Back Home

You know, it can be very difficult not to be "back home" when you feel like you need to be there. I received an e-mail from my sister that reminded me of a lack of spiritual formation she has at home. Don't get me wrong. She lives with my dad (mostly, with some time at mom's...the proverbial joint custody thing) who is a strong speaker and a good pastor. He has been part of spiritual formation for literally hundreds of people in his lifetime. However, things are very stressful at home. My sister feels as though there's no one to support her spiritual walk or her call to the global mission field. Fortunately, I'm aware that I'm not the answer. God is. (Praise His name!) I do wonder, though, why it seems so difficult for pastors' homes to be full of peace and spiritual security? Why does there have to be new trauma every time I call home or go home? I guess we all have this story. What's yours?

Noel-Levitz

They're doing a Noel-Levitz survey on our campus right now. As soon as I read the e-mail I received about it, I could just hear the moans coming out of our students' mouths. Of course, there are some students who probably jumped on it right away. Not everyone hates surveys. However, I know that somewhere deep down, so many students have probably already disregarded it.

You know who the people are that haven't filled out the surveys yet? The ones who complain the most about the school. Funny how it works that way. Maybe it's just a personality thing. I, for one, would love to have had the chance to speak my mind while I was a student, even if that meant filling out a Noel-Levitz survey. Noel-Levitz has no connection to the school, so I would have answered exactly how I felt and would have made sure my voice was heard.

Too many people assume their voice won't be heard. Well, think of it this way. If the only people who are willing to fill out this survey are the keeners (and you know who I mean), then that's the only perspective that the staff and faculty have from the students. If more people fill it out, then it's a more honest reflection of what students think.

Anyway, I'm not a student, so I'm wasting my breath.

Priests and Pharisees

The president of our college spoke very poignantly yesterday about the difference between priests and pharisees. (Well, at least this was one point.) He rightly noted that priests bring the Word/words of the Lord and truly care for people. Pharisees, on the other hand, are ministry experts who "do" things well but who lack the power of God and His Word. Pharisees, he said, came from priests but made other matters more important. You know, folks, the president is right about this. We are called to be priests if we're ministers. We need not to let all those other things get in the way.

"Yeah, yeah, Lynn, we've heard it," you say? Trust me, this post is for your own good. Speaking directly from personal experience, we need to be very cautious as we try to find our ministry placements. While we want to be priests, there are many churches who would actually prefer pharisees. A "talented" minister looks awfully good. Wait it out in prayer; God will send you somewhere in which people actually want a priest.

Non-Philosophical Question

Why am I here, really? I'm not talking about my existence, at least existentially speaking. I'm asking why on earth I live where I do, doing what I do. Sure, I get all the spiritual reasons like, "I'm called," and "It's God's plan for me right now." Honestly, though, I just don't get it today. Just to whine for a moment, it's snowing on April 12! Spring has been here for weeks, and suddenly the world wants to revert back to winter. I'm hanging on to find out whether I can be here in Canada permanently, yet I'm setting down roots in a job here. Instead of doing hands-on, frontline ministry I'm doing an office job. Sure, I'm technically impacting more people than if I were out on the missions field somewhere, but this certainly isn't what I thought I'd be doing. Natasha and I love it here, but it just seems too different than what either of us had hoped for on days like today. Days like today are the kind of days when we just sit here and ponder. As it turns out, we're here because we're called here and because it's God's plan for us right now...seriously though.

Anybody else have circular reasoning days like this?

Another Kind of Prejudice

I left my house this morning, having forgotten to put on my glasses. Why? Prejudice, that's why. Natasha and I were talking yesterday when I found out she was made the topic of prejudice again. She gets that a lot. So do I, for that matter. (We're equally yoked that way.) People tend to think of Natasha one way and one way only, refusing to get to know her or what makes her tick. For example, Natasha and some friends from the BBC women's ministry recently invited some engaged girls to sit in on their next bi-weekly meeting. One engaged girl said, "I hope she realizes I'm not into all that girly-girl stuff." She obviously doesn't know Natasha or what makes her tick. She obviously doesn't know that the women's ministry doesn't meet every other Tuesday for discussion and spiritual enrichment. She obviously doesn't realize that the majority of the women in the group aren't girly. She obviously doesn't realize that Natasha isn't girly. Natasha's just pegged that way a lot. Sure, she likes dressing well. Sure, she likes her house to look good. She enjoys the company of other girls. The prejudiced engaged girl likes all those things, too. What is good to her is somewhat different than what's good to Natasha, though, so of course Natasha is labeled "girly." Natasha is beautiful, a good singer, a source of wisdom, a strong support, an encourager of peace, and a lover of everyone she meets. So, she is prejudged as a "good" or "girly" girl. Nevertheless, she has to work hard on her homework, to make it a point to keep us both on track with housework, and to force herself to ignore her pain disorder to get out of bed. She has a fun sense of humor, a sassy attitude, a deep sense of worship, a level headed approach to what she knows about life, and the kind of personality that people would flock to if they weren't so busy putting her in a box.

Oops...looks like Lynn went off on his wife again. You can think that, but that's just putting me in a prejudice box here too. I didn't just go off on my wife. I went off on our prejudgments and how they limit us. Instead of commenting on this post, please do yourselves a favor. Think about the last time someone didn't get to know you before they talked about you. Then go out and get to know someone before you prejudge again.

No Time

I rarely feel busy. People tell me I'm busy, and I tell them I'm busy, but I don't feel busy. That is, until I think about blogging. I love blogging. What an outlet for me! I enjoy reading my friends' blogs. I enjoy investing time in this. I've even come up with at least one blog every day since my last post. Yet, I haven't posted. Why? NO TIME! That's a farce. We have time. We just don't spend it how we want to/how we should (depending on priorities). My priority is not my blog, but I love it. I need to disengage in it. I need to write in it. This incoherent post is my way of saying, "Down with no time! I'm taking the 90 seconds it takes to type this just to have the satisfaction of taking a moment to breathe." In. Out. It feels good. Try it.