I'm the Innkeeper. I figured it out. It's always bothered me that I can't answer the over-used ice breaker question: Which Bible Character are you? I don't know if it's used in other denominations, but oh my have I heard that question way too many times. And what are the "right" answers? David, if you're a guy and Martha, if you're a girl. Why? Because David was a man after God's own heart, yet he still made some pretty huge mistakes in life. Martha was too busy running her household to listen to Jesus. I don't know how I've answered the question in the past, I honestly don't remember, but I know it now.

I'm the Innkeeper.

I have some Martha tendencies. I can easily busy myself with tasks that are very necessary, but not real important. I'm often content to be in my house and away from lots of people. However, if there is a need presented to me or in my view, I'm more than happy to help, encourage, and sincerely care. As I have thought about this concept in the last couple weeks, it's been a real comfort. A reassurance that I am who I am and I don't have to try and be like anyone else or make comparisons to others which are typically unfair to both parties - the one doing the comparing and the one being analyzed.

I don't have a jump out there personality. I can do it when I feel prompted, but I don't enjoy it till it's over. However, there are people in my life - some of them very close to me - who do have that natural ability. Often I have followed their lead. Some of my most meaningful relationships - the ones where I feel fortunate enough to make a difference in the life of another - have come by way of these other outgoing friends making the first move. For a long time I thought that wasn't fair. I felt like they were doing the hard work and I was taking advantage of that. While I think that can happen, I also think there is a picture of the Body in that scenario. You see, those friends who love being among many people need to go back out on the road and find more travellers. It's what they're gifted at. It's not at all that they don't care about the individual, or aren't willing to slow down and make that personal difference when the time is right, but they are often gifted by God for other purposes.

Now, this realization doesn't excuse me from not going out on the road and looking for the tired traveling couple or the injured lying along the road. I still have that responsibility, and so do you. Jesus clearly called us all to go into the world and share His story and Hope. But, what a comfort to know it takes all types of people for the body of Christ to function at its best.

So anytime you need bandaged up, a clean comfortable room, breakfast in bed, a stable to have a baby....come on by. :-)

Who was the Innkeeper? Read all about it: Luke 2:1-7; Luke 10:25-37; Matthew 28:16-20

Today I am praying for the beautiful Joanne. Her picture is to the right. She is a living miracle and I encourage you to read her amazing story and pray with me. God is good.

Click here to read her story and see why I've posted my charm bracelet picture!

Love, Promises, & Times Gone By

I've been inundated by love this week. Not the mushy gushy kind. More informational and contemplative. What does love mean? What is it supposed to visually look like in my life? Who am I supposed to love, really?

1 Corinthians 13 is probably the most widely read passage concerning love. Here's what I've been studying, via the bible study, "Living Beyond Yourself".
Love is patient - a word meaning "a person who is able to avenge himself, but restrains from doing so".
Love is kind - it is useful
Love does not envy - envy always ends in some sort of action; jealous
Love does not boast - it does not brag for personal gain. The only One we are to boast about is God.
Love is not proud - pride causes destruction, captivity, and deception
Love is not rude - "A Spirit filled Christian immediately senses that the Holy Spirit is offended in the presence of obscenity."
Love is not self-seeking - it seeks the highest and best for another
Love is not easily angered - we can't be rich in love and quick to anger (Ps 145:8)
Love keeps no record of wrongs - it is fairly forgetful
Love does not delight in evil - Psalm 119:29-32
Love protects - it "covers in silence", doesn't expose the faults of others,
Love trusts - it is not skeptical
Love hopes - it expects with desire
Love perseveres - it "remains under", hangs in there, How easily are you discouraged within a relationship?
Love doesn't fail - "never without effect and never in vain"

It's easy to apply these convictions to my immediate family. I love my children beyond words. The older my children get and the more they turn into their own people the more I love them. The more I look forward to what they will grow into in the future. Inside Ray's wedding ring are the words, "protect", "trust", "hope", "persevere". I easily made those promises to him because of how much I love him, all those ways listed above.

My questions come with others. What are my responsibilities to my friends, to casual acquaintances, to extended family, to complete strangers? I specifically looked for verses about friends. I was amazed what I found. Frequently "friends" and "love" are mentioned together. A friend loves at all times. (Prv 18:24) Jesus was a friend [loved] the tax collectors. (Mat 11:19) A friend who loves will lay down her life for a friend. (Jn 15:13) From this I am reminded that we should love everyone. The easy and the difficult. And those who are usually easy when they're difficult. I can't love circumstantially. I can't choose who to love. God will determine that by who He puts in my path. I have to believe, and remember in the moment, that I am commanded to love in a supernatural way. And, because I have the Spirit, I can do that, not perfectly, but it should be my goal.

One definition of love is "philos", a friend's love. What does the bible say about this form of love among friends? It says we should love our friends above ourselves (Luke 14). It says we should live life in a way that we can both rejoice as well as cry together (Luke 15). Sadly, it says we should be ready because some friends will betray us (Luke 21). And it clearly gives an example of how friends can be a detriment to each other (Luke 23). In this example we see how friends are often formed through common interests. Here sits the idea: You are who you hang around with.

We all long for friends who genuinely love us and are so intimately involved in our lives that they know when we are rejoicing and when we are sad. None of us want to have to announce, "Hey, I'm sad today." We desire a "tas philas" (female friends) who instinctually understands us. Unfortunately it doesn't take long to realize all humans let us down from time to time, especially those we consider our friends. Perhaps those are the hardest of all. At those times for me it's easy to think, 'I'm finished with new friends'. I don't want to put myself out there for any more disappointment, hurt, frustration, replacement, loss, sadness.... The Bible, however, I believe, says quite the opposite. The whispers in our ears that says we don't need people is not the Spirit. As a matter of fact we are to demonstrate love to one another as brothers and sisters (I Peter 3). I don't believe God sees blood siblings as we do. In His eyes we're all blood siblings ~ through Jesus' blood. God's words implore us to love one another. It even gives us permission at times to be partial to our Spiritual family (Galatians 6). Bottom line for me as I think through all this, we often say we don't get to choose our family but we can choose our friends. I propose, not so! We don't get to choose whom to love because of Christ. Thank goodness He doesn't have the attitude of picking and choosing toward us which we so easily fall into. I am immensely thankful for the friends God has placed in my life a specific times. I always view them as gifts, practically right down to picturing a bow on top of their heads! :-)

The other topic on my mind has been Times Gone By. When I hear "Tears in Heaven" I'm instantly transported to the Wamego Middle School wrestling deck. The end of an era. When I sit in the Upstairs Auditorium I'm reminded of my Spiritual upbringing as a child. The end of an era. When I drive by Hopkins Creek Rd I remember the first year of marriage. The end of an era. When I visit the Birth Center for my "annual" I remember waddling through the door deep into labor and wandering out with a tiny new person. The end of an era. When I drive by homes of friends who have moved away I can't help but reminisce. The end of an era. It could go on, but I won't for now. The purpose of this is not to be depressing, just sentimental. Seems a lot of changes are coming our way this year too. Ray's new job continues to be a roller coaster of emotions and figuring out new people and situations. I'm nearly finished taking care of Keri. I have two remaining doula clients and then I'll be finished for the foreseeable future. In the fall Jonathan will begin Kindergarten and both kids will be in school all day. In July I'll begin working part time, in August it'll be full time. Our congregation is searching for a new Campus Minister. Many people have transitioned out of our church for various reasons. Relationships have changed forever and I anticipate more of the same changes. As I consider all this I'm thankful for the two constants in my life: God first and my husband second. We're a great team, the three of us. As other circumstances and relationships change, I know we're in this together. Though I feel like I'm in mourning for some of the things that will never be the same, I look forward to the future. "Pressing on toward the goal", you might say.

I'm thankful for the way God specifically spells out what love looks like, what friends look like, and His high expectations of us. I'm also thankful He specifically promises He will always be with us and that He has a plan for us.