if it doesn’t look pretty and perfect, it is good to be honest with others, when life just isn’t a cup of sweet tea for you. It may be a good idea to hush, but it may be an even better idea to speak up, to say, “I’m struggling!” or “This ain’t as glamourous as it looks!” or “Help!” So that’s the addendum of the day. I hope to put on my bathing suit and dive into the sea of God’s grace today for a good long swim. Feel free to grab a cap and goggles and join me.
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