James

For the past 7 weeks, I've been a part of a woman's Bible Study, at my church. This is the first time ever that I have joined, mostly because either I was already busy on Tuesday nights or I was in school and busy enough with homework and commitments. I joined this one, however, when I heard they would going to do Beth Moore's study on James.

I think it's always been in my head that the author of James was James, the brother of John...one of Jesus' disciples that faithfully followed Jesus from the beginning. This James was also the first disciple to be martyred. However that James is not the author of James.

The author of James is James, the half-brother of Jesus, who did not believe Jesus was the Messiah, the span of Jesus' earthly ministry. I mean, could you blame him? Buddies and playmates as kids, likely. James, a sin-filled boy, growing up in the shadow of his perfect non-sin-filled older brother Jesus. How many times were the two boys compared? Why can't you be like Jesus?!?! A comment like that would be enough to bring up emotions of anger, defeat, rebellion, resentment, or insecurity. And then, if that weren't enough, when the good older brother is grown, He claims to be the long-awaited Messiah...the Son of God. I imagine James thinking He's taking this self-righteous act too far...the Messiah, come on...if He doesn't shut up soon, He's going to be killed. Which is, of course, what happened.

And yet, Jesus saw something in his younger brother (as He sees in all of us)...a person worth redeeming and a leader in the making. After Jesus' resurrection and before He ascended to Heaven, there is one little line where we must assume that James' life was radically transform:

"...that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, and then to the Twelve. After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers and sisters at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles..."  I Corinthians 15:4-7, NASB

That's all we are told. Not a single word of their conversation. But what we do get is a small window into James' life after that interaction with Christ. He is transformed from a scoffer of Christ to the head of the Christian church. An amazing transformation...I can't wait to (hopefully) learn more of this story when I get to Heaven. But this whole post is going a direction I didn't necessarily mean... :)

As part of the final lesson for this Bible Study, I was asked to summarize James' life, with one thought or sentence. When you study the book of James', as well as the few snippets of his life through Paul or Luke's books, it becomes quite apparent that his heart is bent for the vulnerable. James' belief is that every Christian should live in such a way that reflects the faith they have in God, which includes caring for the poor, the widow, and the orphan. Anyhow, there was this one great quote that was in my book, written by Melissa Moore Fitzpatrick (Beth Moore's daughter), that I believe summarizes James fairly well:

"We simply cannot be obedient disciples of the Lord Jesus and continue to willingly choose self-indulgence, all the while ignoring the desperate needs of others."

I love this statement. It challenges my relationship with God and with others. May Jesus continue to bend my heart for the vulnerable so that He may use me, as He used His brother James.



Blog? What blog?

Yes, I know.
I'm barely posting anymore and when I do it ends up being a compliation of thoughts/lists.

But I see a new chapter coming soon.
I'll share more info as soon as I can.
A chapter that (I think) will revive my dying blog...maybe! :)

Until then...

A few blessings

Today is very quiet at work, which is a nice change.
A lot of North American companies, or at least in Washington State (which is quite a liberal state), do not take Good Friday or Easter Monday off of work. So I'm here at work, finally able to catch up a bit.

We switched computers here this past week. It was a great measure of our patience and godliness. I didn't succeed too well, I fear.

It made me genuinely resolved that when I go to Heaven, I don't want computers there. Even though our good Lord would literally be the perfect IT person...no computer for me. Please and thank you. After having them as a part of just about my whole life, I'll be ready for a peaceful life without them. :)
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I got the sweetest thing in the mail Wednesday!
My dad sent me a little brochure thingy which said that he and his men's Bible Study group prayed for me the Saturday before (March 24). It's a special form that this group created to send out to those they pray for. Every man there signs the form and it includes some special verses that they have selected for consideration. Is that so kind?

My dad included a special note on the front letting me know that he's praying for God's guidance and that he loves me. Every child should have a dad who encourages like that! I was (and still am) so touched by that.
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I have an Australian guest with me this weekend. I picked her up yesterday and will return her on Sunday after Easter lunch. She's one of my blogger friends, who is residing only 2 hours away for this year.

It's nice to have a friend to talk with and hang with. Especially one who has an accent worth imitating.
I've think I've almost nailed the Australian accent!
Ha...if only!
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Happy Easter!
He is risen...

Another memory from Germany

On a day like today, I think what is needed is a flashback to a fun-filled moment.
What's going today to make me want this flashback?
Trust me, you don't want the details...it's just usual work chaos.

One of the dorm traditions that I walked into, when I worked in Germany, was Mystery Dinner. A fun-filled, chaotic, silly dinner where just about anything goes and you have to take pictures to prove it. I seem to recall that Mystery Dinner was held on Valentine's Day, my first year there. The reason I'm fairly confident in that timing is because all of our clues were "romance" oriented. So here's what Mystery Dinner is all about.

The staff planned the entire dinner, including a punch and dessert. I think we served spaghetti, with corn and a roll...wow, pretty good memory! Every single item that was served was given a its own clue. This includes the silverware folks! So, for example, the youth got a card with the following random (and not too obvious)clues and the parentheses is what the actual item was, which only the staff was privy to:

Having the tine of my life (fork)
I blush with love (punch--due to rosy color)
I'd pick you any day (toothpick)
I 'ear that you're mine (corn)
--And so it goes with the pasta, spaghetti sauce, parmesan cheese, roll, butter, dessert, knife and spoon.

Once they have this list of twelve clues, they randomly number the clues however they so choose. Then we (the staff) served them items 1-3 at one time, items 4-6 as the 2nd course, and so on. So depending on how they numbered their meal, they could get spaghetti sauce, butter and a toothpick. Or a knife, punch, and corn. Or whatever!

Much hilarity follows as they would sometimes eat without silverware or have their foods all out of order.
Did that make sense? I realize that it's kind of a strange thing to explain in writing. But hopefully it makes sense.

Having written all this, I think I should throw a Mystery Dinner for some of my friends...adults would find that fun, right? Anyhow, thanks for letting me take a breather from work and a trip down memory lane.

All sorts of crazy

The last couple weeks have been all sorts of craziness. And thankfully (hopefully) I'm starting to feel life relax a bit...I feel more "unwound" at the moment, which is good and lovely.

--I have been trying to sell my car, get it ready for sale which included 4 trips to the shop to get one thing fixed, and simultaneously look for a "new" car. Car shopping and car fixing bring a whole level of stress on their own...do I hear an amen? There were a few nights where my dreams were consumed with car details. I didn't enjoy those dreams, as one might imagine. But last week, my boss gave me a lecture (which wasn't entirely appreciated, although well-meaning) but one thing he did mentioned that I've taken to heart is the fact that I don't know what is happening next in my life. And if there's a possibility of me selling any "new" car within months, then I'd be financially better off if I just held onto my current car until then. So that's what I'm doing. My car has been fixed...the check engine light is off for the first time in the 5 months that I've owned my car...glory be! But all car shopping has been put on hold, which brings an element of relief.

--My church has a "missions week" at the end of January when two missionaries are brought to our church for a week of events...truly a highlight of each year. But this past Saturday-Monday, we had another "mini missions weekend." So my Saturday and Monday night, which are generally used for relaxation, were full, which, although I enjoyed and chose to participate in the events, did my make weekend and week feel immensely full.

--Work has been a zoo. I work for a "mom and pop" type of company. My boss really only wants/expects us to work 40 hours/week and because I'm not in-love with my job and don't get paid overtime, I have no problems complying with that. But I have been swamped. Work has picked up, which is a good thing (I suppose), but I'm getting behind on my duties. My job is no longer a 40 hour job but more like a 50 hour job. So sadly, I'm planning to come into work tomorrow for the sole purpose of working on invoices...I'm about 4-5 months behind...eek! I'll bring in some music, make some coffee, and try to make my time here as pleasant as possible...and as short as possible.

--Last bit of craziness is my own future. I'm not going to go into detail at this time but believe me, God is doing and planning something and life-changing decisions are having to be made (one decision needs to be made this weekend!!). So in the spare moments, while driving to and from work, church, or other commitments, I have been thinking over these things and have been shooting off popcorn prayers of pleas for God's wisdom and guidance. I don't know if this is the best way to make life-changing decisions but it's what my life has allowed lately. God can work even in that!