We got published!!!

Though putting words on the internet is really no big deal these days...(after all I am doing it right now...no big whoopee...)we are still excited to be published on an actual online magazine called "Prodigal Son Magazine"

Here is the link www.prodigalmagazine.com
The story is titled "How the Cross Saved Christmas"

Thanks for reading.
David & Abby

Stealing Christmas 2007

As a romantic, I am always thinking of ideas to be creative with my wife, Abby, yet as an idealist and with a propensity for passivity, ninety percent of those ideas never come to fruition. But, I was not going let our first Christmas together slip by without a “you’re-the-only-one-for-me” moment.

There is always a slight fear in me when I step into the spontaneous, unknown world of romance. “Will she like it?” “What if it flops?” “Is it selfish?” “What if we get in bad moods and ruin it?” “Couldn’t I be more productive with this time?” “Wouldn’t it be better to go straight to bed, than waste good sleep time?”

Abby is much more detail-oriented than I am. When I come up with an idea, she lovingly questions how it is really going to function. She takes care of the details of things she owns quite well, and gets upset when they are not cared for. Abby generally adopts new ideas much more quickly, if they have been primed beforehand.

But this romantic idea was simple and genius, and I believed it would start a spicy, yearly Christmas tradition in our home. It would go off without a hitch!

During the Christmas season, the first lights to get turned on in the morning and the last ones to get turned off at night are on our Christmas tree. The thousand little bulbs provide such a comfy-soft atmosphere, that they scream romance!

After a full Christmas day of gatherings with both of our families, we finally made it home by nine or ten at night. We both get energized from quieter times in our life, so events that require much socializing usually leave us both a bit worn. And it’s no secret that the offspring of tiredness is typically crabbiness.

So we were both a bit on edge as we pulled our Jeep into its parking spot, and rustled through the incredible fresh snow to our back door. Usually when we are crabby, we avoid each other by doing things on our to-do list. Productive… yes…but not effective. We hide behind busyness to avoid the conflict on hand.

But tonight’s conflict was mild. If ten is burning rage, and one is a passing argument, then our Christmas day crabbiness was like a two. So she distracted herself in the kitchen doing dishes, and I thought it was the perfect time for me to begin implementing my suave plan.

I went upstairs and began to shred the sheets from our mattress. Three short months of marriage had released a small amount of wisdom in how to interact lovingly with her personality. So, I yelled from upstairs, as I lifted the mattress up off of its frame, “I am planning something, Abby… Have an open mind!” And for emphasis I repeated, “Have an open mind, babe,” as I rounded the corner to slide the mattress on edge down the stairs.

The mattress slid easily down the wooden stairs. In my giddy excitement, I would have ridden the thing like a toboggan-if only our stairwell had been wide enough!

I braced myself for the climax of the surprise, as it would soon be revealed to Abby. With the mattress still on edge, I tentatively rounded the corner at the bottom of the stairs where I immediately came into direct line of sight of Abby standing at the kitchen sink.

My face was beaming. I was so proud of my idea, and the fact that I was actually implementing it. Ignoring the crabby, fearful and lazy thoughts, I was really doing it!

Abby’s attention to detail and care for her possessions drew her to speak quick sharp word, “Are the sheets on that?”

“No,” I said and responded quickly hoping to appease her and win her over, “Only the mattress cover!”

“Oh great,” she replied sarcastically, “something even more permanent to get dirty.”

“Calm, David, Calm” I said to myself as I moved the mattress from the hallway to the living room floor in front of the Christmas tree.

But rage triggered explosively inside me. My mind raced with thoughts. The pain of her criticism had dug into my core. “She cares more about this *&^(* mattress than about us. I try to be creative and pursue her; I try to be romantic, and look where it ends up. See if I ever try anything creative again!”

In a matter of 30 seconds the conflict had jumped from a level three to a seven. My kettle was steaming, so as soon as the mattress hit the floor, I decided to pick it right back up again and bring it back upstairs to return it to its usual spot. If she cared so much about the mattress, then from now on it would stay in its nice, safe place in our bedroom. No romantic night sleeping in front of the Christmas tree for her!

I hoped she would realize how tragic her comments were. I would show her how she had messed up, and screwed everything up. So, I huffed in child-like stubbornness, hoping my anger would lead to incredible strength to get the mattress back up the stairs by myself.

I only got halfway up the stairs before I realized that the weight and bulk of the mattress would prevent me from getting it up the stairs by myself. I would need her help to get the mattress back up. How annoying to humble myself to ask for her help. I wanted to “punish” her.

So I relented slightly and asked for her help, but I wouldn’t talk to her anymore. I won’t let her thaw my icy shoulder. I won’t forgive her for days-or ever. She had to realize how much she hurt me, and never do something so painful again. She had to learn.

We got it back up the stairs, and I slid it back to our room and then to the frame.

My heart went dormant as rage was now pumping my blood. I hastily made the bed, then brushed aggressively past Abby, who was standing in the doorway to our room, hoping for reconciliation. “I will not back down,” I thought. “I am hurt, she has to pay! She owes me. I will make her pay!”

I did my normal bathroom routine, avoiding the mirror, avoiding the beastly look that must have been on my face, and climbed into bed. As far as I could get on my side of the bed, I knew I wouldn’t be able to sleep. I knew we needed to reconcile. I knew she was ready, but I felt no strength. My rage overpowered me.

We knew we were on the same team, and that someone else was the enemy, not each other. We had attended a marriage conference before we were married. At this conference, we had learned that our sin needed to come up, out, onto the cross. We had learned that the cross would always be where we could come back together. It was like the fork in the road that we would both return to when there was conflict. Conflict was always a result of one or both of us leaving the humble foot of the cross and forgetting the freeing work that was accomplished there. As a result, a month or two into our marriage, we put a 4’ high cross in our spare bedroom.

That Christmas night, we had both walked away from truth, pledging allegiance and loyalty to ourselves, not to Christ.

Abby, was the first to humble herself and return to the cross. She was sobbing there, in thes spare bedroom on her knees, as I was lying in bed raging, wondering how I long I would have to be silent to her to even up the score. After ten minutes or more Abby came into our room and gently asked if I was going to join her at the cross. At first, I didn’t even answer. She asked me again before I responded,

“Yeah, when I am ready, in a little while” I muttered stiffly.

She went back to our spare bedroom and cried out again, “Jesus, we need you!” And repeated and sobbed again and again, “Jesus, we need you!”

And I heard His voice in my heart saying, “Forgive as I have forgiven you. I have forgiven you of so much! How can you hold unforgiveness towards her? Pick up the stupid mattress, take it back downstairs, and invite your wife to join you. That is the only way this will end.” I could not humble myself. Stubbornness held me pinned to the bed. I wanted revenge. I would not move. Yet I knew reconciliation was sweet, not to mention how great forgiveness is. I knew I wanted my life to write a great story, and that reconciliation is foundational for a great story. But knowing and acting were not aligning.

Somewhere I must have inhaled a mustard seed, because I received just enough push to get me out from under the covers. I met Abby in the dark room, on her knees in front of the greatest symbol of healing and reconciliation, the cross. What was frozen, melted. What was rage, softened. What was hurt, healed. What was judgement, forgiveness. No magic words, no persuasion, no manipulation. We shared pure humility as we stared our Maker and Savior in the face at the foot of the cross where He redeemed us from all our junk.

We had experienced our own resurrection! We were dead, but now alive. And life in marriage is a powerful thing!

We grabbed the mattress together, with the pad still on it, and drug it down the stairs. We brought down the sheets, and pillows and made the bed in front of the dimly lit tree. With redeemed energy we undeservedly came together to experience spirit to spirit intimacy under the tree.

A beautiful, unexpected Christmas gift that we will cherish and re-cherish for years to come.

Pursued

We all love the upcoming holidays...Thanksgiving and Christmas bring a spirit with them that we all want to dwell in for longer than we make time to...

You may have noticed a lack of blogging in the past couple of months...In follow-up to David's last post about being "good" and "busy", I too have felt the hustle and bustle of life, and allowed myself to stray from spending time with the Giver of life, let alone time to process or write down any thoughts. In the midst of doing so, I even questioned why I do this to myself...sort of like when Paul says, "I do what I do not want to do"...such a mysterious phenomenon that plagues humanity and reveals our mortal nature. Though all the while, my heart longed to connect with my Father. You know, when your heart truly desires to find rest, peace, truth-everything and anything good, and you feel drawn to just be in the presence of God? For this, I am so grateful, that God would create me to be in relationship with Him at all times; to desire Him over anything else. Apart from Him, I really cannot do anything so well, as I am limited to my human strength and ability to do, do, do, rather than be, be, be. For all the times I've chosen not to rest in the Lord, He still draws me to Himself! How awesome is He! This Thanksgiving, the thing I am most grateful for is that my God pursues me relentlessly.

I chose to spend some time with Him this morning-just me and Him-in the Word and in prayer. I did not have any revelations, but I experienced His presence again and became overwhelmed with thankfulness. I suddenly had new insight and words of encouragement for friends and family who have shared struggles and asked for prayer, whereas before I had nothing to give them. I felt "full" again!

This is nothing new and an ongoing lesson learned...I wonder if I will I ever just "get it" and live it out. If I want to have a fruitful ministry, a flourishing marriage, blessed friendships, and one day a family founded in Christ's love, I must be in direct communication with the Source of all these things.

May you realize the Lord's relentless pursuit of you, His child, and may He be your Source today!

How are you doing today?

I wonder what the top ten answers to that question are?  I would love to take a survey to find out. I have been paying more attention to my own response to that question recently.  I answer that question and similar ones 90% of the time with "Busy" or "Good".

So what if people remembered us based on our top two answers to that question?  I guess people would remember me as "David BusyGood" or "Mister GoodBusy".  Isn't our life just the sum of a bunch of days?  And what if a majority of those days I was simply "Good-n-busy"?  That is a crappy thing to be remembered by, a crappy thing to have on a gravestone. I would be remembered for having a full schedule, and enjoying it at a slightly positive level.  Boring.   

Soon my answers will be more like "Awesome! You gotta hear about my week..."  or "Wow, things are going great! Want to hear hear why?"  or if I am really hurting to say "not great...want to hear about it?".    I am excited to get out of this hyperactive mediocrity,  Full-of-motion-void- of-life kind of thingy...I hope y'all will slap me next time you hear "good" or "busy" in explaining how I am doing.  It's either that wake up slap or I continue to put you to sleep by giving you my dissertation on why my life is just "good" or "busy", something you are probably not all that intrigued by anyway.

How do you want people to remember you?

What will the sum of your individual days be?

Hybrid - an efficient blend of two previous posts

Politics and sexuality. Two topics that can raise the intensity of a room within seconds.

As I work with many guys, there is an eye opening quantity of young men struggling with their sexual identity. There are countless names for them; gays, homosexuals, sodomists, etc, most names are better left unsaid. Many are men who grew up in church, in Christian homes.

Before I personally knew any men who have "same-sex-attraction" (SSA), I verbally swung my right-slanted opinions like a baseball bat at the Precious Moments museum. I thought "How gross!", "How dirty!", "How messed up they are!", "They should just change!". "Ban that behavior!", "Immoral!"

As with any other opinion, the fewer people we know and interact with who have life experience that confronts ours, the more "close-minded" we become; the more our politics and theology become one-sided.

I was (and probably still am in some areas) close-minded for sure.

This ideology came from somewhere...(I don't plan on shredding my conservative roots, especially since I believe my mom subscribes to this blog)...but I will point a stick at the hush-hush approach of the church...who is generally either silent on this issue or extremely harsh. It was either "We have no idea what to do with this issue, and cannot admit that there are men in our congregation wrestling with these things", or "Let's beat the gayness out of them with a Bible".

When I meet men who are attracted to other men, neither of these positions is very effective in interacting with them. And if they are interested in not having these attractions, and want help, neither silence nor abuse are effective tools.

I have gained some insight into this complex issue in the past few months.

The root of a man's homosexual desire is a healthy longing for genuine non-sexual male to male intimacy.
(re-read previous sentence)

This healthy, God-given, longing just gets twisted, and sexualized. At it's core, the longing is GOOD, but it emerges at the surface as a sexual issue. The core issue is NOT sexual.

I interact with a couple guys every week who are attracted sexually to other men. In their transformational process, it has been exciting for me to learn to affirm men within this struggle. It is very fun to tell them that they have "healthy" inner longings, but simply a misdirected outlet to meet those longings. Acting on those longing sexually, will never meet the deeper longings.

I enjoy telling them the truth that they are not "messed up" at their core.

I would love for them to be able to walk into church without shame on their faces, without fear that they will be shunned for their behavior. I would love for all my friends and family to have no phobia or anger when it comes to SSA, (even the most extreme and annoying ones because well...there are plenty of christians who are equally extreme and annoying) I would love for people who follow Christ to have a gracious understanding of what is really going on inside.

Here is a 17 minute video from the President-elect, Dr. Julie Harren-Hamilton, of NARTH (National association for research and therapy of Homosexuality). No, it is not graphic. I believe every christian, especially those who care to voice their opinions at times like I do, should know the basics that this video teaches. Enjoy.

Also, to fathers, your boys really need you!

www.homosexuality101.com

As always, comments are welcome.
Even rebuttals...debate can be healthy education...

Much Love,
David

Abby for President

I have complained my fair share of times recently about how as a taxpayer I am going to have pay for the wealthy, corrupt executives of Fannie and Freddie to continue their failing business policies.

I have worried a good 6 months off of my life thinking about what Abby and I would do if things hit bottom.

I have strategized until my head pounds of how to make lemonade out of the economic situation.

I want to blame those "idiot" politicians for their "socialistic" tendencies...and tell them to "get their greedy-power-hungry-hands out of the cookie jar".

I called my senators and congresspeople for the first time ever last week. I wanted no part of the bailout, and I wanted to voice my opinion. (obviously my expressed opinion did not sway the bills outcome)

And all this aforementioned activity came to a humbling halt this morning as we heard wise words from our pastor.

"What if you spent half the time you complain about the 'terrible times', praying for them?"

"Is God more concerned about a sleeping church or a corrupt government?"

"Can God, has God used corrupt leaders for his own purpose and glory in the past?" Nehemiah 1 & 2

"What would happen if God's people humbled ourselves and prayed?" 2 Chronicles 7:13-14

Convicting... I know...I had to apologize to Abby after the sermon. I passionately encouraged her to call our congressperson as well last week. Not once did I initiate time with her before our Creator seeking his face over the matters at hand.

Some trust in horses (our defense system), some in chariots (our own wisdom), but we trust in the name of the Lord our God. Ps. 20:7

I am guessing that is why I feel excessive stress over this complicated issue. I was trusting in my own strength, our government's strength, our economy's strength.

Silly how simple the first step is...pray.  Comment with your insights!

...and if Abby were elected president...well...I am not sure about her foreign policies...but... at least we'd all have a very good-looking president!

One Year!

Wow! ONE YEAR. Romance, conflict, adventure, friendship, tears, playfulness, fears, faith...

BECOMING "ONE"!

We've had fun. We've struggled. We've gained greater understanding of each other. We've learned to love with grace. We've learned to fight with love. We've been surrounded by loving family and friends. We've experienced God's faithfulness and transforming power that redeems our lives for His glory! We love Him and we love each other.

We celebrated our "honeymoon" as I kept calling it, with a long weekend trip to Duluth, to experience the beauty of fall in MN and "JUST BE", something we have to make ourselves do sometimes :) I kept calling it our honeymoon, and finally decided to stop correcting myself because it made us more giddy anyway, remembering who we were one year ago...

Married life together finally feels "normal", rather than another transition or path unknown. We are "all in" and can't imagine life any other way! How exciting to experience the "oneness" God created for us to know, to be able to learn more about the love He put into all His designs through it. God is a genius! Everything good comes from Him. We thank Him for giving us love to share with each other...

Thank you for being in our lives this year, seeing us through some crazy life changes! We couldn't have done it without you :) Thanks for your genuine questions, wise insights, and intentional prayers on our behalf. Thank you for keeping us accountable to have fun amidst all the things that vie for our time! Thank you for being a part of "us"!

Much love

Exploring My Purpose

I have had a desire to help men grow ever since I can remember.
A great deal of us (men) seem to be living "under capacity".

I really desire to see men developing from bench warmers to leaders.

Recently, I have decided to explore this passion a bit more.

I have joined about eight - 18 and 19 year old Bethel college "kids" on Tuesday nights...

On thursday nights, I have two other guys coming over to go through the same material.

We are going through a tool called "Dangerous Men". It primarily deals with men's sexuality. It's intent is to help them be free from "destructive sexuality" and enjoy "healthy sexuality"... as God designed it.  This book has had a radical impact on my views of sexuality.

I am excited to see young men be able to talk about topics that have been secret for so long.
I am excited to explore this side of me that has been a bit dormant.

Many of these guys have never talked about "sexual" issues before.  They have never had a men's group where they can share their darkest secrets, and in turn find healing from them.  No wonder so many of us are living below capacity!  How can we run with so many things weighing us down?

Your prayers for me are needed.  I feel the pressure like a bloody battle.

I would love your prayers for not reduced temptation, but increased resistance.  The villian does not seem to like it when men get together, humble themselves and confess sin, and will most likely do his best to prevent it from flourishing.

Feel free to ask questions.  I am all for more discussion and less "hush-hush".

I hope y'all have as much fun as I am pursuing your own "divine sweet spot", your place to make an impact on this earth...

Thanks for reading...

-David

The Child In Us

Good morning everyone! A new one it is...and His compassions are new!

Currently, David, for the first time ever, is riding a motorcycle to work...I know, scary! At least that's where my mind defaults. He decided to get the permit a couple of weeks ago and his friend is generously letting him ride his bike.

Of course, we had some serious eye-to-eye moments this morning where I genuinely asked David to be smart while having fun because I want to see him again after work today all in one piece. Ah! I prayed a prayer of protection over him and he was on his way.

But the part I love most about this morning was in David's eyes as he sat on the motorcycle to rev its engine for the first time. I saw the boy in him! All inclusive of the masculine giddiness, excitement, and adrenaline. That's my man! How refreshing. "Love you babe," were our last words.

And I walked back inside the house thinking about the many times ahead that I will have to choose to put worry and fear aside in order to put my trust in the Lord on behalf of my husband. Not only that, but to realize there is a child-like spirit that lives in each one of us that allows us to delight in the fun stuff of life. So why hold back as long as reason is in mind? I'd rather just say, "Be free!" to my husband and his sometimes boyish desires. And even moreso when kids come along...plus, I want to be the "cool" wife who lets her husband play once in awhile. I mean, we can't be adults who take everything seriously, right?

So today I choose to be a woman at rest, mindful of the Lord's faithfulness and provision over all His creation, even over the fun stuff. And to all reading this, "be free" today! Ride a motorcycle, play in the dirt, laugh...a lot, love your husband or wife, and put fear aside. "It is for freedom He has set us free!"

Abby

"You Probably Don't Want To Do That..."

"Why do we even have a porch if we hardly use it?"

I pondered this last Saturday morning. My insides were pushing me to get my day going, and see how quickly I could bang out a Saturday's worth of to-dos. Abby and I are both "doers" - we feel great after a day of accomplishment. A day of sitting usually drives us nuts. Work is play to us. We generally enjoy it. We love checking boxes, crossing off items, and seeing things through to completion. We aren't the best at rest.

So the question haunted me. "Do I just like the idea of a porch or do I really like the porch?"

So, when Abby returned home that morning with two coffee beverages that cost enough to demand our undivided enjoyment, I made up my mind that we would procrastinate our to do list, and sit for a bit on our front porch.

While we sat on our white plastic chairs, she reading, and I writing in my little black journal...

I noticed a young man walking up the center of our street. He crossed the intersection to our block and continued up the sidewalk in front of our house. He was carrying something...though from a distance I could not make out what it was, and I wanted to assume the best...

Foot traffic is not uncommon in front of our house. Three houses down on the corner is a bus stop...so many of our kind neighbors pass by daily on their individual paths. But a rainy Saturday morning at nine o'clock generally yields lower traffic numbers. So, it added a bit of strange-ness to see a young male up and motivated at this hour on a weekend.

My eyes followed him up the sidewalk towards our house, until he disappeared behind the column that keeps our porch from falling on our heads. At a normal walking pace I expected him to emerge on the other side of the column in a matter of two seconds. He did not.

Strange...

Then, he did emerge, but not on the sidewalk. He had turned ninety degrees towards the street and started walking perpendicular to the sidewalk. Four steps and he arrived at the passenger door of a light blue Dodge Intrepid parked there.

"Wow" I wondered, "Is he going to try to break into that car in broad daylight?" Abby and I knew that the car was owned by our hispanic neighbors two doors down...apparently of no relation to this weekend pedestrian.

But still wanting to believe the best in him, we watched to see if he'd prove himself.

Next thing we know, he reached out and pulled a set of keys out of the passenger door lock that must've been left there by mistake!

By now we had lost interest in our book and journal to the "reality TV" that was playing out right in front of us. Would he attempt to return the keys? Would he actually steal the car?

He slid the keys from the spot where they had spent the rainy night. Looked right, and looked left, and was satisfied that no one was watching. He was probably giddy with this Saturday morning "provision" and in his own spiritual understanding, he might have even prayed a prayer thanking God for revealing the precious key ring to him.

As he strided around the front of the car, the possession in his right hand became clear. From my small knowledge of alchohol (mostly from what Abby tells me), I would guess that his other hand grasped a bottle of Jamison Irish Whiskey. Even if my brand guess is off, it was definitely liquor, at least 1/4 empty, and containing enough liquid to leave 4 grown men quite tipsy.

I decided to do some quick math...
Misdirected Young man + Bottle + Car Keys + Surging adrenaline = Not good.

"I really think he's gonna steal that car, babe," Abby interrupted the curious silence we had both fallen into, "We should do something!". Without saying anything, I showed my agreement by rising and slowly moving towards the storm door.

Looking back on the moment, it is one of those events that makes you wonder, "How did I know what to do and say in that moment?" Most people I know don't rehearse lines to eloquently stop someone from stealing a car before their eyes.

So I opened the door just enough to lean out, and keep my white socks clean and dry on the porch floor to confidently say, "You probably don't want to do that."

Caught! More adrenaline!
And he obviously did not rehearse his lines either or the adrenaline scared it out of him, because he responded by raising his hands and saying, "Uh..I just found these keys."

"Yeah, I think they belong to my neighbor" I said. "Two doors down." as I pointed to their front steps.

I had no idea if I should go and introduce myself to him, take the keys, or the bottle, lecture him on the ten commandments, or invite him in for some coffee. In the awkwardness of the moment...I figured to let it all slide. He walked compliantly to within 20' of the neighbor's house and tossed the keys onto the middle step, kept a firm grip with his other hand, spun around and kept walking towards his original destination.

As I write, I keep thinking that the climax of this story might have been greater if we had let him steal the car.  It might have been more dramatic as well if we got a chance to hear about the pain in his life that was buried under the strong morning beverage...

Either way, we were glad for our morning porch time. Afterall, our half hour or so of stillness allowed us to have opportunities we wouldn't have had otherwise. The most obvious is the chance to open the door for grace towards this young man as he was interrupted of destructive behavior. Another opportunity is to have a story to share with our friends.

Upon telling the story, as I have four or five times now, I can't help but feel like Abby and I were a part of something bigger than ourselves. I must say, the reward of preventing a car theft sure beats checking the item, "fix dishwasher" off of a list. The latter could be accomplished by hard work, the former could only be accomplished by being available. With this type of outcome, we hope to make ourselves available quite regularly!

Why a Theoblog?

The idea to write a blog about our lives excited us both. Our aunt, for some strange reason, brought up the idea last June, and told us to let her know when we got it going.

It intrigued us why anyone would want to know more about our marriage, and what qualities we possessed that were of reading interest...I guess we'll find out by blogging.

"Why would you want to expose your marriage on the internet?" A friend asked as I shared the blog idea with him.

"Well" I slowly proceeded, "maybe our blog can be a bit of what reality TV attempts to be. Real humans interacting, revealing their challenges and victories so that others can relate and feel normal."

We often "front" so well that we trick others around us that we are nearly "perfect" people. Vulnerability has a way of deflating that notion, and encourages others to verbalize their struggles as well. By sharing our stories, conflict, rising action, climax and resolution, more of the "reality" shows up, as we reveal our true lives. Sometimes we are in the midst of conflict, our life is not young marriage bliss. The aches and pains of life are present, yet character is emerging, and we love the process!

So instead of the typical, "How are you today?"..."Good!" question and response, we offer this blog for those who want to hear the answer to "How is it really going today?"

I also believe Abby and I will get an incredible chance to know each other through the blog. So even if our subscribers number in the single digits...it will be a new way to know each other, and who can argue with that?

Enjoy a Peek into our lives.
I am excited to know you better Abby!

You Need to Know: On Behalf of Haiti

Hey All,
It's me again, Abby. There's something on my heart that I have to tell you about. I have now seen too many photos and heard too many stories of people stranded on roofs, among bodies of dead and drowned babies, to not spread the word and maintain good conscience.

As some of you may know, I am fortunate enough to work at Feed My Starving Children, a Christian non-profit dedicated to "Feeding God's children, hungry in body and spirit". Basically, volunteers pack food specifically engineered for severely malnourished children and our mission partners send it around the world. My job is to build a relationship with each person or organization who sends us a food request, and then make it a reality by facilitating the shipping logistics and outbound processes. Whew! So, as you might imagine, the stuff I mentioned above is in front of my face everyday. But, that doesn't mean that this message is any less important for you. God has called all of us to look after the poor in some shape or form.

Jeremiah 22:16 explains, "He defended the cause of the poor and needy, and so all went well. Is that not what it means to know me?" declares the LORD, and
Proverbs 29:7 says, "The righteous care about justice for the poor, but the wicked have no such concern." It was at the heart of His ministry while on earth to care for the poor. You've all heard it before...BUT FOR REAL...WE are now His hands and feet.

Hopefully by now, amidst all the political media and attention on our upcoming elections, you have heard about the recent hurricane devastation in the Caribbean. In less than one month, Hurricane Gustav, Hanna, and Ike have all made their mark on Haiti and now Cuba. Now for months ahead, they will try to rebuild the little they had in the first place. Those who were living to survive now remain waiting for death as they are without crops for food and cannot even by reached as roads and bridges have washed away.

Feed My Starving Children has now received food requests totaling over 4 million meals to help with emergency relief. Our capable mission partners have the ability to reach people. One story I heard today from our partner, Missionary Flights International, brought hope:

They were notified of a village very near Gonaives, where mudslides have swept away many villages in their entirety. The only bridge that connects this village to any source of help was destroyed-their crops and livestock gone-and all UN teams committed elsewhere. The whole village, elders, men, women, and children had not eaten anything since Monday (4 days ago). MFI immediately prepared their plane to transport one pallet (7,128 meals) of FMSC food, and noted, "By 1 o'clock today, that village will have had their first meal in four days."

Check out http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iD1wbm5yvMQ for the video of this delivery!

Amen! From hunger to hope.

I pray that it is not only sadness that grips you, but even more, I hope that you are encouraged by the possibilities of restoration in this devastated country. Mostly, this is a call for all of us to acknowledge the existence of those outside of our realm, a.k.a. "bubble"; to feel things we are not comfortable feeling. I'm asking you to give them more than a thought, but a genuine prayer. Beyond that, to find out what YOU can do with your set of strengths and resources. I would love for us all to experience God's heart for his Haitian children. Oh, how He loves them!



First and foremost, PRAY. Only God can truly restore Haiti from the inside out. Not only will there always be the poor, but also long suffering. Beyond the physical needs of any human being, our spirit must connect with the one and only Holy Spirit who lives inside of us in order to find hope in this life. The majority of Haiti is spiritually dark. Let us pray that the mighty hand of God will move in an undeniable way, that they might come to know Him! Let us also pray for His mercy as He is an all-powerful God.

Also, GIVE. Spread the word. Tithe. Share your wealth. Live as though you see the poor.

Thanks for listening. I know the burden is not the same for everyone and we're all "serving" the Lord in different ways. If nothing else, you know more of my heart for God's children. If something more, then glory to God.

Resources/Opportunities:
As many of you know, David and I got a chance to go to Haiti through Love A Child this past spring. Because they live and do ministry in Haiti, if you are interested in a closer look at the hurricane devastation, Sherry writes a daily journal that can be found on the Love A Child website, http://www.blogger.com/www.loveachild.com. I will warn that some of the pictures within her entries from September 8, 9, and 10th are really difficult to see. It will give you plenty of warning before you scroll down the page if you would choose to not look at them.

Lastly, if you would like to donate to FMSC to help us respond to emergency food requests, there are two ways to do so. First, donate money. The funds to pay for the raw ingredients must come alongside the number of volunteers needed to pack the food for us to pull it off. The second way to help is to volunteer your time. You can donate online and sign up to pack at http://www.blogger.com/www.fmsc.org.



Much Love,
Abby

Faith and Openness

My theme verse this past year:

Zephaniah 3:17, "The Lord your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing."

I'll be honest. I had no idea how critical and judgmental I have been all my adult life. It frustrated David early on and he voiced that, forcing me to look deeper and find the root of this tragedy. And that it is! What freedom I have found in opening my mind to the possibilites that lie under even mediocre ideas or less-than-detailed plans.

A continual process...I still naturally default to being a critical thinker, picking things apart by weeding out the things that don't fit into my idea of "great" or worthy of approval. But who is the judge of these things? What in me causes me to feel the need to approve, even of the smallest things? What if I let God "quiet me with His love" instead? What if I had grace and offered a better solution, and in the process, gave someone else the freedom to...

The freedom to think and discover and learn and grow is priceless. It promises to widen our hearts, opening it towards things we never thought it could feel or experience. I've found that David is amazing at this. Probably because he has chosen to be intentional about seeing the positive side of things, using the "yes, and..." answer instead of an immediate "no". I'm telling you, it will open your mind and set you free of legalities that only stunt greatness! Try it.


It is very much still a process and choice to keep an open mind and I am continually rewarded when I do so.

But most of all, I am grateful for a husband who helps me to grow.

Intro

Here we are. Just two people learning to live and love well, more and more as God intended, we hope. To experience romance, sadness, revelation, victory, humility, redemptive power...makes it worth this adventure. We want to worship with our lives. We desire for our love to transform us from the inside out, and then begin to transform others around us.


No couple really knows what they're getting into when they get married. And no amount of insight or sharing of personal experience can truly prepare them for what is to come. But our faith has been stirred up enough to believe that God gives us everything we need for the journey. Even when He called His disciples, giving them power and authority to cast out demons, preach the Kingdom of God, and heal the sick, he also told them to, "take nothing-no staff, no bag, no bread, no money, no extra tunic." (Luke 9) It is simply faith we must take with us on the adventure of life and love. We need faith that God is who He says He is: greater than our greatest fears and insecurities, Lover of His creation, purposeful in all His ways...He is infinite and everywhere...just up to us to acknowledge His presence, even if we need to every five seconds. We can go "all in!"

How great is our God! Welcome to the life of David and Abby Theobald...

"The greatest thing is to love and be loved in return"