Ultimate Compassion

So, this won't the last time you'll hear from me about the topics of compassion and poverty. I feel as though I am on a quest to discover how these things are to play out in my life. I believe these issues are too close to the heart of God for me to ignore, and I find God drawing me further into His heart.

This past weekend, I attended a conference put on by Woodland Hills Church in St. Paul, called Ultimate Compassion (www.ultimatecompassion.com). This event was part of this body of Christ's effort to learn about and better live out the calling of Jesus to "bring good news to the poor."

From a spiritual perspective, it opened my eyes to the war between good and evil. What other explanation could there be that such prosperity can live right next to such poverty? Ephesians 6:12 says that "our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms." They explained that the cultures we live in, the "systems" we operate in are these powers/principalities. It is hard to see the systems we live in since they are the air we breathe. But they are de-humanizing. Our political system and economy couldn't even support itself if the poor came out of poverty. Their staying there is how we stay where we are or "move up in the world".

Action steps:
We must put aside our judgments, admit that our privilege and power is unmerited, and be responsible for it.
We must admit that we are all racist on some level.
We must accept our history and turn our eyes to Jesus so we can learn how to live out a truly Christ-like love.
We must realize that as the body of Christ, when one suffers, we all suffer.
We must acknowledge that every human being is a child of God, worthy of "life to the full". We were ALL saved by grace!

JESUS WAS A REVOLUTIONARY. He revolted against every cultural norm with no desire to appease people or build an empire and "rule". Rather, He told the people that following Him was going to cost them, and that their rewards would be found in heaven. His main ministry was to the poor, broken, and neglected.
So if God came to bring good news to the poor, what is the good news I bring them in the way I live my life? What would it look like to revolt against the American system and put the causes of Christ before the cultural norms?

These are questions I must ask myself, because I want to be in the heart of God, and I know it is not my natural tendency to lay down my life for the Kingdom. Poverty is such a huge issue. I don't claim to have everything figured out, but I know that God is asking more of me than to just live comfortably and feel good about serving the poor every once in awhile...He wants our whole heart! And He promises fullness of life as we give ours away...

Thy Kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.

I welcome any discussion over this issue!
Abby

"Who do you say I am?"

Today, I am refreshed.

I decided I needed to take a good chunk of time to sit alone with the Lord, so I turned on some worship music and cozied up under a blanket with my Bible and journal.

Work in particular has been really stressful for the last couple of months. People around the world are in so much need. My position is unique in that although I am involved on the operational side of things that requires objective input, meetings about inventory numbers and scheduling containers to pick up in the right places, etc, I am also in contact and/or relationship with many people around the world. Each one is in a different situation with varying needs. Of course, FMSC cannot meet all the needs that are put before us. It is my job to manage the needs and requests that come to us with compassion, offering hope to many who are suffering through conversation, connecting them to other international partners, or just praying for them. I am honored to carry this daily burden and offer Christ in me to them as much as possible.

But lately it has been too much for me. I have felt that I have nothing to give them. I have felt hopelessness. The recent destruction and death resulting from the typhoons in the Philippines has made me want to run and hide because I cannot understand such great suffering.

So here I was, looking to rest in God's presence and running to Him in hopes that He would be my hiding place. Where else could I go?

I started writing, mostly petitions to God that He would release me from these heavy burdens and come to the rescue of His people. But you can only plead with Him for so long before having to acknowledge the great God that He is, because to know Him is to trust Him enough to release your burdens to Him.

All the above is to preface this declaration of who our God is, especially in the midst of suffering and corruption:

You are God, my God, Lover of all, Restorer of all things, Provider, Healer, Redeemer, Sovereign King, Keeper of justice, worthy of judging, gracious and merciful, "other than", Father, our Comfort, our Hiding Place, our Resting Place, wise and honorable, always loving, never late. My we run to Him, our Solution, our Source, the Giver of freedom. He is always good. He is our only hope. He is YAHWEH!

May we always run to God and remind ourselves of who He is and always has been, especially in the midst of hardship, confusion, misunderstanding, and hopelessness. It is only through Him that we can be equipped to endure the weight of this world, being empowered by the knowledge of who He is and the hope that is for all to receive only through Him. Let us fix our eyes on Him who is the great I AM.

Time Flies

I simply can't believe how fast time flies. In fact, I've even become anxious about this fact of life. But is it that? Or do I have more control over this feeling that time is evading me; that I somehow almost float through each day and onto the next one?

Of course, there is so much to do. The realization hit me lately that I constantly have a list running through my head. This must be so that just in case I have a spare moment or canceled plan, I will know just what to do and I'll feel good about it (being productive and efficient)... Wow, that looks really bad when written down! What about rest for the mind? Guilt-free "doing nothing" time? Time to learn while reading a book, write a thank you note, or just process the day?

It's funny to me too that when I've shared this with others, they have felt the same way. And those who are older than I am tell me life only gets faster...(what!!?!!) It begs the question,
What are we really doing with the days we are given?
Don't get me wrong, there are numerous opportunities in my day to minister to someone I come across, whether it be my co-worker, friend, spouse, a stranger. There are those phone calls in perfect timing to pray for a friend, and walks around the lake in the summertime connecting with David that remind us of the beauty God made for us to enjoy. But there are also moments or seasons of monotonous labor, uninteresting conversations, and repetitive tasks...In all of this it seems that many of us miss the bigger picture of our lives. We get caught up in the details and to-do lists, and forget the reason we have and do life in the first place: to love Jesus and to love others.

There may be a constant battle in our lives over our time and how it is spent. We all long to live lives of purpose, to be remembered for something great, to have done life well. So do the puzzle pieces that are our days fit together to create this kind of bigger picture? This is a question I will ask myself more than once!

There must be a place of inner rest-a place of peace that nothing can touch; not the pace of life or our circumstances; not world hunger or a cloudy day.

I will count each day a gift. I will ask God to open my eyes. I will stop to "smell the roses". I will have words of thankfulness always on the tip of my tongue. I will spend time with my Father and find inner rest in His presence that goes with me each day!
Much Love,
Abby

A New Place to Call Home

Hello again!
Our break in blogging can be fully justified by the before and after pictures shown here! We present to you (the lower unit of) 848 Cook Ave:

For all pictures, go to:
http://picasaweb.google.com/abbyjeantheobald/848CookAve?feat=directlink

Our friends, Clark and Audra Field moved in last Saturday, February 28th! They and so many of you put hours of hard work and sweat into this place, so we want to say THANK YOU SO MUCH for your generosity! We realize how precious and valuable TIME is in life, and thank you for giving yours.
David and I had a lot of fun. It truly was a great opportunity for us to work together towards the same goal. We experienced excitement, stress, tiredness, sillyness, seriousness, and playfulness. But most of all, togetherness! We feel that this house is a gift from God to be used as a tool to bless others who enter its doors. We pray that God will open them to the right people always!

David and I desire to live in the upper unit of the duplex for awhile, and need to rent out the house we currently live in to do so. This supports our vision for living in community and we're excited about its financial implications too! Please help us spread the word, preferably to those whom you know...as always, thanks for "doing life with us"!

A Wonderful Gathering

What a month it has been in preparation for Feed My Starving Children's second annual Partner Conference, a gathering of all its mission partners to introduce them to each other and discuss new strategies that will result in more efficient operations, complementary relationships, and in the end, more children fed, in body and in spirit. The whole theme was "The Velocity of Hunger" and Psalm 70:5 which says, "Yet I am poor and needy; come quickly to me, O God. You are my help and my deliverer; O Lord, do not delay!"

Last year we hosted about 25 partners, and this year 75! We had partners fly into Florida from Swaziland, Haiti, El Salvador, and all over the United States. We had logistics partners and "our" nutrionist join us as well. What an amazing group of people to meet! You have to understand what a blessing it is to see them face-to-face, as I typically only get to talk to them on the phone or over email. Sometimes I had to stop and wonder, "How did I get to be a part of this?"

As I sit here in my hotel room trying to process all that has transpired, my first response is to sincerely thank the Lord for His presence with us, for proving faithful in connecting His body! For such a time and place is this that the Lord has brought us together to build each other up and encourage one another to do good works for the glory of the Lord.
Ephesians 4:1,16, "As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received... From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work."

It's easy to get discouraged some days when you think about how desperate our world is, in body and in spirit. But as I learn more and more to embrace all that comes with life-conflict, your "calling", challenges, burdens-I continually realize something that gives me purpose in doing what I'm doing here at this place and time: It is better to experience and live out the heart of God (and in doing so, better understand how much He loves all of us) than to live indifferently with no burden or angst for His children to know Him. "Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see." Hebrews 11:1 Praise God that He equips us to go into the world for the advancement of His Kingdom!

I guess I'm just thankful. It's difficult to articulate any other emotion at the moment. After sharing and collaborating with all our partners-even as an introvert-I have gained enormous energy and experienced overwhelming joy in seeing the body of Christ coming together. We're excited to move forward!
Thanks for processing this with me! :)
Much love,
Abby

A New Purchase

Here are a few random pics from our purchase this week.
We are excited to get going on it next week when Abby gets back from Florida.
From the exterior it looks very much like our current house.
The inside is radically different.
It is a up/down duplex.
The 50's looking kitchen is full-size on the main floor.
The white kitchen is the upstairs, needs some work.
It has a great front porch (as shown)

I hope you will all be able to see it "live" very soon.
We will love the opportunity to see you there...even if it is with a paint brush in your hand.
I guess work is sometimes a good excuse to get together!

We are looking for tenants for our current house...if you know of anybody...
We are excited to live in community with our friends Clark & Audra in the duplex as soon as it is ready!