say My Name

We all get a name.  Our parents either get a cool book with a 1,000 meaningful names and pick out the most fitting one, or they take the easy way out and give you grandma’s or grandpa’s family name (which is likely to haunt your elementary years).  It’s something that we all have in common- it’s the thing that identifies us our whole lives.

Whether you know it or not your name means something.  At some point the person that came up with your name gave it a meaning.  In the scriptures your name meant everything. It often told of your profession, your personality,  your lot in life, it let people know whether you were gonna be something or whether you were destined to fail.

“Hey my names Peter, THE ROCK.” 

So that would be sweet.

“Hey my names Job, PERSECUTED.”

Ouch.  Stinks for you bro.

I’m not going to look up what Katie means.  We all know what our identities use to be in. It doesn’t matter what Google tells you.

“Hi my name is Katie, SELF DOUBT, IMPRISONED, SELFISH, DISHONEST, PLANNER, ASHAMED.”

That used to be my name.  That’s the name I built for myself and I thought I was stuck with it.  God loves to change names and identities.  He does it over and over in the scriptures.  Before the followers know it they can’t even remember what their names were before.  Once you get a name that means “Rock” or “Praise” or “Fire” you don’t care about trying to remember.

Our boys use to have names like Lost, Angry, Dead, Stupid, Unwanted. 

Their names are changing.  They are taking the form of Alive, Praise, Healed, New, Steadfast, Righteous, and Cherished…

One day it will be difficult for them to remember their old names.  Praise God- the Creator of all things new.  New names, new paths, new destiny.

It’s certainly not an easy process.  You may have to wrestle, walk through a dry place, and fight for this new name.  The more my name changes to fit His the more tears, heartache, and pain I will certainly face.  As the boys’ form to Him there will be more fits, bouts of anger or doubt, maybe even running. 

“Therefore, I will now allure her, and bring her into the wilderness, and speak tenderly to her.  From there I will give her he vineyards, and make the Valley of Achor a DOOR OF HOPE.  There she shall respond as in the days of her youth, as at the time when she came out of the land of Egypt.  On that day, says the LORD, you will call me, “My husband,” and no longer will you call me, “My Baal.”  For I will remove the names of the Baals from her mouth and they shall be mentioned by name no more.” Hosea 2:14-17

After reading those verses I hear God saying- “You get your name wrong from not calling on my real name, stop running to the idols that confuse you, cripple you, and mess with your precious name.  Only I can show you who you were always meant to be.”

We will search our whole lives for our real name and fail miserably unless we simply ask for Jesus to lead us into the desert for a new name.  A desert is not the ideal vacation spot; they are massive, hot, and dry.  But there is another side to all deserts and once you reach the other side you won’t remember who you were when you began the journey. 

Our house has made it to the other side of a desert and by his deep, unending grace our names are all changing together.  There are days of deserts still and there will always be.  With every journey we get closer to our real home.  I am thankful for this family of brothers, sisters, sons, daughters, and best friends.  We get to travel together, cry together, praise together, fight together, and laugh together. 

Don’t be deceived to think you are stuck with your name.  God has something more real, and beautiful.  He is waiting to re-name us all the time.  He will do it; we need only ask and follow where He leads. 

Make us new and dangerous for the Kingdom that beckons us by our New Name.  When it hurts, becomes more difficult then what we can take, help us to keep walking and fighting-TRUSTING you are making us new and whole.

“Let anyone who has an ear listen to what the Spirit is saying to the churches.  To everyone who conquers I will give a white stone, and on the white stone is written a new name that no one knows except the one who receives it.” Rev 2:17

My Kony Dance

I’ve kind of been dancing around all the debate that I have been seeing on Facebook about Invisible Children’s Kony Campaign, not really wanting to put my ‘political’ views or position out there. I actually really never tell people where I stand politically (if I stand anywhere) or what my position is. I’ve been quiet about the Kony campaign, because the issue is a little closer to home for me than some people. Of course, I am going to be passionate about capturing a man when I have walked in his path of destruction. 

I have walked where Kony walked. 

I have met men who are still injured from fighting off the LRA and protecting their families. 

I have seen the hospital where thousands of children crowded in every night so that they would be safe from an army that wanted them to murder their families. 

I have met children who walked that path to safety every night. 

I have heard the hush that quickly comes into a conversation when you mention Kony’s name in that town. 

I have seen the fear. 

I have friends who have lost brothers, mothers, fathers, and sisters to the LRA. 

I have friends whose parents have gone crazy after watching the LRA murder their families. 

I have friends who ran away from the LRA after being captured. 

But in downtown Richmond..

I also have friends who struggle to get food everyday.

I have friends who stand on street corners and beg for money. 

I have friends that have been taken from the streets of Richmond and sex trafficked. 

Injustice is everywhere. So friends, as I see argument after argument about America having enough problems of it’s own to help Uganda - I get frustrated. I’m not saying that every person that hears Joseph Kony’s name should put down everything they have, fight for Uganda’s children, move to Uganda and totally forget about every other injustice they have seen. Do I believe that God calls people to where they need to be to fight injustice for the kingdom of light that is overtaking the darkness on this earth? yes. 

If you are wanting me to say YES support Kony, NO don’t support Kony, or get any sort of clear political view out of me, you are probably going to be sorely disappointed. 

Back in the old days when I used to play basketball, I didn’t want to JUST beat the point guard. I didn’t want to JUST beat the shooting guard, or just beat the power forward, or just beat the center. I wanted to beat the whole team. It wasn’t a WIN unless my team had beaten the other team, not just one of them. 

I’m on the winning team. I know that Christ wins. I know that He overcomes every injustice. I know that nothing is too big or too little for Him to redeem. 

Injustice is one enemy. 

So what is my view? 

My view is that as brothers and sisters all fighting against the same team - whether that is in Richmond or Gulu - we should not be turning against each other. Not trying to prove that the injustice I am fighting against is better than the one that you are fighting against, for two main reasons...

1. You are putting yourself on a pedestal if you think you’re work for the kingdom is more important than someone else’s
2. You are insulting the compassion that the Lord has for EVERY one of His children, no matter what the injustice they are suffering from is. 

My view is that we shouldn’t limit the Lord. We shouldn’t think that He can only heal one injustice at a time. We shouldn’t think that He can’t be redeeming America’s homeless population at the same time as Uganda’s invisible children. If you are complaining that America has enough problems of it’s own, yeah it does. The cool thing about my God is that HE IS BIG. Too big to limit to working in one place at one time. 

My view is that I have seen Invisible Children do amazing things in this country. I commend the work that they are doing. If you choose to support them, support them. If you don’t choose to support them, don’t. If you choose to support another organization that works in the same manner, do it. But don’t try to take out your own team member by saying that the work that they are doing is for themselves. And do NOT insult the Lord by the work that He is doing through that organization or try to hinder it - because even if you do, that’s sin for your heart to carry, and He wins no matter what you try to do. 

One selfish team member can ruin a whole game of basketball. They want to score all the points and hear their name the most across the loud speaker. Their teammates get frustrated and annoyed and the team can fall apart.

 I have seen many teams that were better than their opponents, lose. They lose because the battle within their own team becomes greater than the battle against their opponents. 

God doesn’t create many armies to fight evil. One army. One enemy. 

Come Near.

“But a Samaritan while traveling came near him; and when he saw him, he was moved with pity.” Luke 10:33

Mal, do you think we have the money?  What will we say??? Will everyone stare?  Do I have the time?  What will they think?

These are just a few of the questions we often ask ourselves when presented with a problem or situation.  We pass these things every day don’t we?  That single mom, that elderly man, that lonely girl, that homeless boy, that sick woman, that hateful business man, that grumpy waitress… I don’t know who your injured or broken person is.

I know that some of those situations were for me- “Where are we going to live?”  Now we have a house.  “How will we pay for that surgery?”  He had his surgery yesterday. “Will we have the money to buy food this month?” We have three meals a day.  “What will we say when we go sit next to this homeless woman?” Her name is Annette, we are hanging out on Monday.  God always graciously provides.

I have asked the above questions more than I am willing to share.  But every time we fumble or tiptoe down this path God is leading us on, we get somewhere.  Sometimes we get to the other side, where a miracle happens and the “problem” is solved.  Sometimes we get to a bigger, more daunting situation.  The point is God is in the middle of each result.

The Good Samaritan isn’t “good” because he had a perfect plan, with just the right budget, all the necessary things in order before he helped the broken man.  His first act, the most important in my eyes was he just came near.  That was the make or break.  We have a choice to walk on the other side, because then we will never have to see that broken person.  It’s easier isn’t it?  Because if we don’t come near, we won’t really see, and if we don’t see, we don’t have to move.  We can just keep on walking.

I like to give the right answers just like the lawyer who stood up and prompted Jesus to tell about the Samaritan man coming near to the brokenness.  I don’t always like to “go and do likewise.”

 

I feel led to challenge myself, my family, and my friends today.  Why are we so scared?  Really though, ask yourself?  Why? Who’s my God?  We can give the right answers our whole life, but that’s not what Jesus is really asking us is it?  He is asking us to come near to the broken so we can see Him and be MOVED.  My hope is that there is a picture in your mind right now.  Who is that injured person?  It’s pretty likely they aren’t easy to help.  It’s likely it will take time, or money, most definitely sacrifice.  It’s extremely likely for people to judge and stare. 

I need to stop asking the “what if” questions.  I pray wherever you are today, whatever your profession, whatever you passion is that you will draw near.  That you will really SEE- That you will be moved to MOVE. 

Come near.  See.  Move.

“You have given the right answer; do this, and you will live.” Luke 10:28

Today was cool

For the past couple months I feel like parts of me have been alive, but not all together. My eyes were seeing God for awhile. My ears were hearing God for awhile. My heart was feeling God for awhile. My feet were following God for awhile. 

I just didn’t feel like I could get a day where ALL of me was awake in the Lord. 

Until today. 

Today I packed up my backpack with paper, needles, and glue and headed to the streets of Kampala with Katie. There was a specific place I had in mind. We headed to one of the richest places in Uganda, the place where you see the most mzungus, and can get a really good cheeseburger. 

There’s a lady I see when I pass through that area, usually she sits there begging with her 2 children. Today only one of them was with her. When we walked up to her, Katie and I plopped down in the dirt right next to her. My luganda isn’t that great yet, but I struggled to get across that I wanted to teach her to make paper beads and then buy the beads from her. 

Sitting in one of the busiest intersections in the area, in the mud. Boda men started stopping and staring, people started collecting, and finally out of nowhere a man squatted down and started translating for us. 

I made three friends today...Annette, Sharon, and George. George explained to Annette what we wanted to do, and Annette suggested that we walk somewhere where we won’t cause such a commotion (this friend has legs...in reference to my blog yesterday). Katie, Annette, Sharon (Annette’s child), George and I went across the road and sat in a trash heap...as Katie and I taught Annette how to make paper beads. 

We talked about her family. 

We talked about where she sleeps.

We talked about Jesus.

We talked about how much we were going to pay her and when we were going to meet her again.

We talked about how we want to keep meeting with her and have her keep helping us make beads. 

After about an hour, she looked at us, and said (through George) “Can we go? I don’t need to sit here and beg now that I’m employed.” 

At 7,000 shillings a week, approximately $3, Annette considers herself employed. 

At 7,000 shillings a week, Annette no longer has to beg on the streets with her children. 

Walking away, I thought about how quickly God can change somebodies world. 

From begging to make enough food to eat for the day, to being employed. 

From being a street kid for 6 years with no hope, to telling people that God is on your side and He is fighting for you.

From an 8 year old who has HIV, whose biggest prayer request is for his nose to grow smaller because it’s too big. 

From a 22 year old girl who chased after a homeless lady with no legs yesterday and lost, and then sat with Jesus, Annette, George, Sharon, and Katie in a trash heap today.