Jeremiah 1:7

We had the most amazing prayer time tonight at church. Every other week, we meet in the evening to eat together and pray. We pray first. Tonight Rick asked Ty to open. I could tell it made him a little uncomfortable but I think he's used to it. Rick, and all the other men at the church, don't treat him as if he's just a kid or a "youth". They treat him like a fellow member, a peer of sorts. They involve him in conversations and let him have input. Most of the time he sits and listens. He plays with the other boys, the ones closer to his age. He plays with the little ones. Jack (age 4) especially adores him.

Two years ago, Ty prayed every night for God to bring a boy his age to Springville church. We prayed with him. I saw how much he missed his friends from Moody. I saw him grow more and more disheartened. Then I saw him give up. One year ago, Ty hated Springville. He was angry with God.

I saw something amazing happen though. I saw my son become part of a church. Not part of a youth group or part of a Bible study for people his age, but part of a church - as a whole. It took some time, a detox in a way. He was so accustomed to being consigned to his peers that he didn't realize he was part of a bigger body.

Tonight, Ty prayed not just the one time to open, but a total of three times. Maggie prayed. Gracie prayed. Three of the other kids prayed as well. Ty's prayer was not for people his own age, as he used to pray, but for "other Christians" who didn't have what he has. Who didn't have a church family... those were his words, a "church family that will love them."

I can recount a similar series of events for Maggie.

A couple of months ago my teenagers sat at the kitchen table and tearfully expressed gratitude. They love being part of a whole. There is something to be said for not having a traditional youth group. There is such a benefit in my teenaged daughter sitting in women's Bible study and learning, from watching and listening, how to be a godly woman. There is such benefit in my teenaged son working side by side with godly men who teach him, not just how to install siding, but how to live out the gospel.

I see so many youth who depend solely on their peers for spiritual support, who go to churches with sketchy theology just because they have good programs for kids their age. I promise, I am not anti-youth group. I think Stokes does a great job. But I think sometimes we, as communing adults, take it too far. We allow the presence of a paid youth worker to relieve us of the privilege of coming along side younger believers and investing in their lives.

Maybe I'm just expressing my own experiences. Maybe God has just been particularly gracious to my church planting children. Maybe we can have it both ways, I don't know. What I do know is that my children are growing and flourishing and really happy. Happier than I've ever seen them. They're not more comfortable. In fact, they feel more pain in the form of compassion and sorrow. They are, however, content and more aware of their place in a whole, as opposed to seeking their own pleasure.

Teaching our youth to have a kingdom mindset and heart for the lost requires them to know their place in the Kingdom. It requires them to know the rest of the body. What good is it to teach them how to resist peer pressure if they're not given a greater affection? What benefit is it to teach them how to relate to others if they're never around people who are different than themselves (in age, experience and struggle)? My children are part of the Body of Christ. They needed to know that. They need their covenant aunts, uncles, grandparents, and yes, peers. They need time together with people their own age, but they also need all of us.

You Like What?!?

Culturally speaking, I found the closing ceremonies of the Olympics to be... peculiar. I liked some of the music and some of the display. The guy from Monty Python was funny. I liked the Freddy Mercury part. But then there were other parts that missed the mark, in my opinion.

The funny thing is: my peeps in the UK loved it. I mean LOVED it. It made them, one and all, proud to be British.

Then there was the Latin American, Brazilian, spectacle. Half dressed women, men in loin clothes and disco-decked out men with perms. Hmm. The music was repetitive, not harmonious. To put it simply, it was weird.

So I am left asking myself some questions. What am I missing? How can anyone like this? What the heck?

It is so easy for me to dismiss someone's culture, because that's what it is. It is someone's culture. It doesn't resonate with me because there are pieces of their life that I am missing.

Sociologically speaking: "Culture consists of the beliefs, behaviors, objects, and other characteristics common to the members of a particular group or society. Through culture, people and groups define themselves, conform to society's shared values, and contribute to society. Thus, culture includes many societal aspects: language, customs, values, norms, mores, rules, tools, technologies, products, organizations, and institutions. This latter term institution refers to clusters of rules and cultural meanings associated with specific social activities. Common institutions are the family, education, religion, work, and health care." - cliffsnotes.com

I think Americans, in particular, dismiss other cultures as irrelevant. Remember Manifest Destiny? No one cared about the Native American culture. They needed to stop it and get with the program. That's also what the Spanish did in South America.

We cannot possibly minister effectively in another culture without respecting who they intrinsically are. So while I don't "get it" sometimes, that does not mean it is wrong. It's just different and sometimes weird to my western, American sensibilities.

Before our last trip to England, when we were going to be taking the kids, my dear friend Laura sent me a book about America culture. So much of it was hidden right in front of my eyes. Other cultures do NOT value fun and entertainment and self-reliance. Did you know that? They don't measure success the same way. They value family much more than Americans. Other people look at us and "don't get it."

The implications make my head spin. SUVs, religion, how we educate, what we play, it all ties into a cultural norm that we don't even realize exists until confronted with something different. I talk about living deliberately, purposefully and thoughtfully. Thinking and learning about other cultures helps me do that. Even if it makes me appear strange and out of sync with the people around me.

There are even sub-cultures within our American culture: Southern > Alabamian > Springvillian. Or American > Bible Belt > Presbyterian (which is different from Southern Baptist)

Just something to think about. It makes my brain stretch a bit and I like that.

Pop in for a Cuppa

I've been sitting here most of the day planning this year's school and visiting with friends who popped in for a chat. I loved it. I'm glad for the company and to not have to leave my couch.

One friend and I got talking about missions. Overseas vs home. Missions boards that send vs Raising support. It was a great conversation.

The negative side (if you want to look at it that way) is it got me to thinking about my other family in England and Ireland. *sigh* I know I will always have a hole in my heart that reminds me that I'm missing their daily presence in my life. I see their faces in my mind, hear their voices in my ear and would love for them to pop over, open my door after a quick knock (if at all) and make themselves at home.

I wonder if God will ever send us overseas. I wonder if that is in His plan for us. I know that we have always been open to it, but who knows. Maybe. I know that our role right now in overseas missions is to love them with our hearts wide open, willing to hurt with longing for them, and pray for them every day. And if God sends the opportunity and the money, we'll be on a plane faster than you can say, "Would you like a cuppa?"

Until then, I feel split in two. My heart is definitely here. I adore my new church family in Springville and the community God is building. I miss my other church family in Moody and see them when I can. But I miss my people across the pond. There is only one solution...

Oh, but won't heaven be lovely?