Do That Which is Right

Have you ever heard the unified screams of 2,000 people?
I have.
Has that sound caused your heart to break?
It broke mine.

There we were, two people wearing blue amongst a sea of bright orange.  The sound of the screams causing chills to run up and down my back as I fought off the tears of hopelessness.  Desperately, my sister and I prayed aloud as the anti-lifers shouted "Shame!  Shame!  Shame!"

Pro-lifers were supposed to be wearing the color blue, and blue speckled the orange crowd last night.  However, half of those wearing blue held up signs advocating the selfishness of women.  Our numbers were few, our ranks at a pitiful minimum.

We had been standing in a line to get to the senate gallery for an hour and a half, telling Planned Parenthood supporters that no, we didn't want to fill out their sheet of paper, and no, we didn't want their brochure.

When the first shout went up, there was a mad rush at for the gallery door.  Eliza and I squeezed our way through so that we could just barely see the door if we stood on our tip-toes.  The chant "Let us in!  Let us in!" filled our ears as it echoed throughout the capitol building.

"We need to pray!" I shouted in Eliza's ear.  And there, just the two of us began to pray with our eyes closed and our heads bowed.  Before we knew it, we were joined by another blue shirt.  As we were praying with her, another pro-life supporter came up and joined our group.  Together, the four of us stood and had a prayer vigil.  The times we prayed hardest were the times the shouts were the loudest, the times when we couldn't hear ourselves think.

News was confusing, as some were saying the SB 5 passed, while others claimed it didn't pass before midnight.  On edge, the four of us waited, never ceasing to pray even though we had run out of words to say.  Unfortunately the bill did NOT pass, and we are currently praying now that Governor Perry would extend the special session today for another vote.

One of the things that saddened me was when a father decked out in orange lifted his toddler daughter to his shoulders (also in orange) and led her in the chant.  Do those children even understand what they were shouting for?  Do they not know that their parents were chanting for the right to kill them?  How terribly heart-wrenching is that?

Perhaps the worst part of the whole experience was the fact that there were so few supporters of LIFE there.  As far as I could tell, the four of us were about it.  What level has this country sunk to?  As my mom put it, the darkness is just getting darker.

For 5 hours my sister, two new friends, and I stood there with our backs to a wall (literally) and watched as evil yet again was what the people wanted.  My heart broke.  My prayers turned to just simply saying, "No, God, no!"

And yet, I still serve a God who is in control.  I still serve a God who is sovereign.  I still serve a God who is putting into place His perfect plan.  I still serve a God who was very much present at the capitol last night.  I serve the God, who when the crowds chanted "Shame!  Shame!  Shame!" reacted in the way that Psalm 2 depicts: "The One enthroned in heaven laughs; the LORD scoffs at them.  Then he rebukes them in his anger and terrifies them in his wrath, saying, 'I have installed my King on Zion, my holy hill.'" (emphasis mine [verses 4-6])

It was during our prayer vigil last night that I was reminded of William Wilberforce - a man who literally spent his entire life fighting to end slavery in England.  He expended his time, health, and energy to fighting for what was right and what was worth it.  I want to be the next William Wilberforce. 

This fight against cold-blooded murder isn't over yet.
We're not through yet.

Live with Excellence (Part 2)

"You kids are working with integrity and are doing a job well done.  While you may not necessarily always be speaking the gospel, I think you're living it."

Don't get me wrong, to most accurately depict the gospel, you must use your words, but the flip side of that coin is living it out.

It is my firm belief that Christians need to be the very best businessmen, chefs, clerks, judges, bankers, pastors, parents, siblings, and neighbors that they possibly can.  They should understand that God has given them certain giftings and skill sets that they shouldn't be afraid to develop and make further use of!

But why?  Why is it so necessary to excel at our sport, job, craft, etc.?

It all goes back to representing Christ's name with accuracy.  As Christians, we need to be above reproach, always honing in the characteristics of Christ Jesus, showing the world who it is we belong to and why it's worth it.  Because, after all, it truly is worth it.

We need to be living lives that beg the question "why?"  If that's not happening, then we aren't doing our job correctly.

Another important reason for living with excellence is to bring God the glory He deserves.  If our work is also our worship, then wouldn't it be the most God-glorifying thing to worship Him to the very best of our abilities?  This means practicing, researching, learning, and then giving 110% of our best efforts.

Living with excellence is hard.  It's challenging and will take every last ounce of energy and brain power we have if we're doing it right!

Those are just some of my thoughts on the subject.  I obviously don't have it all figured out, but I definitely think it's worth taking some time to think about.

Dear Dad

Dear Dad,

Since I won't be able to enjoy Father's Day with you over ribeye steaks, loaded mashed potatoes, and cabernet sauvignon, I decided to do the next best thing, which is to write you an early Father's Day letter, dedicated totally to you.  Sound good?

Protection.  You, Dad, take your role seriously.  You let us know that our family has rules for a reason.  Lots of times, the rules were to prevent premature exposure to what the world had to offer.  More often than not, howevever, as little kids, we didn't understand the "why" behind the rules, and we were simply told to trust you.  This exemplified the way in which we were to interact with Christ.  How many times will we be called to simply obey and trust that He will know the "why" even while we won't?  Yes, through your protection of us, you taught us instantaneous obedience and trust.  Perhaps those are the most important lessons you taught me.

All the credit for this next lesson learned in my life goes to you as well.  Remember when we'd sit in the truck bed and watch the rain pour down from the safety of our garage?  Or remember how we took a walk in the snow one quiet evening, or how you'd wake several of us up to witness a meteor shower?  More recent history has you taking turns about the vegetable garden.  You love to stop and smell the roses, taking every opportunity to enjoy the life that God has given you.  Yes, this lesson taught me to live life and live it well.

I can't tell you how thankful I am for your laughter and all those times you've laughed til you cried.  I can't tell you how many times your sayings randomly pop in my head while I'm away.  I can't tell you with enough emphasis how I may never read those first 30 pages in that photography book that you keep hounding me to read.  I can't tell you how many times I may still walk through the non-walkway.

But what I can tell you is how blessed I am to have your genes.  Even though I know you're going to make a snide remark about blue jeans with that last sentence, I think it's pretty cool how people say I look just like you.

Thanks for the lessons, memories, laughter, and hot wings.

You're amazing, and I love you!

Love,
Owl Licks

Just Another Lively Update

I know I've been on a theological kick of late, and that's not a bad thing, but I thought it to be high time I give an update on life.

A few musings are thusly:

1.  School is over and done with for about a year hence.  Why?  You'll have to see the update below to fully grasp why.  But yes, finals have been taken, exit exams completed, and grades uploaded on CAMS.  This has me very excited!

2.  I'm going to Israel in a few months for an extended period of time to enjoy getting to know how another culture lives their day-to-day lives.  I'll be volunteering at a guest house.  But I'm sure this will have a post all its own in the upcoming months.

3.  I'll be staffing with Worldview Academy once again this summer!  Just for a week, but I'm uber stoked.  Think hard. Think well.

4.  As in previous summers, this summer I am mostly just working and saving up for my upcoming trip.  Slightly stressful since I really have to save just about every penny, but it'll be worth it (is what I keep telling myself.)  ;)

5.  Now that it's summer, I'm trying to read as many books for fun as I possibly can.  I've been out of school for 3-ish weeks now, and I'm working on finishing book 3 for the summer.  Awesomesauce, if you know what I mean.  My hope is to get a good selection of both fiction and non-fiction going to broaden my mind and thinking capabilities.  ;)  Can't wait to see the myriads of books that will fall into my lap over the next couple of months.

And that's about it for now!  I do hope all of you are enjoying your summer thus far.  :)