Tag Archives: love

Children Helping Children: Guatemala Service Trip, June 2015

Leave a reply

This June (20-28) I am traveling to Antigua, Guatemala, with two eldest children, Lydia and Clayton. This is our third trip together. When we are there, all of our service projects, from start to finish, are Lydia playing with a girl in Guatemaladone with children in mind. The stoves we install protect children from smoke inhalation and burns. The concrete floors we install protect children from intestinal parasites that infect them through their feet. We also provide children’s clothes and shoes, child sponsorship, and a Vacation Bible School. To do this for just one child is more than worth the cost of going to them! For me, though, these trips are an opportunity for Autumn and I to provide for our children the opportunity to see how children in the two-thirds world live and let them love and serve these children, who, when it comes right down to it, are just like them, beautiful and worthy of every opportunity to grow up happy, healthy, and whole.

Jesus said, “Allow the children to come to me. Don’t forbid them, because God’s kingdom belongs to people like these children.” (Mark 10:14, CEB)

These service trips are sponsored by a Christian non-profit, Now Is The Time Missions, and a church, Valley Life Church. Christians of all stripes regard themselves as the body of Christ, a perpetual extension of the ministry of Jesus Christ. My heart, as well as all I get to serve with in Guatemala, is to be Christ to these children. Since they can’t possibly come to us, we will go to them!

Clayton having fun with a Guatemalan boySeeing my children play with these children in the villages we visit is so precious to me! My children are as much of a motivation to go to Guatemala as the children we get to serve.

In order to make this possible for my children and me, we need to raise $1700 each. That’s $5100 for the three of us. This cost is beyond our resources to fund. Would you consider partnering with us? Donating money for us to go not only covers our airfare, food, and lodging, but nearly half of the $1700 goes to funding the service projects that we will be doing. No money goes to either organization sponsoring this service trip. Everyone involved are volunteers and raise their own support, even the directors. This is a very good use of your money!

By donating money to help us cover our fees, we get to be an extension of your ministry to these children. We get to be Christ to them for you. This is an opportunity we don’t take lightly. We deeply appreciate your support!

To donate, please follow this link. Thank you!

Grace and peace,
Brook

Enjoying the Journey!

Leave a reply

I am a task oriented person, and a bit perfectionistic at times as well. It is easy for me to pay more attention to getting something done or getting somewhere than it is being present with those I’m working or traveling with. I’m sure most of you have no idea what I’m talking about!

For about the last month, I’ve been meditating on Jesus’ third statement in the Beatitudes.

Blessed are the meek,
for they will inherit the earth.
(Matthew 5:5 NIV)

Meekness is not weakness. It invokes a spirit of humility, but that’s not all. A definition I’ve been working with lately is “strength that embraces it’s limitations.” At first I approached this definition with the attitude that meekness was the ability to say, “I can’t do everything, but what I can do, I’ll do it well.” But, I began to realize that meekness is also the presence of mind to say, “I don’t need to do everything that I can do well.”

wooded pathAn example that came to mind is that my family and I went on a hike last Saturday. We were at a place that had quite a few trails that led to different points of interest. We didn’t have a map and thought we were going to a specific place, but ended up somewhere else. Since we weren’t exactly sure where we were, we just went back the way we came.

One of my kids said, “Well, this is kind of pointless!” And, he was right. We lacked a spirit of adventure. Our hike turned into a trek from point A to B and then back, instead of enjoying the scenery and the people we were with (our family). It would have been so much more enjoyable if we hiked until we felt we had gone far enough and said, “Let’s see what we can find on the way back!”

Meekness is a complex ideal in regards to wisdom, learning, caring, and being. Meekness can also be simple in its application. It is being true to yourself and those you are with, and enjoying the moments you have together. From there, the potential for fruitful outcomes is endless.

I’ve always wondered why Jesus said that the meek would inherit the earth. I’m realizing that we possess our experiences. We can receive them as an inheritance, not only for ourselves, but also as something we can pass along. Meekness informs how we live our lives so that we can be a blessing to others.

My prayer is that the Holy Spirit will lead us into ways of meekness, so that we will inherit an earth that honors God and those we love and that we would be proud to hand down to those who follow us.

Grace and peace,
Brook

Loving unto Wholeness

Leave a reply

“Blessed are those who mourn,
for they will be comforted.”
(Matthew 5:4, NIV)

I have been sitting with this passage for a few weeks, not really knowing how to interact with it, not really sure of what it was trying to speak to me. It was the idea of mourning that was tripping me up. I don’t really know what it means to mourn, what it looks like or even how to do it. I think that says as much about me as it does the American culture we live in. Americans don’t mourn well, especially American Christians. We are taught to say “It is well with my soul” when we are confronted with any kind of loss. We are encouraged to throw a party instead of a funeral. But, setting that aside for a moment and returning to the passage at hand, I think that mourning is a stand-in for processing loss.

rocky path in the woodsIn this Beatitude, Jesus is inviting us to mourn when we need to mourn. He is saying that if you choose to enter into the process of grieving a loss and stick to through the end, you will come out of it comforted. This process is not supposed to be a lonely journey. God, through the Holy Spirit, is ever present and walking through it with us. There is also family, friends, and the community of faith to whom we can lean on throughout this process, if we choose to invite others into it with us.

“Happy are people who grieve, because they will be made glad.”
(Matthew 5:4, CEB)

I cannot prescribe what this process will look like, nor how long it will last, but I do know it will include three things: love, acceptance, and forgiveness. This is first and foremost a work of love. It is love for those around us and ourselves that will lead us into the process and sustain us through it. Acceptance involves trusting the process and the new reality that the loss brings us into. Lastly, loss will most likely require some amount of forgiveness, and probably more than once. All told, we will come out of this process not only comforted, but able to comfort others. Choosing to go through a season of mourning is a very brave thing to do. There is nothing glamorous about it. It is a lot of hard work. But, there will be an end to it, and that end will bring love, joy, and peace.

My hope it that in embracing Jesus encouragement here, we can begin to establish a healthy environment for those experiencing the pain of loss and even help to change our culture so that grief would not be something to be dismissed, but seen as the next loving and logical step to living a life of wholeness and love.

Grace and peace,
Brook

The Currency of Love

Leave a reply

I have been reading through and thinking about the Beatitudes, the first act of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount. (Matthew 5:3-12) I am always amazed at how Jesus turns common perceptions on their ear. In this first of eight couplets that make up the Beatitudes, Jesus uses language of commerce to teach about the inclusive nature of the people of God.

boys walking in nature “Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”
(Matthew 5:3 NIV)

Jesus starts out with “Blessed are the poor in spirit.” Being poor is a reference point to wealth, that is, not having enough. We would most naturally say, “Blessed are the wealthy!” We wouldn’t even add “in spirit.” But Jesus flips the sentiment on us and declares those who understand that they cannot add to the dimension of the Spirit available to us are the ones with whom the blessing of the Spirit can most naturally reside. It is from this position of poverty that makes way for the inclusive nature of the people of God, because we can appreciate people for who they are and not what they have or can buy.

Jesus then says, “for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” Kingdoms naturally bring up notions of wealth. Kingdoms are fought over and bought off. Heaven is the one resource that can never be bought or even earned, but due to it’s elusiveness, it is of the upmost value! Jesus affirms that kingdom of heaven belongs to those who understand that there is nothing they can do to acquire it. Kingdoms are comprised of people. People cannot be acquired, only accepted! It is from the place of mutual acceptance that Spirit of God’s love can most freely move.

I pray that as we seek to know Christ more and the love God has for all people, that we too would understand our poverty of spirit and that we love God best when we love others well.

Grace and peace,
Brook

Compassionately Bold

Leave a reply

golden mushroomI am always amazed how God can speak through simple and familiar stories. I was reading in Mark’s gospel how at the beginning of his ministry, Jesus cast a demon out of a man in the synagogue. (Mark 1:21-28)  It says the Jesus spoke harshly to the demon. I can’t help but believe that it was deep compassion for the man that Jesus chose to silence the unclean spirit. Love makes us do bold things.

While thinking about this passage, I felt God say to me, “Speak harshly to your demons, but kindly to yourself.” It’s not everyday that we are invited to speak into the lives of those around us, but we are well aware of the things that we struggle with personally.

It just might be me, but I often take my struggles personally. Instead of saying “I messed up,” I would say, “I’m a bad person.” This is not what Jesus sees or says. We can act loving to ourselves by being bold against the things that trip us up.

What does this look like? It is a step-by-step, day-at-a-time process. Choosing daily to turn toward Jesus, allowing his presence to give us the boldness to walk forward in the way he is showing us. We may need help in doing this, and that’s ok. Or, we might not. The main point here is to have the compassion for ourselves that Jesus does so that we move boldly toward the freedom that we know is found in Christ. We may just have to speak harshly to our demons.

Grace and peace,
Brook

Love as the Will of God

Leave a reply

This week I have been meditating on Romans 12 and haven’t really made it past verse 2.

So, brothers and sisters, because of God’s mercies, I encourage you to present your bodies as a living sacrifice that is holy and pleasing to God. This is your appropriate priestly service. Don’t be conformed to the patterns of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds so that you can figure out what God’s will is-what is good and pleasing and mature. (Romans 12:1-2, CEB)

cloudscape with Mt. Jefferson in the distanceWe all want to know what God’s will is, and Paul says that comes by the renewing of our minds. This transformation comes about when we lay aside our preconceived ideas and seek to see things from someone else’s perspective, especially Christ’s. Throughout the New Testament we find the encouragement to love — love God and love others as ourselves. The transformative power of putting ourselves in someone else’s shoes is amazing and opens up opportunities to fulfill the command to love others as ourselves. I shouldn’t be surprised to discover God’s will — love.

Grace and peace,
Brook

Living with Weeds

Leave a reply

This week I have been meditating on the Parable of the Weeds from Matthew 13. It is a story of intrigue and deception, and as well, patience and hope. After spending some time with it, I discovered that there is a valuable lesson to be found under the surface.

Woman walking through barley fieldAfter sowing his field with wheat he discovers that an enemy has contaminated his field with weeds. Instead of weeding the field, he decides to let them grow together, separating them after the harvest.

While not disregarding Jesus’ explanation of the parable, I found that it can be applied on a personal level as well as globally.

How often do we look at our lives and find aspects, characteristics, or personality traits that we just don’t like? These can even be areas of brokenness that seem to define us. We try to change ourselves. We pray for God to change us. Yet, we remain the same. Some of this is a product of our upbringing, culture, heritage, even DNA. Others are a product of the fall.

My understanding is that God loves us as we are. Yes, we are made new in Christ. Part of that newness is the grace to live in God’s presence, “warts and all,” allowing the Spirit to impart patience and instill hope that one day we will not only see Christ as he is, but also ourselves as we are.

Now we see a reflection in a mirror; then we will see face- to- face. Now I know partially, but then I will know completely in the same way that I have been completely known.
(1 Corinthians 13:12, CEB)

My encouragement is simple. Learn to live with the weeds. There are some that God will lovingly remove as we mature in Christ. Then there are some that only God can sort out in the end. Until then there is grace realized in the love of God and in the love of God’s people.

Grace and peace,
Brook

Faith and Faithfulness

Leave a reply

Today I read the Parable of the Soils in Matthew 13. This is the story where the farmer scatters his seeds, and it falls on four different kinds of soils. Each soil produces differently depending on its condition. Much has been made about the condition of the soils and even what kind of soil best represents the condition of your heart. As I was thinking about it this morning, I realized that this parable is also about the farmer. He faithfully scattered his seeds and put his faith in God that they would grow. He knows that he can’t fully control how they will grow where they land, but he also know that they won’t grow if he doesn’t scatter them.

Jesus explained later in this chapter that this parable is about the message of God’s kingdom. We cannot control how that message is received, but what we can do is be a faithful expression of that message. When we love others it opens the door for them to receive not only our love, but God’s love, too. At that point we put our faith in God that God can and will do the rest. Faith coupled with faithfulness is how the God’s kingdom moves forward.

I assure you that unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it can only be a single seed. But if it dies, it bears much fruit. (John 12:24, CEB)

Grace and peace,
Brook

More Than Enough

Leave a reply

Guatemalan Woman weavingGreetings from Antigua, Guatemala! Our time here has been amazing! God has been doing really great things, not only in the lives of those that we get to meet and help, but in our lives as well. We look forward to sharing those stories with you all.

I want to share with you a short encouragement. In our team worship gathering this evening (Wednesday) we looked at the story of Jesus feeding the five thousand.

“He took the five loaves and the two fish, looked up to heaven, blessed them, broke the loaves into pieces, and gave them to his disciples to set before the people. He also divided the two fish among them all. Everyone ate until they were full. They filled twelve baskets with the leftover pieces of bread and fish.”  (Mark 6:41-43, CEB)

So often we come to God and feel that what we have to offer is insignificant and insufficient. In our time together we were able to discover how God was able to take what we had and make it more than we could ever imagine. God can do that for you as well. My prayer is that we would have eyes to see and hearts to understand what God is doing in our lives, and that in God we are enough.

If you want to see what the Guatemala mission team is up to, go to www.nowisthetimeformissions.com and scroll down to see daily updates.

Grace and peace,
Brook

Happy Father’s Day!

Leave a reply

love shining throughEven though Father’s Day is an American cultural holiday, it does give us the opportunity to fulfill a scriptural commandment—to honor our fathers, including those who have held a fatherly role in our lives. I am fully aware that for some this is a truly delightful holiday, and for others, not so much. But, one of the beautiful aspects of the Christian faith is that Jesus revealed God to us as father. This is not so that earthly fathers could be held in contrast to God, but rather everyone can experience the parental care and love of God, and to receive the affirmation of being a dearly loved child.

“See what kind of love the Father has given to us in that we should be called God’s children, and that is what we are!”  (1 John 3:1, CEB)

My prayer is that, even though we celebrating a cultural holiday of showing love to our fathers, we would also experience the healing and affirmation that comes from God’s unconditional parental love.

Grace and peace,
Brook