The Nutcracker Prince

The Nutcracker Prince

Amber stood three feet away from William. She hopped twice on her back leg, pushed off and flipped over, just as she did the flip she whispered a quick prayer, “Lord, please have him catch me.” He caught her all right. He caught her foot in the middle of his chest knocking the air right out of his lungs, and Amber hit the floor hard. “Lord, but I asked You to help him catch me.”

Amber’s Mom’s words flooded back into her mind, “Our Father is not a genie to be rubbed when we need a wish answered. He is our God whom we need to respect and build a relationship with. I love that you are such a wonderful dancer, and that you have the part of Clara in the Nutcracker this year, but Amber remember that Christmas is not about “The Land of Sweets” and Mouse Kings. Do not replace Christ with a magical Nutcracker Prince or a fairy tale land. Dance, but dance not for your honor but for the honor of Jesus.”

Well, Mom is right, she is always RIGHT. But how can I honor God if I don’t practice and perform at the highest level I possibly can? I know Christmas is about Christ. The Nutcracker is just a fun addition to the holiday season for people. It is beautiful and I love that I get to be a part of something so very special.

Now, back to practice.

Amber jumped back up. She looked at William, “Sorry I kicked you in the stomach. I will watch my feet this time.”

“It’s okay, I should have caught you anyway,” William smiled. “Hope the floor wasn’t too hard.”
Ms. Polly asked the woman running sound to start the music back at the beginning of the pas de deux.

As she did that, Amber could not get her Mom’s words out of her head, “Don’t replace the Christ of Christmas with a Nutcracker Prince.”

Her music started. She twirled around William, and then lined up for her jump. She counted, then pushed off. This time he caught her leg.

Amber felt dizzy. Why did her head hurt so much? William was holding her, or was that William. She turned her head and was looking into the eyes of, well all she could describe him as was, a prince. He smiled at her and set her perfectly down on her right foot. “That was an excellent jump Amber. I have danced with many ballerinas, and for your age, that was one of the best jumps I have seen. Would you like to continue the dance with me?”

Amber reached up, rubbed her right temple. She lightly shook her head, breathed in a deep breath and took the prince’s extended hand. They finished the pas de deux and waited off stage for the dance of the Snowflakes to begin. Amber realized that this was no longer practice. The auditorium was filled with people, the music quality far better than rehearsal, and she was in full costume. How had she missed all this? The one thing that confused her though was the stage. It did not look as it should for an actual performance. Something was different.

As the Snow Queen tip toed past, Amber caught a glimpse of something, a star maybe, hanging high above the stage. That was a new prop, and it was bright. Brighter than anything she thought Ms. Polly’s studio could afford. The snowflakes lined up in graceful rows and the Nutcracker Prince led her down the middle of them. The white smoke of dry ice filled her nostrils, and as the lights dimmed, the star seemed even brighter.

Amber glanced at the dancer next to her. He was amazing. The grace of his every motion surprised her. He caught her eye, and smiled at her. He whispered, “Are you nervous?”
The quick intake of air she drew in steadied her. “Where am I?”

“You are in the magical world of the Nutcracker of course,” he gently said. Then he excused himself.

Intermission was not long enough for Amber. She looked around at the other dancers. They seemed familiar. There was Alice the girl playing Sugar Plum, Annie, the Arabian Coffee dancer, and Amy, Marzipan, but something was strange. She just couldn’t put her finger on it…and where was William? That was freaking her out.

The prelude to Act II started. Everyone jumped into his or her places. The Nutcracker Prince stood next to her again, holding her hand, preparing her for her walk into the Land of the Sweets. But as the lights came up to reveal the stage, there were no candy canes, no lollipops, no gum drops. In the place of the gingerbread house, stood a type of stable, and the angles that lined her way led to the door of the strange building. The light from the otherworldly star shown upon a feed box. Amber realized that Amy was dressed as a donkey, and Annie as a lamb. They sat next to Alice, dressed not in the tutu of a fairy, but in the ragged clothes of a beggar. She held something small in her left arm, and motioned to Amber and the prince to come onto the stage with her right hand.

The angels spun and knelt as the prince and she walked by. Tears seemed to fill their eyes as they looked at the prince. The music still played the Nutcracker suite, but she could hear in the instruments something new, something she had never heard before…it was as if the clarinets sang on their own, “Glory to God in the Highest and peace on earth, good will toward men.”

Amber knew a large crowd was watching her, so she kept performing what she had practiced, even in her shock and confusion. The Nutcracker led her to the beggar character. He reached down and touched the woman’s check. Then knelt and smiled at the bundle in her arms, at the baby she cradled. Amber too bent over. She looked at the child and back at the dancer next to her, their eyes… but she could not stare long. Nutcracker stood and motioned her toward the next scene. This stage was large, larger than any Amber had ever danced on before.

The angels lined the way, a zigzag path leading from the small stable. The angels that once lined the path to the stable seemed to disappear as she and the prince danced over this new path. Their steps were light. He lifted her with such ease, with such grace and set her down with no sound at all. As they both leapt twice, Amber realized that the star followed them across the stage, and stood above a wooden object just in front of her. The prince grabbed her waist, lifted her into the air and sat her down on his knee a few feet away from the dancer, who should have been playing the Sugar Plum Fairy. Once again, she appeared in rags. She stood before the wooden image, which was now clearly a cross. Tears streamed down her checks as she pirouetted around the cross. Her arabesque seemed a bow before the wooden object. She then gracefully fell upon the floor.

The prince lifted Amber to his shoulder. He danced lightly around the cross, as if showing Amber the object from all sides. He placed her lightly on point, and as he did this, he brushed the face of the beggar woman. A tear dropping from his chin onto her hair. She slowly reached up and touched his hand.

The prince then walked to Amber, took her hand, and they ran across the stage as the lights faded. Amber felt something new with the sensation of the prince’s hand in hers. Just right above the palm of his hand, on his wrist, the texture of his skin was different. She gently stroked her fingers against this place on his arm and found she caressed a scar. As, he shifted positions off stage, he moved to her other side and took her right hand into his, she felt the same texture, on this wrist, a mirror copy of the scar on the other arm. How had she missed this before? Where had the scars come from? They weren’t there at the end of the first act.

There was little time to consider her question.

The curtain opened, the star now shown on a cave like structure. A light glowed from behind a type of stone entrance. The prince leapt with her in his arms to the door of the stone cave. On either side, stood angels, with faces bright, tears no longer filling their eyes. Amber and the prince spun around the angels, and a new beggar woman, the one who should have been dressed as Marzipan, ran up to the prince, with pleading in her face. He smiled at her, and she smiled back. She embraced him, and galloped off toward a group of men. She kept pointing back at the cave and the prince. Two of the men raced across the stage. They looked into the tomb, and with wonder in their eyes, they picked up the cloth that lay on a stone ledge inside. Amber finally started to understand, she began to recognize the prince, just as she heard the audience cheer.

The prince lifted her to his shoulder and they waved as they crossed the stage. The lights dimmed, and the star drifted to shine upon a throne. The prince gently placed Amber on point. He ran off stage as she pirouetted to the throne and took a seat on the smaller throne that was next to it. She knew that this show was not about her or how well she danced. It was about the one who is Christmas, who is every fairy tale prince, who is the heart of every story. She sat and waited for his entrance, just as the audience who filled the auditorium waited.

The curtain opened, a male dancer, dressed as a white horse, walked in next to the prince. The prince no longer dressed as the Nutcracker. Now he appeared in all of his glory…dressed in white shimmering clothes, trimmed in gold. A crown upon his head and eyes as bright as the star that shown over the whole hall. In his hand, he held a sword, and as he leapt and danced his final dance, all stood up, all applauded wildly. He was not simply the Nutcracker Prince, but instead the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.

Amber stared in stunned amazement as He walked up to her, claimed her hand, and her clothes change into white silk as beautiful as the clouds in a clear morning sky. As she started to dance their final pas de deux, she realized that the floor had been transformed into a golden street, that a river ran through the city that the stage has become, and trees now lined either bank, filled with fruit more glorious than any candy found in the Land of Sweets. She danced, and her mother’s words fill her thoughts, “Dance, but dance not for your honor, but for the honor of Jesus.”

She danced now with no thought of her own ability, but with a heart of devotion. She would never again dance for her own honor, but always and forever to bring honor to her Prince.

As the Prince led her back to the thrones, He lifted her and lightly placed her upon her seat. Then He stood in front of His throne, waved at the crowd and took His rightful seat next to her. The Prince turned to her, took her hand, smiled at her, and whispered, “Well done, My good and faithful servant.”

The lights dropped, the crowd screamed, whistled and cheered for what seemed like hours. The Prince stood once again, waved as the lights came back up and went back down, as the curtain fell.

The darkness filled Amber’s mind. She no longer seemed clear in her thinking. Where had the brightness of the star gone? Where was her Prince? Who was speaking to her? Why did he sound concerned? “Amber, Amber, I am so sorry. Are you all right? Amber, please wake up.”

The fog started to lift from her mind. She recognized the voice that was speaking to her. It was William. She knew how his hands felt on her arms, but she did not want to feel his hands or hear his voice. She wanted to stay with the Prince, but as her eyes fluttered open, she looked into William and Ms. Polly’s faces. Concern filled their eyes. Amber sat up. She rubbed her head with both hands. “What happened? Why am I on the floor? Where did He go? Where is the Prince?”

William and Ms. Polly looked at each other. Ms. Polly cuffed William on the back of the head, “You idiot, how could you catch her leg and let her head hit the floor? Better for you to get kicked in the stomach again than to hurt Amber.”

With those words, Amber understood. It had all been a concussed dream, all been a hope within her heart, all been God speaking to her about her own focus. She had replaced the true Prince of Peace with a wooden Nutcracker, but never again. She would dance each scene as it had played out in her unconscious mind, she would dance with the Prince, and for His honor alone.

As she stood, she thanked William for not catching her correctly, and Ms. Polly decided to cancel the rest of rehearsal and take Amber to the emergency room. As she walked out on William’s arm, she glanced across her shoulder and recognized the form of the Prince sitting upon the makeshift throne that sat at the back of the stage. His words crashed into her throbbing head, “I am always with you, Amber, even to the end of the age.”

And she smiled.

How to Save a Life

I have had many conflicts in relationships, many friends I have wrestled with, and wondered about losing. I praise my God that in Christ there is forgiveness, restoration, and healing for not just our souls, but our relationships as well. If that were not the case, marriage would never last.

I have enjoyed a song by The Fray, called How to Save a Life, as I have mourned loss and wondered about my own fault in friendship. Too often we believe that we are right, that we have the corner on any given situation and don't take the time to see things from another persons perspective. In our rightness we hurt relationship, because pride dictates rightness not love. If we are concerned about the direction a friend is headed, about a choice they are making or have made, it is humbleness that we need to approach them, but too often we come in judgement, and there is no way to save a life in pride. The song says "As he goes left and you stay right...you begin to wonder why you came." I speak from personal experience when I write this...in friendship there needs to be less rightness and more humility.

The song, How to Save a Life, came from an experience the lead singer heard about while working at a youth counseling camp. "Slade [lead singer of band] claims that the song is about all of the people that tried to reach out to the boy [at the camp he was working at] but were unsuccessful. As Slade says in an interview, the boy's friends and family approached him by saying, "Quit [the problem behavior] or I won't talk to you again," but all he needed was some support. The verses of the song describe an attempt by an adult to confront a troubled teen. In the chorus, the singer laments that he himself was unable to save a friend because he did not know how." (Wikipedia)

Lyrics from How to Save a Life by The Fray

Step one you say we need to talk
He walks, you say sit down it's just a talk
He smiles politely back at you
You stare politely right on through
Some sort of window to your right
As he goes left and you stay right
Between the lines of fear and blame
You begin to wonder why you came

CHORUS:Where did I go wrong, I lost a friend
Somewhere along in the bitterness
And I would have stayed up with you all night
Had I known how to save a life

Let him know that you know best
Cause after all you do know best
Try to slip past his defense
Without granting innocence
Lay down a list of what is wrong
The things you've told him all along
And pray to God he hears you
And pray to God he hears you

CHORUS:

Where did I go wrong, I lost a friend
Somewhere along in the bitterness
And I would have stayed up with you all night
Had I known how to save a life

As he begins to raise his voice
You lower yours and grant him one last choice
Drive until you lose the road
Or break with the ones you've followed
He will do one of two things
He will admit to everything
Or he'll say he's just not the same
And you'll begin to wonder why you came

CHORUS:
Where did I go wrong, I lost a friend
Somewhere along in the bitterness
And I would have stayed up with you all night
Had I known how to save a life

I do not end my song the same way as The Fray. I, like them, understand that I don't have the ability to save a life, nor a relationship. I am utterly helpless in this. Where I differ from their conclusion is in the fact that I know who does. Jesus knows How to Save a Life, He is the only one who does....He does not do it in rightness, nor pride but says:

Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in
heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My
burden is light. Matt. 11:29-30

We too need to be gentle and humble in heart. If we are, then we will reveal to others Christ and in that know how to save a life.

Ash

There was no evil to fear in the garden. It was a place of life and peace where there was no death, no fear, no deceit...that is until the day that Nectar spoke. He spoke words that sounded like honey to their ears. They were drawn to him. He was one of the most beautiful creatures they had ever seen. He stood six feet tall, with feathers like a male peacock and the wingspan of a dragon. His eyes were piercing...a green emerald did not shine with as much clarity as his eyes. “I see that you are enjoying the abundance of the garden. I love to drink the nectar of the fruit and feel the sweet taste of life flow through my veins.”

His very words made the fruit they ate even more sweet than they knew it to be.“How is it that there is yet another tree here in the garden, a tree that’s fruit is more luscious and more inviting than any other tree in the garden and yet it is forbidden. There must be some mistake. How can it be possible that you are not allowed to eat of such a magnificent fruit? Why would the garden give forth such beauty and then withhold it?”

As his words flowed into their ears, their hearts began to question. The woman looked at her husband and asked him, “Seth could you be mistaken in your belief that we are not to eat of the tree that sits at the center of the garden. Why be at the center of all things and yet be forbidden? Why give forth the most appealing fruit and yet deny every living thing a taste of it? Could you be wrong?”

King Nectar’s lips began to curve in a small grin of satisfaction. His words had done exactly what he had hoped they would. They had put doubt in the mind of the woman and he knew that she was the soul of the couple. If she questioned the man, Seth, he would not be able to stand. If Nectar had come directly at him, Seth would have fought to protect his wife and himself, but now with Lara questioning him, his resolve would quickly evaporate. If she doubted him, his source of help and strength, then he might be wrong. She was in every aspect wise, and he trusted her implicitly. Yet why did he feel threatened by the creature that stood before them, if she did not?

Seth instinct told him to grabbing his wife’s hand and running as far away from the beautifully, enticing creature as he possibly could. But that would make him look like a coward, afraid to listen to mere words. Words could not hurt, or could they? Why was he feeling so strange? He had never before felt this way. This was not peace and rest. It was different from anything he had ever known before. His hands were sweating and his heart was beginning to race. And the woman questioned him. He looked at her and said, “Lara, maybe I have been mistaken.”

Those words emboldened Nectar. He drew closer to Lara, and allowed the warmth of his breath to brush across her face. She responded as he had hoped. She leaned toward him and waited for his words. His words trickled into her ear, “What harm would there be in one small taste? In one simple bite into the most voluptuous fruit in the garden,” Nectar lightly took her hand and looked into her eyes. “What harm could there possibly be.”

As he spoke, his words took away any doubt she had about eating the fruit. Seth was mistaken. The fruit was calling out to her. It wanted to be eaten. She would have it, and she would do whatever she needed to do in order to bite into its tender skin. “Seth,” she said as she drew near to him. “Seth, please, let’s eat just one fruit. We will share it. How can one hurt us? Think of the juice running down our throats as we drink from the fruit. It is like no other. I know that it is special. Can’t you feel it calling to us to take and eat of it? Please, Seth, just one bite.”

Seth wavered. He longed to please her in any and every way he possible could, but this? Yes, what harm could come from one simple fruit? Maybe he was wrong. He was the keeper of the garden, why would anything in the garden be forbidden from him? They walked to the tree.

Nectar, watched with anxious anticipation. Lara reached out her hand. She touched the fruit. She felt its smooth skin. She was overcome by desire. She had to have the fruit. She bit into it and the clear juice ran down her chin, and into her mouth. What an amazing taste. It was just as she knew it would be, and then she held it out to Seth. He hesitated for an instant, and then he leaned toward her and he ate of the fruit. He too felt the sweetness of it washing through him. He wanted more. They did not just eat one. They ate one after another, like ravenous wolves. They ate and consumed the fruit of the tree, and then as the last piece was torn apart it hit them. An overwhelming despair, a self -awareness of wrong they had never known before. They lay on the ground beating their breasts, crying out for what they had done.

He laughed.He, Nectar, was no longer a creature of exquisite beauty...he smelled of sulfur, his eyes were devoid of color...they now consisted of ash, and when he spoke they cried out from the horror of the gasping sound that came from his mouth. He wheezed out, “I have defeated you through your own desire. Death awaits you as it has consumed me. You will soon be no different from me. Even now, as you look on me with such disgust, so too will you look upon each other. You will die a slow and eternal death, and I will treasure every moment of it.”

The fear that entered their hearts was even more debilitating because they had never known it before. Lara reached out to Seth. He pulled away from her, horrified at the smell of sulfur on her breath. He had been the one to protect her and now he had allowed her to lead them both to death. He cried out in torment as he and Lara turned to ash.

Knots

My bad mothering actually led to this post. Last night, as we were coming home from somewhere, my oldest daughter said, “Mom, my hair feels so smooth.”

I said, “That is what happens when you brush it every day.”

She then said, “Sometimes when I have knots in my hair it feels like I have a cushion to lay my head on, but with smooth hair it doesn’t feel that way.”

I had to laugh. She is nine and would rather have her knotted cushion at times than the pain of a good hair brushing, and there are days I would rather her have knots than have to endure the whining and crying that go along with detangling her very long, ballerina hair. I don’t like to inflict pain on my children on a daily basis, but without the daily pain, the knots that build up get larger and harder to deal with, leading to a much greater and deeper every few days pain.

I got to thinking about my daughters hair and her knots. It is hard to be consistent in parenting, sometimes it feels easier, more merciful to let something go…to let some behavior go unaddressed so I don’t have to hear the whining. I have found out though that the avoidance of the misbehavior, okay let’s just call it what it is, sin, leads to even greater and deeper pain in the long run.

If I let my son speak to me in a disrespectful manner one time, he will continue that behavior (sin/bad-habits are much easier to make than good ones are) until I stop him. It will be a much greater struggle to stop him six times later, than had I done it the first time around. Plus, his disrespect left unchecked always causes a counter disrespect in me. I respond back to him in sarcasm, which is sin, and a tit for tat relationship begins instead of a parent-child healthy relationship.

Our knots get bigger, become comfortable cushions in our interaction with one another, and we don’t want to deal with the pain it will take to brush through them, that is until we know someone else we want to impress is watching. When our appearance becomes a concern, we tend to try to work though our knots in order to make ourselves presentable.

So, when I get to the point that the neighbors down the street can hear me yelling back and forth with my son out our open window, I realize that others are watching and I better become the parent instead of the adolescent kid trading barbs with my 11 year old. Why isn’t it enough to know that I should behave as the parent, or even more importantly know that I want to behave in a way that will reveal Christ to my son, frustrates me to no end. We sure complain a lot about peer pressure, but we must need it because it is defiantly a tool that God has set up to bring about change in our lives. It gives us that audience we need to impress, and it helps us brush out the knots we have allowed to become our comfortable cushion in life.

The next time you are feeling like you just don’t want to brush the knots out, remember that the more they build up the bigger they get, and the more painful they are to brush out down the road. Consistent care of our kid's hearts may not be easy, but brushing out the knots in their attitudes will smooth out their lives.

Let Not Your Heart Be Troubled

People are hurting in our nation, in our communities, in our churches. Each week we seem to hear of more people losing their jobs, of co-workers filing bankruptcy, of neighbors struggling to make ends-meat. Despair is all we get from Wall Street, empty promises from our political leaders, and bad news from the media. We look to November 4th as a day that will either doom us for years to come or redeem us for the future.

Some democrats see Barack Obama as “the One”, others see McCain as the only one in the race able to defend our nations freedoms. Our nation is looking to a man, whichever one, to save them from these hard economic times, but no man can do that, not a great orator nor a military hero. No salvation is from God alone, and He determines who will sit on thrones and who will not.

It is He who changes the times and the epochs; He removes kings and establishes kings. Dan 2:21

In 1 Corinthians, Paul says that Jews look for miraculous signs and Greeks for wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Greeks. The cross is a stumbling block to the Jew because they thought the Messiah would come as a conquering King and defeat Rome.

Instead, He came as a humble peasant. He died for the sins of the world and
was killed by the ones He was suppose to set free and by the ones He was suppose
to defeat. The cross is foolishness to the Greek because they couldn’t understand why anyone would follow someone, who came to the uneducated and the weak. Why would anyone do that if He was a great leader? What would Paul write today about our nation, our people?

Jews demand miraculous signs, Greeks look for wisdom, and Americans what do
we look for? (MONEY, MONEY, MONEY). We call Christ crucified foolishness because:

He held no property,

He had no wealth,

He wasn’t famous,

He died teaching that we should die to ourselves.

We don’t want some guy to come to save us who is going to tell us we have to do anything. We want him to solve all our problems, to make everything better, so we can have everything we need….

The Jews were looking for a political leader. Someone, who would not just set them free from Rome, but someone, who would also provide them with an endless supply of bread. Sound familiar???

In this trying time, it is easy to start looking to men to save us, to make everything better, but in the end “The One” has already come. He wasn’t real concerned about making us comfortable here on earth. He didn’t lower taxes, instead He said give to the government what belongs to the government. He didn’t give affordable health care to everyone, He didn’t even heal everyone He came into contact with. He didn’t kick the Romans out, instead He submitted to their authority. What Jesus did come for was to seek and to save that which was lost. He came to save our souls.

Sean Hannity always says, “Let not your heart be troubled.” And I would echo those words. Jesus is more than enough to meet our ever need, even if the guy you don’t want to be president is elected. He can bring good out of just about any situation.

All things work together for good for those who love God and are called according to His purposes. Romans 8:28

One Day

My daughter was in a car wreck with my Mom about six months ago. She was sitting in the backseat, my other little girl was in the front (older car, no airbags), when the accident took place. No one was injured, just bumps and bruises, but the car looked really bad. When the ambulance arrived, the medics strapped everyone down to backboards and transported them to the hospital. This was the most traumatic part of the whole wreck.

Since that day, my daughter has been rather nervous riding in the car. She watches constantly out the window, flinching every time someone pulls out in front of us, no matter how far away they might be. She has become frightened in other areas of her life as well, and at times does not want to even ride her bike because she is afraid something might happen.

Today, we were driving to ballet class, and a truck turned at a light in front of us. There was never any danger of us hitting him, or him us, but my daughter gasped and said, “Why did he do that?”

I said, “He had plenty of room. It was fine that he turned at the light. It is okay, you don’t need to worry.”

I tried to hide my frustration, but I am sure a little of it came out. You see, for the past many months we have been comforting her, assuring her, and calming her down every time we rid with her in the car. It has gotten to the point that she is questioning our driving as well as the driving of everyone around us. Thankfully, today, the Lord gave me wisdom instead of angry frustration to share with her.

As she asked why that truck turned in front of us, the fact that she has only been in one car accident entered my mind. I asked her how many car wrecks she was in.

She said, “One.”

I then asked, “How old are you?”

She said, “Nine.”

I responded, “How many days a year do you ride in the car.”

She said, “About every day.”

Finally I said, “Well, there are about 365 days in a year, and you are nine. So, nine times 360 (taking off some for days not in the car), is 3240 days. You have had one day with one accident, so 3239 days have had no accidents, right?”

She said, “Right.”

I said, “So should you always be worrying you will have an accident or should you look at all the days you haven’t had an accident?"

I then heard her voice, lighter than I have heard for awhile, say “Oh, but I am worried about the next time.”

I said, “Honey, don’t worry about the next time, think about all the times you haven’t been in a wreck. Think on those things.”

All of us tend to be like my little girl, at least some of the time. One painful event, one harmful person, one agonizing experience traps us for years to come. We wait, looking for that car that is going to hit us, all the while missing the hundreds of cars driving around us and with us safely. We so want to be ready for the pain that we live the pain over and over again hoping that will somehow help us avoid it before it hits us the next time. We start obsessing, playing things out in our head, replaying the wreck and for some very strange reason we take comfort in doing that. Somehow, we feel like we have control because at least in that situation we know the outcome.

That is the exact opposite of what God wants from us and for us though. He said in Matt. 6:33-34: Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness and all the other things will be given to you. Therefore, do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

No matter how much we worry, obsess, or try to avoid pain, we can’t add another day to our lives. We can only live the moment we are in, and if we look up from our pain, our fear for long enough we might just be able to see the big picture; all the wonderful, safe, good days we have had. Sadly though, we end up living in the past pain, worried about a future event that in all probability won’t happen. We focus on the one wreck, and miss the other 3239 days of safety.
I pray that my little girl’s relieved, “Oh, but….” will be a move in the right direction, and that she can sit in the car like any other little girl and feel safe.

If there is a pain day that your life is centered around, I pray that you would count the number of your days and place those painful moments inside the context of all the entirety of your life. Wouldn’t it be so much better if we could see the world from that vantage point, instead of from the prison one day built for us.

Twilight

Boys, girls, doesn’t really matter. They are looking for the same thing; the only difference is in where they try to find it. They want to be loved, to feel important, and to be valued. They want to feel whole. In the end, it is God they are looking for, but instead of going to the real thing, they head to one another.

I know that God made Adam and said, “it isn’t good for man to be alone,” so He made Eve to complete Adam. It kind of fits then that man would look to woman and woman to man to find their completer. So maybe before the fall, Adam and Eve did fully make one whole. In their complete state, they could have perfect fellowship with one another, as they walked with God. But since then, things haven’t gone so well in the completeness realm, and when a boy looks to a girl to perfect him, he tends to look at a girl, not walk with the girl. And when a girl runs to a guy to find her whole self, she tends to make him her everything and that just doesn’t work in a fallen world.

The newest rage among young girls is the Twilight series. It is marketed to teens as a wonderful romance. Now boys aren’t going to read about the beautiful Edward, the one who perfectly, and self-sacrificially loves Bella. No, this series of novels is solely for the consumption of teen girls, who believe that prince charming is real. In Twilight, they are sold on a prince who willingly denies himself, for the well-being of his beloved. He overcomes his own temptations and desires to keep her safe and wholly undefiled. Bella, the heroine, is constantly in danger and her beloved Edward is always there to save her, even when he isn’t there. He lives in her mind at times, a type of memory always guiding, always protecting.

Sounds great right, a guy who isn’t after that “one” thing. A guy who places his love for a woman above his own selfish desires, who could ask for anything more? I mean, he sounds like he is right out of a Barlowgirl song, but there is a catch. Wonderful, beautiful, noble Edward is a vampire. His desire for Bella is not sexual as much as it is carnivorous. He wants to eat his darling Bella, and on a few occasions has to run out of the room to keep from killing her. Not exactly, the kind of guy we want to see our daughter bring home for dinner, but Edward Cullen is the hero of these books.

He and his “family” are good vampires. They abstain from human flesh and hunt animals to feed their blood thirsty appetite. This ability to overcome their nature is one of the books most compelling narratives. Edward is a man who sincerely loves, and Bella is overwhelmed by how much he cares about her. He is all a girl could want; that is if she is not bothered by the fact that he is a walking corpse. When Bella describes his touch, she says it is cold and hard. Edward finds peace and rest in the warmth that lives inside Bella, the lifeblood that flows through her veins, and that is one of the reasons he will not make her into a vampire. He also believes that vampires are the undead, and therefore damned. In his uprightness, he refuses to condemn Bella to eternal damnation.

Edward has a noble character, and if it was simply that he were a vampire, the books might not be seen as harmful to the virtue of teen girls. But the books don’t leave Bella and Edward at that warm, romantic level. There is no actual sex between these two characters in the first book, but the sensual sparks that fly between them stir emotions and feelings that are best left to the marriage bed. Edward’s breathe on Bella’s hair, Bella’s warmth against Edward’s chest, their constant physical closeness and discovery could cause sensations to arise in a young teen’s body that would best be left unstimulated.

But that stimulation is what drives girls to run from store to store looking for the next book in the series. They are driven by Edward’s perfection and want Bella to find more of him in the next book. One fourteen year old, I was with at a girls day at the mall kept asking if the mall had a bookstore because she needed to buy the next book. She was consumed the whole day by her desire to join a world of darkness because she had become so deeply attached to the characters.
We would never willingly buy soft porn for our sons to keep under their beds, to fill their minds with false images of women, who are airbrushed copies of the real thing. Why would we buy books for our daughters that fill their minds with unrealistic imitations of the real thing?

When Adam and Eve fell, they lost their ability to complete one another. They no longer had a perfect relationship with one another, because they no longer walked in complete wholeness with God. They were missing their center, they were missing their God, and that is when they started to look to one another to meet their most basic need for relationship. A need that in their imperfect state, neither could ever satisfy and it is because that need is so strong that the Twilight series is doing so well, that is why lonely women watch Soap Operas daily, that is why pornography is rampant in the lives of our men.

Men and women try to meet that need for intimate relationship, and when their lover fails to meet it, they look elsewhere, believing there was a deficiency in the one they were with, but the deficiency is not with their lover. No, it is with them. Jesus is the lover we are looking for in books, in movies, in relationships, in photographs. Apart from an intimate, living, passionate relationship with Him, there is no other relationship that will ever complete any of us.

Fetal Position

“Are you going to get out of the fetal position today,” these words reverberated through my head as I got up to walk my dog this morning. I think they were from the Lord, but not 100% sure. It sounds like something He might say to me, especially since I’ve been in the poor me state for a few weeks.

I changed churches, gave up my position as Bible study teacher, my safety as a member of a great women’s ministry team, had one of my closet friendships change, and been crushed in my hope to write a book. I mean there are a lot of people out there hurting way more than I am, so the crying over my “loss” seems really rather sad. But when a hope is deferred, no matter what the hope is, the heart gets a little bit sick.

The other factor in my moping is that I have not felt the Lord’s presence in my life. That close community of spirit that radiates through my soul warming my inner man like the sun warms my face on a clear October morning. I realized just the other day that it is the loss of His presence that is breaking my heart more than anything else.

If God’s hand is absent, what is the point of a Christian’s existence? I can try all day long to live a godly life, to teach the Bible, to write inspiring posts on my blog, but in the end there is absolutely no fruit without the Jesus. His working through me has been missing for a while now. That is why I resigned from women’s ministry, and stopped teaching Bible studies.

At the time, I thought those were the areas He was no longer blessing and that He was moving me into a “bigger and better” arena of ministry. With the book proposal rejections and no one calling for me to speak at any of their events, I started to realize that those ideas might have been just that, ideas. I started to sense that I had moved out on my own, not just from those I had once ministered with, but moved out on my own from my Father.

My many layers of depression are rooted in His absence.

My spiritual “fetal position” has lasted awhile now because I have chosen not to make everything, including myself, seem all right. I know the tools I have used in the past to fix myself. I read my Bible in the morning, ask God to bless my day and the day of those I love and those I don’t love as much. I fulfill my responsibilities to my family, friends and church, and my activity level makes me “feel” like I am walking in the Spirit. I get a “spiritual” shot in the arm, a sense of self-worth because I am doing stuff for the Lord. Funny though, I can do all I want, but all that doing doesn’t work if my goal is to restore my friendship with God.

You see, I know this, because I have tried to make myself feel better in Jesus a hundred times. I decided this time I wasn’t going to try to “make” anything happen. I decided to mourn my losses, to wait on God’s Spirit to move in me, not to fix myself, and the cool thing is that the Lord is okay with that. He doesn’t want us to pull ourselves up by our boot straps. He hasn’t pushed me, He hasn’t rushed me to be better. Now, I have been tempted time after time to “get back in the game,” but I have tried to resist that temptation.

I’ve been too depressed to actually realize all of this, and I am thankful that my sadness finally demobilized me long enough to cause me to know I was missing Him. I don’t want to move forward without His presence, I need Him more than I need anything or anyone else. I need Him more than I need to serve Him, I need Him more than I need to know my place in the world around me, I need Him more than I need to fit in, I need Him more than I need to be active or seem important. I need Him more than I need to eat, more than I need to breathe, more than I need my heart to beat. I need Him.

So, when I heard His words today, “Are you going to get out of the fetal position.” I knew He was talking to me again, or at least I could finally hear Him. I was a little surprised at the words, but not at the meaning behind them. I looked up and said, “Ya, Lord. I think I am ready. I think I am ready to walk with You today.”

Passion Part 4: Unchecked

Passion can be a wonderful thing. It can move us past complacency and cause us to care about something or someone more than we care for ourselves. It can grow people into leaders, it can transform countries, it can move mountains, but if it is not lived out in godliness it can become a powerful and a times destructive force.

The Scriptures tell us that Jesus set His face toward Jerusalem the week before the crucifixions. It basically means, He had an iron will to carry out the Father’s plan and nothing could distract Him from the His path. Jesus’ sacrificial offering on the cross for all mankind is known as the Passion. He was absolutely in union with the Father in their love for the world and willingly gave up His live because of that love. Jesus is the perfection of Passion, and is the example of a passion lived out from the heart of godliness.

This is the kind of passionate life most Christians want to live. They want to do the Father’s will, they want to sacrificially give of their lives to others, and they want to ensure that nothing taints the name of Jesus. This, however, is where things can get a little sticky, where Jesus never missed the mark but where too often we, as Christians, tend to.

Passion is defined as, “Intense emotion; intense or overpowering emotion such as love, joy, hate or anger; a strong liking or enthusiasm for a subject or activity; the object of someone’s intense interest or enthusiasm.” Passion in and of itself is a natural response, and at time a very good and stimulating emotion, but when taken too far, when not checked by reason or patience, passion can be detrimental.

This said, passionate people are fun to be around, they add energy to causes, they draw people to themselves, they ignite interest and they are interesting. Passionate people tend to be leaders, driven by their vision of what could be, of what should be. This is what can make them dangerous to themselves and others. If all of life is lived with such intensity, there is little time for quiet, for God to direct and lead. It is passion without wisdom that causes the most damage in our world.

Unchecked passion, too often is called zeal for God, defense of the faith or standing up what is right. Recently, I heard Beth Moore say, and I believe it to be true, that no one has ever one anyone to their side through arguing. Now there is a difference between honest, open conversation, persuasion to ones point of view and argumentative debate. The first is a sharing of ideas in a respectful manner, not concerned with winning the day, but instead with loving the heart. The other is a take no prisoners mentality, with the goal to dominate the discussion and conquer the opponent.

Saul was passionate. He loved God’s Law with all of his heart; a Hebrew among Hebrews, a Pharisee, blameless as to the Law, and devoted to keeping the purity of the Jewish faith. He was a devoted to God. He would stand up for, defend and protect all that Moses had taught, even if he had to kill people to do it. He was a defender of the faith. He stood up for what was right, but he lacked love. Now, Saul would have said that was not true. He no doubt believed that he loved the Lord, his God with all of his heart, soul, mind and strength, but John wrote:

If anyone says, "I love God," yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone
who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has
not seen. 1John 4:20

Saul stood by and held the coats of those who stoned his fellow Jew, his brother, Stephen. Saul was passionate about the Law and thought that equaled passion for God, but passion without love, is hate. It was the Saul, who finally surrendered his passion for truth, his vision for the world for love who wrote:

If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am
only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and
can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move
mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor
and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.
1Cor.13:1-3

Too often, I find myself in a place of passion, that is zealous for a semblance of the truth, the truth of God as I perceive it. I often feel, as Paul did, that I must defend my Father. That I must stand up for what is right, and convince others to my view, even if I need to argue that point of view. I can be a persuasive, debater. Laying out a case for my position with clear and distinct examples arguments. I can win a room if I work hard enough, think long enough, and speak passionately enough. At the time, in the heat of the moment, I am sure that I am fighting the fight to defend the name of Jesus, to protect the God I love, or say that I love.

Sadly, it is only as I stand in the wake of my own zeal that I realize that I acted from passion that lacked love. As my heart stills, as I look around at the chaos that was derived from the argument, I understand that I allowed a self-pleasing passion, drive what I thought was a God-pleasing one. It is then, in those moments when I hear my Father’s voice, when I am alone in the after emotion of passion, which He says to me, “I can take care of My Own name, Heather. I have called you simply to love Me not defend me.”

Of course, that is when I tell Him, that love equals loyalty, and loyalty defends those it loves. But what I have discovered, I was going to say learned, but I keep making the same mistake of living out passion without wisdom, so I can’t say that I have learned the thing I have discovered yet, is that too often I value loyalty to an idea, an ideal, an institution, a belief, a person or group of persons, above love.

We all have ideals we live by, virtues that we hold too as we set up our own internal system of right and wrong. We, as individuals, have values that are more important to us than others are. For one of my friends, honest is the basis to judge all other things or people. For another an attitude of joy is highly valued, for another it is devotion, and to another kindness is the most important quality someone can show. For me, loyalty is at the top of my list. The trouble is that all of these qualities are important, they all make up morality, they are all attributes of God, but when they are placed in an order of significance, they get out of balance and when that happens they turn into our passion, not God’s character in us. There is a need for honest, for joy, for devotion, for kindness, for loyalty, but without love, they are a clanging cymbal, because the greatest of these is love. This is because God is love, and in Him, there is no darkness.

You see, passion lived apart from love is radicalism, is and always will be only an ism. It is not faith, it is not God’s heart, it is our zeal. It is destructive and unchecked it can lead to horrendous acts against those who do not have the same value ranking as we do. We must live in the spirit so that the desires of our flesh do not lead us into sin.

Passion is not the value we must live by instead it is love. We know we are off track, when our passion will conquer anyone who does not agree with us, when we will destroy someone to ensure that we win the day.

Passion Part 3: Service Means Sacrifice

Passion carries a cost, service means sacrifice.

In the late 1700’s, John Adams was one of the leading forces behind the American
Revolution. He spoke daily in the Continental Congress, persuading, arguing and
at times verbally accosting other delegates to move them toward the idea of
Independence from Great Britain. He was dogged in his passion to see the
Thirteen Colonies become a free and independent nation. He did everything in his
power to ensure that the United States of America became a reality, even if it
meant years away from his beloved wife, Abigail, and their children.

John’s dream was not his alone, however. Abigail was just as passionate about the need to break away from Great Britain, as her husband was. She saw the tyranny of England, and knew that a new nation needed to be born. One that would defend liberty, grant freedom and one day bless the world with its democratic ideals. Abigail also understood what that goal would cost. She wrote,

How difficult the task to quench the fire and the pride of private ambition, and
to sacrifice ourselves and all our hopes and expectations to the public weal!
How few have souls capable of so noble an undertaking! How often are the laurels
worn by those who have had no share in earning them! But there is a future
recompense of reward, to which the upright man looks, and which he will most
assuredly obtain, provided he perseveres unto the end.

For a period of ten years, John and Abigail Adams lived the majority of their lives apart. First, John was in Philadelphia persuading his fellow countrymen to declare independence, he then sailed to France on two different occasions to ask for their help in the American war effort. He secured loans for the new nation of the United States from the Dutch, and he worked with John Jay and Benjamin Franklin as they negotiated the Treaty of Paris, which ended the Revolutionary War. Finally, Adams became the first American ambassador to the court of George III.

It was not until the very end of the war that Abigail, and their daughter Nabby joined him, yet the years of separation had not lessened their love for one another, or their intimacy of thought. It had tested them both, however. John was almost lost to a severe illness while in the Netherlands, Abigail determined to inoculate herself and all of her children from smallpox, almost losing her beloved daughter, Nabby, while John was away. There was constant danger for Abigail at home during a war without a husband, and yet she supported John in his sacrificial service to their new nation.

John’s years of public service did not end with his arrival back in the United States after so many years abroad. He served as the first vice president, and the second president of the newly formed nation. He endured political intrigue, partisan politics, the assassination of his character, public and personal attacks by friends, and discouragement over his place in the annals of history as compared to his contemporaries. He had lain down his life for his country and wondered if his country even cared, but always at his side stood Abigail, strengthening his resolve to continue in service, even as their own family was hurt by all they had sacrificed for their nation.

They understood that there was a cause greater than themselves.

This idea of public service, and personal sacrifice did not die with the Revolutionary generation. The noble example of John and Abigail Adams continues today. Thousands of Americans place their country before their personal well-being, especially those in the military.

We do not often attribute the qualities of self-sacrifice to modern politicians, however. They tend to be seen as power hungry, arrogant individuals, who serve for selfish gain not national interest. The Founders stand on a pedestal of greatness because of all they sacrificed in the creation of our great nation, willingly setting aside their own fortunes and lives for the greater good. Yet, even today, individuals rise up who love their country more than their own lives, who believe in the ideals established in 1776. The ideals lived out by John and Abigail Adams.

Sarah Palin, as Governor of Alaska, had a job approval rating of 84%, the highest rating in the nation, before she was tapped as John McCain’s running mate. Her family was secure financially, and their personal struggles were just that, personal. The people of her state valued Sarah. She was great at her job, a loving wife, and her family was well established in their home state. She had no reason to say yes to McCain, and every reason to say no. Yet, she and her husband, Todd, decided to place their personal well-being and the well-being of their family aside in order to serve their country.

If John Adams felt personally attacked, I wonder how he or Abigail would feel if they stood in Sarah and Todd Palin’s shoes. Every area of the Palin families lives has been invaded. The media has attempted to portray Sarah as unintelligent, backwards and uninformed.

(Saturday Night Live Skit http://www.nbc.com/Saturday_Night_Live/video/clips/vp-debate-open-palin-biden/727421/ )

They have exposed the pregnancy of her seventeen-year-old daughter. They have accused her of placing her political goals above the needs of her son with Downs Syndrome, and they have tried to out every photograph she has ever had taken.

The public is using her image on items I am sure she would rather not have her face on, and her husband has been made to look like Mister Mom instead of the strong, commercial fisherman he is. The Palins have had their finances looked into, their past dredged back up, and their lives scrutinized in ways none of us would stand for. The amazing thing is that they knew all this going into the presidential race, yet they willingly decided to serve, to say yes to putting their country first.

They laid down their lives for a cause greater than themselves.

“whatever occurs, may justice and righteousness be the stability of our times,
and order arise out of confusion. Great difficulties may be surmounted by
patience and perseverance.” Abigail Adams

Service is sacrifice, and passion carries a cost, but a nation touched by those who understand this and are willing to endure is blessed.

Passion Part 2:Citizens of Heaven

But one thing that I do: forgetting what is behind and reaching forward to what is ahead, I pursue as my goal the prize promised by God’s heavenly call in Christ Jesus…..Our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. Phil. 3:13-14, 20

Kerry and Bruce Ploeser could have finished their backyard, they could have finally gotten a pool, they could have taken their family of five to Europe on vacation, but instead they decided to store up treasure in heaven. Kerry and Bruce chose to adopt a little man, of five, from China and make him part of their family.


Daniel was not born completely whole, by the world's standards. His fingers were not fully formed on both hands nor were his toes. In China, a child with any "defect" is seen as less valuable. Thankfully, Daniel’s birth parents decided that he should live, and gave him to the state. He was placed in a type of foster home and lived there until the blessed day of his adoption. When he arrived in the United States, Daniel was carried into a new world of tastes, sights, smells, feelings and most importantly family. He became the youngest of four and the welcomed companion of the Ploeser’s youngest son, Jack.


Bruce and Kerry Ploeser are two of the warmest, most giving people I have ever met. They give freely of their finances, time and lives. When Kerry told me she was praying about adoption, I was slightly shocked, simple because that is not part of the norm in our culture, especially for people who already have there own children. But I was not surprised that she would be willing to open up her home and heart to a child not her own, as well as a child with a physical disability.

As I mentioned before, Jack is the Ploeser's youngest son. He was diagonsed with mild autism a couple of years ago. Kerry and Bruce are amazing as they deal with this beautiful, young man. If you met Jack, you would fall in love with him. He is full of life and imagination. He draws you into his world and lets you spend time with him in a place of innocence, but as a parent of an autistic child there are some real challenges. The appeal of Jack’s world is also a struggle for everyday life. It is hard to direct a child to read, take ballet or even be a part of a family dinner when they are living in a world apart from yours. Yet the patience Kerry has as she interact with Jack’s world, helping him into ours, truly reveals Christ’s life in Kerry. Bruce is equally as tender with Jack as Kerry, and together they provide the attention and security Jack most needs.

This sincere love and care is not limited to Jack. The Ploeser’s other two kids are well-mannered kids, full of life. They have a light in them that comes from being valued and loved by their parents. This is the world that young Daniel was welcomed into last year, and it is the world he is thriving in today.

Not only has Daniel become part of a loving family, but he has also become part of a family that will love him into eternity. Jesus is the heart of the Ploeser family. He is where the love, the patience and the care come from in their lives. He is the one that Kerry most wanted to introduce Daniel to. It is one thing to act as a humanitarian and redeem a life from hardship on an earthly level, as Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt have done. Their love for mankind is noble, but for Kerry and Bruce there was more than earthly salvation; there was the hope for eternal salvation for little Daniel.


He has heard about the love of God, he has seen it lived out by his family and by the church community that loves him so deeply, and each day he interacts with Jesus more and more. As his understanding of English has increased, so too has his knowledge of God and His Word, he now prays to Jesus in his own words, from his heart. What greater treasure can be stored up in heaven, than that of a life?

As I read this story to my kids, my oldest said, “Well, Daniel is better than a pool. He is a lot of fun.” I am sure all of the Ploesers agree. They chose to live as citizens of heaven.

But everything that was a gain to me, I have considered to be a loss because of Christ. More than that, I also consider everything to be a loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. Because of Him I
have suffered the loss of all things and consider them filth, so that I may gain
Christ and be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own from the law,
but one that is through faith in Christ. The righteousness from God based
on faith. My goal is to know Him and the power of His resurrection and the
fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death assuming that I will
somehow reach the resurrection from among the dead….Brothers, I do not consider myself to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do; forgetting what is
behind and reaching forward to what is ahead, I pursue as my goal a prize
promised by God’s heavenly call in Christ Jesus….our citizenship is in
heaven. Phil. 3:7-11,13-14,20

Passion Part 1: Redeeming Love

Heather Andrews lives life from the heart, the heart of passion for orphans from around the world.

When Heather first entered the Bible study I was leading, I was struck by the intense love she felt for those in the world born to a life of abandonment. She passionately spoke of the need for adoption. She saw it as a ministry to the unloved; an opportunity to save a life. I had no idea that three years after our first meeting with Heather that the lives of four families and of seven children would be forever transformed because of her heart’s cry.

If any of you have ever gone through the adoption process, you know it is a long, pain-filled journey of dashed hopes and realized dreams. Heather and her husband, Seth, waited for months to hear back from the Chinese government. They waited to hear from the adoption agency. They waited for the plane trip, and they waited for the car ride to the orphanage, never certain that they would be able to hold their little one. It was not until Heather actually picked up her lovely baby, the one she had been praying for without even knowing, that she finally realize the joy of having a child of her own.

You see, Heather was not just a spokesperson for a cause she felt strongly about. She was an active participant, a living example of the power of adoption. Within a year of her first visit to our Bible study, Heather and her husband, Seth, had adopted a little girl from China. She was able to live out the passion that God placed deep in her soul.

To see Heather now, is to know that she was created by God to mother her daughter. Through her passion for a child, not even one from her own cultural background, all those around her began to realize the great blessing of adoption. This blessing was not just for the child bereft of parents. No, it was also for the adoptive family that’s love was able to finally flow out into another life.

Heather’s passion for those cast aside, permeated her conversations, her relationships and her every action. Even the minds and hearts of those around her were changed. From Heather's passion there arose others who took up the same cause she so believed in. Three women from the Bible study decided to follow in her steps, each varying their course based on God’s leading in their lives and the lives of their families.

God placed a young Chinese boy, age five, into the heart of one couple, whose home already overflowed with love for their three children, one having special needs. For another family, the desire for a little girl to complete their family circle drew them to Russia, and the adoption of a beautiful baby. And finally, Heather’s passion so took root in the heart of another woman that she decided to step outside of the norms of the world, and adopt not one, but four little girls. These women each followed God’s desire for their families.

All of these stories are tales of obedience, love and a heart carried away with passion for children. These women were the ones God chose to redeem a life, by adopting a child. The passion for adoption that filled Heather was not something of her own creation. It was placed in her by her loving Heavenly Father. You see, His passion is the redemption of the world, and He is the ultimate adoptive parent. He chose us and invited us into His family, through His Son, Jesus. So we now are joint heirs with Jesus, and have the right to call God, Abba Father.

Heather lived out her passion, and by doing so, she stirred passion inside the hearts of three others. Each story rippling out to inspire, and possibly plant the seed of passion into the lives of people that Heather never could have touched.

Characters or Character

I have found great comfort in life from some very simple pleasures. Movies based on the books of Jane Austen being one of these pleasures. I believe Jane Austen to be one of the most brilliant authors in history, and one able to speak not just to those of her age, but to all ages. Her words and conversation resonate with women two centuries removed from her own life.

Austen knew people. She studied them, understood them and could transport them from a three dimensional life onto the written page. We can still see the world through Jane’s eyes. Customs, clothing, language may change, but human nature never does. People love, hate, laugh, cry, and live in the same way today that they did in 17th century England.

Jane wrote people in their real form, as they were not as they would like to be seen, and always with a hint of humor directed at herself. There is a line for any given situation from any one of her books.

Sense and Sensibility is one of my favorite movies. It's phrases ring in my ears as I walk through life. When speaking to my husband in the most tender moments or when hearing from a friend who has deeply touched my life I can only think, their “friendship has been the most important of my life.”

On Saturday morning, I had a Jane moment. As I walked my dog, I prayed for an opportunity to meet one of my neighbors. When I returned home, the same neighbor I had prayed to meet was standing in her front yard. Now, I am not one to come up with pleasant conversation quickly nor easily, but this day I thought to speak of the coolness of the air and the lack of heat that usually is prevalent at this time of year. My neighbor agreed with my assessment of the weather. We held a short but very comfortable meeting.

While walking away, I smiled to myself as I thought of young Margret Dashwood’s (youngest daughter in Sense and Sensibility) instructions from her mother as to how to hold a conversation when there was little to say. Mrs. Dashwood admonished Margret by telling her that if she did not have anything proper to say she should keep her remarks to the “weather or the state of the roads.” Well, the roads were fine on the morning I spoke to my neighbor, so I kept my comments to the weather.

Now, I know that Austen is no replacement for the Word of God. But on the pages of her books can be found real women to be admired. Elizabeth Bennet (Pride and Prejudice), realized that she was wrong in her judgment of Mr. Darcy, and she willingly let go of her pride and actually humbled herself. She found a loving husband once she moved past her own ideas.

Marianne Dashwood (Sense and Sensibility), allowed her passions to carry her into a relationship that threatened to ruin her reputation. Her sister Eleanor attempted to warn her about her inappropriate behavior but Marianne rolled her eyes, until she was misused by the man she was warned about. Once she realized her own failure, comparing herself to her sister Eleanor’s reserved and respectful behavior, she knew she needed to change. She confessed her arrogance to Eleanor and found a modesty she had previously lacked.

Even the immature Emma (Emma), learned from her mistakes. She tried to be a matchmaker and caused her closest friend a great deal of pain. She was surrounded by wise, caring friends but not until she decided to listen to them did she stop acting the part of busy-body.

None of Jane's characters are perfect, all have failings that needed to be addressed, but all learning in a very human and real way how to correct those failings. Each one hurt those they loved, and each one was hurt, but all humbly found a better way to act and live. They all restored those relationships that they had injured themselves, because they were willing to lay down their pride and ask for forgiveness.

They are not just Characters; they are women of Character.

A WOMAN OF NOBLE CHARACTER, WHO CAN FIND? SHE IS WORTH FAR MORE THAN RUBIES. Proverbs 31:10

The Responsibility of Citizenship

What is the role of a citizen in shaping the government?

Preamble of Constitution

We live in a representative democracy in the United States, in which “We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America”

In the United States of America we are not just the citizenry of the nation we live in; we are the government as well. We have the right as well as the responsibility to help shape the laws that govern this nation.

What is government and why is it necessary?

Administration of life in an organized society as well as the body of officials
that presides over the process. Human beings discovered at an early stage in
their history that a social situation in which "everyone did as he saw fit" (Judges 21:25) proved to be an unstable, disorganized, and
frequently even a dangerous one, in which unenlightened self-interest took
precedence over the concerns of other citizens. Baker's Evangelical
Dictionary of Biblical Theology

What is God’s purpose for government?

1Obey the government, for God is the one who put it there. All governments have
been placed in power by God. 2So those who refuse to obey the laws of the
land are refusing to obey God, and punishment will follow. 3For the
authorities do not frighten people who are doing right, but they frighten those
who do wrong. So do what they say, and you will get along well. 4The
authorities are sent by God to help you. But if you are doing something wrong,
of course you should be afraid, for you will be punished. The authorities are
established by God for that very purpose, to punish tho+se who do
wrong. 5So you must obey the government for two reasons: to keep from being
punished and to keep a clear conscience. 6Pay your taxes, too, for these
same reasons. For government workers need to be paid so they can keep on doing
the work God intended them to do. 7Give to everyone what you owe them: Pay
your taxes and import duties, and give respect and honor to all to whom it is
due. Romans 13 NLT

What responsibilities do we have as Christians in the United States?

Since we as citizens of the United States are the government, as established in the Pre-amble of the Constitution, and government is meant to administer life in an organized society, do we not have a responsibility to make laws that will benefit the well-being of the entire society. Judges 21:25 states that “there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes.” Is that not what we find in our own nation today? There can be no set standard of right and wrong, because that standard is said to be unloving or intolerant. In the end though, isn’t the unloving act to allow society to deteriorate in such a way that “self interest” takes “precedence over the concerns of other citizens.” If government has been established and ordained by God, (not simply the authority of government but the type of government that any nation is under) for the protection and the punishment of its citizens, then do we not have a responsibility as Christians in a representative democracy to form laws for the benefit of that society?

It is our responsibility as citizens, as well as Christians, to seriously consider the positions of those running for political office. Voting is a right that should not be taken lightly, but it is not an overwhelming act either. The platform of each party reveals their beliefs clearly, as well as the voting record of each candidate. Compare those positions with your convictions and vote. If each American fulfilled their governing responsibility, we would defiantly begin to live in “a more perfect union.”

Life

Life is an issue that divides our nation. It has been dividing it since January 1972. The division arose with the Supreme Court ruling on Roe v. Wade. That decision made abortion legal in the United States for the first time. It was seen as a victory for women, a victory so that they would no longer have to publicly carry the burden of an “indiscretion”, a public burden their male counterparts did not have to carry. Women now had the right to chose; to chose what they would do with their own bodies.

With that decision, the nation was firmly divided. The United States was and is divided between two passionate world views; those who believe life is sacred and no one has a “right” to take the life of another, no matter how small that life might be, and those who see women’s bodies as their own and the Roe v. Wade decision as liberation for women across the nation.

This decision acted as the final catalyst for many Christians around the country. Prayer and the Bible had been removed from the public schools by this same court, and now that same court said that life, a unborn child’s life, was not sacred. By 1979, only seven years after the Roe decision, Jerry Falwell and the Moral Majority was up and running, moving a pro-life president into the White House, by calling on Christians to vote according to their moral beliefs. A movement against judicial activism began with Roe v. Wade, a movement wrought from the pens of the Burger justices; a movement that is known today as the “Religious Right.”

Christians, as a voting bloc, became a significant power in the political landscape. Politicians on both sides of the isle started to court them. The rise of the “Religious Right” was lead by organizations like the Christian Coalition, Focus on the Family, and The Family Research Council. Family values became the dominate theme of presidential convention after convention, especially for the Republican Party, whose party platform lined up with the pro-life passion of the majority of its constituent base.

“Christian” became synonymous with Republican for many American’s, but that correlation was not always seen as a positive. A backlash to the political drive of the “Religious Right”, especially their political activities, has arisen among a new generation of political activists.

The youth of the 90’s saw the founders of the “Religious Right” as mean spirited, vindictive men who did not want to share Christ with the world, but instead wanted to gain power for themselves. The dominate worldview of the founders of the religious right movement is being rejected by the generation that followed them. Self-proclaimed, post-modern Christians see men like Jerry Falwell, Gary Baure, James Dobson, and D. James Kennedy as unloving and unchristian in their approach to political activity. This new generation of politically active Christians is just as passionate as the prior leaders, but their focus is far different. They protest against those standing up for “traditional” family values, arguing against such things as the Marriage Amendment. They believe it is harsh and uncaring to ask for a Constitutional Amendment for marriage, believing this amendment pushes people, specifically homosexuals, away from God.

The life of the unborn or as Rick Warren stated, the human rights of the unborn, is not even enough to rally this new generation into one political entity with their predecessors. The life issue has become passé. To many, it is divisive and unwinnable, so why make it the one issue to live and die over. The new generation of Christians and non-Christians argue that people are being killed around the world. All killing should be stopped including the killing our own nation perpetrates against innocent people in Iraq and Afghanistan. For the post-modern generation, global warming is the equivalent of marching for civil rights in the ‘60’s. The planet, not humanity, needs to be saved. Saved from what; saved from humanity itself. The Republican Party is no longer seen as the party of moral values. Moral values have shifted for many post-modern Christians, with abortion taking a backseat to more faddish and popular causes.

These new political Christians are no less engaged in changing culture than their older counterparts. They differ in how that should be achieved and what social change actually should take place. The post-moderns don’t stand against anything. They embrace everything and everyone that is different from themselves, except their forefathers in the political world they all inhabit.


The political divide that separates these two generations is based on a multitude of factors, but one of the main features of their differences of thought has arisen within the past decade. The disparity between them is based on their interpretations or application of the Bible; more specifically the inspiration or importance of all Scripture.

To the post-modern Christian, the Gospels are the most significant section the Bible. The life of Jesus is the gold standard and the rest of the Bible is not as vital to the life of a believer. Now the leaders of the “right” or more clearly described, the moderns, believe all Scripture is God breathed and is profitable for correction, teaching and training in righteousness. They too would claim Christ as the gold standard, but they would look at His life as part of the overall plan of God for humankind. A plan encompassed by both Old and New Testaments; the writings of Moses as much as the writings of Paul. The importance of all Scripture to modern Christians is one of the reasons they are so passionate in their stance against abortion, gay rights and moral relationships in marriage. Those in the “right” believe that the Ten Commandments matter, and there is a moral law humanity should live by. The post-moderns do not hold to this belief as strongly. They never want to appear judgmental or unloving. Relationship for the post-modern trumps a biblical standard of morality.

This is one reason that Barack Obama was unable to answer Rick Warren, when Warren asked him at what stage human rights should be extended to a child. Obama said the answer to that question was “above his pay grade.” He could not say because if he answered in either direction he would be making a judgmental statement. Yet he was able to say that evil does exist, such as in killing of innocents in Darfur, but he was unable to say that that evil should be crushed or defeated as John McCain said. To say that the United States had a right to defeat an evil presupposes a moral superiority and that is judgmental or uncaring for those on the other side, who might not be evil but simply misguided.

Many young Christians are drawn to Barack Obama because they too believe that it is not possible to make moral judgments of other nations because we ourselves have moral failings. They are also being drawn by the new focus the Democratic Party is placing on faith and prayer. An announcer on the Christian radio station, KLOVE, overflowed with excitement and praise for the Democratic convention. She said that God was not absent, His name was being used and prayer was a prevalent part of the huge event being held in Denver.

The Democrats have always claimed faith, the difference in their draw to Christians a decade ago and their draw today is that the post-modern generation does not look at one issue as the plumb line in their voting decisions. The Democratic Party has not changed. Its platform has always been the same since the Roe v. Wade decision in 1972. It states:

Because we believe in the privacy and equality of women, we stand proudly for a
woman's right to choose, consistent with Roe v. Wade, and regardless of her
ability to pay. We stand firmly against Republican efforts to undermine that
right. At the same time, we strongly support family planning and adoption
incentives. Abortion should be safe, legal, and rare.

Democrats stand behind the right of every woman to
choose. We believe it is a constitutional liberty. This year’s Supreme Court
ruling show us that eliminating a woman’s right to choose is only one justice
away. Our goal is to make abortion more rare, not more dangerous. We support
contraceptive research, family planning, comprehensive family life education,
and policies that support healthy childbearing. Source: The Democratic
Platform for America, p.36 Jul 10, 2004

Life still divides us as a nation, but sadly, it has just become another issue among the many. No longer is it an evil to be defeated. It is a political issue to be discussed, and accepted if necessary in order not to appear judgmental. The truth is if evil is not defeated a moral judgment is still made.

July 20, 2000,
Testimony of Jill Stanek to Illinois Legislature
On Behalf of The Born-Alive Infant Act

I am a Registered Nurse who has worked in the Labor & Delivery
Department at Christ Hospital in Oak Lawn, Illinois, for the past five years.
Christ Hospital performs abortions on women in their second or even third
trimesters of pregnancy. Sometimes the babies being aborted are healthy, and
sometimes they are not.

The method of abortion that Christ Hospital uses is called "induced
labor abortion," also now known as "live birth abortion." This type of abortion
can be performed different ways, but the goal always is to cause a pregnant
woman's cervix to open so that she will deliver a premature baby who dies during
the birth process or soon afterward. The way that induced abortion is most often
executed at my hospital is by the physician inserting a medication called
Cytotec into the birth canal close to the cervix. Cytotec irritates the cervix
and stimulates it to open. When this occurs, the small, preterm baby drops out
of the uterus, oftentimes alive. It is not uncommon for one of these live
aborted babies to linger for an hour or two or even longer. One of them once
lived for almost eight hours.

In the event that a baby is aborted alive, he or she receives no
medical assessments or care but is only given what my hospital calls "comfort
care." "Comfort care" is defined as keeping the baby warm in a blanket until he
or she dies, although even this minimal compassion is not always provided. It is
not required that these babies be held during their short lives.

One night, a nursing co-worker was taking an aborted Down's Syndrome
baby who was born alive to our Soiled Utility Room because his parents did not
want to hold him, and she did not have time to hold him. I could not bear the
thought of this suffering child dying alone in a Soiled Utility Room, so I
cradled and rocked him for the 45 minutes that he lived. He was 21 to 22 weeks
old, weighed about 1/2 pound, and was about 10 inches long. He was too weak to
move very much, expending any energy he had trying to breathe. Toward the end he
was so quiet that I couldn't tell if he was still alive unless I held him up to
the light to see if his heart was still beating through his chest wall. After he
was pronounced dead, we folded his little arms across his chest, wrapped him in
a tiny shroud, and carried him to the hospital morgue where all of our dead
patients are taken.

Other co-workers have told me many upsetting stories about live aborted
babies whom they have cared for. I was told about an aborted baby who was
supposed to have Spina bifida but was delivered with an intact spine. Another
nurse is haunted by the memory of an aborted baby who came out weighing much
more than expected ~ almost two pounds. She is haunted because she doesn't know
if she made a mistake by not getting that baby medical help. A Support Associate
told me about a live aborted baby who was left to die on the counter of the
Soiled Utility Room wrapped in a disposable towel. This baby was accidentally
thrown into the garbage, and when they later were going through the trash to
find the baby, the baby fell out of the towel and on to the floor.

I was recently told about a situation by a nurse who said, "I can't
stop thinking about it." She had a patient who was 23+ weeks pregnant, and it
did not look as if her baby would be able to continue to live inside of her. The
baby was healthy and had up to a 39% chance of survival, according to national
statistics. But the patient chose to abort. The baby was born alive. If the
mother had wanted everything done for her baby, there would have been a
neonatologist, pediatric resident, neonatal nurse, and respiratory therapist
present for the delivery, and the baby would have been taken to our Neonatal
Intensive Care Unit for specialized care. Instead, the only personnel present
for this delivery were an obstetrical resident and my co-worker. After delivery
the baby, who showed early signs of thriving, was merely wrapped in a blanket
and kept in the Labor & Delivery Department until she died 2-1/2 hours
later.

Something is very wrong with a legal system that says doctors are
mandated to pronounce babies dead but are not mandated to assess babies for life
and chances of survival. In other words, our laws currently say that babies have
no rights to medical oversight until they are dead. We look the other way and
pretend that these babies aren't human while they're alive but human only after
they are dead. We issue these babies both birth and death certificates, but it
is really only the death certificate that matters. No other children in America
are medically abandoned like this.

Abortion is a cancer that is literally killing America. It is killing
our children while it is killing our consciences. It began when we took God out
of our decision making and proclaimed that the little beings growing inside of
women were "products of conception" and not little girls and little boys. Who
should be surprised that we keep pushing the envelope so that now we are
aborting these "products of conception" alive? I even work at a hospital named
"Christ" that does this very thing! It is beyond me to comprehend that we're
doing what we're doing now, and so I can't even imagine what horrible ways we
will think of next to torture our children. Please help put an end to this by
proclaiming infants as American human being homo sapiens with the same legal and
medical rights that you and I big people have. Thank you.

There is a harsh, judgmental attitude among many in the “Religious Right” movement that needs to be changed. Christ came to seek and save the lost, not gain political power and position, but neither did He ignore the moral ills of His day. He loved the adulterous woman, and said to her, “go and sin no more.” He made a moral judgment on her sin. Relationship is important to sharing the love of Christ, but there is a standard of right and wrong that God set up in His Word, His Law. Jesus did not come to abolish the Law, but to fulfill it.

“Whoever then annuls one of the least of these commands and teaches others to do the same, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven. But whoever keeps and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven” (Matt. 5:19).

Do not take the name of the Lord your God in vain. Do not murder.

Christ Hospital preforms these types of abortions. Not only are they taking the lives of innocent babies, they are doing it in the name of Christ. Life continues to divide our nation, but it should never be an issue that divides Christians, be they post-modern or modern. There is no more loving stance than to defend the life of the innocent.