Church Visitors: What NOT to do

Visiting churches, especially when searching for a new faith community, is a varied and interesting process. As we've visited a couple churches in the last few weeks, and talked to several others who are experiencing similar situations, I simply had to share some things you don't want to do. You may never see these in a book, but they're important nonetheless!

1. Don't add one-time visitors to your church-wide e-mail distribution list. A nice "Hello, thanks for visiting..." e-mail is fine, but hold off on adding people to a general distribution list. Too much information too soon!

2. Don't ask parents to give their driver's license numbers, weight and other personal information in order to drop their kids off in the kids' church area.

3. Never chase first-time visitors out into the parking lot to give them a laminated card for their children to make check-in easier next week. Just don't do it.

4. If you offer sports programs as part of your church, don't serve communion to elementary school children during the program without talking to parents first. This message is especially for those of us from Evangelical backgrounds. Respect parents and families and save this for a different time and place.

With all these things in mind, I do have to say that we have been warmly welcomed at each place we visited. I have enjoyed this process and look forward, for the most part, of more visits to come. In the meantime, it's nice to have a bit of a laugh!

How about you? Have you had any similar church visiting experiences that stood out to you? I'd love to hear about it.

Visiting Day 1

Today was the first of what I have dubbed our "visiting days." For the first time since leaving Grace, we worshiped with a new faith community.

Before traipsing through the snow, we gathered close in our car and said a quick prayer. We then proceeded up the long brick walk to the old high school building in which the church meets, a massive brick structure with ornate columns framing the expansive front doors. The building certainly has a presence about it. We had arrived early, so once we arrived we had a bit of time to look around. Shortly, we were greeted by one of the lead pastors, who walked us down to the children's area. We checked the kids in and proceeded to the service.

While worshiping, a deep sense of peace and joy enveloped me. We have just begun this journey. This will not be our last stop, but it could be. That in itself was a significant message to us today.

Cool Stuff

It's cool for me anyway...

Yesterday and today, I taught the weekend services at our church. I'm incredibly wiped out this afternoon...three services is a lot. But, my soul is satisfied. It is an amazing experience to dig into the Bible, share what I've learned with a group of people and somehow have it be more than simply my words. It's been an amazing experience and I am very thankful for the opportunity.

Organic Growth...What's It Really Like?

I recently finished reading the bookThe Forgotten Ways by Alan Hirsch. In addition, I was privileged to participate in a round table discussion today with Alan Hirsch which was sponsored by the local Reformed Church Classis, whom I thank sincerely for allowing a group of us to join with them in this insightful day.

As usual, I come out of this with many thoughts, most of which don't deserve a second look. But, in my reading of this book, I got caught on the chapter about organic systems. Hirsch states, "It should not surprise us that organic images of the church should draw their primary theological funding from the biblical doctrine of creation (cosmology), from an ecological and an intrinsically spiritual view of the world rather than from any of the other disciplines that have conventionally informed leadership and the development of organizations. Cosmology must guide us into a deeper understanding of ourselves and our function in the world." (page 180)

In the previous section, he touches on the metaphors Jesus used for the church and the kingdom; body, field, yeast, seed, trees, living temples, vines, animals, etc. Having recently lead a Natural Church Development process in our church, these images were quite familiar to me.

At that point, though, I started to really think about this process. We recently returned from vacation in the mountains of Colorado. While there, we admired the beauty of the forests. We saw pine cones forming on the conifers and shared with our children how the trees are naturally created as the seeds fall to the ground. It's a natural process of reproduction. But built into this process is a significant failure rate. How many of the seeds land on soil, germinate and grow into viable trees which are then able to reproduce themselves? Not nearly as many as were originally sent out (try a google search on this...who knew how many different studies on this exact topic there are).

Hirsch states on page 181 that "...an organic image of church and mission is theologically richer by far than any mechanistic and institutional conceptions of church that we might devise.". I whole-heartedly agree. And yet, as we consider organic processes to be the method of growth and the movement of God in our culture today, I wonder about our ability to also reconcile this seeming failure as part of the natural process. Organic does not necessitate perfect scenarios. It creates natural scenarios. As individuals and communities seek to follow Jesus, how do we deal with the loss that is inherent in natural processes without turning away from the mission?

I think that one method of navigating this reality is to walk in community both within an individual faith community as well as in the joining together with other faith communities on this same journey. For instance, if we consider a single conifer tree in a relatively empty field, it's going to take an awfully long time for much to happen. But, if we look at a field full of trees at various stages of development, all of a sudden the relatively low percentage of germination of seeds begins to "feel" different because we see things happening faster just because there's more to start with.

So, back to human reality... Maybe as individuals and church communities, we have to consider that this organic process is going to look fairly stagnated to begin with. As result, we deliberately parter with other individuals and other churches so that our shared stories inform each other and provide opportunity both for mourning and encouragement as we travel together in this important journey.

And doesn't this make sense anyway when we consider the call for the church (bigger than just our local faith community) to be the body of God, working together to accomplish the mission given to us by Jesus?

Conversation on the Way to the Movies

My almost 7-year-old: Mom, does God know everything I'm going to do?

Me: Explain to me what your thinking, please.

7 year old: Well, does God control us kind of like a puppet or a remote control car?

Me: People have different interpretations of what scripture says about that. Some people believe that God knows every decision we're going to make and others believe that God gives us freedom to make decisions and then works with the decisions we make to fulfill God's purposes.

7 year old: What do you believe, Mom?

Me: I believe that God allows us to make decisions and then works with those decisions.

7 year old: I think I believe both.

Me: Really. Explain that to me.

7 year old: Well, God puts thoughts in our head to help us make the right decisions. So, that helps us make God's decisions and still make up our own mind. Hey, Mom! I just created a 3rd option. My option includes everyone.

Me: Wow.

(We finished the evening off with watching Horton Hears a Who...fitting after our conversation).

Learning Styles, Modern Boxes & Christian Responsibility

I mentioned in a recent post my process of motherhood and learning to understand and appreciate the way my middle child does life.

Nate has been diagnosed with learning disabilities, mostly in the area of motor development, but we're also monitoring him for what is called "motor planning." Motor planning is the process of organizing items or ideas sequentially or in logical order. For instance, if you ask Nate, "Why do you use an umbrella?", his answer will likely be, "So you don't get wet." Well, according to the system, the appropriate answer is "Because it's raining." There was a step in the process that was missed...the rain needs to be mentioned before the getting wet part.

So, this brings me to a book I've been reading, Intuitive Leadership by Tim Keel. In this book, Keel tells a bit of his own story and that of his church, Jacob's Well, in Kansas City. He talks about the process of moving within a traditional church model and having an ongoing sense of discomfort. This discomfort urged him, forced him, to do church differently than how he had previously experienced it. Keel has some great thoughts in his book and I consider it a excellent synopsis of several ideas and practices in the emerging church movement. There is one area, though, that stopped me.

On page 126, Keen, drawing on the writings of Neil Postman and Marshall McLuhan, summarized three crises in Western educational systems. The first of these occurred in the 5th century BC, when Athens moved from an oral to written tradition. Moving from a culture of iconic images and stories to writing eventually, combined with the printing press, developed in the 16th century (the 2nd crisis) strongly contributed to a very left brain approach to learning. Getting to the point, on page 130, Keel states "It turns out that linear, sequential, analytic ways of knowing are processed in one part of our brain, or more accurately one hemisphere of our brain; the left hemisphere. Over the last several hundred years that make up modern history, the right brain was left to atrophy. In the emerging culture of the postmodern world we occupy, the use of the right hemisphere of the human brain is making a comeback."

Now, back to Nate. About November of last year, he started begging us to let him play piano. So, I finally signed him up for a "Little Mozart's Music Class" through our local recreation center. In the period of 5 weeks I have seen things click for Nate in a way I have never seen this happen. He loves music, he begs to practice and do his music homework, he never complains about it. Amazingly to me, the stuff that is clicking in music is immediately transferring over to other areas. His writing and coloring skills and his attention span have both improved significantly. Besides that, I see confidence and insight that I knew existed in him, but hadn't really seen manifest itself. For instance, our keyboard has several pre-programmed songs in it. One of them is "What Child is This?". The song is in a minor key. One day Nate was playing around on the keyboard and when this song came on, he looked at me and said, "Mom, this is a sad song, isn't it?" He also now makes up stories to go with the music we're listening to.

It was my turn to have something click. Nate's "disabilities" have been labeled such because he does not fit into the educational/learning boxes currently available through public schools. The goals set up in most of today's school environments are driven by left brain processing. In this way, by labeling Nate with a disability, he is given the help he needs to exist in an environment that is not his natural home. In reality, Nate does not so much have a disability as a different approach to learning and doing life. Nate's answer to why you need an umbrella is the right answer. Just because he didn't get to it through the same process as I might, doesn't negate it's truth.

It makes me realize anew how easy it is to make a category and label anything outside that category as unusual, odd, or simply wrong. It's a pretty natural thing to create those boxes. It might be, as in Nate's case, education. It could be a myriad of other things. My job as Nate's mom is to be his advocate, the person who understands him and balances some odd line of encouraging him and also working with the system on his behalf. It's certainly not a fine science, but it's ongoing goal.

I wonder if that's part of what we are called to as Christians. Understanding that boxes don't always work and that their are people who don't fit and need our help. They might be outside our churches, I'm pretty sure they're sitting in our churches. I know that I often fall into that category.

A Potter's Consideration

At the beginning of Jeremiah 18, there is a story of the prophet being instructed by God to "go down to the potter's house." While there, Jeremiah sees the potter working at the wheel. The pot in his hands is marred, so the potter reshaped it into a form that was suitable in his eyes.

At that point, the word of the Lord comes to Jeremiah, "Can I not do with you, house of Israel, as this potter does?" God proceeds to tell the prophet that if he announces that a nation is to be destroyed, but the people clean up their act, then he will relent in the prescribed punishment. Likewise, if he has promised to bless a nation, but they do evil in his sight, then he will "reconsider the good I had intended to do for it."

Reading this section impressed upon me the responsiveness of God to humanity. The thought that my actions influence the Almighty is overwhelming to consider.

Our Pastor has made a commitment to seek God throughout the next 40 days. He's asked those of us that are willing to join him during this time. I am joining. Realizing the scripture above is directly addressing the nation of Israel, I have taken it on as my prayer for the next 40 days. I believe that as I personally seek God, that God will consider me. Also, as our church seeks God, God will consider us.

CBE Recap

I had the awesome opportunity to attend the Christians for Biblical Equality (CBE) International Conference this weekend. This year the conference venue was here in Denver. I couldn't let them visit my city without attending!

I had several take-aways from the weekend.

The first was gratefulness for friendships. I met up with a group of ladies there, one of whom I met at the Emerging Women's Gathering outside Chicago this last March. Sara is a terrific person (and a wonderful advertisement for Bethel Seminary, by the way). She is also a brilliant woman who wrote and presented a paper on Job Daughter's that is quite challenging. Her friends, Teralyn and Liz were just as wonderful. I had a terrific time renewing a friendship and beginning more. Who knows when we might meet again!

I also had the opportunity to bask in the work of people who have given their lives toward the cause of gender justice. I met Alvera Mickelson. She described herself as a spritely 88 years. She reminded me so much of my own grandmother, and yet my Grandma does not have a view anywhere near Alvera's. Alvera was also quite a firecracker and a whole lot of fun to have in workshop sessions. For those of you unaware of Alvera Mickelson's work, just type in her name at amazon.com.

The conference, not surprisingly, was weighted heavier on women than men. But there was a pretty good representation of men. There was also reasonable representation of minority groups. It was definitely a conference-style, but they went out of their way to try to bring in different elements in the form of art and music. I also liked that besides focusing on gender equality, the theme of the conference was "Seeking Justice and Loving Mercy" and touched on other areas of justice as well.

I think my favorite speaker was Kevin G. Giles. His presentation on "The Eternal Subordination of the Son and the Permanent Subordination of Women" addressed a topic that often comes up in conversation in my realm of the world, at least when it comes to women's place in the home and the church. He had a powerful presentation and answered many of my own questions. And besides that, he was not politically correct about the current proposal submitted by Wayne Gruden concerning the eternal subordination of the Son. It was both an informative and fun workshop session.

Overall, my biggest take-away was history. I looked around the room and saw many, many people in the over-60 crowd. A large portion of these were the founders of CBE and fought for gender justice at a time when it was much more controversial than it is for me today. I am so blessed by the heritage they have left for me and others like me. Thank you to the many who have fought, who have considered the voices of women valuable and worth defending. Their vision and passion make me realize that I cannot let their vision die.

Thoughts On Sphere Sovereignty

Last week we watched video 9 of the Truth Project. I’ve been mulling it over ever since. The “tour”, as each session is called in the series, addressed “the state”. In the course of the video, Dr. Tackett covered God’s design for the state, both its designed role and its responsibility in relationship with other areas of life (called spheres) such as church and family.

The strength of this particular tour is the emphasis that as followers of Christ, we are not to allow the state to become our king and our provider. God is that to us. Although not explicitly stated in the video, I also gleaned out of this week’s presentation that neither should we depend on the state to take care of that which God has called us to; caring for the poor, the widows and the orphans…the least of these.

The greatest weakness of this tour was the discussion of “sphere sovereignty.” This term was coined Abraham Kuyper, a Dutch theologian and statesman in the late 19th century. It was later further developed by Herman Dooyeweerd, among others. To state it very broadly and with only a couple hours of research under my belt, the idea was that God created the world with spheres and each holds its own inherent value and law that is sovereign to itself. Primary examples of these spheres are the state, church and family, but can also include arts, science, and education among others. (There is a lot of interesting material on sphere sovereignty. I recommend googling it and doing some reading on the subject if you’re at all interested).

At one point, Dr. Tackett states that there’s something the old western movies got right. He provides the illustration of a posse chasing someone who then runs into the local church. The posse does not breech the doors of the church as that is considered “God’s territory”, not the state’s. This is provided as a terrific example of appropriate sphere sovereignty. This is a very inadequate and, I would posit, incorrect understanding of sphere sovereignty. What the video failed to capture was that by harboring a criminal (assuming that the posse was actually chasing a “bad” guy”), the church was breaching the sovereignty appropriate to the state (term used loosely as “state” in that environment is much different than it is defined today).

One primary claim of the more conservative proponents of sphere sovereignty is that by funding education and/or healthcare, the state is overstepping the responsibility God gave this particular sphere. They state that this responsibility should rightly fall to the church or the family. Sounds like it makes sense, doesn’t it? But, then my mind is flooded with exceptions. The first that comes to mind is the recent problems of sexual abuse within the Catholic church. The church attempted to handle this within its own sphere, to the detriment of the children entrusted to this institution. I also think of the inner cities, which, if left to their own, lack the appropriate resources to provide education to their children, which is easily obtained by those in the wealthier suburbs. The question boils down to how we implement biblical principles with life in a consumer-driven, industrial, capitalist, modern/post-modern environment. It’s not as easy as saying, “Stay off my turf.”

My basic point is this, sphere sovereignty, as presented by the Truth Project, is problematic and not a great basis for a fully formed and informed Christian worldview.

To follow that up, I think it is imperative that each of us, both individually and collectively, should consider what our responsibility as Christian social agents should be in light of the various spheres in which we reside. Rather than pointing fingers at what other spheres should not be doing, I believe it would behoove us to ensure that we are fulfilling Jesus’ call to love God with all our heart, mind, soul and strength and to love others as ourselves.

Who Decides?

Recently, I was talking with a friend about Biblical inerrancy, inspiration and authority. We talked about literary genres and cultural contexts and how understanding those dynamics within and around the text makes a difference in how we then interpret and apply a text.

My friend then asked me the critical quesiton, "Who Decides?" For instance, is it possible to claim that the Genesis narrative is in line with local creation narratives from the middle east and doesn't necessary indicate a literal 7 24 hour day creation story and then claim that Jesus' story was entirely real? Is it possible to understand some texts as metaphorical and others as literal? If so, who decides?

That's pretty much a million dollar question within the Evangelical community. I've just started reading a book called Slaves, Women and Homosexuals: Exploring the Hermeneutics of Cultural Analysis which attempts to answer at least part of this question. The author, William Web, begins by listing various scriptures (2 pages worth) and then asking the readers to mark each one as either cultural or transcultural (for all time). He then asks the question, "Why do some biblical instructions have ongoing significance and force in their entirety, while the continued application of others is limited in some manner? How do I determine which components of the biblical text should apply today and which should not?

Webb later makes the comment, "It is necessary for Christians to challenge their culture where it departs from kingdom values; it is equally necessary for them to identify with their culture on all other matters." The book, from my understanding, then goes on to examine the "issues" of slaves, women and homosexuals in light of this statement. He argues for what he calls the redemptive-movement hermeneutic, an approach that looks at commandments and pracitical living out of the old and new covenants, considers them in their cultural context and attempts to understand a possible trajectory that God is working out throughout history. It seems like an interesting and innovative approach, one that will at least begin to answer the question, "Who decides?" and does so with the underlying assumption that the Bible is God's revelation of himself to us.

This whole idea of Biblical inspiration is fascinating. What an incredible thought Paul has in 1 Timothy 3:16, All scripture is God-breathed.... Simply amazing.

What I Will Tell My Children

Tonight I participated in a very moving ceremony at our church entitled "Rites of Passage". For the last few years our church has sought to include youth in the corporate life of the church. Rites of Passage is the beginning of this quest. Over the course of a weekend, a youth (age 13-20 something) and her parents attend several special meetings culminating in a ceremony on Monday night with the congregation that welcomes her into adulthood. The youth have an opportunity to pray with their parents, with board members and with the pastor. It is truly powerful to participate in this process with these youth.

My heart soared tonight.

The speaker called the young men to stand and spoke into their lives. He called them to be men of responsibility, men with whom the women at the church could feel comfortable and safe. He called them to be warriors. He said they were made in God's image and God was a Warrior.

The speaker called the young women to stand and spoke into their lives. He called them to be women of virtue, princesses, daughters of the King. He told them that they should guard themselves lest they cause God's warriors to stumble. He encouraged them to behave modestly and to dress modestly. He told them that there were parts of their bodies only their husbands should ever see and that they shouldn't wear pants too low or shirts too low-cut. He didn't tell the young women that they are made in God's image. He didn't tell them a lot...

My heart broke tonight.

I wanted to stand and tell them! I wanted to hold their faces in my hands, look into their eyes and tell them that they are created in the image of God! Someone tell them that they are called to be God's warriors! They are called to love with God's unending compassion. They are called to so much more than they were told tonight. I know that's what our church body wants to tell them as well. It's just that so often conservative Christianity has underlying assumptions that we don't think about. We don't think about the subtle and not-so-subtle messages we give our children and how their faith is formed around these messages.

Tonight, I think of what I will tell my children; my two sons and my daughter:

You are created in the image of the Divine God. God has called you. You are to be passionate and you are to be strong in character. You are to fight for those who cannot fight for themselves and you are to shelter them under your wings like a mother hen. God wants you to use your gifts, the gifts given by him, to serve others and show them his mercy and love. You are to give of yourself in order to be made whole. You are called.

I pray for my all my children a faith strong enough for doubt, a will that seeks without end and a heart that loves without boundaries.

The Emotionally Healthy Church and Grieving

I've just finished a book called "The Emotionally Healthy Church". The book was recommended to me by my coach for the NCD process at our church.

It's a pretty good book, with the overarching premise that you cannot grow spiritually if you are not growning emotionally. Basically, you can do all the good in the world, but if not for the right reasons, you're not really growing spiritually.

There is one thought in the process that has captured my thoughts for the last week; Grieving is a gift given to me by God to deal with life's disappointments and hurts.

It's been a pretty rough few months for me. This fall we found out that one of our kids has a delay in motor development, possibly motor planning. My dad was in the hospital for 2 weeks as a result of a bad retroperiteneal bleed, my brother just had back surgery again and my husband's health has deteriorated as he's attempting a new treatment for diabetes. All of this in addition to trying to maintain a very busy life with our kids and too much commitment at church. I've pushed on in everything despite being tired, feeling overwhelmed and often times angry.

I have not allowed what has happened around me to penetrate my soul and incorporate it into who I am. I've held in on the outside, as if somehow it doesn't touch me. I'm not effected by it. I have not grieved.

I'd like to say I can press on, but that's just not true.

I am sad that Nate's developement is within the "normal" category. Actually, quite frankly, I'm disappointed that he's not at the top of the curve. The ability to get things done and general intelligence stuff is a big deal in my family. We're pretty competitive that way. Nate is very smart, but his way of doing life won't fit into most people's boxes. I'm sad about that. Not fitting into people's boxes can make life rough. I don't want that for him. And yet, when I put it on paper (so to speak) I don't really want him to fit in a box anyway. I really just want him to be happy. Right now he is. So, as I grieve, I want to show him that I love him for who he is, not who I wish he was.

I grieve for my dad, who has always been the picture of health. We all pray he will be that again. But in the process, I have new awareness that my parents are aging and I think it stinks! I want to have them forever, but I am learning to truly enjoy them now.

I grieve for my brother and his family. Life has dealt them a series of blows and I'm pissed of about it. They need time to heal. They need time to learn to deal with the "little" things in life, rather than always dealing with crises. I pray for them peace and strength. I pray that I can support and not feel responsible for who they become in the process.

I grieve for Eddie. Eddie's the coolest guy and the most incredible husband. I want health for him. I feel angry that he has to deal with this disease and that as a result, our family does as well.

So, with my dirty laundry on the table, the question I have for myself is how do I incorporate these disapponitments into my life rather than continuing to push them out? I'm not quite sure. I've started with a good cry. Hopefully God will meet me here.

Loving Relationships

"Loving Relationships". That's the lowest quality factor in our church's quality survey by the Institute of Natural Church Development. That's also the committee I'll be leading over the next 6 monts to 1 year to strategize & implement changes specific to this area.

The survey seems a bit sterile on the surface, but the opportunity is truly amazing. The point really is not a big church, big numbers, make the gospel attractive to attract people..what we normally consider church growth strategies. The opportunity is meeting needs; creating a healthy atmosphere in which God can better move through structures, relationships, worship, leadership and ministry.

I'm fascinated to see where this goes. I am hoping...praying...that what is done by the team and the church makes a difference in the lives of people.

Prayer and Understanding God

Our church is doing a series on questions. Easter was "Why Jesus?" This Sunday is about prayer...specifically, is there a reason God doesn't answer my prayers. Am I not good enough? Am I doing it wrong? In doing very minimal research to help our pastor, God has spoken to my heart about prayer in my life. This view on prayer is not a result of unending research, but rather personal experience and need. It's been a rather tough week as my brother struggles through a battle in his life...one that effects those that love him dearly. So, here are my thoughts:

It seems to me when I read about prayer in the Bible, specifically the New Testament, the goal of prayer is not our personal comfort and wishes. In 1 Cor. 13:9, Paul prays for the perfection of the Corinthian believers. In Phil 1:9, the prayer is for the love of the believers growth in knowledge and insight for the purpose of discernment. Phil 4:6 states that we should not be anxious, but with prayer and petition make our requests know to God. The result of this is not a perfect situation, easily handled, but God's peace. James 1:5 states that God will give wisdom to those who ask and believe. James 4:2-3 states that they do not have because they do not ask God and that when they do ask, they ask with wrong motives...motives that are selfish and concerned with their own well-being and personal pleasures. Because of this, their prayers are not answered.

I've been reading "Adventures in Missing the Point" by Tony Campolo and Brian McLaren. In McLaren's response to Campolo's chapter on Theology, he addresses the way we approach God and shares quotes from a poem by C.S. Lewis. I found the poem online and have included it below.

He whom I bow to only knows to whom I bow
When I attempt the ineffable Name, murmuring Thou,
And dream of Pheidian fancies and embrace in heart
Symbols (I know) which cannot be the thing Thou art.
Thus always, taken at their word, all prayers blaspheme
Worshiping with frail images a folk-lore dream,
And all men in their praying, self-deceived, address
The coinage of their own unquiet thoughts, unless
Thou in magnetic mercy to Thyself divert
Our arrows, aimed unskillfully, beyond desert;
And all men are idolaters, crying unheard
To a deaf idol, if Thou take them at their word.

Take not, O Lord, our literal sense. Lord, in thy great
Unbroken speech our limping metaphor translate.

What an incredibly powerful thought! Humanity constantly struggles to understand God. We have images and frameworks, but they rest on our own personal experience, through traditions passed down to us; all of these incomlete. We see through the glass dimly.

I was listening to a CD my husband left in the car over the weekend and heard a song that caught me right where I'm at. The song is by a band called "Down Here". I can't seem to find a CD by them or a website, but the song is on the 2002 WOW CD. The words are as follows;

I knew the times would come, and now the times have landed
With sting and abrasion.
As ready as I seem to be, it's never like I planned it.

I'm wrestling my thoughts, I'm overcome
Would you give me death, I'm asking Lord.
There's nowhere I sense your presence here
So I will cry out until I go...

From protest to praise, You're always amazing me.
Your changing me slowly but surely and
You're going to see me to the end.

How long will I be forgotten by you forever
Cause you're not making sense here.
It seems like eternity has made a home between us.
I'm wrestling my thoughts I'm overcome...

What captured me in the words of this song is that sometimes life doesn't make sense. It's hard and it's painful. But the journey from protest to praise is where God wants to meet me. In my own life, my prayer is that God moves me from protest to praise.