A Kemp Camping Adventure

Each summer we try to block off several days of vacation time to spend time with our family. We have had many adventures over the years. We have been to Disney World, The Grand Canyon, Disney Land, Hot Springs, San Antonio, and during years when funds are tight - camping adventures. What else can you do on $10 a day? We have a long, hysterical camping history. I thought that we had exhausted the realm of funny stories with storms, bob cats invading camp, broken tent pieces, crazy weather changes, etc. However, our past was no match for this camping trip.

We headed out early Monday morning to Albert Pike. This is one of our favorite camping destinations because it is close to Shawn's family, has incredible scenery, and is also close to Hot Springs which is one of our favorite cities to visit. We met Shawn's mom and grandmother for lunch in Texarkana and did some school shopping. Then we went back home with them for everybody to get their back to school haircuts.

We left Shawn's home early in the afternoon, because we wanted to allow plenty of daylight to set up our camp. Our past experiences have taught us that we need to allow extra time for our crazy mishaps. When we arrived at Albert Pike, we discovered that all the tent sites with electricity were taken. We had to use a primitive site instead. However, that's no sweat to old camping pros like us. No electricity? No problem. Who needs a griddle, electric skillet, coffee pot, and a fan. That extension cord turned into a great clothesline, and Shawn made super coffee in a pot on the camp stove!

We rolled out our tarp, then laid out our tent. We slid the poles in and raised the tent in record time. No glitches at all. We unpacked the car and set up for the week. Everything was still smooth sailing. We grilled hot dogs for supper then drove around to make sure we could find the trail head that we wanted to hike on Tuesday. We saw a deer and some beautiful scenery. Abby yelled that she saw a Tiger, but I think it was imaginary. We turned in early, and Abby settled right in, even though she probably didn't remember ever sleeping in a tent.

Tuesday morning dawned beautifully. It was pleasantly warm, but not scorching hot. We ate our pancakes, cleaned up camp, then headed out to hike 5 miles (round trip) to the Winding Stairs waterfall. This is probably our favorite trail to hike at Albert Pike. It is fairly easy and incredibly beautiful. I have not hiked that trail in at least 10 years, so I had forgotten a few important details. For example - to get to the waterfall you must cross many rapidly flowing creeks. We wore our tennis shoes instead of water shoes. We attempted the first crossing barefoot, but it was too slippery. Instead we waded across in our tennis shoes. I don't like hiking with wet feet, but I was not going to be whiny about it and kept right on going. We finally reached the waterfall, a stunning sight. The kids and I climbed up the waterfall and played on the rocks. Why not? We already had wet shoes. Shawn found a perfect swimming hole at the bottom of the falls. It had a huge rock that the kids could climb up and jump from. We decided to jump in. I hate hiking in wet clothes worse than I hate hiking in wet shoes. Being a country girl, and knowing the remoteness of this location, I left some of my clothes on the bank. We swam about an hour and then finally decided to head back to camp. I realized then that my impulsiveness cost me a sunburned back and shoulders. Lesson learned - either leave your clothes on, or reapply your sunscreen when swimming in a mountain river on a sunny day.

When we got back to camp, we decided to cook hobo pork chops for supper. Shawn seasoned the pork chops, then wrapped them tightly in foil with some onions and potatoes. Then he buried them in coals in the firepit to slowly roast. We an hour or so of spare time before they would be done, so we decided to head down to the river for a quick swim. As an afterthought, Shawn placed a can of green beans on the edge of the coals to warm as well.

We had a super swim. The kids explored the river, Abby threw rocks and watched them splash, I avoided getting my face wet, and it was the perfect ending to a perfect day. That's when we heard a really loud "BOOM." It sounded like a shotgun, but I couldn't figure out why anyone would be shooting in the park. Stupid hunters, somebody could get hurt! That's when one of our neighboring campers came running into the river to get me. He said, "Ma'am, your supper just exploded." Now that's something you don't hear everyday. That can of green beans was not vented, so when the liquid inside began to boil, steam built up and the can exploded. When the can exploded, so did our campfire. When we got to our camp site we found coals, ash, and pieces of firewood as far as 20 feet away. Our neighbor's quick thinking saved our tent from burning. They had put out the coals on the tent. We did eventually find the can, but not a single green bean. We are thankful that no one was injured. Our lawn chairs resembled swiss cheese from the rain of falling coals. However, since no one was hurt, it's a pretty funny story. Just picturing the can exploding and flying through the air got us tickled. Supper was ruined, but we ate anyway and headed to bed early.

Wednesday morning right before daylight, I awoke to Shawn shaking me and saying, "It's raining, get up. We have to put on the rainfly." Seriously, we checked the weather like fourteen hundred times to make sure it wasn't going to rain before we went. But then, where's the adventure in that? So in the rain, Shawn and I scrambled to find the rainfly and get it up. It cleared up right after we had it secured!

On Wednesday, we had plans to drive a few miles across the mountains to a small, beautiful lake. Shady Lake is tucked into a ravine just a short distance from the park. An old CCC project, it was quite popular back in the day. Now its remoteness keeps the crowds away. That's our favorite kind of place. Except for this day. When we arrived, we realized we had a flat. Not just a low tire, but a very flat, rim on the ground kind of flat. Shawn kept his cool, planning to change the tire real quick while I fixed a picnic lunch for the kids under the nearby pavilion. Unfortunately for him, it didn't work out that way. He didn't have an allen wrench to get the rims off. This place is deserted. Nobody. Nothing. Nada. But God did send us a park ranger with an allen wrench. But then things went from bad to worse as the tire wouldn't come off because we had the wrong size thingie that you unscrew the lug nuts with, and we couldn't get anyone to answer our phone calls for help.

I decided to give Shawn some space to take care of the tire, so I took the kids in swimming. (Forgot about sunscreen in the craziness of the flat. STUPID and I have the big blisters all over my shoulders to prove it!) The big kids had a blast jumping off a diving platform, and Abby loved swimming around in the shallow gravel bottomed swimming area. However, our fun ended when James sliced his foot open on a rock. I deemed the cut shallow enough to treat ourselves, but he had to get off it for awhile, and could not hike the rest of the trip because of the soreness.

Shawn and the park ranger did finally get the tire aired up with some fix-a-flat and an air compressor and get it to a service station for repairs. You'll have to get Shawn's impersonation of the guy at the first place they stopped for help. Great to hear his accent, and his story about how some of our tools were stolen! Be sure to ask him to tell you the story in person. I was relieved that Shawn's parents got our message that we needed help and came out to pick up me and the kids and take us back to camp.

We were getting ready to cook some hamburgers for some old friends, when a bad storm blew in. We secured everything as best we could and drove to a nearby town to meet our friends for supper instead. It was amazing that after being away for 10 years, we picked right back up with our relationship, in large part due to staying connected through facebook. After supper, we dropped by to visit another family and wait out the storm. When the storm let up, we headed back out to our tent. Fortunately, we only had a few minor leaks from where the coals had burned holes in the tent, nothing major. We settled down to sleep, when I spotted a nasty looking brown spider. I chased it all over that tent and never could get it. We had the creepy crawlies all night. The wind was howling, the tent was blowing, the thunder was crashing, the lightening was flashing, and all I could think about was that somewhere in that tent with me there was a nasty spider. The next morning in the daylight that spider was a goner!

Our last day of vacation dawned bright and clear. The rain was over and the temperatures were very mild. Because of James's hurt foot, and my sunburn making me very sick, Shawn hiked alone on Thursday up to Window Rock. It's an amazing hike up onto a bluff that overlooks the entire river valley. The kids and I read and played games. We ate some hamburgers for lunch, went to Hot Springs to play some miniature golf, ate ice cream, swam in the river, and grilled fajitas for supper. We finished up the night sitting around the campfire roasting marshmallows and telling ghost stories. It was a good day.

Friday morning we packed everything back into the suburban and went for one last swim before we headed home. The kids had such a good time camping. They are old enough that they found the humor in all of our bad luck. They practiced telling the stories to each other and reviewing other tales from past experiences. My favorite thing about camping is spending time with the kids without any distractions. We visit, play games, and reconnect in ways that more elaborate vacations do not allow. Experiencing all of our camping misfortunes together creates a bond, a family tradition of sorts. We loved being outdoors and enjoying the beauty of God's creation together. I liked that my kids picked hanging out with their parents hiking and swimming over going to a nearby amusement park. It's cool that they know a good thing when they see it.

We had a great trip, we have added some more crazy camping stories, we relaxed and enjoyed our family, some friends, and our God. One of the best things about camping is seeing all the surrounding things in nature that are infinitely bigger and better than anything I could ever imagine. I spent some time really looking at the intricacies of some moss on a stone wall, and I examined rock after rock, each one unique. We serve a God with an imagination and creative ability that we cannot even begin to comprehend. I am glad that I had the opportunity to be immersed in His incredible creation for a few days. I hope that we make a greater effort to spend more time in nature with our kids this year.

Monday morning update 8.2.09

We had a great opportunity on Saturday to have a booth at the Anna health fair. We set up our bounce house, gave away bibles, and info about The Crossroads. We made lots of new contacts. It's cool to get the chance to meet and serve our community.

Sunday was amazing. We had another big crowd. One family was here on vacation from Liverpool, England. We had to set up extra chairs again. Continue praying that God will provide us with a larger meeting space very soon.

The worship time was unreal. Worship Dude changed the set after practice on Saturday. The original set was good, but the new set was incredible. One of my favorite things about him is the way he seeks God every week to pick out the worship set. He has the skills to do it on his own, but he listens closely to God's direction and as a result, we see God move in amazing ways. It was hard for me to play this week. I had to focus hard to not get so lost in worship that I forgot to play.

Set
O praise him (crowder)
Love is here (tenth avenue north)
Wholly yours (crowder)
Here with me ( mercy me)
Forever starts today ( Robby Thompson)

Shawn continued with his message series "God at The Movies". This week he used the new "transformers" movie to talk about how we can live transformed lives. God's word, our experiences with God, our circumstances, and other people can all be transforming, growing opportunities. My favorite line from the movie is when optimus prime said, "fate rarely calls on you at a moment of your choosing." I have such a hard time not scheduling God into my life - to be available anytime and anywhere is challenging for me.

Sunday evening we had another baptism. We did this one at a community pool and then had a party afterwards. I love to watch God changing lives through The Crossroads. I had a great time hanging out at the party afterwards. I love having people in my home, but it was so nice to be a guest in someone else's home last night. I could really focus more on building relationships without having to hostess. I love these friends that God has blessed me with. I am often overwhelmed by just how much God has blessed our family in the church plant.

We are on our way to spend a week camping in Arkansas. I am blogging from my phone, so be patient with errors and infrequent posts. I dont expect to have service. If you miss my blogging this week, go back and worship through running in rain. Take some time to listen to the songs and pray my prayers with me. If I have service, I'll post about camping. It's always an exciting and crazy adventure for our family.

Running in the Rain

My story today is about a very intimate and personal encounter with God this morning. If you are skeptical about God still meeting with people or are uncomfortable when I bare my soul, you might choose to skip this long blog. I will not be offended. I am going to do this blog a little different. I will share my story, then take you through the experience with me as best I can. You may need to split this blog into shorter segments if you want to take the time to pray and worship with me as I run in the rain. Or you can just read my story and move on.

This story began last night. I worked out in my living room, and when I sat down my brain immediately said, "Let's go running early in the morning before it gets too hot." I told my brain that it was crazy and stupid - that we always sleep late on Monday. My alarm went off this morning before 7. I didn't set it, can't explain it, but it went off. I could hear the thunder in the distance, rolled over and hit snooze. I finally meandered out of bed after 8, had breakfast, drank lots of coffee, and snuggled my 3 year old Abby on the couch. The entire time my brain was chanting, "run, run, run, run." I am logically overruling that crazy voice, "It's raining, hello!" Around 10:30 a different voice, one that I've come to recognize as God's Spirit said, "Get off your butt and out the door. You don't have to like it, but you do have to be obedient." So reluctantly I tied my shoelaces and tried to bargain back with a workout video, but instead heard my voice telling my son, "I'll be running. If you need me I won't be far." He said, "It's raining." I said, "Yep. I'll be back soon."

I grabbed my phone, slid it over to Pandora to listen to some tunes and took off. No lie.... On my first lap, every song used rain as a metaphor of some kind. I was praying and meditating through Job 26:14 "These are some of the minor things he does, merely a whisper of his power. Who can understand the thunder of his power?" I often think about rain as a metaphor for God's grace and his presence. This is the song that came on Pandora as I was praying: "Rain Down" by the David Crowder Band. As you listen, pray that God would rain down his presence on your city. Pray that he would move in your life and in the lives of the people around you.



Then as I kept running, the drizzling rain became a down pour. I was soaked. Water dripped from my hair; it ran down my arms and legs. My clothes became glued to my body. Still I ran. But now I was self-conscious. The glued on clothes outlined every curve. Some of those are sexy, some are not. Fluff doesn't win wet t-shirt contests! So I ripped my focus off God and onto myself. I decided that when I finished the next loop I would go in. Then "Bring the Rain" by Mercy Me played. As you listen, pray about the crap from your past that keeps you from surrendering all that you are. What is it that brings you pain that you are not allowing God to bring healing and glory into your life? Will you sincerely pray that God will do whatever it takes in your life to bring glory to Himself?



As I was running, the feel of the rain shifted. This is the part that may be uncomfortable for some of you. I was really struggling with discouragement about working out. I was fighting with feeling overweight. I was angry that I am working so very hard for so very little results. I began weeping that I can not overcome the lack of selfworth, the feeling that I am too large to be beautiful. The feel of the rain shifted from a promise of God's presence to become a lover's caress on my skin. Chill ran over my arms as the rain slid down my skin. It was suddenly a sensual experience for the rain to drip from my hair and gently glide down my face. That's when God spoke, as a lover to a bride. "My beautiful, beautiful one, you do not need to be skinny for me to love you. I am asking you to become healthy because I want to use you. I don't want you to miss out on opportunities to spend time with me because you are too tired or physically unable to go when I call you. This journey is not about the mirror or bikinis or sagging boobs. This journey is about becoming able to say 'yes' to me, whatever I ask you to do. Being my masterpiece has nothing to do with your mirror." Wow! What a beautiful affirmation. Then "The Wonderful Cross" played as God reminded me that all of my sins, all of my struggles have already been paid for by his blood. What is your struggle that keeps you bound. Will you accept that you have also been set free as you listen to this song?



So as I headed into my third lap I began to wish that my friends could experience God's presence with me. I began praying for them to see God today. I was praying that my friends would meet with God amazing and miraculous ways today when "It is You" by the Newboys began to play. This is where I very literally stopped in my tracks to worship. God was so hearing my prayers for my friends and promising to reveal Himself to them as well. Would you let this be the cry of your heart today. "As we come to this place, will you meet us here?" Wherever you are today, ask God to meet with you.



I was rounding the home stretch, feeling the rain, engulfed in an unbelievable worship experience. Running and gasping for air, experiencing God in ways I did not believe were even possible. I began to pray about surrender. (See yesterday's blog) I began to say to God that I know there are many things in my life that I want to hang on to. I cannot let go of them alone, but I want my worship to be more than words. I want all that I am to belong to God. That was the moment that "All of the words" by Kutless began playing. As you listen, I dare you to turn lose of that one thing that keeps you from being sold-out for Christ. What is that one thing that you cannot walk away from, you cannot let God be in charge of? Give it away, or pray with me, "God take this from me, and help me want to want you to take it from me."



Almost done, I was experiencing an amazing moment with God. As my feet pounded the pavement, the water poured off me. Lightening was flashing in the distance, thunder was booming. The rain was a downpour. It was all I could do to keep running and not fall flat on my face in a stranger's yard in worship. I had run through praying for God's presence, turning over my garbage, hearing an affirmation of his goodness and love, listening to him promise that he would love to meet with my friends, and that He would help me want to want to live a surrendered life. I began praising him. Running with arms lifted in worship, I was looking forward to the future time when I could see Him face to face. When encountering God in a real and intimate way is no longer unusual. That's when "One of These Days" by FFH began to play. As you listen, offer up some praise to the Father that someday He's going to bring us home, and there will no longer be any barriers to our relationship.



I hope you used this blog to run alongside me in the rain today. I have encountered God before, but this was incredible. I loved feeling the rain on my skin, praying, and then hearing in astonishment as each song that played perfectly meshed into my worship experience. The only thing missing is that I was in God's throneroom alone. I missed each of you. Hoping you find your way into God's presence today as well.

Love you much, LaRissa

Monday Morning 7.27.09

It's time for another Monday Morning Update. What a busy weekend!
Saturday we did another movie night/block party. This time we used Slater Creek Park, the local city park. It's new and a great location, but we had a very low attendance at this movie night. In our evaluation we came up with a few possibilities. 1. The park is not easily visible from the highway - no drive-by stoppers. 2. Poor marketing - We advertised on a mailer that primarily focused on the sermon series (was not easily visible on the card) 3. It was one of the hottest days we have had in quite a while. However, we enjoyed meeting the people who turned out for the event and are already planning and looking forward to one more summer block party in August. We will be collecting school supplies to give away in a needy community at that block party.

The church where we normally practice on Saturday was booked for a wedding, so we set up at the cheer gym Saturday night to allow the band to practice. It was so awesome to be able to practice in our own space. Yes it was hot, and I was sweaty and smelly, but we were able to totally tweak our sound and adjust the settings. I could really get a great feel for what to play and what would sound good in our space since that's where we were practicing. I appreciate the church that allows us to practice on their stage on Saturday, but the sound levels are set so differently that it is harder to really plan out what would sound the best in our cheer gym. The acoustics are just very different in a gym than in a sanctuary.

We had a new drummer hanging out with us this week. He did a great job. I was impressed by how well he listened to me on the keys and to Jake on the guitar. He also really watched Worship Dude and read his body language well for a first timer. Our bass player was also off work and able to come play. So I was just plain excited to be able to mess around a little more on the keys since I did not have to carry the bass line.

Worship Dude picked a great set. Again. This morning while I was drying my hair I was thinking yet again about how amazed I am at the talent God has blessed him with. He came to us with unbelievable talent and great worship leader skills. Then God has grown him incredibly this year. I am absolutely blown away that some guy with that level of ability is serving with us at The Crossroads. It's way more than I ever had the faith to ask God for. Oh, yeah, back to the set - Here it is:

Everyday - Hillsong
I will lift my eyes - Bebo Norman
East to West - Casting Crowns
Wholly Yours - David Crowder Band
Surrender All - Parachute Band

"Wholly Yours" and "Surrender All" have strong surrender overtones. In my Christian walk that is by far the thing I struggle with the most. It is incredibly challenging for me to be completely surrendered to God. I almost always have something that I am holding and refusing to let go. Then I feel like God will strike me with lightening when I sing, "Wholly Yours" or "Surrender All". He knows that what I really mean is "I would love to surrender all, but I don't know how to turn loose of this one thing....or these ten things." So in my head I sang, "God I want to want to surrender it all." Didn't want to lie to God!

Shawn's "God at the Movies" series is great. He has such an eye for seeing God stories in media and using those illustrations to point to scripture. Today's movie was "Terminator Salvation". This movie is an illustration of sacrifice, and second chances. Shawn talked about ways to sacrifice our life for Christ - letting go of our lives so that we can live the life God has prepared for us. (Made me think of that 10th Ave. North song) Then he talked about how we can sacrifice our lives for others. He used that Is. 58 passage that has been speaking to us this summer. His message will soon be online at www.welcometothecrossroads.com Be sure to download and listen to it soon. It's one of the better sermons I've heard from him. It's amazing how he speaks week after week in fresh, interesting ways from God's Word. I love that he always explains how to apply his message to real life. He's an exceptionally brilliant man. He could preach in big, theological terms and be very academic, but instead he speaks simply, with practical application. That takes true genius.

We had several new families stop by to check us out. One of the coolest stories is that a lady who had never been to church - ever in her 41 years- came. And loved it.... wept through the whole service. I heard that she prayed to accept Christ, but I have not confirmed that for sure with anyone who spoke with her. It is so beautiful to see God at work. We also had the opportunity to pray over a new believer in our congregation who will be leaving tomorrow for basic training for the army. We have another baptism coming up August 6. I love this part of church planting - seeing God drastically and dramatically change people's lives.

Continue praying for a meeting place for us. We are in immediate need of space. We are now consistently running about 20 in children's church. We do not have space for them inside. Meeting outside with them works as long as it doesn't rain. When colder weather arrives, we will have to be in a larger space. Please pray for our workers. As we grow, we will have to pull in more workers and right now we are pretty maxed out on volunteers. Pray that those of us who volunteer will be very flexible during this time of growth. We need grace for the journey as we work with children who have not been to church before. We want to provide opportunities for them to hear about Jesus and learn how He can become their Savior. Pray that we will never lose sight of why we do what we do in children's.

We are excited about what God is doing at The Crossroads. I recently reread some of my old blogs. In one of my early ones, I said something along the lines of "I know that some of this is simply excitement about something new and will probably wear off, but I hope that in a year we will still love what we are doing." I am here to say that the excitement has only grown with time. I am definitely tired of sweating and dragging cheer mats, but it is worth every drop of sweat and every tired and aching muscle to see people coming to know Christ. I was looking forward to seeing people accept Christ but it has also been surprisingly beautiful to also see people learning to live Christ. My own lifestyle is challenged as we constantly evaluate how to apply scripture to our lives. I LOVE this church planting gig. I am so grateful to get to be in ministry at The Crossroads.

a slave to chocolate

Earlier this summer, God showed me Is. 58:3-14. Specifically, vs. 6-7, "Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke? Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter - when you see the naked, to clothe him, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?" And then I looked at its companion passage in the New Testament, Matthew 25:34-40. (whatever you have done for the least of these you do for Me passage)

In an earlier blog I said that I would like to live my life according to these guidelines, and I am currently making some plans about how I might better minister to the hungry and needy in our area. However, I have been desperately praying about the first part of that passage in Isaiah...the part about loosing the chains of injustice. I feel very ignorant about how to make strides against injustice in our world. I know that in my classroom as I educate those children, I am making small strides against injustice. In my career I have had the opportunity to minister to many children who are in very unjust situations. However, I have felt strangely compelled this summer that God is asking me for more.

Yesterday Shawn came home from a conference about social media with a broken heart. I was confused. Facebook and Twitter? Why are you sad? He said that a speaker shared with them some staggering statistics about slavery around the world. Slavery is currently at an all time high in our world. Children are being held in abhorable conditions for many reasons: the sex slave industry is booming, and many children are used for labor to keep up with the demands for certain products. The specific product Shawn shared statistics with me about was chocolate.

Whoa! Wait a minute. I am a slave to chocolate (pun intended). I love chocolate. I crave chocolate. I need chocolate to make it through a hard day. When Shawn brings me chocolate, I feel especially loved. I love hot chocolate, candy bars, chocolate cake, brownies, ding dongs, chocolate milkshakes, hershey kisses, etc. I can resist almost any sweet product on a diet, except chocolate. Don't make me go without my chocolate, or I am one bitchy woman.

But children are being exploited to fulfill my hunger. In a video that Shawn shared with me, a young boy said that he wants the American to know that when we eat chocolate we are eating his flesh. He is beaten for my desire. He is held captive so that I can pour chocolate gravy onto my biscuits.

Most chocolate is grown by paid labor, but because there currently is no regulation of the industry, slave grown crops are mixed into the freely grown crops. There is no way to prevent buying slave grown chocolate unless you give up chocolate completely. Hmmmm........

I will confess that I give very little consideration to where my stuff comes from. It simply arrives at the store, and I buy it if I want it. I am a greedy American. I have not worried about how my greed affects others around the world. I have not considered that there are children who are enslaved to meet my desires and that they may die in servitude because I am unconscious about my choices. I have heard of free trade coffee, but I will confess that I do not make the effort to make sure that I only consume free trade coffee.

My children heard their Dad discussing this issue last night. So this morning as I lifted weights they came and sat at the picnic table in the playroom to talk to me about it. They were absolutely broken hearted about the issue and wanted to talk about ways our family could change our lifestyle to live more responsibly. I went after my Bible and shared Is. 58 with them. They are smarter than me. James said, "Isn't that like that verse in the New Testament about the least of these." I talked to them about feeling inadequate in my knowledge about how to loose the chains of injustice and praying that God would reveal a way for our family to make a difference. We had a very incredible conversation about injustice and their concern for people who are mistreated.

My son raised this question, "Mom, I saw a show on Discovery about diamond mining in Africa and the horrible conditions involved, and I have really been bothered that you choose to wear diamonds when people are dying to get them." (Months he has worried about this, but would not bring up something he saw as a contradiction to my faith.)

Grace said, "Mom, we can't keep buying chocolate. It was not wrong before we knew about the slavery, but now it would be wrong to keep buying it since we know it involves slavery - especially child slavery."

James, "Mom, what else do we buy that causes people around the world to be in the 'chains of injustice'?"

Grace, "How do we find that out?"

My children broke my heart. At 34, I have never considered James's question. It has been posed to me many times by a variety of sources, and I have always blown it off. After all, this is the 21st century. How bad could it be? It is the companies' responsibility to make sure that their goods are purchased/made with integrity. It is not my responsibility, and I am not guilty. However, looking at that passage in Isaiah and having this conversation with my children has dramatically refocused my thinking. My home is only one household. If we avoid purchasing items that cause people to be mistreated will it really make a difference? Probably not. We do not have huge purchase power. However, I will not be guilty of taking advantage of the poor if I can help it. I do not have a wide base of knowledge about what products are "okay" and which are not. It will take research, but I will be joining others in the fight against the "chains of injustice." Be watching for more information soon. I don't know what this journey will involve for my family or how it may change us. But to the best of my ability I want to seek to live out my faith with my wallet.

So I can still eat the chocolate that I've already purchased, right?

Not the same way twice

Today I was reading 2 Samuel 5. David is assuming rule of all Israel and Judah and uniting the two kingdoms under one throne. The Philistines attacked. The first time they attacked he prayed for guidance and God said, "Attack with a frontal assault." Sure enough, the Philistines were defeated. The second time they attacked, David prayed again. This time God said, "Circle around and attack from behind."

I did a second take at this. You see, David had already defeated the Philistines once. He could have assumed that he know how to win this battle. He could have taken his legendary army and tried to repeat what had worked so well the first time. Instead, he prayed and God told him to change and attack from behind. He was successful because he followed God's direction and did things differently.

I thought about all the things that I assume God has taught me how to do. I realized there may be things that God wants to change up in my life that I assume I already know how to accomplish. The best way may not always be the same way I have used before.

polygamy and dumb and dumber

Reading 2nd Samuel is enlightening about David and his lifestyle. In 2nd Samuel 1, David has two wives. By chapter 3, he has at least five wives. Then he sends for his first wife, Michal, who had been given away to another man when David fell out of favor with Saul. This is a pathetic story. Michal obeys the command to return to David. All the while her husband follows along behind the guard escorting her, crying and begging for her to be returned.

I had not thought this through before until Shawn said, "I bet David wanted to make sure Michal did not produce an heir to the throne, and so he commanded her return." Later on in life, Michal treats David with disdain and disrespect. This story gave me a whole new insight into why she might not like him so much. She had apparently found happiness in her second marriage and was ordered to go back to David, the most powerful man in the land. As a woman, she was without options. She had to turn her back on a man that appeared to love her deeply. No wonder she was hateful to David. Hello! I don't think Shawn would have followed me crying.... I think he would have mounted a coup and made an assasination attempt.

To go from being the favored, possibly only wife of a man that loved her deeply into a member of a harem. That had to suck. Let's talk about the harem thing. I can see some advantages to this. Running a king's household had to be tough. This way, there were several women to split up the chores and help out. But how does this work exactly? Do you all get equal turns with the king at night? Does he call only for his favorites? What if you're not the favorite? Do you get to take an additional discreet lover as well or do you just have to do without? I don't think I would fare well. I would be greatly tempted to poison the other wives. I don't like competition. I like to be the one and only star in my husband's life.

Then today I read a story in 2 Samuel 4 about Dumb and Dumber. They had real names, but let's just call them Dumb and Dumber. Let's review history for just a minute: The guy that brought David the news that he had offed Saul when his suicide attempt didn't work fast enough? Beheaded! The guy that told David he killed the man trying to keep David from assuming total control of all Israel? Angrily Cursed!

But Dumb and Dumber hatch a brilliant plot to kill the last of Saul's sons. They sneak past the sleeping maid guarding his bedchamber (? why no armed guard?) and kill the guy. They then take his head to David. They are expecting great rewards. Oh, they got rewarded alright. David had them both executed on the spot.

I don't really have a point in sharing either of these stories other than I found them both intriguing. You can see David's political cunning in reacquiring Michal, his struggle with sexual sin in his addition of many wives to his harem after God had forbidden it, and yet his repeated exhibition of love to his enemies as he is angry with people that kill them off. There is so much more to this man than what I learned in Sunday School.