There are a few new additions to the right of my blog posts.
The first thing you'll see is a map of where I am at the moment. I want to keep you updated because we will be traveling quite a bit in the next few weeks.
Further down the page, you'll see a link for the Global Service Newsletters. So far I have only received the one for August, but as I receive more, I will post them.
Spoiler alert: Daniel and I are in this newsletter quite a few times! We hope to write for it a few times over the next year. The link is also here: Global Service August 2015 Newsletter
Next, you'll see a form where you can sign up for email updates. You should do it! Because if you've read this blog post, there's a good chance you'll want to read the more interesting ones. And this way, you'll know the minute I've posted one!
Lastly, you will see an option to change this blog into a different language. This is for all of my lovely missionaries who are learning new languages, along with making it easier for people whose first language might not be English.
I'm looking to make this blog accessible and open to anyone who wants to read it, so let me know if there is anything else I can add.
Showing posts with label blogging. Show all posts
Showing posts with label blogging. Show all posts
Wednesday, August 5, 2015
Thursday, October 9, 2014
Biblical Women I'd Rather Be than the Proverbs 31 Woman
You have probably all heard of the Proverbs 31 woman. I have seen so many young men claim that they wish they could find a Proverbs 31 woman to marry. Or others who claim to have found a Proverbs 31 woman and just can't wait to make her their wife! Woohoo!
She is a capable wife.
She imports her food from far away.
She makes all her own clothes.
She gets up really early and cooks for her husband.
She works out.
Her husband is super popular.
She has her own business.
Her husband praises her.
She is submissive.
She lives for the will of her husband.
Oh yeah, and God too.
I don't have a huge problem with all of these things. Fearing God is cool. Owning your own business is pretty swell. But it doesn't say things like "sometimes she does things for herself because she's worth that." It doesn't say that her husband helps her cook and clean because he recognizes the fact that being a mother and wife is actually pretty difficult work. It doesn't say that she is independent and courageous.
She lives for her husband and for God. And probably her children (although they are barely mentioned).
I guess there are worse things to live for.
But I would rather be one of these women of the Bible.
Sarah... obviously Sarah has to be one of my favorite women of the Bible. I wish I had her faith, her humor, her love for Abraham. She hears what God promises and she wants to do everything she can to make that come true so that the nations might be blessed through the offspring of her husband. Even if it means she has to suck it up and give Abraham her servant Hagar. So maybe her efforts were a little misguided. She didn't give up and she loved God.
Achsah of Joshua, Judges, and 1 Chronicles... When her father promised her to a man in marriage, she told her father to up the dowry. Basically "I'm worth more than just a few acres of land." What a badass.
Deborah... the only female Judge of Israel in the Old Testament. Need I say more? People used to beg her to be a part of their battles because they were too afraid to fight on their own. She was pretty freaking cool.
Hogla of Numbers and Joshua... she was one of the five daughters of Zelophehad who fought and won the right to inhereit their deceased father's property. Back then, women were basically considered property, so the fact that she could own her father's property (it would typically go to her brothers or uncles or some distant relative) is really awesome.
Jael of Judges... she is my favorite. Jael tricked Sisera into coming to sleep in her tent and then she drove a tent spike through his head. This delivered the Israelites from the troops of king Jabin. I imagine her looking around at all the chaos and death going and and thinking, "well if all these men can't handle it, then I'm going to do this myself!" She is pretty much the coolest.
Junia... one of the outstanding woman apostles. She was a colleague of Paul and he apparently thought very highly of her. Reason #975 why I don't think Paul wrote mean things about women in his letters. Anyone who is able to hang with Paul and tolerate his incessant preaching and obsession with Jesus is worth a place on this list.
Ruth... she stayed with her mother Naomi because she knew that Naomi would need comfort and guidance after the death of all of her sons and husband. Ruth is one of the most selfless, beautiful women in the Bible. She is also the only one who has a whole book about her. Not only that, but Naomi is kind of an awesome trickster and tricked a man into marrying Ruth and giving her a life. I love cunning women. Sometimes I like to pretend I'm that clever.
Mary... I basically love all of the Marys in the Bible, but I especially like Mary, the sister of Martha. She sat at the feet of Jesus and listened to him teach while other people were probably looking at her like she was a freak. You see, she wasn't doing the social norm of that time... she should have been up hosting with her sister Martha. Martha even calls her on it! But Mary is just perfectly content being with her Savior, no matter what is going on around her.
Rebekah... a lot of people don't really like Rebekah because she had a favorite son. But she is so smart! She dresses her favorite son up and makes sure he gets the blessing from their dying father. So maybe she's not super honest, but she is killer smart.
I like women who take things into their own hands. Women who stand up for what they believe in. Women who know what they want and are out to get it. The Proverbs 31 woman sounds nice for a while, but her obedience to her husband and mundane days of making garments and planting vineyards sounds like a drag.
So here's hoping my future husband likes more of a Jael-type of girl!
She is a capable wife.
She imports her food from far away.
She makes all her own clothes.
She gets up really early and cooks for her husband.
She works out.
Her husband is super popular.
She has her own business.
Her husband praises her.
She is submissive.
She lives for the will of her husband.
Oh yeah, and God too.
I don't have a huge problem with all of these things. Fearing God is cool. Owning your own business is pretty swell. But it doesn't say things like "sometimes she does things for herself because she's worth that." It doesn't say that her husband helps her cook and clean because he recognizes the fact that being a mother and wife is actually pretty difficult work. It doesn't say that she is independent and courageous.
She lives for her husband and for God. And probably her children (although they are barely mentioned).
I guess there are worse things to live for.
But I would rather be one of these women of the Bible.
Sarah... obviously Sarah has to be one of my favorite women of the Bible. I wish I had her faith, her humor, her love for Abraham. She hears what God promises and she wants to do everything she can to make that come true so that the nations might be blessed through the offspring of her husband. Even if it means she has to suck it up and give Abraham her servant Hagar. So maybe her efforts were a little misguided. She didn't give up and she loved God.
Achsah of Joshua, Judges, and 1 Chronicles... When her father promised her to a man in marriage, she told her father to up the dowry. Basically "I'm worth more than just a few acres of land." What a badass.
Deborah... the only female Judge of Israel in the Old Testament. Need I say more? People used to beg her to be a part of their battles because they were too afraid to fight on their own. She was pretty freaking cool.
Hogla of Numbers and Joshua... she was one of the five daughters of Zelophehad who fought and won the right to inhereit their deceased father's property. Back then, women were basically considered property, so the fact that she could own her father's property (it would typically go to her brothers or uncles or some distant relative) is really awesome.
Jael of Judges... she is my favorite. Jael tricked Sisera into coming to sleep in her tent and then she drove a tent spike through his head. This delivered the Israelites from the troops of king Jabin. I imagine her looking around at all the chaos and death going and and thinking, "well if all these men can't handle it, then I'm going to do this myself!" She is pretty much the coolest.
Junia... one of the outstanding woman apostles. She was a colleague of Paul and he apparently thought very highly of her. Reason #975 why I don't think Paul wrote mean things about women in his letters. Anyone who is able to hang with Paul and tolerate his incessant preaching and obsession with Jesus is worth a place on this list.
Ruth... she stayed with her mother Naomi because she knew that Naomi would need comfort and guidance after the death of all of her sons and husband. Ruth is one of the most selfless, beautiful women in the Bible. She is also the only one who has a whole book about her. Not only that, but Naomi is kind of an awesome trickster and tricked a man into marrying Ruth and giving her a life. I love cunning women. Sometimes I like to pretend I'm that clever.
Mary... I basically love all of the Marys in the Bible, but I especially like Mary, the sister of Martha. She sat at the feet of Jesus and listened to him teach while other people were probably looking at her like she was a freak. You see, she wasn't doing the social norm of that time... she should have been up hosting with her sister Martha. Martha even calls her on it! But Mary is just perfectly content being with her Savior, no matter what is going on around her.
Rebekah... a lot of people don't really like Rebekah because she had a favorite son. But she is so smart! She dresses her favorite son up and makes sure he gets the blessing from their dying father. So maybe she's not super honest, but she is killer smart.
I like women who take things into their own hands. Women who stand up for what they believe in. Women who know what they want and are out to get it. The Proverbs 31 woman sounds nice for a while, but her obedience to her husband and mundane days of making garments and planting vineyards sounds like a drag.
So here's hoping my future husband likes more of a Jael-type of girl!
Sunday, July 20, 2014
Give to everyone who asks
Give to everyone who asks.
Emphasis on the ask.
I must confess, this particular post was conceived after reading another seminarian's blog post from about a week ago. His point (which is obviously a very valid point) is that we are to give to everyone who asks. Period. The end. Not "give to everyone who asks and seems to have need," not "give to everyone who asks and is willing to repay you," not "give to everyone who asks and seems like they're telling the truth." We are called to give to everyone who asks.
Luke 6:30 says, "Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back."
Matthew 5:42 says, "Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you."
But what if we are only called to give to those who ask. Not the people we see as having a need. Not the people we hope we can fix or help in order to get something out of it ourselves. Not the people who are high profile and the world presents as "needy."
One of my biggest flaws is that I think I can fix things that I simply cannot fix. Actually, I think I can and should fix things that people have no intention of fixing or don't want help in fixing. I'm a chronic fixer. A codependent fixer. I want people to fix me too.
But I rarely wait for people to ask. I never wait for "what do you think?" before giving my opinion. I rarely wait for "how should I do it?" before letting them know how I would do it. I barely ever wait for "can you help?" before I've offered three or four solutions to a problem.
What if this phrase is a commentary on our mission as a church? What if the author intentionally didn't write, "give to everyone?" What if we aren't supposed to walk into the impoverished part of town and declare their needs and hold out our hands for the "needy?"
I think it is especially an important self-care issue for caregivers. We aren't going to be able to help all of the people who we think need help. We aren't going to be able to help all of the people who we think deserve help or would benefit from help. But we are able to help the people who ask for help.
Think about it: how many times did Jesus roll up, diagnose people, and decide to solve their problems? Not too many times. In fact, in most of the time people are flocking to Jesus and asking for his help. Of course, he responds appropriately to every single person- he helps them. Even when he's in the middle of helping someone else. Then after he helps people, he oftentimes retreats to the mountainside, the lake, or the wilderness to take care of himself.
Maybe this blog post isn't really going anywhere. (Did it go anywhere?) But I'll leave you with this:
Give to everyone who asks you.
Emphasis on the ask.
I must confess, this particular post was conceived after reading another seminarian's blog post from about a week ago. His point (which is obviously a very valid point) is that we are to give to everyone who asks. Period. The end. Not "give to everyone who asks and seems to have need," not "give to everyone who asks and is willing to repay you," not "give to everyone who asks and seems like they're telling the truth." We are called to give to everyone who asks.
Luke 6:30 says, "Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back."
Matthew 5:42 says, "Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you."
But what if we are only called to give to those who ask. Not the people we see as having a need. Not the people we hope we can fix or help in order to get something out of it ourselves. Not the people who are high profile and the world presents as "needy."
One of my biggest flaws is that I think I can fix things that I simply cannot fix. Actually, I think I can and should fix things that people have no intention of fixing or don't want help in fixing. I'm a chronic fixer. A codependent fixer. I want people to fix me too.
But I rarely wait for people to ask. I never wait for "what do you think?" before giving my opinion. I rarely wait for "how should I do it?" before letting them know how I would do it. I barely ever wait for "can you help?" before I've offered three or four solutions to a problem.
What if this phrase is a commentary on our mission as a church? What if the author intentionally didn't write, "give to everyone?" What if we aren't supposed to walk into the impoverished part of town and declare their needs and hold out our hands for the "needy?"
I think it is especially an important self-care issue for caregivers. We aren't going to be able to help all of the people who we think need help. We aren't going to be able to help all of the people who we think deserve help or would benefit from help. But we are able to help the people who ask for help.
Think about it: how many times did Jesus roll up, diagnose people, and decide to solve their problems? Not too many times. In fact, in most of the time people are flocking to Jesus and asking for his help. Of course, he responds appropriately to every single person- he helps them. Even when he's in the middle of helping someone else. Then after he helps people, he oftentimes retreats to the mountainside, the lake, or the wilderness to take care of himself.
Maybe this blog post isn't really going anywhere. (Did it go anywhere?) But I'll leave you with this:
Give to everyone who asks you.
Tuesday, January 29, 2013
In the beginning...
That's how the Bible starts.
The beginning is a good place to start things, right? (Kudos, God!)
So, taking a cue from the Big Man, I'll start at the beginning as well.
I'm writing a blog because there are a lot of thing going on in my head. And as much as my friends and family love me, there is probably not a good chance that the same few people want to hear every single thing that goes through my head.
Also, I think I have a pretty interesting story. Cocky, huh? Yeah, well God wrote my story. That's why I think it is pretty compelling. So there. (I may have just stuck my tongue out at the computer.)
Thirdly, one of my favorite ways to communicate is through writing. God has blessed me and I really want to share those blessings with pretty much anyone who will listen to me (or, ahem, read my blog).
Lastly, there are people all over the world that I wish I could talk to every single day. Because you're interesting. And I've learned so much from you. So this is my twisted way of giving back to you and staying in contact. I want you to know what is going on in my life and why I'm so weird.
So this blog, you ask, what's it all about?
There are a few things I'm planning on sharing here:
Jesus' love
My story as it unravels
My "aha!" moments
Other people's stories that I think are awesome
Prayers
Random ponderings about life and faith
Also, I'm a book worm and music fiend. So there will be quotes galore all over this thing.
Jesus loves you,
Sarah
The beginning is a good place to start things, right? (Kudos, God!)
So, taking a cue from the Big Man, I'll start at the beginning as well.
I'm writing a blog because there are a lot of thing going on in my head. And as much as my friends and family love me, there is probably not a good chance that the same few people want to hear every single thing that goes through my head.
Also, I think I have a pretty interesting story. Cocky, huh? Yeah, well God wrote my story. That's why I think it is pretty compelling. So there. (I may have just stuck my tongue out at the computer.)
Thirdly, one of my favorite ways to communicate is through writing. God has blessed me and I really want to share those blessings with pretty much anyone who will listen to me (or, ahem, read my blog).
Lastly, there are people all over the world that I wish I could talk to every single day. Because you're interesting. And I've learned so much from you. So this is my twisted way of giving back to you and staying in contact. I want you to know what is going on in my life and why I'm so weird.
So this blog, you ask, what's it all about?
There are a few things I'm planning on sharing here:
Jesus' love
My story as it unravels
My "aha!" moments
Other people's stories that I think are awesome
Prayers
Random ponderings about life and faith
Also, I'm a book worm and music fiend. So there will be quotes galore all over this thing.
Jesus loves you,
Sarah
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