[what to pray?]

Many people have asked me what I prayed last Wednesday. Had the opportunity to give an opening prayer before the Iowa House of Representatives and the Senate, and wow, that was my same question. What do you pray?

It started in December. I got a call from my dad's first cousin, Steve Olson, asking if I'd give an opening prayer to the Iowa legislators on January 16. He has served in the Iowa House for District 83 since he was first elected in 2002, and he was in-charge of finding a "Pastor of the Day" for that opening Wednesday.

I asked him if he had the right number. He laughed, told me he wanted to find someone close to Des Moines in-case of bad weather and let me know the specifics. It had to be 60-90 seconds long, sensitive to other faiths and was limited to just prayer. Told him I was honored and humbled, and though hesitant about the sensitive part, said yes.

After talking with others, praying about it and a long seven-mile run one weekend, I decided to pray in the name of Jesus and focus on truth versus offending people.

Lastly, I led a Bible study with friends from China, Korea, Iraq and Brazil the day before. The minute I said "Amen" at the end of our prayer to close the study, one of the Chinese women exclaimed, "Peace! You prayed for peace. My mother told me to look for the peace and that is where I would find the God." With that fresh on my heart, I added peace.

The next day, I took my notes, asked God for confidence and prayed approximately this:

"Father God, I thank You for the opportunity to be here this morning and to ask for Your presence, peace and blessing in this place. I thank You that Your Word says all authority on earth has ultimately been established by You. I also thank You that because of this, we are called to obey and submit to our leaders so that their work will be a joy and not a burden. 

Father I thank You for these men and women and pray that You'd give them diligence, wisdom and discernment in the coming weeks and months as they sort through many possible agenda items. I pray You would help them to know only what You've called them to do, only what You've asked of them, and that that is enough.

And God ultimately I pray that You would be known and glorified here. Because our governments and states and countries will eventually fade, but You remain. Lead, guide, protect and bless them Father, and make me, make us, faithful in praying for them throughout the coming days and weeks ahead. We ask for Your peace. We look to You in all things, and we pray this all in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen."

Thankful and humbled for the opportunity, and praying He continues to answer this and many other prayers for our government in the coming weeks and months.

[change-up]

To whom this may concern:

I started a new blog - [everyday Easter] - based off the April entry that a lot of people continue to mention to me - [i need Easter for today, not just eternity] .

I feel like a blog should be shorter, updated more often and have a kind of theme rather than random thoughts. I may still keep this up though. Check it out, and stay tuned!

[faith for more than me]

Whoops guess who got caught up in life and forgot about this. Guilty as charged.

But God has been soaking something into my heart lately that I wanted to share. It's about faith. We've been studying Hebrews 11 (the "by-faith" chapter) the last month or so in my small group, and the other night as we wrapped it up, God showed me that the faith of the people listed was not just about them.

I mean, sure Abraham was given faith that enabled him to drop everything he owned, everything he knew, everything secure, and go "to the land I (God) will show you." Sounds nuts even today, and we live in the information-overload-I-can-learn-it-all-online-thanks-internet world.

And sure David was given faith and courage for many things. Same with all the other heroes listed in the chapter. Their assignments weren't easy. Their victories? Irrational. Their instructions, almost humorous if you think about receiving them in today's context:

"Take out the largest giant you've ever seen with a marshmallow shooter David."  Love, God.

"Build a boat that's 100 feet longer than an American football field and half the width. Fyi: you can't hide this in your garage or tool shed Noah."      Love, God.

"Rebuke everyone around you for their sin against Me Jeremiah. Let them know My wrath is coming, and it's going to be bad. You probably won't need a cell phone, Facebook or Gmail after this because you won't have many if any friends, but don't worry!"     Love, God.

Uh thank you? We read their stories in hindsight and assume we'd be able to say yes, but put them in today's context, and I'm guessing most of us would run the other way. I'd probably laugh first, then run. Like Jonah. Don't. Pick. Me.

But God did pick them. God did use them. And what He showed me last week was that their faith was not just about them. Sure He gave them faith and power to believe and do hard, impossible things, but that wasn't the end of His work. God gave them faith to carry out what He called them to do, yes. But He also used their faith to work through them to others and for His glory.

Take Moses and the Red Sea. Israel has just been divinely delivered from slavery in Egypt. They're on their way to the promised land when Pharaoh changes his mind and sends his troops after them. Ahead is the Red Sea. Behind are the Egyptian forces.

God's response? Raise your staff Moses. The waters will part, and you'll walk through.

God's promise? "I will gain glory for myself through Pharaoh and all his army, and the Egyptians will know that I am the LORD."   [Exodus 14:4]

The result? The Egyptians follow them into the Red Sea and are swallowed by the waters after Israel reaches the other side safely.

The purpose beyond just Moses' and Israel's faith? The fulfillment of exactly what God had promised about gaining glory for Himself. Check out the prostitute Rahab's testimony decades later: "We have heard how the LORD dried up the water of the Red Sea for you when you came out of Egypt . . . When we heard of it, our hearts melted and everyone's courage failed because of you, for the LORD your God is God in heaven above and on the earth below."   [Joshua 2:10-11]

God's sole aim wasn't their freedom from Egypt and miraculous crossing of the Red Sea. It wasn't only about their own faith and trust in Him at the time. Through their freedom, through their faith, He made Himself known as God, the only God, and gained glory and worship that is still being read about and learned today.

So if God is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow, then I have to ask myself what His aim of my faith is. Sure, I wish I trusted Him more, remembered to pray instead of worry so much, had more patience and less pride - the list goes on because I'd like more faith for me. But if me, myself and I am the end of the faith I desire, then I think I'll miss out on what God wants to do. And I think you will too.

Can it be true that God desires to use our faith for much greater things than just our own peace, joy, comfort, salvation and faith? Can we dare to look beyond ourselves in our self-absorbed world that's all about my pleasure, my pain, my comfort, my dreams, my money, my wants, my needs, my space, my have-to-haves? Can we dare to believe that God is capable of using our faith not just for our faith's sake?

I think so. I really do. Simply because that's who He is. Simply because I believe we are not the end of anything we are given whether it's money, relationships, time, talents, gifts, even trials and struggles. And I'm learning the same goes for faith.

[who's attention are You trying to get?]

A few weeks ago there was an apartment fire in my city that destroyed the homes of several international friends. Thankfully no one was hurt, but I spent a lot of time feeling sad and sorry for my friends the day it happened.

As I was dwelling on it and riding my bike home that night, though, I looked up from the path before me into the most beautiful sunset. The brilliant mix of colors was beyond a Crayola box of 64, and the clouds seemed to dance and float across the sky reflecting them. In that moment, these verses from Psalm 50 came to mind:

"The Mighty One, God, the LORD,

speaks and summons the earth

from the rising of the sun to the place where it sets.

From Zion, perfect in beauty,

God shines forth.

Our God comes and will not be silent;"

From the rising of the sun to the place where it sets. Our God comes and will not be silent. Wow.

Immediately I was reminded of my run a month ago through the cornfields and gravel roads of home. I had forgotten my headphones, so it ended up being six miles of prayer time and mind wandering, but as I looked around me at the sun-scorched crops that day, I couldn't help asking myself, "Whose attention are you trying to get God?"

To say it's been a dry year is an understatement. Very little snow this winter. Very little rain this summer. Corn turning brown in July like it was October - killing itself from the bottom up. Plants looking pretty parched. Creeks looking pretty sandy. Temps always way too hot and sunny without rain to refresh the earth.

But as I ran that day and looked at the scorched, thirsty crops, I was reminded that God was in control. That only He could "tip over the water jars of the heavens" (Job 38:37-38). That even when a farmer does everything else perfectly, they are still at the mercy of things beyond their control. But in that moment of helplessness, there is also a beautiful opportunity for faith to develop. And isn't that what it's ultimately all about anyway?

Our attention. That's what God wants more than anything else. And I'm learning He'll do whatever it takes to re-focus our hearts and eyes back to Him who gave us them in the first place. 

For some it takes a fire that destroys the temporary things of this world. For others it's a dry year where one's income, needs and livelihood are at the mercy of mother nature. For me? It was homesickness in South Africa. It was watching things I found my identity in crumble before me. It is now finding myself in a job where I have no choice but to depend on God for things I can't control, things I don't know, love and patience I don't have, difficult and painful situations I can't fix.

And though it often takes the hard things in life to finally look to God for strength and help, isn't it cool that He's gracious enough to give us those things? I mean, He loves us enough to allow hard things in life to happen - even though painful - because He ultimately wants to draw us back to Himself, the One who was before the world began and will still be around when the world ends. The One who made us in His image, bought our lives back on the cross and loves us as we come. The One who is so passionate about His glory and His people that He will not be silent. He will not stop pursuing us. He will not stop reminding us Who is in control and Who has the strength and wisdom to carry us through all things we face.

This is true grace, my friends, if we really stop to consider it. God loves us enough not to leave us where we are. And ultimately, more than happiness or easyness of life or simplicity, He wants our hearts, our worship and our love. And He will do whatever it takes to get our attention.

Super humbled by this. Super grateful. And praying I would continue to see His grace in all things. That both the good and bads of life are an invitation to once again put my faith and trust in Him who holds all things, knows all things, works in all things and has life under control when it seems chaotic and broken and overwhelming and hard from my perspective in the moment.

[the therefore]

The past few months the word "therefore" has been on my heart, mind and path. In my conversations, quiet times and songs. Constantly popping up and consistently pulling through.

According to Webster, it means "for that reason; because of that; to that end." It's never a word you start a thought or instruction with. It's a connector. Between what you've just said and what you want to say next. Because the statement that follows a "therefore" is always in light of what's before it - something else that must be read, learned and understood first.

And what's stuck with me the last few months is that the Bible is loaded with therefore-type statements. God never seems to deliver commands without that transition word or a phrase like it. "Because of X now do Y" or "in light of Y live like Z."

It's never "get your act together and shape up. Suck it up. Seriously what's your deal?"

It's always, "Remember what I've done for you. Remember who I am. Remember the way I have persistently and consistently followed through on every single thing I've promised throughout time and eternity. Then. Therefore. In light of that. Go live and serve and love this way, the way I originally made you, the way that will ultimately bring you the most peace, fulfillment and joy." God's commands are never apart from God's promises you know?

It's easy to forget that though.

There are things left undone. Things I know God calls me to do that I don't particularly want to do or be. Things I just can't seem to get figured out and truth I know but fail again and again to trust. The things I want to do I don't always do. The things I know I shouldn't do I continue to slip in.

And it's like, "Jeez God. Why am I such a failure? Why am I not better at this and trusting in that and able to be and do and live the way I know you want me to?"

When I find myself in this trap, I always have to come back to Romans 8:1-2. ". . there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit set me free from the law of sin and death." I am not condemned because I don't always have the faith, trust or love I should. I'm rebuked because I've failed to spend time with the One who gives those things.

Because when God calls us to do hard things, to give up hard dreams, to love hard people, to do more than just exist in this life and to hand over the rights to ourselves that we never really had anyway, we only find the strength and desire to do that when we spend time remembering Who He is and what He's done.

Everything begins at the cross and John 15 - remaining in God. Never with us trying harder, working longer, doing more or attempting to conjure up the things we know we're supposed to feel and do when truth is, we really don't feel them. We really don't care to do that. We're human. Painfully, obviously human. And that's not a miserable thing to dwell on. It's just reality.

This is the beauty of therefore, especially on days like today when I need it most. When I struggle with having any sort of patience or love or desire to be with people or serve people. When I wish the world would just stop spinning and running and my schedule would stop being filled. I realize it's not always a rebuking that I need, though, but a gentle, quiet reminder of Who He is and what He's done for me.

Passages like Isaiah 54:10 draw me back: "'Though the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed, yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken nor my covenant of peace be removed,' says the LORD who has compassion on you."

And I'm reminded in my quiet time that I serve and love and give and hand over my time, moneys, talents and plans because of what God's done for me. Never because it's noble. Never because it's a religious duty. Never to earn God's favor. Never to try and avoid His rightful wrath. Always in light of His compassion, grace and mercy in my life. Always the cross comes first. Always the time with God. Always the gospel for me before others. Then the action. Then the ministry. Then the therefore.

[more of my 1,000]

Just jotted down number 623 on my journey to counting 1,000 things I love, thanks Ann Voskamp, and wanted to share a few. I think I'll keep going for forever though. It's amazing how much it's already affected me in powerful ways. So good.

233. attempting others' accents

242. smell of sun-dried laundry

261. how the gift brings the giver

270. that we are invited to come as we are

306. finding the perfect birthday card for someone

312. seeing a shooting star

321. eating at local restaurants

329. unexpected conversations

342. people-watching at airports

361. not having a clue what I'm eating but that it's good

374. non-morning people in the morning

384. drinking bottled pop

427. witnessing three sunsets in a row

454. riding bikes in Shanghai traffic

522. the reflection of a wooden dock on water

561. a competitive game of cards

576. watching fires burn

590. summer nights

600. Therefore. God doesn't deliver ultimatums. Everything He asks of us is in light of what He's already done in us.

624? in progress..

[peace: the absence of worry]

My devotion tonight mentioned 2 Thessalonians 3:16 - "May the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times and in every way." And it got me thinking about how peace seems to change meaning as it changes context.

For my friends from South Sudan, peace is no more fighting. No more death over land. Over resources. Over cows and power and religion and differences. For them, peace is the absence of war.

For friends from large, multi-millioned-people, cities, peace is quiet country silence away from the crowds and heat and crazy busyness of all that cities thrive on. For them, peace is the absence of poeple.

And God? The peace He is talking about here in 2 Thessalonians? I suppose I should go look up the original in Greek to get more meaning, but tonight I'm just going to take it at it's English translation. And to me, I sense the peace talked about here is simply a quiet heart and mind for once. It's a deep sense of confidence not in this world but in the God who made it. It's a trust that everything will work out. That life in all of its ups and downs is good. That this is not the end. Tonight, peace is the absence of worry for me.

I know it might change tomorrow. But tonight it's a quiet assurance that all is right in the world because my God's in control. Sure there is lots to be done, lots of hurt, lots of need. But Easter has already arrived. We declare every day Easter, because Satan's already toast.