Quotable Monday

"Security is mostly a superstition.  It does not exist in nature, nor do the children of men and women as a whole experience it.  Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure.  Life is either a daring adventure or nothing."  –Helen Keller

A friend sent me this quote after the first of the year.  My perceptions of security and safety in this world have been and continue to be challenged by God over the past decade.  I'm recognizing that setting up life to live in somewhat of an elusive bubble of worldly safety and security so to avoid danger has in fact created a more dangerous world.  As we live in segregated, isolated, exclusive ways throughout our communities, we place notions of peace, hope, and reconciliation on endangered lists.  

Saturday Scripture

Deuteronomy 10:17-20  For the Lord your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome, who shows no partiality and accepts no bribes.  He defends the cause of the fatherless and the widow, and loves the alien, giving him food and clothing.  And you are to love those who are aliens, for you yourselves were aliens in Egypt.  Fear the Lord your God and serve Him.  Hold fast to Him and take your oaths in His name.  

Luke 14:12-14  Then Jesus said to his host, "When you give a luncheon or dinner, do not invite your friends, your brothers or relatives, or your rich neighbors; if you do, they may invite you back and so you will be repaid.  But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed.  Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous."  


(In December 2006, I visited Kit Danley of Neighborhood Ministries in Phoenix, AZ.  As we visited, she recommended that I read through the Bible and highlight all of the Scripture passages that spoke of God's heart of compassion and justice.  In 2007, I did just that.

In 2008, I attended a workshop at a CCDA conference in which the facilitator instructed the class to work in pairs to name as many Scriptures (by reference or by text) that had to do with God's heart of compassion and justice.

The two exercises above have impacted me, and over the past five years, my eyes have been opened in a whole new way as I spend time in God's Word.  

I am going to spend Saturdays this year sharing Scripture passages on the blog, one OT and one NT, that help lay the Biblical foundation for compassion and justice; Scripture that describes God's character and His imperatives for His people.)

stories of empowerment

My friend Alizae and I got a tour yesterday of KBBG radio station in Waterloo.  Mrs. Lou Porter showed us around, and we ended our time by watching Lou's  8 year old great-granddaughter, Zoe, and a friend, Kenzie, read books for a pre-recorded taping of Zoe's Book Club which airs every Saturday at 11 a.m.

Since she's been six years old, Zoe has gathered young friends and good books and has shared good literature and her passion for reading to a listening audience.

Yesterday, we listened as Zoe read White Water

 by Michael S. Bandy, Eric Stein and Shadra Strickland (Aug 23, 2011) 

She also read Young Rosa Parks while Kenzie read the first chapter of a chapter book when it was her turn.  

I loved watching these young girls confidently speak into the microphone in the studio.  I loved listening to Mrs. Porter speak of Zoe and her younger sister's competencies around the technical aspects at the station.  I was impressed to hear about the empowerment of many young people through their involvement at KBBG over the years.  

If you want to listen to Zoe read her stories, tune into FM 88.1 KBBG every Saturday at 11 a.m. CST.  

Click here to check out KBBG on-line.  

the Word on Wednesday

As 2013 kicked off last month, I began to pray about where in the Bible I should devote some focused time this year.  After about six weeks of praying and discerning, I have landed on five OT books of the Bible that I'm going to study in some depth for a season:  Ezra, Haggai, Zechariah, Nehemiah, and Malachi...all books centered on God's commissioning His people to REBUILD the temple and the wall in Jerusalem.  I hope to journey into these books with a Christian community development lens and share some impressions Wednesdays on the blog.

God is in Charge!  

Ezra 1:1 "In the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, in order to fulfill the word of the Lord spoken by Jeremiah, the Lord moved the heart of Cyrus king of Persia to make a proclamation throughout his realm..."

Ezra 1:5  "Then the family heads of Judah and Benjamin, and the priests and Levites- everyone whose heart God had moved- prepared to go up and build the house of the Lord in Jerusalem.  

The scope of God's sovereignty is so beyond my understanding!  His ability to move hearts, minds, and lives (believers and nonbelievers alike) to fulfill His purposes without any of our own conscious doing is so awesome.  Verses like these above help me to trust God in His perfect timing and plan.  And verses like these give me comfort when I feel like I'm "missing it". Verses like these humble me when I get a faulty thought process that I have to make something happen or that something is "all up to me."   God is so much bigger and able than my limited and self-reliant mind can ever hope for or imagine.

As we work toward Christ's shalom and community strengthening, I find these verses in Ezra encourage me toward faith and anticipation that God, in His power and timing, WILL act to move hearts and lives for the rebuilding that is needed.

Quotable Monday

Richard Twiss passed away Saturday from a heart attack.  I'd heard him speak at two CCDA national conferences, and he opened my eyes to both the oppression that native peoples have suffered, and to the road forward toward reconciliation through the contributions and beauty of  diverse cultures as they celebrate rich faith in Jesus Christ.  Below are some quotes from his book, One Church Many Tribes.

“Native people have a rich spiritual and cultural heritage. It is into this reality that the Creator sent His Son. This was done in order to make a way for all people to once again travel the path of beauty and harmony that God the Father intended all of His children to live in and walk in through Jesus Christ, the Waymaker. Jesus is our chanku – the way to God and to successful living. This is the Jesus Way.”

“Our value as a people is determined by God’s sovereign will and design, and His kingdom finds its value in its people – all of them.”

“I believe that the greatest challenge facing Native peoples is the unresolved anger, distrust, hatred and bitterness in our hearts toward Euro-Americans, based on centuries of injustice and oppression….I am hoping that there will be heard in the land, in our generation, a corporate crying out to God the Father in confession and repentance for our sins, seeking forgiveness and reconciliation…those who have suffered the most are the nonbelieving Native men and women who have been deprived, not only of economic well being, but also of every vestige of true self worth, because they do not know the love of Jesus who alone gives all worth and dignity.”

“This conflict between the integrated worldviews of the Indian and the compartmentalized worldviews of most Western Evangelicals has been among the greatest hindrances to effective communication between the White man and Native people. It has also proven a tremendous obstacle to the growth of Native people who profess faith in Jesus Christ, for to them it means they must abandon their entire approach to community and spirit to accept a way that feels foreign and unnatural to them.”

“I now want to show, as clearly as I can, how many Native cultural viewpoints are in fact quite biblical, valuable and even necessary for the life and growth of the Church in North America today….most North American tribes were monotheistic, believing in one universal, absolute being who furnished moral guidelines for their conduct and who motivated every living thing…..Native Americans see themselves as a part of the whole creation. They have long perceived and pursued a balanced relationship between man and the environment – a partnership of equality and respect….traditional Native culture has always emphasized the submission of individuality to corporate identity – seeing ourselves as one of the people…that togetherness is more important than our individuality, that we are members one with another…

“the peoples of this world are deeply wounded and tormented by unresolved offenses and guilt…Human beings created in the image of God are designed for the purpose of walking in harmony with their creator….this is a reconciled life.”

showing love to Walnut Court

Harvest Vineyard friends reach out regularly in their Walnut neighborhood to show and tell of the love of Jesus Christ.  Today, several friends from Harvest showed up around the corner from the church at the Walnut Court Retirement Apartment Community.   The children from Harvest brought handmade Valentine cards, they sang and danced, and other Harvest friends brought strawberry shortcake, good conversation, and some oldies but goodies for a Sing-a-Long.  It was a great time to meet some of neighbors who live at Walnut Court!  

"Our God is a Big, Big God"

"Daisy, Daisy, give me your answer do.  I'm half crazy, all for the love of you."

Strawberry Short Cake!

Steve and Jan have been residents at Walnut Court since August.  They just became great-grandparents this week!

Brion played some hymns on violin

The young people hand delivered homemade Valentine cards, sang, danced, and  brought energy to the party!

Walnut Court has almost 70 retirees now...55 years and older.

Saturday Scripture

Deuteronomy 24:19  When you reap your harvest in your field and forget a sheaf in the field, you shall not go back to get it; it shall be left for the alien, the orphan, and the widow, so that the Lord your God may bless you in all your undertakings.  


 Luke 11:42   "But woe to you Pharisees! For you tithe mint and rue and herbs of all kinds, and neglect justice and the love of God; it is these you ought to have practiced, without neglecting the others."       


(In December 2006, I visited Kit Danley of Neighborhood Ministries in Phoenix, AZ.  As we visited, she recommended that I read through the Bible and highlight all of the Scripture passages that spoke of God's heart of compassion and justice.  In 2007, I did just that.

In 2008, I attended a workshop at a CCDA conference in which the facilitator instructed the class to work in pairs to name as many Scriptures (by reference or by text) that had to do with God's heart of compassion and justice.

The two exercises above have impacted me, and over the past five years, my eyes have been opened in new ways as I spend time in God's Word.  

I am going to spend Saturdays this year sharing Scripture passages on the blog, one OT and one NT, that help lay the Biblical foundation for compassion and justice; Scripture that describes God's character and the mandates He has for His people.)