Labor Day Greetings

Greetings on Labor Day.
A favorite passage of mine comes from Matt. 9:36-38 (in the Living Bible):

 And what pity he felt for the crowds that came, because their problems were so great and they didn't know what to do or where to go for help. They were like sheep without a shepherd.

 "The harvest is so great, and the workers are so few," he told his disciples.  "So pray to the one in charge of the harvesting, and ask him to recruit more workers for his harvest fields."

 

This is the human condition and Jesus recognized it. Do we recognize it?  The ultimate solution? Jesus did not play around, not did he recommend political or sociological solutions. No, he went to the heart of the matter: the solution is with a certain kind of human being- a laborer, a person who is willing to give his or her life for the advance of the Gospel of Jesus and His Kingdom. This laborer realizes that the only real solution for basic human problems is the intervention in a life by another life. It looks very different in all kinds of situations but the principle remains the same: life upon life is the means by which a laborer exchanges and multiplies his or her life in Christ.

 

The pictures below are from my latest trip out to the West Coast.  Several of us from the our Military Leadership Team helped lead a training and development meeting for our staff in Southern California (serving five major military installations there).  I have been involved in this type of training event with others for about 4-5 years now. We have been working on helping our staff become even more effective in coaching,advising, shepherding and training the military laborers around them. These laborers are the backbone of our work among the US military. We hear reports every week of men and women coming to the Savior as a result of the ministry of these highly committed laborers on the front lines in Iraq and Afghanistan and many other places. I wish you could hear some of these stories- they are spine tingling.

 

On another laboring not, and as many of you know, we moved my mother into our home the end of May. We rejoice at the opportunity of serving her in her need and yet cry out to the Lord for strength and endurance. She continues to decline mentally but remains relatively physically healthy. Her memory both long and short is gone. She knows me but little else.  Yet, she remains relatively stable in her moment by moment life.

 

While getting her settled this summer, I reduced my travel schedule significantly. However, this looks like a very challenging year, and particularly in the next 6 months, in terms of where the Lord is leading our mission and some of the things he is asking of us. What is very clear is that the next 9-12 months will require a great deal of travel and so a good bit of challenge for Martha and I as we continue to care for Mother 24/7.  Without going into too much detail, I would deeply appreciate your prayers as we anticipate a time of stretching and stress.

 

Locally, we have seen God produce some terrific ministry opportunities:

+ Our continued joy with our 20 something small group that meets in our home on Wednesday evening- great progress on understanding the Word of God in shaping our spiritual lives.

+ A Tuesday night study of the Bible with a men's group that has been deep and rich to my soul.

+ A Sunday morning small group that is inter-generational and multi-cultural which has been a source of great encouragement for seeing the steady and faithful hand of Lord at work.

+ Several life on life relationships which are producing great growth in my life and the lives of others. One of these relationships includes a young couple who is moving toward joining our Military staff family.

+ A new couples study Martha and I have begun with another couple that is oriented toward helping one another with depth and intimacy in our walk with Christ and with one another.

 

I have several key prayer request for you:

 

* Please pray for our wisdom from the Lord to balance our responsibilities in care for my Mother and the work that God has given us.

* Ongoing strength for Martha and I as we "feel" our years in light of what is on our plates.

* Understanding and help as we face the need to increase the number of donors who support our ministry.

* Protection from the wiles of the evil one as we resist the flesh, the world, and the Devil.

* Wisdom from above as we discern the whole counsel of God in many matters pertaining to the future of our Mission.

 

A thought that has struck me recently comes from one of my life mentors, Dallas Willard: "Faith does not oppose knowledge, it opposes seeing. Grace does not oppose effort, but it opposes earning".  As always, I am tremdously motivated to be involved in laboring for the glory of our King! One of my life verses is a extortion from Paul on the subject of laboring for a lifetime:1 Cor 15:58 -Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.

We abound by His strength and His might alone but we are greatly thankful for the empowerment you provide as well. Thanks so much for your prayer and support.

 

By His grace alone,

phil and martha

That's the ticket

Our blog has an eclectic appeal. Tow-headed nuns in swimsuit competitions. Hmm. Islamic meat faces would have predicted that!

On W. Paul Young:
He is the son of missionaries to New Guinea. Suffered under the hand of a physically abusive father. At age 8 was shipped off to a missionary boarding school (very common practice in the 50s and 60s prior to the home school movement). There was sexually molested by other missionary kids.

This produced in him the perfectionism and rigidity that kept him from truly understanding the Grace of God. He went to Bible school and Seminary. Married, was involved in Church ministry. After 6 kids, fell into sin by having an affair with his wife's best friend.

During a long and hard process, he was restored to his family, restored to God, and embraced the true Grace of God.

The violence in the story reflects the abuse he suffered (the estrangement from earthly father as well as heavenly). His fall is pictured by The Shack as this metaphor represents his life of perfectionism and ultimately, falling, betraying, and "hitting bottom". The redemption story reflects his own journey to wholeness and the recovery (redemption) of the life God desires for him (and all of us) which comes through a less distorted view of the triune God the work of the 3 persons in his life as well as work in all of our lives.

The impetus for writing the book was to capture his journey through forgiveness, restoration, and joy of living a redeemed life.

Food on Wednesday!

I-talian next Wednesday night, September 3. Sign up for what you shall bring so everyone doesn't bring spaghetti.

I wonder about the swimsuit competition

This is so... wrong, weird, something on so many levels.
BBC: Priest to hold nun beauty pageant

An Italian priest says he is organising the world's first beauty pageant for nuns to erase a stereotype of them as being old and dour.
"This contest will be a way to show there isn't just the beauty we see on television but also a more discreet charm," the priest, who lives near the southern city of Naples, told the Corriere della Sera.
"You really think all nuns are old, stunted and sad? This isn't the case anymore," he said.

So many possibilities for this one. (Granted, just about any wacky story can be further spiced up once you add the words "nun" or "chicken" to it.) Whatever, viewers won't likely have to suffer this.

Update: Sadly, before the first nun on the run..way, after his story hit the international press Monday, his superiors were none too happy.

An Italian priest who said he wanted to hold the world's first beauty contest for nuns has decided to cancel the project, saying he was misunderstood.

Antonio Rungi said he had never intended to put sisters on the catwalk, but had wanted to erase a stereotype of them as being old and dour. "My superiors were not happy. The local bishop was not happy, but they did not understand me either," Father Rungi told Reuters news agency from the town of Mondragone, near Naples.

"It was interpreted as more of a physical thing," he said. "Now, no one is saying that nuns can't be beautiful, but I was thinking about something more complete."

"Tow-headed"

From Liz (aka Snakewoman), who can't post for some reason:

A couple weeks ago, somebody referred to young Peyton as "tow-headed." We generally agreed that this means some sort of blond, but why "tow"? Here's an answer from the dictionary:

tow (n.) coarse and broken fibers removed from flax, hemp or jute during scutching or hackling and used for twine etc.

"Tow headed" usually means the same as having "flaxen" hair--so blond as to be nearly white. (As you probably know, flax is what linen is made of.) Here's a picture of flax tow:

Just in time for our potluck dinner...

In case you thought that Christianity has the market cornered for God/saints showing up in various food items, it turns out the Islam has quite an industry here as well. Most recent example: "Allah Meat" in Nigeria.

Diners have been flocking to a restaurant in northern Nigeria to see pieces of meat which the owner says are inscribed with the name of Allah.

What looks like the Arabic word for God and the name of the prophet Muhammad were discovered in pieces of beef by a diner in Birnin Kebbi.

He was about to eat it, when he suddenly noticed the words in the gristle, the restaurant owner said.

A search of the kitchen's meat revealed three more pieces which bore the names.

Not that this is isolated, evidently. There are also tropical fish and tomatoes.

Apparently Allah is more into penmanship than Jesus or the Virgin Mary.

Not to be outdone, a woman found Jesus in a Cheetos bag: "Cheesus".

Finally, in other saints-in-food news, Mother Teresa made her most recent appearance in a cinnamon bun in a coffee shop in Nashville, Tenn. No, really.

Dinner on Wed.

It is decided: this week's theme for dinner is SURPRISE!!! Which means no communication, just bring what you like and we'll see what happens. Our fabulous discussion on Dallas Willard's book and all the surrounding theology and practice has been stimulating and wonderfully lead.