Just Say "Yes!"

Ella Enchanted and Yes Man are both intriguing movies because they present the idea of two people who can do nothing but obey requests given to them. I am so thankful that God has given us the opportunity to make decisions, not having to say yes to every opportunity that comes down the pike. That being said, I must confess that God has been showing me some areas in which I need to say “yes” more often for His glory, regardless of what I’m feeling. Here are some examples of areas in which I have committed to say “yes” to God this year:

-In areas where I feel inadequate or exposed. (As in verbal and social actions) Lately this has taken the form of sharing in front of large groups of people, with varying factors that add to the nervousness, such as a very formal setting, a long sharing time, or the language barrier of doing it all in Spanish! I have also been intimidated by having to pray in Spanish for assorted reasons, and have had to remind myself that I am doing it for the glory of God and the edification of others… how I look, or what people think of my language skills is not what matters! So I might mess up on a verb tense or two… but what’s the alternative? Leaving someone stranded in a desperate situation with no Christian support? Refusing to obey God’s prompting in my heart? Clearly, stepping out in faith and messing up a verb tense or two is the preferable route!

- Pushing on in God’s strength when I feel tired or inadequate (physical actions). God has been showing me that in ministry settings sometimes I put Him in a box when I put myself in a box, saying that I am too tired or need a rest when it is obvious that He is calling me to take steps of action. Note: I am not saying that rest is unimportant... I'm just saying that it is not the most important thing! When I know that God is calling me to act, I cannot hide behind the excuse of being too tired. Rather I need to step out in faith and allow Him to be my strength. I have been noticing this in the very concrete setting of my quiet times with God. He has been making it undeniably clear that the most important thing I can do in my life or in my ministry is to spend time sitting at His feet. To do that with my schedule, though, tends to mean getting up early before the ceaseless stream of daily activities leaves me with no time to think. Most mornings the thought crosses my mind that "Oh, I'm so tired. Just another half an hour of sleep and I'll be so much more productive." However, that was not Christ's mindset at all! He was busy from dawn till dusk too, but He chose to wake up before dawn to spend time with His father (Mark 1:35). The night before He was crucified, He stayed awake communing with God, rather than "resting up" for the grueling day that He knew lay ahead of Him. Since Jesus was fully human as well as fully God, I know that it is humanly possible to follow His lead on this and that the important thing is that I respond to God's leading.

Thank God that He didn't make us robots without a choice in whether or not we would obey His will. Still, I believe that there will always be areas in which we need to exert some willpower and say "yes" when we would rather say "no." I would encourage you to examine your lives and see if there is anything in your life that you are saying "no" to God in because of feelings of inadequacy, complacency or fatigue. If it is something that God is clearly calling you to, something that would bring Him glory, edify the church or otherwise accomplish His will, I have three words for you: Just Say Yes!

Tomorrow's Saturday

I don't know whether to call this a messed up poem, poetic prose, stream of consciousness, or a drug trip. However, here are some thoughts on the night life in Mexico City. :-)

Tomorrow’s Saturday

The lights from houses on an opposing hillside

Twinkle through the polluted city air like fireflies

Gaudy strings of Christmas bulbs

Also try to mimic lightning bugs

But the busy, blaring colors of the former

Can’t hold a candle to the gentle pulsing glow of the latter

The city—a clanging cacophony by day—

Hums an improvised urban lullaby at night

It’s almost midnight, but the neighbors are still awake

In vacation mode after a month of holiday

And besides, tomorrow’s a Saturday

The churning sea of people that daily floods the city streets

Has been channeled into individual homes

Where everyone has a face, a name, and a joke

What contrast these lively dwellings now create

Against the deserted streets where a chilly night breeze blows

Dogs are barking from every rooftop,

Perhaps offended to be excluded from the merrymaking

Perhaps telling some jokes of their own—

It’s hard to say for sure.

As if in response, each nucleus turns up their music some,

Creating another layer of separation between them and the work-a-day outside world

And adding to the general joy of their own little kingdom

The TV is on like always

But like always it is only background noise

Dirty dishes are stacked on the counter with care

In the knowledge that tomorrow soon will be there

It’s 2:30 and only now are people starting to drift off to sleep,

Likely to wake up late

“But who cares,” they think, with a shrug and a grin,

“And next week we’ll surely do it again

“Tonight was worth it,” they sleepily say,

“And besides tomorrow’s Saturday.”

WHAT'S SNEW?

An old pun runs something like:

Punster: Is it snewing much where you live?

Friend: Huh? What's snew!

Punster: What's new? Not much. What's new with you! :-)

I would like to fill you in a bit on what's snew in my life lately. And there's a lot that's snew. :-)

On December 13th I returned home to spend Christmas vacation with my family and be in my best friends wedding. The wedding was the 18th and was entirely beautiful! Such a lovely picture of human love and a testimony to God's love.

The following weekend was a merry and white Christmas, followed by presenting about Mexico in church. Being involved in an incarnational* ministry in Mexico makes the wonder of God's coming to earth as a baby entirely astounding to me, so both the 25th and the 26th were very meaningful for me.

A week later I put the Pennsylvania snow (not to be confused with snew) behind me and found myself basking in the warmth of Florida, where we witnessed another wedding (one of our family friends from our church down there) and had a long overdue visit with my grandmother. Both were lovely... and in the meantime I enjoyed the gorgeous weather, long walks down memory lane and lightning fast roadtrips with my family.

Under 24 hours from the time our wheels hit the driveway of my PA home, they rolled out again for the airport. At 4:30 AM I arrived at the Pittsburgh airport and by 2:00 I was in the Mexico City one. That was yesterday.