Published (Sort Of)

What's the next best thing to getting published? Being the editor for someone who gets published!

I keep forgetting to tell you about a beautiful writer I know. Christin Taylor got an essay accepted by Relevant Magazine a few weeks ago--which matters to me because I had the privilege of helping her shape and tweak this piece before submitting it. Go check it out!

Zambia: A Country in Pain

Did You Know? ...

~Zambia has the highest rate of poverty in Africa

~With the population of 10 million, 80% live on less than $1.00 a day

~Almost half of Zambia's children are so malnourished that their growth has been stunted

~50% of girls are NOT in school

~75% of young people will never get beyond the seventh grade

~One in five Zambians is infected with HIV and will likely die

~The majority of those who die as a result of HIV/AIDS leave behind children who are also infected

~Average life expectancy has dropped to just 33 years

~Over 1.2 million children are orphans; that is 23% of all Zambia's children, which makes Zambia the nation with the highest number of orphans (Source: childreneverywhere.org)

~In rural Zambia, very few girls start school before the age of ten. By age 15, they are considered adults, which means they assume the responsibilities of marriage, child-rearing, and tending to crops (Source: Zambian Tourism Board)

These are the heartbreaking facts we learned at GEMS last night. But God has opened doors for GEMS to bring change and hope to young girls in the beautiful but hurting country of Zambia. The organization is now working to construct a home for orphans, train counselors to mentor young girls, and provide tuition assistance so girls can attend school.

Our girls are being encouraged through their monthly magazine to take action. September's action plan involves two simple but important steps: First, we prayed for the girls in Zambia. We may not be able to do much--but God can do great things in Zambia. And second, we committed to telling at least one person about what is happening in Zambia. I'm only one person--but if I shrug this off and expect someone else to help, nothing will change. If every girl in GEMS (15,000 nationally) tells one other person, we have 30,000 voices praying for Africa--and we have just increased awareness about a dire situation.

I'm not sure where else this campaign will take us, but I'm excited to think more globally as a Christian and help the girls to have compassion and reach out to people in need. I told the girls I'd write about Zambia on my website (I'm not sure they know what a blog is :) ...so now YOU know. Won't you stop right now and at least one time, bring the girls of Zambia before our sovereign and powerful God's throne? Pray that they'll have the opportunity to meet the Savior. Pray that their physical needs will be met. Pray that they'll connect with an adult who can help them and love them.

More information on GEMS in Africa can be found here.

(Information taken from SHINE brightly magazine, a publication of GEMS Girls Clubs)

Thankful Thursday, Take 3

This week, I'm thanking God for...

• my precious GEMS girls! I am loving the time spent with them each Wednesday night!
• a husband who complements me in so many ways. I am amazed at how our two brains/hearts together are better than either individually. He helps me think more clearly about things and arrive at conclusions I never would have reached on my own!
• our new dog and his calm, gentle personality (he is a beagle--but he doesn't bark. ever. when we go for walks and pass obnoxious, fenced-in dogs, he ambles by completely ignoring them as they go crazy. I love it.)
• hot showers
• the beauty of color and the ability to see it
• Steve's ability to fix the static on our phone line so we didn't have to pay over $100 to have someone from BellSouth come and do it
• the memory God has given me which makes it easier for me to hide His Word in my heart
• Derek Webb's new CD, available for download FREE (more blogging on that to come)
• the fact that my Heavenly Father's faithful love ENDURES FOREVER. He says that 41 times in the Bible--do you think He wants us to get it? Praise Him for such a wonderful promise!

How about you? What are you thankful for?

Big Mike

This is so much more than just a feel-good sports story. It's a powerfully compelling tale of a hopeless life turned around. The NY Times profile of Michael Oher* will grab your heart and also probably make you laugh out loud. It's long, but a fabulous, worthwhile read.

*If you don't feel like registering on the NY Times site, just hit up bugmenot.com for a username and password to use!

(HT: Between Two Worlds)

A Sign, A Lie

I will admit, there was a day when I thought church signs were clever. It was a long time ago.

Mostly I find them obnoxious and even embarrassing. What I want to know is, what's going through the mind of the person who sticks those little letters up every week? Do they honestly believe that some non-Christian is going to drive by and see the marquee proclaiming, "Our Sundays Are Better Than Dairy Queen!" and think, "Wow--what a cool church! I should visit there this weekend!"?????? The lame-ness of these signs is sometimes stupefying. One down the road from our house currently reads, "The Best Vitamin For a Christian: B1." How brilliantly profound.

But today I saw a church sign that didn't make me roll my eyes or shake my head in bafflement. It made me angry and sad:

"A lot of time kneeling puts you in good standing."

Did anyone give any amount of thought to what that sign is proclaiming? Worse, do they really believe that a certain number of hours spent in prayer will improve your standing before God? Do they truly think He ranks you on a checklist and His approval of you rises and falls based on the minutes you clocked or didn't clock in prayer today?

So many Christians believe the lie that although we couldn't earn our salvation, we can earn our day-to-day standing before God once we're saved. Their hope of being accepted by God or receiving His favor rests on their performance. What a false and pathetic hope! This is a lie I believed for far too long. My performance will never be good enough! I can't earn God's favor any more today than I could on the day He set me free from sin. And the good news is, I don't have to. Jesus' perfectly obedient life and substitutionary death bought that favor and acceptance for me completely. Nothing I do can add to what He accomplished--to suggest otherwise is a slap in His face as He hangs on the cross.

A favorite quote of mine bears repeating here:

“There is nothing in us or done by us, at any stage of our earthly development, because of which we are acceptable to God. We must always be accepted for Christ’s sake, or we cannot be accepted at all. This is not true of only when we believe. It is just as true after we have believed. It will continue to be true as long as we live…It is always on His ‘blood and righteousness’ alone that we can rest.” --B.B. Warfield

Meet Our New Addition!

How could we resist that face?

The fact is, we couldn't! So this morning, we went and adopted Hank (a beagle/hound mix) from a local shelter. He's somewhere around 6-8 years old, and his owner surrendered him last spring when our area got hit really badly by tornadoes. I think maybe his home was destroyed/damaged enough that the owner couldn't keep him. So he's been at the shelter for several months, because most people would rather adopt a puppy than an older dog.

Everyone at the shelter has kept raving about what a wonderful dog he is--very calm and gentle. We haven't seen much of his personality yet because he's being shy and tentative--but we understand that it will take a while for him to realize that this is his home and we can be trusted. I can only imagine what he's been through and how uncertain/scared he might feel! As I type, he's finally napping in his crate--and we're hoping the storms that are headed our way won't end up to be too severe, because he's afraid of storms. Understandable, given that a storm caused him to lose his home.

I'll try to post more pictures soon (the one above is the one that the shelter posted on Petfinder--which is how we found him). He's really a beautiful dog--and we couldn't believe what a difference a bath made. He got all cleaned up before coming home with us today and looked a thousand percent better than when we first met him! I'm so excited to finally have a dog.

Why Isn't the Cross at the Heart of our Music?

Bob Kauflin writes today about why the cross has moved away from, but must be brought back to, the center of our worship music. He includes a top ten list that's worth pondering--go check it out. Then, if you're hungry for rich, cross-centered music that exalts the gospel as the main thing, consider buying two of my favorite CDs:

Songs for the Cross Centered Life
Worship God Live

Praise God for Fleas?

When we make these "Thankful Thursday" lists, often the first things that come to mind are circumstances-related. We're thankful for relationships, material blessings, little luxuries, etc. But Scripture calls us to "give thanks in ALL circumstances" (1 Thessalonians 5:18, emphasis added). How can we cultivate attitudes of gratitude when our circumstances stink--when we're lonely or our relationships are on the rocks? When our luxuries are stripped away? When we're so poor we don't even have the things we would consider "needs" and not "luxuries"?

This week at GEMS, that's what we talked about. We read a story about Corrie ten Boom with the above title: "Praise God for Fleas?" It's an inspiring example of thankfulness in awful circumstances.

Corrie and her sister, Betsie, were taken to a concentration camp in Europe because their family was caught hiding and helping Dutch Jews during WWII. The conditions at the camp were, of course, appalling. They shared a straw bed with nine other women; the work was backbreaking; the guards abused the prisoners. To add insult to injury, their sleeping quarters were plagued by fleas. Who wouldn't complain in that situation? How could they possibly give thanks?

During their imprisonment, Corrie and Betsie read a hidden Bible and were able to share with other women about Jesus. If they had been discovered with a Bible, it surely would have been confiscated and they would have been tortured; the guards treated the women horribly to begin with. Yet the guards stayed away from their barracks. Why? They were repelled by the fleas.

When she learned this, Corrie was able to say honestly, "Praise God for the fleas."

What about us? Will we choose to see what we can be thankful for in the midst of dire circumstances? We have the same Spirit who raised Jesus from the dead, living IN us (Romans 8:11). We face NO condemnation because we are united with Christ Jesus (Romans 8:1). We serve the God who is sovereign and good and wise, who will never leave us or forsake us, who does not change. And He not only does He promise to use all things for our good--He promises that as bad as these circumstances are, they are NOT EVEN WORTH COMPARING with the glory that awaits us in heaven (Romans 8:18,28).

Though our circumstances may seem devastating, can we--will we--trust God enough to praise Him and thank Him in between scratching flea bites?

Labor Day Vacation (Continued)

*note: I have tried and tried to break up this long post with fun pictures...but Blogger is stupid. If I wait to post this until I can post pictures, it may be 2008, so here it is with boring text-only. You can check out all the pics from the trip on my Flickr account.

Finally, two weeks later, I'm posting about the second half of our trip. Lack of posting in no way indicates the quality of the trip--we had such a blast! After we left New York, we drove down to Harpers Ferry, West Virginia, to spend some time with friends of mine from college--Maria and Nate Lail. We hadn't seen them since their wedding last July--so it was wonderful to catch up! As an added bonus, we also got to see IWU chorale pal Josh Morton (who hasn't blogged for months, but may be making a comeback). Nate and Maria gave us a tour of the KOA Nate manages (you should go visit them--it's a beautiful area) and then took us into Washington, D.C., on Tuesday after Labor Day.

We spent a good part of the afternoon at the National Cathedral. I remembered it being one of my favorite things when my family visited DC in the early 1990s, and none of the others had ever been. I found out online about their "behind the scenes" tour, and we sprung for tickets--we were so glad we did! This older gentleman named Alan, who was quite a character, had a set of keys that got us into all the "off-limits" places--so we got to see all sorts of things that the general public doesn't get to see. We were dumbfounded at the conference rooms on upper stories--felt like you were in a hotel or something, not in a cathedral! We also got to walk around in the "attic" of sorts and venture out onto the gutter for up-close views of the tower and gargoyles. Then we walked across the balcony right under the big rose window--a great view of the inside of the cathedral--and got closer looks at the stained glass windows. Just beautiful.

By the time we finished there, the museums weren't open much longer, so we buzzed through the Air and Space museum quick, then headed to (where else?) Qdoba for dinner. Actually that was Nate and Maria's idea, not ours! They are friends after our own heart :) In between waaaay too many bites of burrito, we squeezed in great conversation about marriage and life.

After dinner we headed to the National Mall--I wanted to see the World War II memorial and it was also neat to see the other memorials at night. (Nate tried to set the timer on his camera to snap a photo of all four of us at the Tidal Basin but it didn't turn out so well.)

It was a long, full day of seeing my second-favorite city (I've only been to DC a couple of times, but I would love to explore it more--I just love cities) and spending QT with good friends. I thoroughly enjoyed getting to know Nate better (we were in chorale together, but he was more "Maria's boyfriend" than "my friend")--and Maria is one of my dearest friends, so time with her is always a blessing. A perfect way to break up the long drive back from New York. We left wishing the Lails didn't live so very far away!

The Wonders of YouTube

On days like today, I am astounded by the wonders of YouTube. You won't believe what I just ran across...

Step by Step

Admit it, you had the tapes. You had the lunch box. You had the poster of Jordan or Danny or Joe or Donnie or Jonathan (my personal favorite) on your bedroom wall (ok, how sad is it that I just effortlessly rattled off all those names?). So go watch the video and laugh your head off at a blast from the past.

The clothes. The hair. The dance moves. I am dumbfounded.

Wow. Just wow.

Thankful Thursday, Take 2

On this Thankful Thursday, I'm praising God for...

• the coffeehouse just a few blocks from our house. I can't believe I've lived here for over a year and I just now discovered this place!
• a husband who is patient and gentle even when he doesn't understand why I am in a funk
• the Hummel family's newest additions--and the fact that I am in touch with these old IWU chorale friends again thanks to blogs
• sweater-and-flip-flops weather
• getting our new basement door for 40% of the retail price--which will make up for the latest Lowe's drama and the extreme delay in getting it (and almost makes up for the fact that our house smells like old, musty basement because there's been no door for a month and a half, and won't be one for another few weeks)
• heat and air conditioning
• a full refrigerator
• great sermons available for free online
• cute kids at church who have warmed up to me
• anticipating a fun ladies' get-together at a friend's house tomorrow night

What are you thankful for?

Miscellaneous In My Head

A month and a half after we moved, I finally sent out an email with our new address. If you didn't get it, but want it/need it, shoot me an email and I'll fill you in.

I hate the feeling of getting back into working out after you haven't worked out for months. All my muscles are sore today, and all I did was half an hour of yoga. Why do I ever stop working out in the first place? I am trying to get motivated to go work out again today.

I guess I need to be diligent about checking online to see what our cell phone usage is. I never think about it because normally our daytime minutes are far under what our plan includes. But today it crossed my mind and I discovered we've used over 100 minutes extra this month. Ouch. Not good. No idea how that happened.

We are looking for a dog right now--checking out local shelters. Have met two that we liked, but not sure what to do. I feel sort of the way I felt about finding a wedding dress: I tried on several that I liked a lot, but I didn't want to wear a dress I liked. I wanted to wear a dress that made me go, "YES! This is it--I feel beautiful, this is my wedding dress!" Not that I want to find a dog that makes me feel beautiful...but that I want to find a dog that makes me say, "This is our dog! I love this one!" rather than, "yeah, this dog is nice...I like him." Steve said, "How many dresses did you try on again?" I said, "at least fifty." He said, "Let's not visit fifty dogs." Agreed.

It is almost one o'clock and I am still in my pajamas. Not because I slept in (I was up at 6:30, thank you very much) but because I wasted a whole lot of time this morning --> haven't worked out yet --> don't want to shower until I work out. It has not been a good day.

My stomach is growling and I need to go eat some lunch.

Free Blog Redesign Contest

Want a new look for your blog? Bluebird Blogs is running a contest...two lucky people will get a custom-designed template for free! I'm all about free stuff :) Visit the link for details.

(Thanks to Faith for the heads-up on this.)

"Be Inspired by the Strongest Dad in the World"

I've said before that I'm all about feel-good sports stories. And the story of father-son team Dick and Rick Hoyt is by far one of the best:

This year, at ages 65 and 43, Dick and Rick finished their 24th Boston Marathon, in 5,083rd place out of more than 20,000 starters. Their best time? Two hours, 40 minutes in 1992--only 35 minutes off the world record, which, in case you don't keep track of these things, happens to be held by a guy who was not pushing another man in a wheelchair at the time.

Maria's got the full article (written by Rick Reilly for Sports Illustrated) at her place. Check it out, then watch the video here (and see if it doesn't make you cry).

The One Where I Brag On My Husband

(Disclaimer: If you are one of those people who wants to barf when I gush about Steve, don't read this post. But I figure, hey, it's my blog, and if you can't brag on your husband on your blog, where CAN you?)

Steve's boss called him into his office today. They wanted to promote him to Mechanical Engineer II (the second level--he's on the first level now). But upper management wouldn't allow it. Why? Because you have to have three years of experience to be promoted to Engineer II, and my brilliant husband has only been there 14 months! So they gave him a raise at least, since they couldn't do the promotion yet. I am SO proud of him!