Chain Gang

I was reading through the book of Mark the other day when I came across a passage that really stuck out to me in a new way.

In Mark 5, we see the story of Jesus healing a demon-possessed man. It says that "This man lived in the tombs because no one could bind him any more, not even with a chain. For he had often been chained hand and foot, but he tore the chains apart and broke the irons on his feet. No one was strong enough to subdue him."

It struck me that the people of the town had tried time and time again to help this man, and quite obviously themselves as well, by attempting to tie him up with chains. So often, I think of helping people by trying to help them get rid of their "chains" that can hold us back to our past. In this case, however, chains were the best solution they could find.

It made me think about why we get stuck in "chains" in the first place. I'm using the word "chains" in a metaphorical sense, speaking of addictions, behaviors, mentalities, and other unhealthy ways of living that we adopt into our lifestyle to help us cope. They are different for each person. Some deal with stress or pain by grabbing a cigarette, a drink, junk food, or the remote control, but often we choose to put on a chain of some sort over our heart, mind or body as a way to numb and "put a band-aid" on the real root of the problem.

Many times this may not even seem like an intentional, deliberate choice, but thinking about this made me realize that I choose a chain far more often than I would like to admit.

The thing that really stuck out to me is that the chain can be broken in two ways, one far more healthy than another. The demon-possessed man had reached a point where he let the evil within him break through the chains, lashing out and driving him to a life of seclusion and torment. The only other option that he saw was to live a life of numb submission, literally a prisoner to his own chains. It was only Jesus who could provide another solution to this man's problem, breaking through the evil and the chains that tried to hide it, allowing true freedom and life to reign in this man once again.

As we've been praying and dreaming about our new church, a section of scripture that has continually been coming to mind is when Jesus speaks about His sole mission in coming to Earth. In Luke 4.18, Jesus is quoting from Isaiah when He says, "The Spirit of the LORD is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners, and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the LORD's favor."

It is our prayer that as He continues to free us from these chains, that He'll use us to do the same for the people of Philadelphia. We shall be a chain gang no longer, but like the man in Mark 5, we will run back to our homes and families and show them all that God has done for us. And the world will be amazed.

Those Parents . . .

In case you have not already seen these on Brad's blog or my Facebook, I thought I'd post some links to two recent videos that we made of Gabby.

The first is video footage of her first "real" snow, the great Pittsburgh snow of 2010 . . . which seems to keep going and going and going.

The second is total silliness of one of the most fun faces that Gabby has most recently acquired.

And with the creation of these two videos, I have finally accepted the fact that we are officially, THOSE parents. :-)

Year of the Gift

A few years ago, I read on Pastor Jeff Leake's blog about the spiritual practice of naming your year. It's a prayerful practice that I've been doing each January, asking God what would He like me to remember, to focus on, and to stand on through the upcoming year. I went back and found my post from 2007, the year when God's word to me was, "Imagine." What a fulfillment of Eph. 3:20 He chose to reveal! Meeting Brad and all the new changes that came with it truly were more than I could imagine.

This year, as I've been praying, I again felt that God gave me a word and a verse for 2010. It is "The Year of the Gift," and the verses that went along with it were again from Ephesians. Eph. 2:8-9. "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith - and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God - not by works so that no one can boast." When God first laid this on my heart, I must confess that I wondered, "What does that mean?" but the more that I've prayed and thought about it, the more I think He continues to reveal.

I first thought about the whole idea of a gift. I love gifts. I love finding just the right gift for someone and I love the excitement of receiving a surprise that someone picked out to give me. But when you really think about it, receiving a gift is an exercise of trust. The receiver of the gift is trusting that the giver of the gift knows them, knows what they like, and wants to give them something that they like. We don't really think about this when we open the gift. We usually just open it and think one of three things:

• "Wow! This is EXACTLY what I wanted! I am so excited and can't wait to use it!"
• "Okay . . . I'm not really sure what to do with this. I wouldn't have chosen it, but I guess that I like it???"
• "Oh dear. I hope there's a gift receipt."

I have experienced all these instances, but usually, the closer the gift giver is in relationship to me, the more likely they are to give a gift in the first category. If it's not in the first category, I really have to stop and reconsider my initial assessment of the gift.

I remember on one particular Easter Egg Hunt when I was little, we followed a clue that my parents had given and we found a small pile of presents along with a butter knife on top. We were excited about the presents, but perplexed about the knife. Figuring it must've been a weird mistake, we grabbed the presents, left the knife there, and moved on to follow the next clue.

When we got to the next clue, we realized the presents were inside this older china closet that had lost it's handle. The only way to open it was to slide a butter knife along the door and open the latch that way. My parents knew what we needed and wanted better than we did, and we would've been smart to trust them, and take ALL the gifts with us, rather than just the ones we wanted.

When I think about the gifts that God gives, I realize that it once again often comes down to an issue of trust. I've received gifts from God that were EXACTLY what I wanted (i.e. Brad!). I'm overwhelmed with gratitude and I can't thank God enough. I've received gifts that I never thought I wanted (i.e. pain, patience, and humility), and initially I want to take these gifts back. And I've received gifts that I would have never chosen or been certain what to do with them, but chose to receive them and use them and later found out that they were exactly what I wanted (i.e. God's timing, a job, etc.).

When I think about 2010, I can already recognize several "gifts" that have been surprises to open. A year ago, I would have never dreamed about going to Philadelphia and that gift alone has brought with it feelings of "Oh, I love this so much!" and "Can I take this back?" :-) In the midst of it all, however, I'm choosing to trust my gift Giver, and choosing to believe that He knows what's best more than I do. And, as His Word says, all of these gifts are simply an outpouring of His grace. I don't deserve ANY of them, and I'm so grateful for all of them, even the ones I wouldn't have initially chosen.

I can't imagine what gifts 2010 will bring, but I thank God in advance for them, and choose to receive ALL of them, trusting He is Good.

February Update

So we made the first part of our big move and have been enjoying a week in Pittsburgh without having to pack or unpack a suitcase or box. It has been great getting settled here and we're really looking forward to spending the next few months. It's such a blessing to be with my family and seeing old friends once again. I certainly still miss family and friends back in Detroit and we look forward to a visit soon when we can see them once again.

For those of you interested in any Gabby updates, here are a few highlights. For those of you who are not, please humor the first-time Mom. :-)

• Gabby has turned 7 months old. She got to celebrate in our nation's capital with her Aunt Ashley and Uncle Nate. We did take some pictures on my camera which I'd love to post, but I just realized that the USB connector cord is in a box somewhere in the garage. Great planning, Leah. :-( Maybe I'll post them sometime in July. :-( She had a great time and was often really tired out by the end of the day. If you'd like to see proof, check out this video on Brad's blog. (It's a wonder that we haven't traumatized her from cereal entirely!)
• She also took her first trip to her new home of Philadelphia. She seemed intrigued by the history, motivated to start a new church, and enraptured by the cheesesteaks (pictured below). Mothers can tell these things through the babbles, spitups, and naps.
• Gabs sits really well on her own now, so I'm planning on getting some more formal pictures of her soon. It's probably one of those first-born baby things that gets skipped over as you add more kids to the family, but I think I want to go ahead with it anyway. :-) The sitting skill has made playing with toys a lot more fun.
• She's using rolling as a form of transportation right now which can prove to be surprisingly effective. She also seems to be doing a very primitive backwards scoot. This has already resulted in her eating a dead leaf from a hibiscus plant that was lying on the floor (which thankfully was not poisonous) and has taught mommy that it's a whole new ballgame.
• Gabby is certainly living up to her name. Her speech has become a lot more syllabic over the past few weeks and we have caught many "mama's" and "dada's" (even though I don't think she attributes them to us just yet). And, I'm pretty sure I've heard her singing the chorus to "Mmmbop." Who knew she liked Hanson? :-) I never knew that "cuteness" actually had a sound, but when I listen to her talking and singing, it is most certainly the quintessence of cute.

I think those are the major highlights. I'll try and find some pictures from my phone that don't require a plug to upload. Thanks for all your prayers! We're doing great!