Mental Post-Its

Thoughts, Notes, and General Mental Mayhem

Category Archives: Christianity


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Be The Blueprint

As expected, Sunday was a really good church service at Blueprint. I knew I would go in and get pumped up by the New Year energy of the crowd, and be encouraged to start January off right. I needed the fuel to get a jump start on my theme for 2013, be renewed after the weird year that was 2012, and grab an early anchor point to dig in and move forward in new possibilities. I was not disappointed with the new “Be The Blueprint” series.

In fact, I decided to outline some of my notes from Sunday here in case you could use a good dose of perspective and inspiration as well.

  • Too many times we reflect not on our blessings, but what we feel God is withholding from us. We take a victim or woe is me attitude.
  • We aren’t here to simply exist. There is a reason you and I exist. What do you exist for? (Proverbs 29:18, “Where there is no vision, the people perish.” KJV)
  • Too often we don’t spend our time living, but trying not to make God mad.
  • Blueprint’s DNA: The gospel changes people, and people change the world.
  • Blueprint’s mission: To unleash healthy people to do ministry where life exists.
  • Blueprint’s strategy: Growing in the gospel in the context of family while living on mission.
  • We are less proactive in church, but usually more reactive and defensive. We need to be on the attack. (Matthew 16:18, “And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” ESV)

5 Reasons We Need to be Burdened By Mission

  1. Mission grows our affections for Christ, taking us from conceptual to effectual.
  2. Mission aligns our hearts with His, causing us to move from passive to compassionate.
  3. Mission reestablishes our identity, remind us we are God’s chosen vessel.
  4. Mission reminds us of our deficiencies, driving us to pray.
  5. Mission reminds us of His sufficiency, strengthening our faith. (Did you ever think that maybe the feeding of the 5,000 and 4,000 weren’t for those fed, but for the disciples?)

I’m praying you find your mission, or continue it, in 2013. It’s not easy, but totally worth it. Living differently is definitely living better. I think I’ve had a few different missions during my life, depending on my life stage and circumstance. The one I’m currently on has been building over the past few years, and it’s still really exciting to me. I’m excited and curious to see where it leads me this year.

It was a breezy 50 degrees when I walked out of the church service on Sunday, but I didn’t care. I was on fire.

 

If you want a little more, here’s a great blog post on the Blueprint site from Pastor John on the New Year.


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The Mental Illness Role in Tragedy

For sure, we are all still in shock and greiving from the Sandy Hook Elementary shooting. I watch a lot of cop and law shows, and there is plenty of death, but I always simply think of it as fiction. When something truly tragic happens in the world like last Friday, I find myself completely stunned. It’s honestly hard for me to believe that people exist who can commit such haneous crimes. I’m just not sure how to absorb it. However, the last few times, I keep coming back to some of the same conclusions.

Yes, I agree with those who pipe up for tougher gun laws. Yes, I absolutely believe that these people needed Jesus in their lives. But where I feel we truly fall short is the mental health issue. Weapons of some sort will always be available to those searching for them. But it is vital to reach these people in their hearts and in their minds before they decide to reach for a gun.

I’ve heard the mental health issue brought up in conjunction with several of these massacres, but it’s more in the fact of the gunman struggled with a mental health issue. I’m not sure I’ve ever heard anyone talk specifically about diagnosis or treatment of mental health issues, and I feel that’s a shame. It seems that still today, this issue is still too taboo. Its time we wake up. The statistics are against us. They are too large to ignore. As long as these people are suffering with no one to help them, the pain will rise to the surface somehow, someway.

We need to be able to understand and become more compassionate to these people who are hurting so desperately. We need to know how to recognize the signs, and get them the help they need. It begins with those closest to them—friends and family. While yes, some of these behaviors come out of left fiield, I believe there are some which probably do not. We’ve all been in situations before where we could look back and see red flags. These behaviors could very well be the manifestation of thoughts and feelings that have been boiling underneath for years. True, some may also not want help. And in those cases, it may be more prudent to warn an authority figure as a precaution. And several of these gunman have been bullied. I wonder if people were there to help them recover or stand up for them. I wonder if anyone could’ve at least reported them to the police before it was too late. I wonder why getting them help is too shameful or too intrusive. I wonder how much we really care.

I have an awesome group of friends. I’m beyond thankful for them on a daily basis. There are many reasons why, but one of those is that many of us have been through counseling, pyschologists and psychiatrists, and we are not ashamed to talk to each other about it. We somehow found the strength to ask for help when we needed it most. And we are all better for it. It is not taboo for us. It is part of who we are. In fact, several of my friends have even gone on to get degrees in counseling in order to help others. I have no doubt that if one of us tried to go off the deep end in some way, the rest of us would interceed. Thats what friendship and love does.

I hope that more people will begin to see the need and benefits to exploring mental health. On my local news last Friday, the anchor woman said there had been 125 mass shootings since Columbine. I couldn’t believe that number. It was so much higher than I expected. I remember, probably like many of you, exactly when and where I was when I heard about Columbine. It will forever be burned in my memory. I remember praying for nothing like that to ever happen again. I’m so very sad at how far we’ve come.

So, yes, let’s create tougher gun laws. If we are Christians, let’s tell those who are hurting about our Saviour Jesus. But let’s also learn to recognize and deal with mental illness as a society. If we don’t, we will only be treating major wounds with band-aids.


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Political (Insane) Asylum

At least once every four years, I wish I could seek asylum somewhere else. I wish I could skip campaign season and vote from afar.

I really can’t stand politics. So much fighting, slander and backbiting–from all sides. Tell me what you believe, not how bad the other guy is! I’ve seen some really nice people (both Christian and non) say some pretty horrible things when it’s under the guise of a political opinion, as if that makes it ok. Many people simply change when they start talking politics and, frankly, it scares me. So I tend to stay away. I have only a few people that I’ll discuss politics with because they can be calm and objective. Those last two adjectives are key, and rare. Half of those conversations are just me pumping my friend, Raechel, for information because she’s in law school and a walking political dictionary.

My friend, Daron, has always said of me that I don’t “play the game” and what he means by that is politics. I’ve never liked politics when it comes to relationships or the workplace or church. I frankly don’t see the point. So I simply don’t participate. I try to be me wherever I am, go figure. That’s hard enough, so anything else just seems like too much work.

Don’t read the above and hear me say not to vote, or participate in the process or do research. I think you should do all of those things. I think they are important because they move society forward. I’m simply saying I don’t like it. But in reality, I don’t have to. It’s not my system, just one I’m a part of. And I am extremely thankful for those who fought for the right for me to do so, therefore I don’t want to take it for granted. I’m not taking it for granted, but I’m not hugging it either. Kinda like when you say you don’t like someone but you love them because Jesus does. 😉

As with many aspects of my life, I just don’t feel I fit into politics. I don’t consider myself a Republican or a Democrat (or an Independent, though I am quite independent). I don’t think that if you’re conservative, you must be a Republican. I don’t think if you’re an environmentalist, you must be a Democrat. I personally feel we are all a little too complicated to fit into on column on a ballot. I try to find who most lines up with my beliefs, thoughts and opinions, and I go from there. (Side bar: if you are unsure who to vote for but want to take those ideas into account, check out www.ISideWith.com. I totally wish they had local and state on here, too.)

With the election season coming up, I ask you to remember only two things before and after November 6.

1. If you are a Christian, please choose what kind of Christian you will be. Will you be the kind of Christian who only checks the box, and then says and does whatever they want regardless? Or will you be the kind of Christian Christ asks us to be? I think all the Christians I know would say the latter. If that’s the case, please remember you are called to pray for your elected officials and obey them. Sure, you can be disappointed that your guy/gal lost if that’s the case, but that doesn’t give you free license to bash and forward hateful emails about the winner. Unity is not uniformity. You can disagree with the person, but you are still called to pray for them and obey them. Make the best of the situation and quit giving the rest of us who are trying a bad name. If more people prayed for their leaders, who knows what would happen? Your leader may just surprise you. And if not, hey, you get the chance to vote him/her out later. But the point is, be the Christian described in the Bible. The other person is not the devil incarnate (most likely).

2. Christian or not, I’ll share with you a little story from Rob Lowe’s autobiography. Fascinating, by the way. There are a lot of jaw-dropping stories in his book, but one of the things I loved most was when Rob described his visits to the White House. The cast of The West Wing was invited several times to visit the White House over it’s AMAZING seven seasons. He says that he visited under two different administrations, a Republican and a Democratic. And he said that he was struck by the fact that, when it all came down to it, these were guys who were fathers and just doing what they thought was right. It didn’t mean he liked everything they did. But he truly believed that these men were handling a very hard job the best they could, and were simply acting according to what they thought was the right thing to do. I loved that. So simple, yet so profound. We have terms like armchair quarterback (yes, I do know a few sports terms) and backseat driver, but I probably hear more commentary about what people think they’d do as President than anything else. Ignorance, in my opinion. I mean, come on, this is the most powerful person IN THE WORLD. You know what most of us would do in that position? We’d be in the fetal under the desk in the Oval Office praying for our four years to pass. It’s hard work. That’s why hardly anyone runs. When push comes to shove, 99.9% of us don’t want that job–nor should we have it. So, let’s cut these people some slack. You don’t have to agree. You’re entitled to your opinion. I’m not taking that from you. But let’s be careful how we act on that opposition. These are just people who made it to a big-time public decision-making level who, in their heart, are just trying to do the right thing.

If your guy/gal loses, the world will not end on November 6. And if your guy/gal wins, it’s not a time to gloat. Remember, we still have like a whole month after that according to the Myans, so let’s make it good. In all seriousness, though, be a good citizen. We all live here.

Do you research. Participate in the process. Vote.

Just remember to give some grace. Plenty has been given to you.


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To Serve or Not to Serve: That was never the question…

As long as I’ve known my friend, Katie, she’s been serving others. It was never a question of if she was going to serve, only when and where.

For people like Katie, serving isn’t an obligation but a way of life. It hasn’t always easy, but I know if you asked her she would always say it has always been worth it. Some of the ways she’s served could be considered small, like helping friends move or offering advice. Others would be considered larger, like leading mission trips or mentoring teenage girls. But this time she’s really outdone herself–she’s decided to move to Bolivia for a year. I didn’t say Birmingham; I said Bo-liv-ia.

After a lot of prayer, counsel and consideration over the last few months, Katie’s decided to teach in a Christian school in Santa Cruz, Bolivia. The decision didn’t come lightly, and it does come with a lot of cost to her. Not only does it mean leaving her friends, family and job in the US, but it means raising her own support. The price tag for one year comes in at around $27,000 to cover wages, insurance, living expenses, travel to/from the US and everything in between. Now before you balk at that figure, know that Katie is confident that God is bigger than that number, and more importantly, is calling her to this cause.

If you asked Katie’s friends, it would only take them a matter of seconds to tell you about a time she’s served them personally or served alongside them. It’s just who she is. And she’s asked for very little in return. Now it’s our turn to reciprocate. It’s our privilege. It’s our opportunity to join her in God’s bigger story for her life, and in that way, expand our own.

I hope you’ll join me in praying for Katie over this next year. She’ll need to know that the folks back home are thinking of her, missing her and sending good thoughts her way. And she needs to know people are rooting for her. The other obvious thing she needs are donations. When you hear $27,000 you may be tempted to sit back and do nothing because you can’t give very much. Don’t let that stop you. If everyone gives a little, it adds up to a lot. It will take all of us to get Katie to Bolivia. It’s a call to faith for us all in that way. And when she hits that mark and gets on that plane, don’t you want to smile knowing that you had a hand in getting her there?

You can give one-time or through a monthly withdrawal. Here are a few examples to make the number a little more bite-sized for the latter:

  • $5/month = one Grande Skinny Vanilla latte from Starbucks or a Moo Moo Mr. Cow from Moe’s (My favs.)
  • $10/month = one movie (There are really only a few good ones on deck right now anyway.)
  • $20/month = one sack of the groceries you don’t need but buy anyway (Stick to the list. Avoid impulse.)
  • $30/month = renegotiate a bill or other reoccurring charge (Moving the already budgeted money around won’t hurt.)
  • $40/month = one nice meal out with a friend (Note: start cooking more and invite friend over.)
  • $50/month = a combination of the above (Guilty as charged.)

See, that’s not so bad? Sure, it’s a sacrifice, but what great things aren’t? Just take a look to see what amount works for you, and make the decision to give. These aren’t the kind of financial decisions we regret, but the ones we can be most proud of. Please consider joining Katie in this new chapter of her life. Help her love on the people there as she’s loved on the people here. Give her the resources she needs to follow God down this unknown and exciting road. Allow a whole other country the opportunity to experience the amazing Katie J.

For Katie, serving was never an if, only a question of when and where. Well, the time is now and the place is Bolivia.

To read more about Katie’s adventure, check out her blog.


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It is for freedom…

It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery. (Galatians 5:1 NIV)

I’m not a Bible scholar. It took me a number of years to figure out the first sentence in that verse. For a long time, I thought the author had cheated and used the word in the definition. And now I certainly don’t profess that I have it nailed down, but over the last few years I have greatly grown in my understanding and appreciation for this verse.

As I get older I learn more and more what true freedom is all about. I heard a brilliant sermon many moons back where the speaker gave freedom in Christ this definition…it’s not the freedom to do anything you like. It’s the freedom to do anything you like under God’s law. You’ve already chosen God’s will and authority to guide your life, and you continue to choose to maneuver within it…or something like that but probably more poetic. The point is that your freedom has already been given to you. You decide what to do with it. So what will you do with it?

I’ve always had a special burden and ache in my heart for people groups who were oppressed, without freedom. I’m not sure exactly why; I guess it’s just the way God made me. I’d consider myself fiercely independent, so maybe the thought of losing that is too much to consider, or stand for. The Jews, Civil Rights, and modern-day slavery–it all just hits me in a way a lot of other atrocities don’t. It fascinates and confuses me. It makes me not only balk at the injustices that people can inflict or turn their eyes from, it constantly asks me what I would do; what I will do.

Over the last few months I’ve been studying Esther with my friend, Lauren. We’ve been going through Beth Moore’s study on Queen Esther, It’s Tough Being a Woman. Truthfully, I know this statement is borderline blasphemy, but I really don’t care for Beth Moore’s style. I’d tried one of her studies before and couldn’t even finish it. If Lauren hadn’t suggested it, I never would’ve opened it with that title. It’s just not for me. But I thought the overall content was really good, and I’ve taken away a lot of insight in the process. And it’s given me greater context for Esther’s story and the circumstances of the Jews at that time.

One of things I’ve been reminded of over and over again is that the Jews had assimilated into the culture. They were no longer living as Jews, God’s chosen people who were set apart. It was not until they were threatened with extinction did they kneel back down to pray. I don’t want to be like that, but darn it if that doesn’t describe me too much of the time. So, I ask myself, if I were living as a Jew at that time, would I be any different?

I also recently watched the movie Amistad. I don’t know how I’m just watching it. I should be ashamed. It was amazing. Nonetheless, yet again I’m presented with and captivated by a people who are oppressed, slaves. And there were bold and courageous people fighting on their side. So, I ask myself, if I were living at that time, what would I do?

But one thing I forget time and time again is that I have been a slave. Certainly not publicly oppressed or scoffed as the these people were, and as some people today are, but I was a slave to sin before I gave my life to Christ. Just as the Jews in Esther’s day, there is too much of life I’ve assimilated into when the truth is that I need to live more as a freed slave. My life of a slave is over, but it’s never to be forgotten.

The Jews had Purim, a time to annually remember the time God saved them from annihilation. And they partied. They still party. It’s a feast and festival, and time of joyful remembrance. And I have Easter, a day that marks not just the sacrifice, but the triumph over Hell with Jesus’ resurrection. Now that’s party worthy! I should be having that party every day in some way!

I know because I grew up as part of the church, which I’m thankful for, I have a great tendency to desensitize the Bible and my salvation. Like all things that aren’t new, and I love new things, I kinda forget how special they are. I kinda just take them for granted. I kinda just assimilate them into my life and move on, looking for the next shiny object to grab my attention.

There is a really powerful courtroom scene in Amistand where the highly underrated and always brilliant Djimon Honsou stands up and pleads to the court in the few words of English he’s learned in prison, “Give us, us freedom!” And he says it over and over again. (I balled like a baby. I’ve got to admit that there are times I’m just not in a good place and inside I’m yelling “Give us, us freedom!” I’m so confused and upset with God that I just don’t understand why I’m in a situation. But the truth is, I’m already a freed slave. My freedom has already been given. But how do I thank Him? How do I live? Why do I keep forgetting?

So I ask myself again, given what I know and who I am (a freed slave), what will I do?

I’ve decided that I will be a freed slave who works to free other slaves. As a Christian, I believe all freed slaves should be working to free others, both spiritually and physically. And I think we should assimilate less, and have Jesus parties a lot more.

Here’s a sweet retelling of Christ’s story from Amistad. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uFmFX5nug4w

And he’s right, it doesn’t look so bad. In fact, it’ll be awesome. So, I need to make sure others are at the party.

After all, it is for freedom that I have been set free.

Free the slaves.