Passion in Action

You may have read my recent post promoting the 2012 Famine.
This year’s experience was more difficult and more powerful for me than the 2011 Famine.

We gathered together Friday afternoon, totaled the funds (over $7,200!), drank gallons of apple juice, collected non-perishable goods, and finally broke the fast on Saturday night: Our 30-Hour Famine is over.

Over 50 students raised funds, fasted, and prayed on behalf of hungry and needy children around the world, specifically those in Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bolivia, Kenya, and Zambia.

On Friday night, the middle school youth group joined us for a few “TRIBE” challenges, and we watched and discussed the short film “Journey to Jamaa” produced by World Vision (jamaa means family in Swahili).

On Saturday morning we did landscaping and cleaning for senior citizens in the local community; in the afternoon we did walked around a couple neighborhoods in my town.

At this point during the weekend, I felt so radical: We were walking through a neighborhood, knocking on the doors of strangers and asking for donations of non-perishable dry goods or blankets for the Union County Community Shelter. When we found the courage, we asked for prayer requests and prayed for the family on the spot. If not, we prayed in the street for the empty house or slammed door. I thought, This is the kind of thing that crazy people do—that faithful people do. And I’m one of them.

The Famine weekend is, in a word, satisfying. It is a powerful experience because it made us deliberately dependent on God for energy and strength. We drank only apple juice and water (and even then, some students went without juice). Moreover, we spent extra energy helping our community.

This vulnerability and reliance on God for physical needs is a small picture of the human lifetime: I believe everyone has an emptiness and a longing because God has set eternity in the hearts of men, and we can only depend only on God to fill that emptiness. That is a dependence on God for a spiritual need.

Every “TRIBE” simulation challenge was followed by a discussion time that relates a Bible verse to the game. The following verse speaks of this physical/spiritual parallel:

“Jesus answered, ‘Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.’ ” (John 4:13-14, NIV)

Jesus is speaking to a woman at a well about eternal life. She answers, “Sir, give me this water so that I won’t get thirsty and have to keep coming here to draw water.” She doesn’t yet understand what Jesus is saying, but the weight of his words eventually sinks in. She will still have to draw water every day whether or not she has eternal life. And for those of us who have already heard about Jesus’s everlasting spring, we still have to pray and read the Bible to taste the water of life and satisfy our souls.

During the prayer walk/food collection, the neighbors called the police on us, but there were no problems.

Also, by the end I had spent 26 hours with dozens of faithful people, reinforcing my idea that every Thursday night I go to a 2-hour family reunion, not merely “youth group.” For me in particular, during the Famine I turned to people for comfort in the absence of food, instead of the other way around. The physical discomfort is so worth the love and joy that permeated every hour. This is the kind of familial love that fills you to overflowing and makes the world seem fresh and beautiful.

By the time we had broken the fast, every need on every plane was satisfied. Amen.

The Famine is over, but you can always contribute to World Vision. Your money will not be wasted.

PS: I want to thank “Aunt Kathy,” a commenter at The Poorganic Life, for the idea of a poster or banner to commemorate the weekend. This is what happened as a result. Everyone signed it and it’s now hanging in our youth building!

Photos courtesy World Vision and Joylily Bogle.

More photos of our event can be seen at http://www.wysite.org/sites/jaarsyouth/PhotoAlbum.

Afterlife and the Universe…

…heady stuff. Are you ready? This post is as good as any other to mention the book The Unobservable Universe by Scott M. Tyson, a “visionary” physicist, engineer, scientist, and researcher.

I first heard about through a press release, subtitled “Award-Winning Physicist Chastises Scientist For Decrying Religion.” In a interview with The Guardian, Stephen Hawking dismissed the concept of life after death, and Tyson explained how these “comments deepen the rift between the scientific and religious communities.” It sounded fascinating to me, a theologian and lover of science, and from what I read of the release (excerpted below), I agreed with Tyson.

“I think that people in general believe that scientists don’t believe in God, and that’s just not true,” said Tyson, author of The Unobservable Universe. “History is filled with scientists who were also men of faith, from Copernicus, Galileo, and Newton to Einstein. Now, I do also believe that there are other scientists who would like to prove that God doesn’t exist. These scientists might want to rain on everyone else’s parades with respect to God really, really badly. The problem is that one of the limitations of science is that science simply cannot prove the non-existence of objects and phenomena over the full spectrum of possibilities. So, while scientists may be able to prove in a scientific framework that there is no life after death, they cannot, nor should they even attempt to, prove it in a theological framework, which is the territory of faith. To do so creates unnecessary divisiveness that can serve no beneficial purpose. And that’s the line Dr. Hawking crossed – he essentially discounted the idea in both frameworks, and nothing good could come of that.”

Tyson’s concern is that Hawking’s comments deepen the rift between the scientific and religious communities, erecting hurdles that only diminish the prospects for potential good that science could do for humanity.

“Dr. Hawking is probably one of only a handful of scientists in the world who is a household name,” he added. “In many ways, he’s the captain of the team, he’s the quarterback, so when he speaks, millions of people believe he is speaking for scientists everywhere. That’s part of the weight of his celebrity on the scientific community as a whole. His comments are out of line and further complicate complex issues like stem cell research, in which faith effectively blocks the use of scientific discoveries that could heal people and ease their suffering – a concept not inconsistent with the tenets of most organized religions,” Tyson added. “But science oftentimes becomes blocked politically and socially not because the science contradicts religion, but because the argument is framed in an ‘us versus them’ context. We inadvertently challenge people to either believe in science or to believe in God, at the exclusion of the other. It’s an unreasonable and unnecessary position in which to place anyone.”

What’s worse, according to Tyson, is that people who believe in both science and faith get left out or, worse, placed into the difficult situation of needlessly choosing sides.

“Millions of people practice their faith but then also believe in the veracity of Darwin’s evolution,” he said. “Many in the scientific community view science through their faith, rather than in spite of it. When scientists discount theology in a wholesale fashion, they not only insult the faithful who discount science, but also the faithful who embrace it. It discourages and further polarizes the dialogue between the two disciplines and increases the challenges that science must overcome in its quest to better comprehend the nature of our world for the betterment of society, goals that I and many other scientists will continue to embrace.”

May 15, 2011 – News and Experts

This sparked some dialogue with me and a friend, so I decided to request a copy of the book for review.

What I received was an esoteric, high-level approach to some of the foundational questions of human existence. This was not written for laymen; rather, the language is obviously intended for someone with a solid foundation in cosmology—definitely not me. I’m sure I would have liked it if I could understand it!

The book makes extraordinary claims of taking readers on “an exciting 2,500-year journey through which they can comprehend all the phenomena in the universe” and “drastically alter[ing] the direction of human civilization in a very positive way.” If you’re interested in reading a pared-down outline of the theories and ideas presented in The Unobservable Universe, click over to Tyson’s blog.

However, the press release proved much more digestible to me. I believe that there is an afterlife—either Heaven or Hell, no in-between—and I believe that because of salvation through Jesus Christ, I am headed for Heaven.

To reject the afterlife would suck the marrow out of the foundation of my actions. My time on Earth is not pointless; it even extends beyond alleviating the temporal suffering of others. I believe many agnostics/atheists want to improve the world and help others, but without faith, actions mean little. (There is also the hedonist type, living to please themselves.) Yes, I believe that I should live for something beyond this life—I should live to alleviate eternal suffering by expanding God’s Kingdom.

There is the issue of morals: not to defend atheism/agnosticism or the “afterlife is a fairy story” camp (see links below or interview link above), but these theologies don’t correlate to an abandonment of morals; after all, “For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts.” Hebrews 8:10. That is to say, God’s Law is written on the hearts of man.

Even pagan cultures in the deep jungle have basic social rules such as, no murder; adultery; theft—this is what I heard from Marilyn Laszlo, missionary to Papua New Guinea, when she spoke at The Lord’s Boot Camp. It seems to me that people know at some level what is right and what is wrong. Of course, many times the lines are blurred on ‘minor’ sins—things that wouldn’t get you jailed—but my point is that even though religion clearly outlines moral code, everybody has a conscience.

Official book website: www.theunobservableuniverse.com

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Related articles

• Hawking on Heaven (theness.com)
• Heroes sometimes fail: Why Stephen Hawking is wrong (sixdayscience.wordpress.com)

The Sweetness of Life [art based on Blue Like Jazz]

“There is a God-shaped vacuum in every heart.”
Blaise Pascal, French physicist

Art II :: Theme “Social Injustice”

This artwork addresses a problem of the soul: the “broken” quality of life. We live in a world full of loneliness, lust, anger, jealousy, and depression. Some people appear successful—they themselves might even think that they are fine and they have their life together. Yet, if they were honest with themselves, I believe they would agree with the following: their lives are as flawed as the world we live in.

Before heralding change and waving our charity money before the poor—before striving to heal the world, we must face the truth: we are the problem. I am the problem, because I am a human being. What makes you and me different from murderers and rapists? We live so self-righteously because we have never been in jail or embezzled money or perhaps cussed in public. But we still argue with our spouses and children, and our so-called love wanes and waxes like the face of the moon. We lie and cheat and splash the poison in our hearts on each other. Why?

We are sinners. Until we can face this, we will forever be flailing about helplessly, failing at pure love. Until we accept forgiveness from Jesus, our hearts will cry out. We will desperately long for satisfaction but never find it. We will make everything in the world our tool in order to craft a fulfilling life for ourselves. We will look everywhere for joy, but it cannot last. I say this only because I want to you to experience love and freedom—because I love you the way Jesus loves you.

Mixed Media

my ring says "trust in YHWH"

Surrounding the Hebrew word YHWH (יהוה), a name of God translated as LORD, are some things people may seek in the pursuit of “the sweet life.”

On the right I have represented emotional things, like getting married or having a baby. These are generally very memorable and excellent things, but they cannot fill the God-shaped hole in our hearts. Also included are clothing tags, meant to represent fashion and image. We want to be accepted, loved, and sometimes we think we can only find this acceptance and love if we appear perfect in shape and decoration.

The top section is meant to represent the purely mental side of the human psyche: mind-altering drugs; philosophical conjectures about the existence and purpose of the world and life; acceptance into college; money; even chocolate, the drug of choice for some women!

To the left, the chemical structure of sugar, the Fair Trade USA logo, and sugar cane represent the unmistakably bitter consequences of an insatiable desire for sweetness. For several centuries, humans were treated worse than animals, as part of transatlantic trade and as slaves on sugar plantations. Historians agree that the lust for sugar (and rum) played a significant role in the world record. We are still combating this today, and efforts such as fair trade aim to give farmers and workers a fair price so that they can feed their families and send their children to school.

The bottom depicts a hand, stretching towards something, aching for solidity. Symbols of religions that almost get it right dot the corner. I believe that something in the human heart needs a purpose beyond itself, but we can easily become misguided.

Many of these goals become ends unto themselves for me: relationships, food, career, and image, complete with a fake brand of Christianity and an obsession with self. I constantly have to shift my focus to Jesus, because he is the Prince of Peace, the perfect model of love and forgiveness.

Blue Like Jazz by Donald Miller

I read this neat book, Blue Like Jazz back in November, right after Thanksgiving. It’s captioned “nonreligious thoughts on Christian spirituality,” and really describes one man’s progress from his first realizations of sin and brokenness to a full and deep relationship with Jesus.

The book strongly influenced this Art II piece and the accompanying explanation for a display at the Monroe Library. Two ladies whom I highly respect both mentioned the book within a week of each other, and so I thought I’d read it over again—I’ve been reading a chapter every night.

It’s truly fascinating and I highly recommend it.

Most Influential Books of 2010

These books have transformed the way I live my life; they have altered and expanded my perspective.

TrueFaced by Bill Thrall

…I was living in the Room of Pleasing God, where one dons a happy-faced mask and then slowly dies on the inside. This is a result of trying to resolve your own sin in attempt to please God, taking matters into your own hands and failing miserably. Jesus already took responsibility in erasing your sin and my sin—we can do nothing.

…What’s the way out of this mess? It’s found in the Room of Trusting God. It’s taking the path of grace, maturity, forgiveness, love. It’s being authentic and accepting yourself—accepting who you were made to be.

from “Academic Pressure” – May 26

Don’t Waste Your Life by John Piper

…finding happiness: John Piper’s life was transformed when he realized that God’s desire to be glorified and our desire for lasting peace, happiness, joy, and satisfaction are not at odds with each other. They are one and the same. There needs be no divide between what is absolutely right—pursuing God’s glory—and what seems absolutely inevitable—seeking our own happiness. Don’t you love that? I always hear that we are created for God’s glory and true joy comes from Jesus, but John Piper uses God’s Word to teach us how to apply those truths and live them out!

One of my fears is that I will waste my life. All I want to do is what’s best for the kingdom of God, but, good news!—what’s best for Him is intrinsically what’s best for me.

from “What is happiness?” – March 21

Mom, I Feel Fat! by Sharon Hersh

a book for mothers and daughters.

…fat is not a feeling.

…associations—lack of willpower and self-control, gluttony, ignorance, incompetence. …maybe everyone would think less of me for my body’s imperfections, or think me a failure.

…fat should not define you….We are humans created in God’s image, and everyone has been created a little differently.

…I was not unhealthy. In reality, I was unhappy. I diverted the focus from what made me unhappy to my body. I thought that if I achieved some ideal body shape or got rid of all that cellulite, I would solve my emotional problems. You can’t fix the emotional with the physical!

from “FAT: being vs. feeling” – June 9

Unreviewed

Blue Like Jazz	The Message Behind the Movie	The Birth Order Book
by Donald Miller (official website)	by Douglas Beaumont (book review)	by Dr. Kevin Leman (Amazon)

For Students

Do Hard Things by Alex and Bret Harris

…a rebellion against the idea that teenagers should be lazy, selfish, and non-productive.

…adolescence is a myth created by modern society—the teen years should not be wasted.

…Having a lot of things on our plate is both directly and indirectly modeled as ideal. Our education system recognizes those with excellent grades, many extracurricular hobbies and sports, clubs, community service, leadership positions, etc….

Do Hard Things encourages teenagers to do things well, not necessarily spread ourselves out thinly over every club and activity possible. It’s better to be devoted to schoolwork and make good grades, then to tack on an hour and a half of sports everyday which causes your grades to slide. Or, on the other hand, to under-achieve in sports because you had to stay up so late studying.

from “Do Hard Things” – March 31

 

How to Be a High School Superstar by Cal Newport

…investigates the lifestyles of so-called “relaxed superstars” to show how getting into college is not a chore…

…The message of this revolutionary book (“Do Less, Live More, Get Accepted”) comes to students like the Gospel—it promises salvation from the frenzied activity and stress endured by many college hopefuls.

…challenge the idea that I must invest more sheer work than anyone else to excel. I want to be creative and open to opportunities.

from “Get Into College Without Burning Out in High School” – Dec 20

Authentic Beauty by Leslie Ludy link: official website (Also read: “Ludy Critique”

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life-changing

Be aware that the following is quite a lengthy post! Take a seat and stay awhile…

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I know in advance that my upcoming trip to China will be life-changing. (I like to think every day is life-changing, some more so than others—this will be seven weeks of intense dynamics!)

But I anticipate the effects of this time away from home in one specific area: my eating habits.

the problems.

the food.

I know from experience—my ‘08 missions trip to France—that the food typically served at Teen Missions is not the best: definitely not health-nut food.

We have two weeks at Boot Camp—no comment on the food served there—followed by a month on the field (in my case, Shanxi province in China). I have 10 pounds of my checked-luggage weight limit reserved for things we need to bring to China: books, tools, food. Teen Missions is an excellent steward of money, and it must be more cost-effective to bring cans and bulk bags of cereals and mixes than buying all our food in China. In Lux, France, the baguette man delivered a fresh bag to the La Porte Ouverte center every morning, and we ate fresh lettuce and fruit from the gardens on the grounds—I’m guessing our diet in China will be supplemented by local produce and rice. (You will find out at the end of the summer what I was served—it’s not all bad.)

So I’m not expecting the food I’m used to. In some ways, I’m glad to be relieved of always trying to plan my next meal in order to use up the food slowly spoiling in the fridge (not to gross you out—all food is on its way out, no matter how gradually it goes). The responsibility to effectively use our food supply will be on the leaders—I hope they have some kitchen skills!

Now, I don’t ask that those around me cater to my preferences or bend over backwards to suit my tastes. At restaurants, I hate people to be concerned whether I can find something to order or not—come on, I’m not going to die from a meal or two of unhealthy food.

At home, I try not to even expect my family to wait on me to prepare my own food for the evening meal. I appreciate when my parents do take my interests into account and make special accommodations for me, but I don’t want to strain our relationship with that expectation (as I have done in the past).

The bottom line is that I passionately desire that my life and relationships be unaffected by my eating habits—I want to live in freedom. The situations I will encounter require personal sacrifice of interests in favor of building relationships and serving others—to serve my Heavenly Father.

…Present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Romans 12:1

This desire comes from my repulsion to everything about my disorder: all the harmful thought and eating patterns. If it’s even possible to separate one from the other, I’m not sure, especially since I appreciate food in an honest, healthy way and I enjoy cooking and experimenting in the kitchen.

Up until a few months ago, my disordered eating controlled nearly every area of my life, with the exception of schoolwork (in which case my overbalanced, intense drive to excel fueled my disorder). I have given the burden of excellence to God, turning it from an unbearable cost to a testament to His glory, and I am slowly replacing destruction with positive thoughts and habits.

So I have come to think of this trip, where I will be faced with the questionable fare of Teen Missions three time a day, as a test. Will I be able to make this sacrifice gracefully? More on this below.

my body + self-image.

Without a doubt, food is intrinsically connected to my body and my body image—these make up a tangled web, held in a delicate equilibrium.

(The difference between my body and my body image is this: the first is reality, the latter is how this reality affects me—am I content and comfortable with reality or do I feel the need to change it? My tendency is to focus on my body and allow it to affect me—whether positively or negatively, it’s not a healthy custom.)

I anticipate hard work from the next six weeks (the seventh is rest and relaxation—called Debrief—kind of like how we take a day of rest out of every seven!), so I don’t expect to gain weight and I don’t expect to be insecure about my body. But it could happen—I have a plan. Keep reading!

solutions.

I mentioned above that I see this as a test—not just the days from June 23 till August 14, but everything about the trip, including how anxious I am right now. I don’t consciously feel anxious, but I know I am because my “symptoms,” as you might call them, are flaring up.

In anticipation of the food and work (see above), I have not been practicing the healthiest habits I could be. I don’t feel like exercising, even to just take a walk, and I have been eating lots of good food with abandon.

I am at the point now where, previously, I would say, "OK, Alisha, you’ve got to kick it into gear on the track and pack that salad for lunch no matter what—you’re getting fat!"

I am no longer afraid of my body or fat, but I detest the sin. Gaining weight from disordered, emotional eating is a million times worse than gaining weight from taking a break for a month, which is what I have been doing.

For this reason, I am glad I am leaving on Wednesday. I believe that my “vacation” is morphing into subconscious anxiety and a return to the old patterns. I can’t sit around for too long. I am ready to go!!

This summer will be a measure of my progress: are the spiritual fruits of humility, faith, love, selflessness evident in my life? When I give into sin—the disorder—I fail, so to speak. Success, to me, would be to possess strength, reliance on God, a reflection of Christ, and a zest for life—uninterrupted by sinful thoughts and actions.

Packing and preparing has been a little tough… I know I will go through even harsher times—at Boot Camp, I will feel weak, uncomfortable, and homesick. In China… well, who can foresee what the Enemy will throw at me? I’m not sure what my exact struggles will be, but I will seek Jesus in place of my appearance, food, and other physical solutions to emotional problems.

I have not only vague hopes of healing and victory;
I have a plan of action.

friends + Truth.

I will tell my team leaders about this struggle, and I will try to talk to them (or a teammate) when I run into an emotional tough spot.

I will write letters home or to friends, regardless of the cost. They paid for it, didn’t they?—with all that “personal expense” money…

In addition to the therapy of letting it all out, I have written out some truths to help me.

The Food: I may not like the food I’m served, but I need to be humble. I realize that God wants me to trust Him—he has provided food for me and the physical effects are in His hands. One last thing: health is not only a physical matter, but also spiritual and emotional.

Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?Matthew 6:25

My Body. I am healthy. My outward appearance does not make me more or less of a person, or more or less loved by God. I am a spiritual being with a body.

The Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart. 1 Samuel 16:7

My Self-Image: I can relax because, no matter what, I’ll never be on the end of the continuum of unhealthy-weight/healthy-weight, lazy/disciplined, etc.—I am not wired like that.

So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God. 1 Corinthians 10:31

(We are required to memorize dozens of Bible verses while on Teen Missions, and for a good reason—God’s Word is powerful!)

God will give me strength. I will rest in Him.

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