Do I dare to be Dangerous?

I love to tell stories. No big secret there. But I have discovered lately that the best and the worst ministry stories can rarely be shared. There is always a person who would be embarrassed or a desire to keep the left hand from knowing what the right hand is doing. Good things, those, but they prevent us from sharing the power of the gospel at times.

I’ve been in a ministry phase like that. One that is kind of quiet on the public front, but overwhelmingly radical on the private front. I SO wish I could share what’s been going on in the lives of people around me, because I’m pretty sure that someday there’s going to be a great story out of it all. In the meantime, I’ll share a quote I heard today from Rocky IV. Yes, you read that right. Mark Batterson shared it in his message on prayer — desperate prayer — and the power of continuing to besiege heaven. Said Rocky, “It ain’t who can land the strongest punch. It’s who can take the strongest punch and keep standing.”

Yes, that sums up life in my home right now.

But because sometimes personal details of lives are interesting and help us understand each other, I thought I’d spend a couple of minutes just listing what we’re up to these days.

• David and I are packing up all my mom’s goods in her house around the corner from us, loading it on a truck tomorrow (OK, we have movers — true confessions!), and moving her into her new retirement village in North Florida. We are full of faith that she’s going to live a richer life surrounded by some family and lots of friends who worship and play the way she does. We’re also full of emotion at a chapter in her life and ours that is apparently over, and a little trepidation when we think about the future. We will be with Mom in her new home from Wednesday to Monday of next week.
• We are thinking about  a father’s love a lot in our household, as well. Lately nearly all the girls who move in and out of our home are dealing with hurts and difficulties in this area. One girl has a loving father but can’t accept it or feel it. Two girls have fathers who abandoned them. A third has a father whom she wishes would abandon her because of his lifestyle and lack of earthly love. They all have a Father who cares more for them than they can imagine, and it’s an awesome privilege to be a small part in reminding them of that.
• I am looking forward to the Christmas season, and working through the Advent Conspiracy as we plan ahead. Being gut-level honest, it is difficult to change a family culture to accept the responsibility we have to think differently, think past the mall. I want to be faithful to Kylie and Jillian’s progress in that area, and not require them to tag along with David and me. And yet, they too have a calling on their lives. We are currently gathering the resources to organizations we want to support, and are looking forward to having the girls choose where their generosity will lead them.
• Speaking of generosity, we are also working with some amazing people at Christ Fellowship to study generosity in all its forms, from the life we live to the money we give. This committee is changing the way I look at my world and my future, and I’m a little afraid of it!
• Finally, I’m doing some amazing reading these days. Three books for you to consider: Dangerous Surrender by Kay Warren, The Poor Will Be Glad by Phil Smith and Peter Greer, and the Advent Conspiracy. Put those three together and you will NEVER be the same. I promise you that.

Tagged as: Advent Conspiracy, Dangerous Surrender, faith, Family, Kay Warren, Rocky 4, The Poor Will Be Glad