Joy Best

I Cor. 9:25 Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever.

Let me explain the pic. This mural is on a wall in a slum village in Ethiopia we visited in Dec. Their plan is to educate and evangelize the children and see a whole country changed in a generation. The church is partnering with Compassion International and the effect is awesome. The principle is “take our seeming weaknesses, (slum kids with no future hope) and train them with Jesus’ truth, and see strength come where there was no strength. There IS a segue here… can you find it?

As church leaders we often have a sense of what we’re not good at, where we need to grow to produce a healthy church.  But unless we like looking dumb, we can simply avoid that area altogether,  practicing what we’re good at. It’s fun to use the gifts we’re strong in. It brings us joy to be working in our areas of confidence…..ahhhhh…this is what I was born for!

If we look at our natural bodies for a picture of how God works, to see His wisdom through the creation, we see that it is important to work on our weaknesses.  We train areas that are faltering so that strength can be built up. Gary had a lot of back pain some years ago. He  got some back exercises from our chiropractor, did them faithfully and he now has no back pain! I jog most days because that’s one thing that lowers my blood pressure. We both have embraced a healthier diet so that we won’t be taken out of the race with malfunctioning bodies. Practical stuff.

A nuclear family provides us with another picture of stretching and growing…in and out of our comfort zones! Not many of us are experts at training up all ages of kids.  I was better at little kids, Gary was better at understanding teens. If you love your children, you will stay with them and learn new skills, enduring the discomfort, in order to see them be equipped for life.

Apply this same principle to our weak areas as leaders and it looks much the same.  Whatever we practice we get better at.  Sometimes it is painful when we flex things that have not been used much, but eventually we become more adept. Here’s a story:

I have always loved to see people born into the kingdom, choosing a new life and following Jesus for a lifetime.  I looked around our church and noticed that we did a lot of training, but none of it was for pre or new Christians.  I really wanted someone who was good at this kind of stuff to do a class in this area. I would even help them doing-whatever they needed. The problem was I couldn’t find the person with this gifting. I felt the Lord ask me would you do this for Me?  My worst nightmare. But what can you say to the God who gave His most precious Son to buy me a life?

My worst fear was that no one would come.  You’d set it all up and no one would show up. I checked around and there seemed to be about a dozen people who were interested. OK, here we go…so the first night none of them show up. One guy showed up who was a drug addict.  He was a sweet guy and we spent the evening well with him. Of course I had my shirt in a knot when I got home and my conversation with the Lord was something like “this is just what I thought, no one showed up…I hate this. I don’t know what I’m doing.” Blah blah blah..I went on for awhile.  Then I felt like He said, “I don’t want you to evaluate, just do the 6 week course and talk to me about it when it’s over.”  Of course the next week the dozen people all showed up and the first night guy never did return. We had a 6 weeks adventure learning what it was to follow Jesus, to hear His voice, to live in forgiveness, be accountable, all these wonderful pieces of good news. I was terrified the whole time that God’s Spirit would get mixed up and not attend the class, but He was always there, I just had to calm down and wait for Him.

At the end we did have a talk, and He just encouraged me with what happens when I face my fears and walk right into them, facing certain death. Actually the fear was what died.

I

In January I did a water fast.  It was the physically hardest (and spiritually, I think) thing I ‘ve done to date. I haven’t done a long fast for 13 years, but I felt that the Lord put it on my heart .  I definitely think it was Him because I don’t think it would have been one of MY ideas.  I LIKE food!  Right from the start, though, there was grace for it, because I wanted to follow the Lord’s lead.

The reason I wanted to write about it is not to tell about what a hard thing I did, but about something I learned along the way. I’ve never had to ask for so much help ever!  There were many times a day when I had to call out “I need help”.  I learned that as soon as I called, I would be strengthened, it was tangible help. I could actually carry through and do something that I was ready to give up on. This was a really important thing for me to have to call out  maybe 50 times a day for help. Normally I don’t think of asking for help that many times. I’ve found after the fast that I do think of it more often, I guess because I did it so often, it became sort of a habit!

There were times when I did stick something in my mouth, so the month was not a perfect fast with no boo-boos at all, but each time rather than getting depressed about it, I just confessed my weakness to God and asked for strength to get back on track and carry on. I remember my niece training her little 3 yr old, when he would get so frustrated that he couldn’t do something, she would say, OK , try again!  It not only works for a 3 year old, it was helpful for a 60 year old!

One day about half way through, I was having a very bleak day and I was seriously wondering if I could DO THIS! It was very hard, and I started to doubt if I could actually complete the second half of the fast. I said, “Lord, I don’t think I can do this, can You talk to me?  I need to hear from You about what You think.”  A little while later I received a late Christmas card from Matte Downey. I looked at it and thought it would probably win our annual Christmas card contest for the most creative card. It took a couple of hours for me to get it that the Lord was speaking through the card.  It had 3 raspberries and the caption was “open your mouth and taste how good God is”.  Raspberries are one of my very favorite fruit, and I would have loved to pop them into my mouth, but it seemed that the Lord was saying to me, you think RASPBERRIES are tasty, here is something MUCH BETTER! Let God be food.

I need to say that God literally did satisfy me, I didn’t have a grouchy month, I was able to laugh and enjoy things.  He taught me to enjoy other things than just food. John 6 is really true “I am the bread of life”. I found it satisfying to just commune with Him as I joined others at the table, I found it was a real joy just to enjoy the people and the strength of community, or just to be thankful that anyone could have food. To enjoy the privilege of serving, enjoy the fact that we have groceries to buy in our stores, and finally at the month’s end to enjoy the thrill of obedience even if it’s hard!

The Power Of The Ordinary

“…whatever you do you must do all for the glory of God.” 1 Cor. 10:31

Matte Downey (Eglise Vineyard in  Montreal) has blessed us with her photography and writing gifts. Enjoy!

I  want to do something great with my life, yes I do. I want to love like Mother Teresa and champion freedom like Martin Luther King Jr.  But to be honest, I don’t know where to start. I am not a person wit h great authority. I am not likely to spearhead any earth-shattering event. I don’t have a lot of extra time, and magnificent opportunities don’t come knocking at my door on a regular basis. And even if they did, I don’t know that I would have the required amount of charisma or the necessary skills to take full advantage of them.

None of this seems to bother God. In fact, every morning when we talk about the day ahead, he seems perfectly happy th at my time is filled with mostly small, insignificant, and mundane tasks. How does one save the world while doing laundry, buying groceries, and walking through the neighbourhood?

I invited a friend to go grocery shopping with me. As we pushed a cart through the bread aisle, we found ourselves confessing our shortcomings to each other and shedding tears as we expressed a desire to be free from our petty fears and obsessions. The grocery store becam e a holy place where God listened and forgave and freed.

I have a friend who comes over to do laundry. I love doing laundry because it always reminds me that no matter how filthy and smelly things may get, clean and fresh are only an hour away. Many times we have worked through personal issues together and encouraged each other through hopeless places while the grimy clothes swished in soapy water nearby. My laundry closet has been a place of spiritual catharsis.

I have walked to the corner store with a friend, chatting and raving about my multi-cultural neighbourhood, pointing out bright flowers, blue sky, overhead planes, and ducks in a pond. Somewhere along the way, my love for this place became contagious. The goodness of God shone brighter than any dark cloud over our lives, and complaints were replaced with wonder and gratitude. My city is filled with the glory of God.

Sometimes I forget the power that ordinary things – done with honesty and grace in the company of others – can have. I am changing my world, one dirty sock at a time, yes I am.

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The picture is of the concrete fence that runs through Bethlehem (and many other places).  It is hugely high and thick. A daily reminder of the heartbreaking pain of one people walling another people out of their hearts as neighbors.

For years I avoided going to Israel.  I just thought I’d get depressed and cry the whole time.  Here’s the reason: The best Heaven had to offer visited them and gave His best and look what a mess we have 2,000 years later. So for my 60th birthday this December I CHOSE to go to Israel.  Bethlehem, to be specific.

I had an inkling it was a God idea, starting with the offer of a free trip to Ethiopia and Israel, but you never quite know how these things will turn out! So on my birthday I asked the Lord for a present that I knew was from Him. (kind of confirming once again that it was His idea that I was born etc.) How many times have I asked that?

On that day we were in both Bethlehem and Nazareth.  The places where Jesus spent the early part of  His life.  The day before we had spent time in Hebron getting a good look at the plight of the Palestinian people (their situation in many ways compares to that of our First Nations People only worse)

So, what was the gift? It took me a couple of hours…days to understand what the gift was.  Now exactly a month later,  I’m pretty clear on what the gift was.  Remember my first 2 sentences?  I met a number of Palestinian people who are committed to peaceful resistance .  They often risk their lives, or jail to speak out for the poor who are trapped with no way out.  No jobs, no education for their children,  no hope for the future.  It was their courage that captured my heart.

I often just don’t “get” how long-term a thinker our God is. I get my shirt in a knot if some of my plans for God’s kingdom to come don’t pan out in a couple of years, or for sure a decade. But here I saw my Father still working on His plan to bring  salvation to those He  visited 2,000 years ago, and my friends there who are looking at a totally impossible situation with no hope of change who are willing to hope for a miracle of brotherly love, peace, and unity in their land and work for it with everything they have.  My gift was encountering a powerful example of the kind of obedience I long for.

Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe you have received it, and it will be yours. Mk. 11:24

During our recent trip to BC I had a trip to the dentist.  It was an EXPENSIVE trip to the dentist! The bill was around $2400.  Let me back up…We have had an expensive August..completing a reno on our carriage house that used up all our available finances and then some…So when I told Gary the cost he kind of choked a bit!! I felt bad.

Then I remembered something. I am not an orphan…I have a father who is very creative with resources. On the way home to the friends we were staying with I just prayed in the car ” O Lord please send us money to cover the dental work.”  I didn’t pray with a lot of faith…I think it would be just hope that I prayed with.  I had no ideas as to where that kind of money could come from….. I just needed help.

That night when we arrived our friends’ place they told us they had just been given an early inheritance and they would like to share some of it with us. Guess how much the checque was for? Exactly the amount that we needed! They had no idea we had a need, it was the prompting of our God.  I was a little shell shocked that whole evening!

Thanks be to God who goes beyond what we even ask for or think!

The Praiseworthy Deeds Of The Lord     Ps.78:4

The Psalm goes on to say the Israelites were commanded to teach their children the law and God’s statutes so that they would put their trust in Him and keep His commands. If we think “big picture” we must value the training of our children (both our natural children and the kids in our churches). Now that our kids are grown up and having kids of their our,  I do not regret making their God training a priority in my schedule. It’s the most important thing in my life as a mother. The same is true for people I’ve discipled who are now grown up as believers.   Nothing else that I’ve put time into am I going to take with me to the next life, but  these precious ones who’ve chosen to follow Jesus with me.

If you read the psalm, the words are strong. “Commanded” sounds rather forceful….it wasn’t a suggestion! The consequences are too important. This is something that can change an eternal destiny.  I want to encourage us all to look for young ones with open hearts so that we pass on this most wonderful story in the world. Most people who come to Jesus do so before the age of 14.  I was just talking to a young Mom today that came to Jesus at 14 after her father died and she learned to cry out all her pain to her Father in heaven. It has changed her life!

Last week I got out 3 kid’s Bible story books to put on my coffee table so that when my grandchildren come over they are easy to find. (They are 2 and 3.) Wherever we can find them, there are kids who live in a mess, who would love to know about a Jesus way to live. I’ve knocked on doors with a friend beside me and asked if there were any little girls (Jaana’s age then) who would like to come to a craft/story/song club after school.

We gathered about a dozen and did a Sunday school in a disadvantaged neighborhood. Those kids were interested in hearing stories about Jesus, and then praying for their owies, and seeing some of them get healed!

We ran into a man who as a boy grew up across the street from Gary’s family and after a life of incredible horror, came back to a childhood decision to follow Jesus.  He told us of how he would try to remember how the Best family had lived when he had a family of his own! God feels strongly about the next generation.  It’s a command.

When we see the beauty of creation, it is a natural response! God’s fingerprints are everywhere! For us as leadership types, it is not a luxury that we can barely afford to take time to enjoy the creation, it is a necessity.  The Lord God Almighty, creator of heaven and earth took time to tell us about himself in everything he made…little reminders every direction we look. We all need that daily encouragement of our maker to just let our souls breathe.

It seems that in order to be in our right minds, as God followers, we need that daily coming back to the facts…God is the powerful king who created everything we know and see….all of creation is currently worshipping, and as we  join in we come to sanity and joy. (Is.6:1-4, Rev. 5:11-14, Luke 19:40)

I, for one, would probably be dead if worship was not a regular part of the rythm of my week. I get so impatient for the kingdom to come NOW that I need constant reminders that God is in control, I am not. He is much smarter than I am, and he’s right on track with the order of the universe.

We have a way that enacts this value in our daily routine. When our kids were young, we had a family worship time once a week, anyone who was staying with us at the time was welcome to join. Now that our household has a count of 2, we usually end our day with worship, also including visitors if others are around.  No matter what has happened that day, we pause and join in with all of creation and do what we’re created for.

“Your word I have hidden in my heart that I might not sin against you.”  Psalms 119:11

As I reconvene my blog,  I wanted to start with the most important thing: God’s word.  My mother started teaching me scripture when I was three years old.  I remember knowing John 3:16 by then.  She became a Christian as a teenager.  It was such an improvement in her family as they became followers of  God that she wanted me to start out with God’s word right inside me as a little girl.  I guess she had a sense that I was really going to need that inner guidance that comes from the word of God… And I have.

She taught me to trust God’s word, that it is dependable and that you can stake your life on it.  Even if following his word took me to places of great danger, she taught me to follow his word not my own understanding.  I am grateful for that.

The scripture in the picture is on the windowsill in our little kitchen.  It popped out at me a couple of weeks ago as Gary and I were reading together at breakfast.  I’ve been breathing it back to God ever since.  Sort of breathe-praying.  Here’s the thing: it’s saying that loving God means not only knowing God’s commands but doing them, and that they are not troublesome.  It ’s pointing to a place of trust where knowing and following God’s word is not a bother or grudging inconvenience, but a joy… coming from a heart that knows that his ways are higher than mine.  That is my quest.