Vinegar in the Eye

A while ago I went to dinner with a friend late at night after an event.  We had a good time chatting and laughing.  I had ordered a salad and she was munching on her food.  All of the sudden, a drop of raspberry vinaigrette dressing lodged itself into my eye and proceeded to cause great burning.  After a moment of realizing it wasn't just on my eye lid, but actually in my eye socket, and the burning was not getting any less, I made my way to the bathroom where I did my best to flush my eye with water.  I finally got enough of it out to where I was able to open my eye and not have it hurt.  

I finished my dinner that night with red eyes and all my makeup washed off.  (I care less about the makeup than the fact it looked like I had just been crying for three hours...)  We laughed about the situation and went on our way.  

But today I was remembering this instance.  I was remembering the burn of something foreign being lodged into my eye, and the thought alone made me tear up again.  The burn of that one instance is engraved in my mind, similar to the thought of the first time you may have put your hand on something hot.  Those moments keep us from doing the same thing again, they help us to have a healthy fear of the object in its active state.  It doesn't mean raspberry vinaigrette dressing is bad, nor does it mean a curling iron or a pot of coffee is bad.  But when these things are not being applied in the manner they were intended, they cause reactions that are not intended either.

Just as remembering the salad dressing instance causes my eye to tear up, so I want the remembrance of sin in my life to still affect me.  When I do something that causes that burn in my heart, I want to be scarred to the point where I don't forget that it is a bad thing.  It doesn't mean I have to be scarred to grow in spiritual maturity, it just means that whenever those things do happen, I'm able to grow from them and not be stunted by them.

Normally, I would be scarred and handicapped.  This is what Evil has intended.  But God is all about redemption and it is times like these that He uses what has been ruined inside of us as soil for the new things He has for us.  He tills it up, He works His love through it like fertilizer, and He plants new hope, new life, new blessings where we have been burned.  

This is the work of God with Jesus.  Jesus became our redemption ticket.  We can now have eternal life because of what Jesus did - because of what He lived for and what He died for.  And even vinegar in my eye can become something useful in the hands of a redemptive God.

What things in your life have been so painful that the thought of them still causes you to shiver or cringe?  If you choose to leave these things in the hands of God, in what ways can you see Him using them for good?

The Weak, the Fatherless, the Poor, and the Oppressed.... and My Response

Defend the weak and the fatherless; uphold the cause of the poor and the oppressed. (Psalm 82:3)

The Team and I in Moldova, October 2010, working with Phillip and Chrissie Cameron at Stella's Voice

Tonight, some of my friends and I discussed the account of Israel in Judges 19.  It's a tough story.  It's the sin of the movie "Taken" in Bible times.  It's vulgar, painful, brutal, and ugly.  It's a modern day horror story.  

I have read it before, but life's twists and turns have given me a totally different perspective.  A big supporter and promoter of anti-trafficking movements and causes, I read the account last night and asked God: "What did this woman do to deserve that treatment?"

The answer? Nothing.  She didn't deserve the treatment at all.  

Then why?  I want to ask God this question.  OK, I did ask God that question.  "Why did You allow her to be used and abused like that?"  

My friend Phillip Cameron feels the same way about the ugliness of trafficking.  When telling his account of a girl named Stella (read the full account here), he says "I just can’t come to terms with the callousness and systemic wickedness that permitted such an awful thing to happen to anyone..."

I don't have the answer to this "why" question whether it is regarding this unnamed concubine, a girl in Moldova named Stella, or any other people that are currently being used and abused in hell holes all around the world.  All I have is anger for the act.  All I can do is pray for protection for those who are not protected, mourn for the hurting,  and beg God, in His mercy, to shut down the evil hand that compels those acts.  

My meeting was difficult tonight, because I came away with another perspective, but my heart still hurts.  My throat was still swollen with choked-back tears as I read the story with my friends again and thought of the people I've heard first-hand stories of in Moldova, in Florida, and in Ecuador, all on the brink of death after similar encounters with this evil.  

I can be positive every day and search for good in everything, but there is no denying the fact that evil exists in this world in very real ways to people I see every day.  Don't mistake my search for joy in life with my realization that this pain is a very, very, real thing to many, and it is not fair.  

So I have a choice.  Where do I go from here?  What do I do with this burden?  Well, I tell you about it.  I make you aware of this hidden, yet common, brutality, and that there is no excuse for the behavior.  I continue supporting and promoting movements, causes, and organizations that fight trafficking (see some links below).  And I look for every opportunity I have to stand up for the weak and wounded, while trusting in the power of God to apply justice where justice is due.

And until heaven, I do what I can to see others find freedom that, truly, cannot be found except by a miracle of an All-Powerful God.  

Please, PLEASE, help fight the cause of the weak, the fatherless, the poor, and the oppressed of our generation.  

Useful Sites:

Humantrafficking.org

Kaleo Kids and Dunamis

New Hope Trust

One Way Out Ministries

Southwest Florida Human Trafficking Coalition

Stella's Voice

US Department of State Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons (TIP)

(Thanks to Pastor Phillip Gonzales for his insight on the story in Judges...)

Abortion, the Holocaust, and Salvation

Isaiah 1:18
Come now, let us reason together....

I'm not a fan of trickery or fooling people.  I'm very passionate about people knowing Christ and committing their lives to Him, but no change comes from deception.  This is why I so appreciate Ray Comfort's approach with people.  Give him a chance - he may come off as pushy at first, but you will see towards the end that he was only provoking conversation.  There's no commitment card signed by people in this video, only thought-provoking conversations that encourage people to make an informed decision in their own time.

I also appreciate his down-to-earth approach at the fact that we are all sinners - none of us are perfect, none of us are worthy of God's favor.  But we have a "parachute", we have a "bridge", we have a "lifeline", and that is Jesus Christ.

I encourage you to watch this video if you have not.  What are your thoughts?

The Distraction Factor

The Distraction Factor

 

I find myself in that place of confusion sometimes – that place where I’m not really sure what to think.  That’s when - once again - I’m reminded of my desperate need to cling to nothing but God.  To trust in nothing but Him, but to fully trust in Him, is a daily readjustment process that I must go through.  

It is so easy for me to be distracted by circumstances, events, even people, in my life – good people!  So often I’m faced with the reality that I’ve put my hope in something or someone – someone good – but not God. 

So my prayer in these times is as follows: 

Lord, forgive me for putting anything, or anyone, before You.  Your love and purpose is what I want to be consumed by.  Thank You for taking things out of my life that do not suit your purposes for me!  Help me to be increasingly more grateful for those things You withhold along with the things that You bless me with abundantly.  You are good, and Your plans are for Your good purpose!  That’s all I need to remember.

If you’ve ever found yourself in this place, know you’re not the only one.  I’m confident that God’s love doesn’t change for me – or for you – despite our lack of focus at times.  God is all about redemption (note: JESUS CHRIST!), and when we go to Him with humble hearts, ready to change in His strength, He is always ready to redeem.  Remember this with me today.

Psalm 86:12 I will praise you, Lord my God, with all my heart; I will glorify your name forever.

Giving time to Anger

Ephesians 4:26 (MSG)

Go ahead and be angry.  You do well to be angry-but don’t use your anger as a fuel for revenge.  And don’t stay angry.  Don’t go to bed angry.  Don’t give the Devil that kind of foothold in your life.

I was talking with a new friend today.  A very positive person, I wondered how they would answer the question:  what makes you angry?

It’s easy for me to assume something makes everyone angry.  And perhaps that’s still true, but my friend’s response got me to thinking about what I possibly waste on anger.  

Let me explain – 

Anger should always only be temporary.  The Bible talks about letting go of the anger because if we do not, the Devil will have a place in our life to step in and control us like a puppeteer.  

So my challenge to myself is this: don’t go to bed angry.  Also, never give anger more than a moment’s thought during the times that it does come around.  

Every moment angry is a moment for the Devil to move closer to me, and that’s the last thing I want. No dancing with the Devil for me, sir.  No thanks!

And what do I waste?  I waste time to praise and thank God.  It seems like only moments now, but when I get to heaven one day, I don’t want to have wasted a single moment on anger when I could have invested it in my Lover, my King, my Savior.

Anger Management Class...

Does the bush know your name?

There are several reasons why I love my pastor, Pastor Dan Betzer, and one of them is because he is such a good speaker.  Granted, he's had years of practice, but still, he's just really good.  Let's leave it at that.

A comment he made during a sermon recently was "Does the bush know your name?"  Sounds silly, but he was referring to when God spoke to Moses through a burning bush.  (You know the bush that was "burning" but wasn't actually on fire?  God is so creative...)

And so I ask myself, does the bush know my name?  Has the bush been talking to me and I haven't recognized that it is calling my name?

Don't get lost in the imagery here.  All it means is this: what might God be calling you (me) to do?  He spoke to Moses through a burning bush.  He's spoken through a donkey before too.  He will use whatever means necessary to speak to us, but are we listening?

Moses led a nation out of slavery.  It was worth listening to that bush for him.  What about for me?

What about for you?

Cool Burning Bush

If this letter is for you, you will know it...

Dear Friend,

I heard you had a rough day today.  Yeah, I know, rough is putting it lightly.

When I heard about it, you know what I felt?  Ache.  My heart ached for you.  I hurt for you.

Because I know that kind of day.

The tightness in my breathing brings back memories of heaving sobs, of sleepless nights, of ache, ache, ache.  Of wondering when the pain is going to end.  Of hoping against all hope for.... hope.

Most people don't quite understand that ache, though.  Most people don't deal with that ache.  Thank God they don't have to.  Most people haven't held the weight we've held.  Most people don't know or haven't been to that place.  And that's ok.  It's only hard when they judge as if they have.  But I know.

And no, it doesn't seem right for us to carry that ache.  But we have.  We know God, we know salvation, we know heaven, we know grace, we know healing, we know mercy.  And boy do we know pain.  We just know.  We don't like to talk about it much, it's not the most savory of conversations, of course.  But it's very real.

And my solution is this: I have no solution.  I have no remedy for that pain.  For some reason we deal or have dealt with it when others never scratch the surface of it.  Jesus alone helps us through.  Not friends, not blogs, not medicine.  But when we make it through - it is solely by the grace of God through whatever means He uses.  And we know that.

So why am I writing you this letter?  Just to tell you this: you're really not alone in this understanding.  I know.  So we know together.  Whether we like it or not, we know.  But we are not alone.

I hope you will hold on to this realization, and hold on until you find that sunny, breezy, beautiful place of no pain - of something lovely. And I hope in that moment that you will say, "holding on was worth it - for this."

With hugs of love,

Crystal

Friction

I got burned a few weeks ago.  It was a pretty bad burn.  Who knew a heating pad could do that much damage?  I did.  But I wasn't really paying attention to anything but how good my muscles felt.  When the blister showed up the next morning, I was a bit surprised, because I didn't remember the heat getting that "hot". 

The burn is still healing. I learned a little about burn treatments, though.  Did you know that it's not good to layer them with things like triple-antibiotic, or other ointments?  My research told me that these ointments can actually cause infection.  Instead, for my burn, I learned to keep it dry, try to keep it clean, and just put cotton bandages over the burn.  Of course, I'm no doctor, and you shouldn't take this as any advice of such. 

What I'm realizing is that even after the healing, the burn is going to leave a big mark.  From pictures, I think it was probably a second-degree burn, and these burns are deep. Without ointment, it's going to leave a scar for sure. 

My thoughts wandered to heat today after a twinge of pain from my burn.  It made me think of the elements of heat and how heat is created.  From what I understand, heat is created by friction, and the resulting energy.  (I'm no scientist - just some memories from elementary school science classes...)

And then I thought of this....

How often am I burned by God? 

Ouch.  A hurtful thing, so it seems. 

But think about it, getting burned by God means that we've spent time with Him - enough to create the friction needed to cause heat strong enough to leave a mark.  Am I spending enough time with God to be permanently marked by my interaction with Him?

Remember the story of Jacob "wrestling" with God?  He got burned.  It's a pretty neat story....

This left Jacob all alone in the camp, and a man came and wrestled with him until the dawn began to break.  When the man saw that he would not win the match, he touched Jacob's hip and wrenched it out of its socket.  Then the man said, "Let me go, for the dawn is breaking!"

But Jacob said, "I will not let you go unless you bless me."

"What is your name?" the man asked.

He replied, "Jacob."

"Your name will no longer be Jacob," the man told him.  "From now on you will be called Israel, because you have fought with God and with men and have won."

"Please tell me your name," Jacob said.

"Why do you want to know my name?"  the man replied.  Then he blessed Jacob there.

Jacob named the place Peniel (which means "face of God"), for he said, "I have seen God face to face, yet my life has been spared."

Genesis 32:24-30

I don't know what Jacob was wrestling with God for that night, but I know he was close enough to do so.  And his actions earned him favor with God.  So his "burn" was a very positive thing.  In fact, an entire nation was renamed because of it. 

My challenge here is this: am I being burned by God?  What future nations are hoping for a God-changed destiny?  Am I doing what I need to do to be burned?

And I hope you find this as a good challenge as well.  Let's live for His glory always.  There's nothing better.