I meant to share this a while ago, when I first took my three daughters (and my dad) to see "How To Train Your Dragon 2" over the summer. But then life happened (or laziness ensued or distraction set in or insert any other excuse here), and I didn't get around to it. Then my nieces watched it during our family Christmas celebration, and news events happened in our country, and I was reminded.
So, in the theme of things as I close out 2014, better late than never.
While I was watching "How to Train Your Dragon 2," two themes kept coming to mind. They, coupled with something I listened to myself whisper as I held my frightened four-year-old daughter on my lap, made up three truths about life I've learned over the last several years. And, as I watch the news each day, I see how essential it is that I teach them to my girls.
It's been too long for me to give specific references to the film, and maybe they aren't even as important as real-life examples, so here goes nothing.
1) Talking and getting to know new people is better than fighting.
Our country is on the cusp of something major. In college I studied the Civil Rights Movement, and in the cry of silent protesters and angry crowds I see so much history being repeated. On another front there are lines being drawn about gay rights and transgender individuals and what is Christian and what is right. Then there is addiction--both the addicts themselves and the people who desperately love them and want to be enough for them . . .
We're in a mess of hurting people, and "we" as the Church are too often stepping up to the wrong side of those lines. Yes. There is right and there is wrong. But God never asked us to judge the heart of man. He asked us to love His children. If I insist on pointing out the right and the wrong and ignore the brokenness and desperation, am I doing that? No. So. Talking and getting to know people is better than fighting. We need each other. We need each other for what we can learn from people who are different than us, and we need each other for what we can share with people who are different than us. And, most importantly, we need each other because without each other I'm not sure we can ever see a true picture of the God who created each of us.
2) Work together to fight the bullies.
Maybe this lends itself to #1 up there. We. Need. Each. Other. Period. There's nothing more to it than that. There are bullies in this world. Some of them are big and physically violent. Some of them are small and insidious. Some of them are in the pews next to us in our churches. Some of them stand in our capitol buildings. Some of them wear a badge and carry a gun. Some of them work on our news stations or in a cubicle next to us.
But, it's important to remember that not all of the people in those roles are bullies.
As I'm involved in a Global Learners' Initiative through my daughters' school district I have learned one important lesson: NEVER go alone. Find a friend. A buddy. Someone who has your back. Because here's the thing. The bullies are tough. Their insecurities and ignorance and hatred make them formidable, and their desperation makes them dangerous.
So don't go alone.
Let's join together. Alone we can get killed. Alone we can bend and break under the pressure. Alone we can get laughed out of the room.
If you see a bully who needs to be fought, ask a friend to join you. If you see a friend who's fighting a battle, join in. Don't quarrel about differences in technique or philosophy or theology or interpretation. Just fight alongside someone who needs it.
Fight the bullies with truth and goodness. Maybe we'll get beaten in this battle. But we'll win the war.
3) "It might get scary, but it will be okay."
This one is my favorite. During the great battle scene at the end of the moview, my youngest daughter crawled onto my lap and whispered that she was scared. I wrapped my arms around her, squeezed her tightly, and whispered back, "Baby, it will be okay. It might get scary, but it will be okay."
There is truth to this, I realized as I heard my words. That's life, friends. It gets scary sometimes. But it will be okay.
What a year my family had closing out 2013 and throughout 2014. We were betrayed by friends--publicly. Lies were told. Tears were shed. Curse words were uttered. Truth is still taking its time stepping into the light. In the middle of all of it, a brother ended his fight with PTSD. And now, at the end of it (we thought), my dad has been diagnosed with prostate cancer. His prognosis is good, though the cancer is aggressive. Still, it's cancer. There will be surgery and, depending on what the doctors find, maybe treatments.
It might get scary, but it will be okay.
We have faith. And we have God. And we have each other. And we have grace. And we know that in the end, it will all be okay.
Let these three lessons carry us into the new year, friends. Let this be the year that the Church stops caring about semantics and starts caring about the heart of Christ. Let this be the year that the bullies are fought against and that the bullied find us standing with them. Let this be the year of hope in the midst of the fear that everything really will work out in the end. And, in the middle of it all, let us find grace and love and joy.
Wednesday, December 31, 2014
Reviewing: The Making of an Ordinary Saint
The Making of an Ordinary Saint: My Journey from Frustration to Joy with the Spiritual Disciplines
by Nathan Foster
Three brief moments of disclosure before I begin:
1) This book took me months to read. That was all on me. I slowly and carefully digested each word. I'm certain it could have been read faster, but I couldn't do it.
2) I haven't read Celebration of Discipline by Richard Foster. Still, I have my preconceived notions about the spiritual disciplines and Richard Foster's beautiful (and comical) use of antonyms in his title.
3) One of my dearest friends edited this book. She knows me well enough to know that means nothing as to my liking this book.
Now. On to the review.
Nathan Foster is the son of Richard Foster, whom I have always referred to as "The Disciplines Guy." Richard's famous book Celebration of Discipline was published when I was one year old and has always felt like a daunting, "must-do" task for me if I want to be a true Christian. I'm not sure anyone put that on me besides me, but it has always sat there nonetheless. So, when my editor friend told me what she was working on, I was skeptical and intrigued. Then I got my hands on the book. And I spent the next three months eating, chewing, laughing, wiping away tears, nodding my head, and shaking my head in amazement.
For starters, I was glad to find out I wasn't the only one who found the concept of the spiritual disciplines as a formidable but essential checklist in order to reach true Christian status. Richard Foster's own son felt that way too! And, in much the same words my own pastor father would use, Richard gently explained to his son (and to the reader--in a coup we get "The Spiritual Disciplines Guy" AND his "Skeptical About the Disciplines Son"!): "This isn't supposed to hurt. It's not supposed to be a checklist about succeeding or failing. It's supposed to be about choosing God."
With candid honesty, vulnerable humility, and well-sprinkled humor, Nathan Foster details his four-year journey with the spiritual disciplines. It's a journey from fear, trepidation, and duty to freedom, love, and joy. Through his journey, Foster makes approachable what has long felt daunting. And he helps his reader see the secret Richard Foster tried to share with us all along:
And, in that learning to actively respond to a loving God, through Richard Foster's introductions to each chapter, Nathan Foster's prosaic explanations of his practical implementation of each discipline (sometimes accidental, always simple, and never with mundane results), and a brief essay on a "mother or father" of the faith who lived that discipline daily, we see that this really is practical. It really is about responding actively to a loving God. It really is about choosing joy and choosing love and seeing God and needing Him and wanting Him more than anything else.
I'll read this book again. Next time it won't be for an assignment or with a deadline I already missed. It will be with a journal and a plan to actively and intentionally walk this journey on my own.
Disclosure: I received this book free from Baker Books through the Baker Books Bloggers (www.bakerbooks.com/bakerbooksbloggers) program. The opinions I have expressed are my won, and I was not required to write a positive review. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255 (http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html).
by Nathan Foster
Three brief moments of disclosure before I begin:
1) This book took me months to read. That was all on me. I slowly and carefully digested each word. I'm certain it could have been read faster, but I couldn't do it.
2) I haven't read Celebration of Discipline by Richard Foster. Still, I have my preconceived notions about the spiritual disciplines and Richard Foster's beautiful (and comical) use of antonyms in his title.
3) One of my dearest friends edited this book. She knows me well enough to know that means nothing as to my liking this book.
Now. On to the review.
Nathan Foster is the son of Richard Foster, whom I have always referred to as "The Disciplines Guy." Richard's famous book Celebration of Discipline was published when I was one year old and has always felt like a daunting, "must-do" task for me if I want to be a true Christian. I'm not sure anyone put that on me besides me, but it has always sat there nonetheless. So, when my editor friend told me what she was working on, I was skeptical and intrigued. Then I got my hands on the book. And I spent the next three months eating, chewing, laughing, wiping away tears, nodding my head, and shaking my head in amazement.
For starters, I was glad to find out I wasn't the only one who found the concept of the spiritual disciplines as a formidable but essential checklist in order to reach true Christian status. Richard Foster's own son felt that way too! And, in much the same words my own pastor father would use, Richard gently explained to his son (and to the reader--in a coup we get "The Spiritual Disciplines Guy" AND his "Skeptical About the Disciplines Son"!): "This isn't supposed to hurt. It's not supposed to be a checklist about succeeding or failing. It's supposed to be about choosing God."
With candid honesty, vulnerable humility, and well-sprinkled humor, Nathan Foster details his four-year journey with the spiritual disciplines. It's a journey from fear, trepidation, and duty to freedom, love, and joy. Through his journey, Foster makes approachable what has long felt daunting. And he helps his reader see the secret Richard Foster tried to share with us all along:
It isn't about twelve rigid practices; in fact, as I go about each day, there are so many simple ways I can intentionally direct my will and actions toward God. While the categories are helpful, they are only constructed to enable us to frame our experiences. In a sense there is only one discipline: an active response to a loving God. (p191)
And, in that learning to actively respond to a loving God, through Richard Foster's introductions to each chapter, Nathan Foster's prosaic explanations of his practical implementation of each discipline (sometimes accidental, always simple, and never with mundane results), and a brief essay on a "mother or father" of the faith who lived that discipline daily, we see that this really is practical. It really is about responding actively to a loving God. It really is about choosing joy and choosing love and seeing God and needing Him and wanting Him more than anything else.
I'll read this book again. Next time it won't be for an assignment or with a deadline I already missed. It will be with a journal and a plan to actively and intentionally walk this journey on my own.
Disclosure: I received this book free from Baker Books through the Baker Books Bloggers (www.bakerbooks.com/bakerbooksbloggers) program. The opinions I have expressed are my won, and I was not required to write a positive review. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255 (http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html).
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)