Some wisdom from Ben Stein

I found this on Facebook, but I think it is worthy of sharing...

"Apparently the White House referred to Christmas Trees as Holiday Trees for the first time this year, which prompted CBS presenter, Ben Stein, to present this piece which I would like to share with you.

The following was written by Ben Stein and recited by him on CBS Sunday Morning Commentary.

My confession:
I am a Jew, and every single one of my ancestors was Jewish. And it does not bother me even a little bit when people call those beautiful lit up, bejewelled trees, Christmas trees. I don't feel threatened. I don't feel discriminated against. That's what they are, Christmas trees.

It doesn't bother me a bit when people say, 'Merry Christmas' to me. I don't think they are slighting me or getting ready to put me in a ghetto. In fact, I kind of like it. It shows that we are all brothers and sisters celebrating this happy time of year. It doesn't bother me at all that there is a manger scene on display at a key intersection near my beach house in Malibu. If people want a nativity scene, it's just as fine with me as is the Menorah a few hundred yards away.

I don't like getting pushed around for being a Jew, and I don't think Christians like getting pushed around for being Christians. I think people who believe in God are sick and tired of getting pushed around, period. I have no idea where the concept came from, that America is an explicitly atheist country. I can't find it in the Constitution and I don't like it being shoved down my throat.

Or maybe I can put it another way: where did the idea come from that we should worship celebrities and we aren't allowed to worship God? I guess that's a sign that I'm getting old, too. But there are a lot of us who are wondering where these celebrities came from and where the America we knew went to.

In light of the many jokes we send to one another for a laugh, this is a little different: This is not intended to be a joke; it's not funny, it's intended to get you thinking.

Billy Graham's daughter was interviewed on the Early Show and Jane Clayson asked her 'How could God let something like this happen?' (regarding Hurricane Katrina). Anne Graham gave an extremely profound and insightful response. She said, 'I believe God is deeply saddened by this, just as we are, but for years we've been telling God to get out of our schools, to get out of our government and to get out of our lives.And being the gentleman He is, I believe He has calmly backed out. How can we expect God to give us His blessing and His protection if we demand He leave us alone?'

In light of recent events... terrorist attacks, school shootings, etc. I think it started when Madeleine Murray O'Hare (she was murdered, her body found a few years ago) complained she didn't want prayer in our schools, and we said OK. Then someone said you better not read the Bible in school. The Bible says thou shalt not kill; thou shalt not steal, and love your neighbor as yourself. And we said OK.

Then Dr. Benjamin Spock said we shouldn't spank our children when they misbehave, because their little personalities would be warped and we might damage their self-esteem (Dr. Spock's son committed suicide). We said an expert should know what he's talking about. And we said okay.

Now we're asking ourselves why our children have no conscience, why they don't know right from wrong, and why it doesn't bother them to kill strangers, their classmates, and themselves.

Probably, if we think about it long and hard enough, we can figure it out. I think it has a great deal to do with 'WE REAP WHAT WE SOW.'

Funny how simple it is for people to trash God and then wonder why the world's going to hell.
Funny how we believe what the newspapers say, but question what the Bible says.

Funny how you can send 'jokes' through e-mail and they spread like wildfire, but when you start sending messages regarding the Lord, people think twice about sharing.

Funny how lewd, crude, vulgar and obscene articles pass freely through cyberspace, but public discussion of God is suppressed in the school and workplace.

Are you laughing yet?

Funny how when you forward this message, you will not send it to many on your address list because you're not sure what they believe, or what they will think of you for sending it.

Funny how we can be more worried about what other people think of us than what God thinks of us.

Pass it on if you think it has merit.

If not, then just discard it.... no one will know you did. But, if you discard this thought process, don't sit back and complain about what a bad shape the world is in.

My Best Regards, Honestly and respectfully,

Ben Stein"

If you had two weeks...

At my school we have chapel service in the mornings on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday every week. We get to hear from great preachers and missionaries from all over the nation and world. I never know what to expect or how God might show up when I walk into chapel.

Yesterday, when I was at chapel, we talked a lot about how you want to be remembered after you die. It was a great message, but I think God had something slightly different in mind for me to learn. Somehow, my brain got to thinking about death and the end times. The question I asked myself was this: "If there were only two weeks until Christ's return, and you knew it, what would you be doing with your time?"

I expected to answer with things like spending time with family or being with the youth at my church more, but all I could think about was missions. If I knew there were only two weeks until Christ's return, that would mean that there were only two weeks to tell everyone on the planet about Jesus! The only problem is that there are SO many areas that have never had a chance to hear His gospel!

There are people who die every day who have never heard of the saving mercy and grace of Jesus Christ. Can you live with that knowledge? I can't.

God got me really fired up about missions again. There is an end coming; am I living like it?

That makes the Great Commission a little weightier to me. We MUST share this message with all peoples!

"Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you." Matthew 28:19-20a

Go therefore...

My good friend, Misty, had me guest post on her blog about missions. Check it out!

Madagascar

So, before I begin I need to apologize for a couple of things. First, sorry I haven't posted in forever! School started and I have been pretty behind on life. Second, sorry I'm kind of changing the subject from Uganda for a while; I promise I'll come back to it and finish off the trip! The best days are yet to come, still! Hang in there!

I just started school at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary (but everyone calls it SWBTS...pronounced 'swibits'). I am doing the BA Humanities program with a missions concentration to prepare me for a life overseas sharing God's good news. This school is seriously so amazing! I love almost everything about it -- hey, everywhere has its downfalls, right?

Anyways, the reason I picked this school is because of how mission-minded they are. They believe that all people should hear the gospel, whether they are in Fort Worth, or America, or a small tribe in an African island! And right now, the Antandroy are just that tribe!

My school is sending missionaries to Madagascar right now to reach out to a people of about 800,000 who have never heard the name of Jesus before! They live in the southern region of Madagascar, which is an island off the eastern coast of Africa. But, they are just one of many people groups in Madagascar who have never heard the good news that Jesus has for them! There are 19 major tribes in Madagascar and the many of them are unreached; in fact, there are only around 13 missionary families on the whole island of Madagascar (by the way, the island is roughly the size of Texas)!

The Antandroy are the dark blue region on the bottom of this map.

I am seriously considering going to this island, as I have to go on a mission trip in order to graduate (rough, I know), and this people group just wont leave my heart. So, I went to a meeting to learn more about them on Friday and I wanted to share some of the nation's prayer requests with you so you could join me in prayer for them.

1. Pray for the political crisis in Madagascar. They haven't had a stable government in many years, and their current corrupt government has been in power for the past four years. They are trying to have an election soon, so pray that God's hand will be on it.

2. Pray for the shallow Christianity that does exist on the island. Catholicism is the main Christian branch on the island and unfortunately it has morphed with the local ancestor-worshiping customs into a religion that is not even close to God honoring. Pray that God would start a cultural and spiritual revival to bring people to know who He truly is and the kind of worship which He truly desires.

3. Offer thanks for the receptivity that is happening. Christianity is a hard fit for the culture of Madagascar, because it goes in such stark contrast with the practices of the people there. Praise God for the people who are coming to know the Lord and letting Him transform every dimension of their lives!

4. Offer thanks and prayers for religious freedom. The religious freedom in Madagascar is such a blessing, but it is also allowing for Christians to become lazy. Pray that God would move in the hearts of the Christians in Madagascar to move out of complacency and apathy.

5. Pray for the other religions that are proliferating on the island because of the same religious freedom. Muslims, Jehovah's Witnesses, Mormons, etc. are growing at alarming rates. Pray that the people on the island would come to know the one, true God!

6. Pray for support and encouragement for the 13 missionary families who are serving in Madagascar. It is a lonely place to be a missionary.

7. Pray for revival for Christians!

Narrow Roads

Have you driven through North Texas recently? If you have, you know that every single highway we have up here is under construction! It is nuts! I spend a lot of time in my truck, so this construction is getting me a little edgy. I try and spend most of my drives with the radio off and in conversation with the Lord. The stuff He tells me when I am stuck in traffic is really cool! That's why today, I'm taking a break from Uganda blogs to share a cool analogy I got from highway driving with my Dad this week.

So, on Tuesday, I was driving through construction like always; however, I was especially stressed out then because they had once again changed which exit went where. As I was white-knuckling the steering wheel, the highway narrowed to one lane, with no shoulders and concrete barriers on either side. If I got lazy in my driving or shifted slightly to the left or to the right I would hit the walls. It lasted for about a half mile, and when it opened back up to a two lane highway, the Lord reminded me of Matthew 7:14.

For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.

Just like on the road, in my life, if I get off track just a little bit it has huge consequences. Sometimes I am tempted to get lazy in my walk with the Lord and I take a break from being daily in the Word. Other times, I am tempted to believe the lies that if I just do some small sin or tell some little lie that it wont affect anything too much. It's not true, for the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life. I have to stay on the straight and narrow path, not veering to the right or to the left, but walking where the Lord has made a way for me to go.

Also like in driving, when you go off road in your life and you get wrecked up, or things seem to be falling to pieces, or you just feel yourself getting farther away from the Lord, the damage isn't necessarily permanent. If I wreck my truck, I have to take it in to the repair shop to get it fixed. When I wreck my life, I have to go to the Lord for healing and direction. He is the only worker skilled enough to fix the messes we make in our lives.

So, when your life starts looking like the one lane highway with no shoulders and concrete barriers on either side, remember to stay focused on the Lord to guide you through it. Never take your eyes off of Him and make sure not to drift to the right or the left. And remember, the construction doesn't go on forever, in another half a mile you'll be out of it again, and probably a more skilled driver to boot!

In dependence, or independence?

First off, I'm sorry I haven't written anything on here in so long! Life has been getting too fast for me lately. I will try and be more disciplined in getting the rest of these posts up!

As I was looking for inspiration for today's blog, I was reading my prayer journal from Day 4 and 5 of the trip. My question that I was pondering those days was, "God, what am I learning about you today?" Then, I stumbled upon a prayer from later that day:

"Keep us in situations where we have to rely on You, so we can learn your character and see Your power."

All throughout my life, I have been raised to be independent. I have been taught to take care of myself, by myself. I think this is an American thing; we want to be self sufficient, independent. "I don't need anyone to take care of me." I proclaim reliance on God, but I have been guilty of living an independent life.

The people of Uganda showed me how to live in dependence on God, instead of independent of Him. God was huge to them there, because they needed Him to be. They trusted Him for everything, and He showed up because of it.

Someone said something to me a few months ago that really stuck with me, and it was basically this: If I trust in myself, then I am limited to Jenn sized solutions and outcomes; however, if I trust in God, I am unlimited! So, I just want to leave you with this question: Do you live in dependence of God, or independently of Him? How big is your God? How big do you let Him be? If you haven't seen God show up lately, maybe it is because You haven't asked him to. Ask Him.

Day 4

Day 4 started off with our first morning devotional during breakfast, and I figured I'd start off this post in the same way, just without the breakfast. ;-)

First read these verses:

“The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.

“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls, who, on finding one pearl of great value, went and sold all that he had and bought it.

Matthew 13:44-46

Matthew 13:1-23 (The Parable of the Sower)

David led us in an incredible devotional; it was both thought provoking and encouraging. He spoke a lot about the Kingdom of Heaven and how it affects our role here and now on earth. It basically boiled down to the fact that we are citizens of Heaven, and earth is not our home; rather we are here serving God, all the time, everywhere we go. God allows us to choose to be obedient to what He has called us to do, so that when we are obedient, it is out of love. Because of this, our choices matter very much to God! Every time we obey Him and serve Him, we show our love for Him!

It was a really beautiful lesson, and it applies so much to life in Uganda and in America. We can go on mission trips overseas to serve God, but we are always on mission for God. I hope this challenges you, like it does me! How are you on mission for God in your town?

Now, on to the rest of the day!

We drove all the way from Kampala to Lira, which is a 6 hour drive. Usually, I don't like to travel very much; however, I felt very different about this trip, because we got to see so much of the country! Uganda is the most beautiful place I have ever been! Here are some pictures I took on the road (with my disposable camera, pardon the poor quality of the pictures)!

This picture shows a lot! You can see mango trees, which it seems like communities are built around in Uganda! You can see several huts, which were one of the main housing forms that we saw. You can see a boda-boda, which is basically a motorcycle taxi, those things are everywhere!

Here are some more beautiful mango trees. The mangoes in Uganda are just about the most delicious fruit I have ever tasted!! The people sitting under the tree sell mangoes to the people who drive past on the road. Side note, if you stop next to people who are selling things by the road, they all flock to your car to try and get you to buy stuff! It is a little intimidating! We once had about twenty people trying to sell us their mangoes! The rectangular building you see is a shop, and you can see some more huts in the background.

This is a lady with something crazy balanced on her head. I swear, they can carry anything on their heads!! We saw them carrying things that are strange shapes and things that way as much as 50lbs! It is amazing to watch, but unfortunately back problems are common because of it.

Here is another roadside mango shop. I think we bought mangoes here to feed the monkeys! There were tons of kids here, and when they saw us they all shouted, "Mzungu!" Which basically means, "White people!" I thought at first it must be an insult, like they were laughing at us for being different or foreign or something, but it is really just because that is what we are and they are excited to see us. Almost every kid, and even a few adults, shouted it at our vans as we drove past! Which reminds me of another thing I loved about Uganda, everyone greets everyone (even people who drive past in their vans)! It is incredible to me how much these people value relationship!

The beautiful, amazing, powerful Nile river! I have never seen water that strong before! It sounded incredible and it was very wide.

More of the Nile.

There were monkeys and baboons all along the roads, especially in the more forested parts of the roads. We fed these guys (and several other primate friends) mangoes from our vans.

We arrived at our hotel and it was very nice! We had guards at our gate with AK-47s, so we all felt very safe! The food was pretty typical for what we usually ate while in Uganda, chicken and potatoes and fruit. It was all good, except I noticed that Ugandans like their food dryer than we usually eat food in America; this was true of chicken and cakes, that I noticed. Despite the dryness, I was very grateful for chicken and not beef, because we saw beef that was for sale on the side of the road just hanging out in the open. I would much rather eat the chicken that I know got killed in the back of the hotel somewhere than the beef that has been hanging outside for who knows how long!

At dinner, we met Jane. She is one of the most incredible, God-fearing women I have ever met. At twenty, she decided she needed to do something about the damage done by the LRA, and now at 32 she has an organization, Children of Peace Uganda, which provides education to children affected by the war and empowers women affected to provide for themselves. I will explain much more about CoPU in later posts, don't worry!

We wrapped up the day with some more mafia before bed time. This was a great day; I felt like a lot of community developed within my team on the trip and I really began to acknowledge the ways that everyone was so beautifully unique and perfectly chosen and placed by God to be on this trip, and the next day revealed this to me even more clearly!