question on prayer

The past couple of Wednesday nights have touched on the bit in Acts 12 that recounts Peter's being freed from prison by an angel. Pastor talked about it in regard to angels; Dennis talked about it in regard to prayer. I have this nagging question about it, though, that maybe someone can answer.

Why was Peter freed from prison?

The immediate answer is, "Because the other disciples were praying for him." The monkey wrench for me is that they didn't seem to believe that their prayers were going to be answered. Even when Peter knocked on the door of the house where they were gathered they didn't believe it was him.

Dennis talked last Wenesday about how unbelief is probably the biggest hinderance to the manifestation of our prayers. When he brought up Acts 12 I thought my question would finally be answered, but it was only emphasized. If unbelief hinders the power of prayer - and we know it does because the disciples couldn't heal the boy in Matthew 17 - why was the disciples' prayer for Peter's release effective?

Heretofore, my only answer was that God just had a plan that did not involve Peter's being in prison, and despite prayers of unbelief He wanted Peter out of prison and He's sovereign. That just doesn't do it for me, though, because why wouldn't He then send angels to all of His people who are or have been in prison for their faith? Because He shows no favoritism.

In typing this it occured to me that maybe one person in the place believed the prayer would be answered - maybe it was Rhoda - and that was all it took. I like that.

If anyone has a little revelation on this, or an idea, or an argument ... I'd like to get to the bottom of it.

intermission

I know I haven't been here in a while. I visit, and I think, "I wish I had something to say." But I don't. I've been meeting and working. Here's what I'm thinking about, though, because that's what blogs are for, right?

camp-in success

Well the camp-in last Friday night was smashing. Small group of ladies, couple movies, too much junk food, sleeping in tents ... inside, and waffles and the Sermon on the Mount for breakfast. We pulled it off without drama, and without destroying anything. Perfect. Some pics:


The ladies at the start of Legally Blonde.


Smores. Mmmm.


Playing hair.


Getting sleepy.


Waffles and Matthew 5 are part of this complete breakfast.

Ramsey

So Dave's officially in China and blogging. Haha. Way to give in to the blog, Dave.

a devotional

Something to mediate on this fine morning ...

Sun's Atmosphere Sings

Astronomers have recorded heavenly music bellowed out by the Sun's atmosphere.

The study, presented this week ..., reveals that the looping magnetic fields along the Sun's outer regions ... carry magnetic sound waves in a similar manner to musical instruments such as guitars or pipe organs.

They found that explosive events at the Sun's surface appear to trigger acoustic waves that bounce back and forth between ends of the loops, a phenomenon known as a standing wave.

In the cosmic equivalent of a guitar pick, so-called microflares at the base of loops could be plucking the magnetic loops and setting the sound waves in motion, the researchers speculate.

Pretty cool. The whole story is here.

Psalm 19:1//The heavens decalre the glory of God; and the firmament shows His handiwork.

Psalm 97:6//The heavens declare His righteousness, and all the people see His glory.

Isaiah 49:13//Sing, O heavens! Be joyful, O earth! And break out in singing, O mountains! For the LORD has comforted His people, and will have mercy on His afflicted.

saving babies

Yesterday afternoon the Supreme Court validated a ban on partial birth abortions. This is very good.

A partial birth abortion is one that is carried out during the second or third trimester of a pregnancy. The baby is partially removed, intact, from its mother's womb before doctors fatally damage the skull. Accoridng to MSNBC, surveys have found that 60% of Americans favor the ban.

Pro-choice opponents, of course, are discouraged. Touting, as usual, women's health issues as the reason any kind of abortion should be legal under any kind of circumstances. They manage to disregard every report of health problems caused by abortions in doing so.

The greater issue, and one that I don't expect many of them to understand, is the judgement due a nation that allows the killing of children. Individuals will be judged, but nations also - take Sodom.

There's also the responsibility of America, known as a Christian nation, to set an example for the world. We think they're not watching, but they are. I was at a training seminar with Global Expeditions recently, and one of the speakers was talking about having just returned from a mission field in Jamaica. The local church leader they work with was discussing the weight of American politics and the statement he made was, "When America sneezes, the whole world catches a cold." When America messes up, the whole world suffers for it.

Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) said of the pro-choice movement, "We've been losing fight after fight after fight." She further mused that people aren't interested in protecting abortion rights because they've been around for so long. Voting rights have been around for a long time too, but I think if someone introduced a bill to disallow women or racial minorities from voting, it would be met with less than 60% of the people's approval. Maybe God answers prayer.

"And he will turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the hearts of te children to their fathers, lest I come and strike the earth with a curse." (Malachi 4:6)

didn't see that coming

So I'd say for about a month now I've been feeling pretty terrible about what I can reasonably describe as a "dry season" in the things of God. I'd like to call it a blatant and insulting lack of passion, because that's what it feels like, but I know in the middle of Song of Solomon the bridegroom leaves and on the story goes to a happy ending. Whatever you want to call it, and however okay it is, I feel yucky. Praying made it worse because I'd devote some serious time to it, and then just feel disappointed with how much I did not feel myself connect with God's heart.

Last night, as my typewritter and I did some zine-ing on the couch, Timothy sat down next to me with this very serious look on his face. "Lex, I gotta tell you ..." My mind started to race about what sort of bad news he was about to lay on me. Not because I'm pessimistic, but you should have heard the tone in his voice: it was serious.

He proceeded to tell me the over the past month or so he's really noticed God doing some good things in me, and my faith maturing, and it being very inspiring, etc. I didn't believe him at first (maybe I am pessimistic ...), but I know my wonderful husband wouldn't lie at me.

It was strange. And very encouraging.

bad Ford

Okay, so probably two weeks ago I managed to snap my driver's side "window regulator." It's the small metal post that holds the window-roller-upper thingy in the door. If you've never met me, suffice to say I'm not a body builder. There is no way I should have been able to snap that thing just rolling up the window.

So I went back to my Ford dealer thinking this would be taken care of quickly and with a good-customer-service smile. Not so. My warranty was up 1000 miles ago, hands are tied, blah blah blah that'll be $100 plus labor when the part comes in. I don't think so.

I wrote an email to Ford expressing my extreme disappointment, etc. and proceeded immediately to AutoZone. It turns out my car is the only one in America, apparently, that does not have automatic windows. So no, silly girl, we can't order that part for you. Who has manual windows these days? Neither could Murrey. What on earth ...

All of this was fine and good, and I could wait for Timothy to have an opportunity to scour the junk yard. Today, however, the temperature has finally hit the mid-60's and I roast in my car. Poo.



I think the marketing stat is that a satisfied customer will tell four to five people about her experience, but a dissatisfied customer will tell nine to ten. So I'm doing my part to maintain that statistic, so long as nine to ten people read this.


Oh, and if you have a driver's side window regulator laying around, I'll give you $40 for it.

be healed!

My dad and I went to my grandparents' last night to see their new puppy. Not the cutest puppy ever, but still cute. She's a corgi. (Timothy calls them Hobbit dogs because they're so short ... because they have no shins.)

When I walked in, I went over to give my grandma a hug where she was sitting in her living room chair. She kissed me on the cheek and then, with one hand rubbing her leg, asked, "Can you heal my knee?"

"No," was my clever reply. "But I know a Guy."

She had blown out her knee over the winter and it never fully healed. So I laid a hand on her knee and commanded healing according to God's word. In retrospect, I should have asked her to stand on it right then, but I didn't. I know she's healed, though, because she believed and God's word is true.

The extra nifty thing - to me anyway - is that she asked, and she asked expecting it to work. I don't think I've ever talked to my grandma about healing, but I have talked to my parents. My sharp intellect and sleuth-like deductive reasoning skills thus lead me to believe that my stories, testimonies, and beliefs are being discussed when I'm not around. Taps fingertips together and narrows eyes: This is gooooood.

tips from the man

I found notes from Mark Driscoll's, pastor of Mars Hill Church in Seattle, presentation at Resurgence last autumn. I like Mars Hill. He gives 10 cautions and encouragements for preachers. I know we have some budding preachers in our virtual midst, so some of my favorites are below, with abbreviated notes - the rest is here:

4. Study the stand-up comics. Stand-up comedy and preaching are the only two mediums I can think of in which someone walks onto a stage to talk for a long time to a large crowd.

7. Preach Jesus. Jesus should be the hero of every sermon, the answer to every question, and the hope for every person.

9. Give your sermons away. The web is the new front door and many people will visit your church through your website long before they attend a church event.

10. After you've preached, let it go and sleep like a Calvinist. Passion, courage, and boldness are keys to preaching that simply cannot exist in someone who is too analytical or critical of themselves.

i'm a photojournalist

I saw this on my lunch break today and thought of you. I would have posted it on my lunch break too, but the camera was being all goofy. It's a long story. But this is great:



Barbie needed a new tennis racket or something.

Even better was Kaitlyn Jane last Sunday morning with her sunglasses (and mohawk):



Less better was last night when I locked us out of my apartment. We walked down a very slushy route 62 to hang out at Starbuck's while Timothy came to save us.

good things

Many of you know that Timothy has recently gotten into the business of painting studio backdrops. It's pretty perfect in that he likes to do it (9 x 7' canvass is fun for him), it's very easy for him, and he can charge a hefty sum and still undercut all the competition.

We thought we'd see how far this could go, so I made fliers. About a week ago I sent out 20 of them to local photography studios, but we hadn't heard anything - except for the one that came back undeliverable.

Yesterday Timothy got a phone call from a woman who owns a studio in Crystal Lake. She really likes the stuff and wants to order two, but first she asked if he could email a PDF of the flier. She has a meeting today with some organization of portrait photographers (there's a big, fancy name I don't remember), and she wants to hand out some of our fliers! She's never met Timothy, never done business with him - but she's our in with who knows how many portrait photographers today! She asked Timothy on the phone yesterday how busy he wanted to be! That's favor, right there.

Prayer works.

photos

Okay, first of all, I made a stuffed animal. You saw the cat Gracie made for us. Well I wasn't out to make a stuffed kitty to send back, but I happened upon a free pattern for one. How fun is this? I've made two now, but this is the first one that I'll be sending to Grace.

His collar is a yellow button on a black ribbon. It says "Lee." Because that's his name. Too cute. And too easy. You can download the pattern here.

And then Friday night we took a few of the faithful Switch attenders to Ascention Convention. It's impossible to know what to expect at a conference you've only ever heard of, but it was pretty amazing.

That's our crew. I don't know how the shortest kid in the bunch ended up kneeling in front, but it works.

This was the most amazing thing, and you probably can't see it very well because it was dark in there. Whomever was speaking gave a great message about a generation of Naomi's (from Ruth) that have been dealt a severe blow. Then he referenced a verse in Matthew about mother's praying for their children (that he didn't cite, nor can I find) and asked all the moms in the room who wouldn't mind to come forward.

They created this line that stretched across the length of the auditorium. He asked everyone in the room (of a couple thousand teenagers) who is suicidal to come forward and just stand in front of the moms. The whole time the rest of us are singing the chorus to The Time Has Come over and over again. Then he asked for everyone who felt like Naomi - like one day someone or something that was supposed to come home, or supposed to be there, just didn't - like they've been given a pill too hard to swallow - to come forward. We sang. The mom's prayed. The speaker gave the moms permission to lay hands on the kids and flesh out Christ's desire to hold them in their weakness. It was amazing. We sang and danced, God healed broken hearts. Phenominal.

worship

Where do the weekends go? I have all kinds of pictures - but not right now - and stories to go with them. In the meantime, I read this last night and went *gasp!*

Jehova is talking to Israel about their polluted, half-hearted-at-best offerings that He's not having anything to do with, and He says, (Malachi 1:10) "Who is there even among you who would shut the doors, so that you would not kindle fire on my altar in vain?" He's so unhappy with their religious, bored offerings that He doesn't even want it. Just close the temple and go home.

So if we are living sacrifices (Romans 12:1) and our worship is our offering (Hebrews 13:15), I wonder how the Lord feels about what goes on in this country on Sunday mornings. So many people go to church and stand during worship out of obligation, with the idea that God will honor their commitment. That if they do their part, He'll do His.

There are even some who want to go, but don't give their best when they get there. I've done that. There have been times when I'm tired, but I stand and sing the songs and lift my hands and direct a bit of heart toward the Lord. In verse 14, Malachi communicates a curse from the Lord on those who have a male in their flock but come to the temple, say a vow, and sacrifice a blemished animal. But isn't that what we're doing when we gather for worship but resist the urge to lift our hands or dance or kneel? Isn't that what we're doing when we gather for worship and sing the songs while we think about where to have lunch that afternoon?

Verse 14 uses the word "cursed." That's strong language. God's not interested in me doing my part, fulfilling my obligation, or singing a song. If that's all we're going to do, He'd rather we close the doors and sleep in.

this is all i think about anymore

(Seriously, I've so inundated myself with all the theory and practice - and some prayer - about the emerging church/post-Christian society/digital era/spritual revolution that I actually had a dream last week that I was giving a presentation on the topic. Fortunately the dream ended when I started taking questions.)

I'm going over my notes from The Millennium Matrix to put together a presentation for the boss, and I stumbled upon a thought. Rex makes a statement that most people who are at all watching our society would agree with: spiritual hunger is on the rise. He goes on to identify specific "tastes" our culture is developing that, if fulfilled, will lead to a revolution in the western Church.

Something inside me is naturally skeptical and as such wants to find something to disagree with, but in this I cannot. Without explaination, the hungers he defines are:

1. for homegrown prophets
2. to make a real difference
3. for authenticity
4. for mystery
5. for deep support
6. for depth

What do you think? Haven't we all felt a bit of longing for those things at some point. The interesting thing is that they can be fulfilled by the body of Christ - or by the world.

The one that tripped me with a thought was the first. Rex writes, "In order to make the transition to the new era successfully, we need new prophets." Basically, these are voices that connect ancient truths to modern life in the new language of an emerging generation. The thought that stopped me was, "Who are these people? Who is poised in a such a position - for such a time as this - to communicate ancient truths in a new language?" Do you know what answer I got? Worship leaders.

I realize I may be biased, but I can't shake it. Pastors and evangelists and teachers are crucial to the body of Christ, and preaching/teaching needs to happen - but they're not speaking to a post-Christian generation. Some will learn the language, but they'll always have an accent. The media has taught non-believers that preachers can't be trusted; it's harder to get through. And of course music has always been a powerful medium, but I think where we're going it's going to be central.

I could go on and on, but it would become a lecture.

worship

I had another fun mini-revelation about worship last Friday night. I seem to get these as the team is praying together before practice, and always just as I'm opening my mouth. (Which is uncomfortable for me because I generally like to think things over before I say them out loud.)

I was praying along the lines of worship being an offering given even if we don't feel like it, and about being the leaders so we should go before the congregation and show them the way ... Then I had the thought that maybe our role as a worship team is more than leading others into worship - maybe it's worship. I understand that to show a group of people how to worship involves worshipping the Lord yourself, but I guess the idea that I had was that it's our responsibility as the worship team to send up that incense on Friday nights. There's a worship meeting going on every Friday night, and if only a handful of teenagers show up in bad moods it's our responsibility to make sure that the name of the Lord is exalted from that place. If no one else will make the sacrifice, we have to.

I guess it goes back to our Luke 1:9 calling for 2007. It's almost like He's got this all planned out.

grundle

My friend Grace in Minneapolis sent us a present recently. His name is Grundle. He's a hand-stitched kitty with a stylish neck scarf and a blue mohawk. Fabulous.