What's Up Archives - Page 26 of 42

Why Do You Write?

Sitting in the Phantom Ranch Canteena, I discovered numerous shelves of stuff all over the small room. In one of these shelves was a few worn books, published years prior. Some Christian probably stuck a Max Lucado book among them. Others, I did not recognize (except for a dictionary which never goes out of style and is probably used for Scrabble).

It reminded me that, while our projects give us a sense of accomplishment and come after months, if not years, of hard work, eventually they will end up on a shelf like this one–forgotten, languishing, and maybe read out of boredom by a few backpackers. This may be depressing, but it is a reminder to me as a writer that why I write is something I need to keep at the front of my mind.

The relationships I make online through the publication of books or articles are far more important than a name on the front cover of a book or byline on an article in a magazine. Your books and articles will make an impression and be the vehicle that forge that relationship. Let people remember the Christ you tried to reflect rather than the title of your work or that you published over hundred best sellers. Let them recall your faith. Might I even suggest writing for publications in which the Christian world would gasp in horror?

If your work is not unbiblical, then your writing will attract those seeking Jesus to your website or social media handle. That’s where intentional engagement happens between the reader and the writer. You need to foster this relationship.

Donald Maass in one of his books often called people who sought only to have their name on the front cover of a book, “Glory Seekers.” Christians need to realize how writing is a powerful tool in the secular world. That’s why dictatorships try to control media outlets. That’s why social media is the enemy of any government. Words are what change the world. Ideas are intangible and cannot be killed by weapons.

I wonder if Christian writers groups realize they are training up future leaders to be vehicles of change in a secular world? Writers I admire include Mike Duran. If you ever friend him on Facebook, his thought-provoking statuses challenge traditional Christian writing views. They challenge us to take the mission field of writing seriously and to think outside the box. Our Christian stories shouldn’t be segregated to a Christian reading section. We should be writing towards the secular audience and our Christian writing should encourage the Christian to also serve the world in which they live.

To inspire change in the writing community, I co-lead a group called, Roots Writers and Social Media Critique Group, with author, Sherry Rossman. This group has a blank charter and logos any believer can use. If they wish to list their Roots group on our website, they need only to email Sherry to gain approval. This is also for missionaries, too. Missionaries need to realize they can harness the power of story to share what is happening in their field of ministry. They can start a Roots group, too, for their missionary letters to be critiqued.

Midnight Diner: Tokyo Stories

I’ve gotten into watching foreign films and television shows through Netflix. It helps me get immersed into culture. Like Midnight Diner: Tokyo Stories, I hear the language and see the English subtitles. I watch as this Japanese television show reveal the interpersonal stories (ficitonal) and relationships. It gives me some idea of what its like in their country.

But I can’t judge a culture by its television. Some countries judge America by our television shows and movies. What is different about the reality of America to what is portrayed in American television and movies?

Not all of us jump into affairs after committing to someone else.
People who are committed to each other do get married.
We can’t afford to be jet setting to different parts of the world on a whim.
It’s nice when the man comes in and saves us sometimes.
Not all women resent old fashioned behavior.
Superheroes don’t always wear spandex tights and bright red capes. Our superheroes are quieter. Sometimes, they wear combat gear.

Tokyo Stories is a cross between Seinfeld and Cheers. It is more explicit than American television at times, but it makes me laugh because it can be quite goofy. My favorite episode so far is the one with the single lady who knits sweaters for every guy she “likes.” It isn’t until one guy repairs one of her sweaters that another guy’s girlfriend destroyed that she realizes her true love was the one who loved her gifts of love and wasn’t even on her radar.

She became desperate to be in love that she even knitted sweaters for men who didn’t even know she liked them. She runs away after the Midnight Diner owner points out how this one fellow repaired the sweater himself, learning how to knit (which was a painful process), just to show her his love. At the end of the show, they are together and he is wearing all of her knitted gifts.

Some themes are universal, like love. If you love someone, you do things for them that are unpleasant. You are always thinking of them. You even learn to knit.

“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. (John 13:34)

About the Show:

From humble origins on late-night television in 2009 in Japan, this sincere half-hour series grew into a sensation across Asia. Now the rest of the world can get a taste of the phenomenon as Netflix presents Midnight Diner – Tokyo Stories, with 10 new episodes available from Friday, October 21. READ MORE

An End of Year Celebration

Please pray for my End of Year Celebration today.

I use this to re-visit what God is doing in the world of technology and celebrate the moments leading up to now. We are winding down to the end of the year. Things ought to slow down now, at least, for a little while.

I hope to cement into financial partners how important technology is for missions and evangelism and inform prayer or non-prayer and support people why I need them.

I am, of course, available to speak to you via Skype or Vsee. Please leave a voicemail or email me a time and day that would work for you. There’s nothing I like better than sharing what God is doing through me and others.

So thank you again!

Nikki

Grand Canyon Backpacking Adventure: Coming Home #OptOutside (Part 3)

Our kind neighbors had vacated the group spot an hour before the sun fully rose and the light crept into the canyon. We could hear them banging food containers and giggling as they looked forward to their next adventure. We had met so many great people from all over the world. It was our turn this morning to go home.

We were both eager and sad. This campground was our home for a couple of nights. The Bright Angel Creek was still muddy unlike the first day when we soaked our sore calves in the ice cold water when it was blue. The creek still tore over rocks in furious temperament, pushing mud to the Colorado River after yesterday’s rain (and snow on the rims). It had risen higher than the first day we sat on its banks.

We started on our journey at 9:30 a.m. Our backs ached, protesting the 25 and 27 lbs we wore, and our legs strained, still feeling the stiffness and soreness of previously coming down the Kaibab Trail on Sunday afternoon. Climbing up would use different muscles. Our spirits soared as we looked forward to seeing what sights God would show us on our way to the South Rim via the Bright Angel Trail. Of course, we began our journey in prayer like on Sunday.

Sing to the Lord a new song!
Sing to the Lord, all the earth! (Psalm 96:1)

What we didn’t realize is how long the Bright Angel Trail was and what an ordeal awaited us. The Bright Angel Trail from Phantom Ranch is about 9 miles long. It’s easier than the Kaibab Trail (7 miles) because it’s not straight up. Some journeys are barren of joy, straight up grueling paths that cause us to wonder why we feel alone. Where is God in our struggles? We think we are alone until we encounter people on the way as in the first day when we discovered a hiker in distress. A little aspirin goes a long way.

Thinking back on your own past, can you recall those times of struggle and how you were never alone? We may not be rescued from the situation, but God gives us the tools, the friendships, and even a way out. How do we recognize these things? Words are easy to speak, but not so easy to live out.

Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. James 1:2-4

So many beautiful sights met our wondering eyes. The mantra kept running through my head, “One step at a time.” Coming home is usually about facing our demons one step at a time and letting Jesus change us from the inside out.

Each step was harder to take. My shoulders ached. Hope grew as we climbed higher through the canyon towards the South Rim. Miniature waterfalls tumbled from gray rocks, framed by the golds and greens of Fall. I had to stop and take it in on occasion. My eyes were laser-focused on reaching the South Rim by dark. Moments like this make you feel impatient to reach the end. Too much focus on the end makes you miss what you can absorb from the journey.

Like this…

What I would have done differently is planned a third day of camping out, and camped out at Indian Gardens (5 mile mark) before tackling the beast up a canyon wall to the South Rim. Most of the remaining four something miles was steep switchbacks in the shadows of the canyon walls. The temperatures began to drop, but it was subtle. Three miles from the South Rim, I pulled on a sweater. My fingers tingled. My back ached. Tony kept stopping every few yards as fatigue made every step painful and hard.

I kept my eyes on the end. I made conversation with new friends. We shared the pain of our struggles up. Slowly and patiently, we passed the first arch. In the distance, the echo of the Grand Canyon Train gave us courage. It’s those little things–God moments–that give us the ability to finish the task we’re given.

I pulled ahead to another curve in a switchback and saw the last tunnel and the brown siding of a South Rim building. Less than a half a mile and we were coming home!

One of the things I did not do was to leave my partner behind. This was a first for us, and I wanted both of us to finish together as husband and wife.

At the end, I cried. To me, this symbolized the whole journey of raising up financial partners–keeping my focus on the end and yet taking note of the sights and sounds along the way, leaning heavily on God to prepare the way.

Click here on verses for suffering. Do you need prayer?

Grand Canyon Adventure: Facing Fears (Part 2) #OptOutside #SocialMedia

A steady rain fell. Hikers from next door encouraged us to come to their group site which had a large, partial stone and wood enclosure. Other hikers soon joined us. Tony and I ate our Mountain House Breakfast Skillet dehydrated meal and felt the hot food warm us on the inside.

Standing in the chill with the thunder echoing throughout the canyon was beautiful. The gray rain fell in sheets. The rocky canyon walls glistened. Lightening flashed.

The chill of the wet air and the crowded enclosure persuaded us to return to our tent. Standing all day unable to do anything was not a fun proposition. Talking to people we did not know was interesting. Hikers in their element are the friendliest and kindest people versus their city counter parts.

Something about the city causes us to always be in a hurry. The noises of sirens and car horns, the rude awakening of an alarm reminding us of pending appointments, or the fast clip of others crossing the street and passing you with eyes averted that say, “I have my own wall that I don’t want you to cross.”

The second is this, You will love your neighbor as yourself. No other commandment is greater than these.” (Mark 12:31)

The rain did eventually stop while we sipped hot coffee at the Canteena at Phantom Ranch. Water dripped off of the leaves and eaves and the Bright Angel Creek roared, stirring up brown muck from the rising flood waters of higher elevations. Our muscles still ached and even a slight hill caused both of us to groan. We decided to walk and explore a place we have never seen—the Colorado River.

Two bridges cross the river—the Black and Silver bridge. We walked the Bright Angel Trail, climbed over the rivers rocky shores til we sat on its banks. The river is a beautiful sea green with strips of red-brown when the sun illuminates it. The bright Angel Trail crosses the Silver bridge while the Kaibab Trail crosses the Black bridge. When you walk the Silver bridge there are grates, and you feel the sway of the bridge and see the deadly beauty of the rivers powerful current far beneath your feet. You feel both secure and in danger at the same time. Life shouldn’t be lived in fear.

Say to those who are panicking:
    “Be strong! Don’t fear!
    Here’s your God,
        coming with vengeance;
        with divine retribution
    God will come to save you.” (Isaiah 35:4)

Even standing on the Silver bridge, I forced myself to look down and face my fears. It takes a lot of effort to get here and moments you think reaching that goal is impossible. We are here, and I am so thankful.

It is now late afternoon. The rain comes in short spurts as I lay in the tent. I love how it spatters in symphony with the roar of the creek. There is no cell signal and my phone can’t access the internet. I have been out of contact with the rest of the world since Sunday morning.

Being out of contact and unplugged is wonderful. There is a danger of becoming jaded in the online world so much so that you can become ineffective. You must take moments to be out of contact and refuel.

Signs of ineffectiveness:

You don’t give the benefit of the doubt.
When someone shares something, you judge it as narcissistic.
You are short on patience.
A loss of creativity and social blindness.
Angry, impatient, and self-righteous.

The online world is just as real and fraught with dangers as the face-to-face world. To live fully as a Christian, we need to balance these worlds.

Our Grand Canyon Backpacking Adventure (Part 1) #OptOutside

Our most challenging hike was South Kaibab Trail. The Grand Canyon has so many layers of color and light. We started out at about 7,000 feet and hiked to 2,700. That is the equivalent of hiking over six miles from Flagstaff weather to Phoenix weather going down hill all the way.

Our endurance never faltered, but from our knees to our feet, we struggled the last three miles to keep our balance. Each time we had to lift our feet over logs was agonizingly painful. We were wobbly, struggling to keep our legs from collapsing beneath us. We found a new respect for this canyon.

The bridge gave us new motivation. We could see the froth of the Colorado River and the narrow green strip where Bright Angel Campground lay under a canopy of trees. We stumbled to the first available campground. I was grateful we had persevered.

by being strengthened through his glorious might so that you endure everything and have patience; and by giving thanks with joy to the Father. He made it so you could take part in the inheritance, in light granted to God’s holy people. (Colossians 1:11-12, CEB)

The bummer was not being allowed to have campfires. As night fell, we sat eating smoked salmon, dark chocolate covered cranberries, and drinking hot Earl Grey tea on the picnic table. Clouds had begun to coat the sky early in the afternoon, and we read in our tent until body aches and weariness claimed us in a restless sleep.

The one thing you can’t do is to pre-judge hiking out based on how you feel the first day. Motivation and determination are what get you in and out of the canyon. If you decide you can’t make it, rescue is hours from you, if it comes.

Book Review: Shaken #TimTebow

Shaken: Discovering Your True Identity in the Midst of Life’s Storms by Tim Tebow is a book for a seeker, and can be a great book for a seeker not into football.

Yes, (gasp), I am not into football, and it is frustrating to me not to be able to delete the NFL app off of my phone. I had heard about Tim Tebow even as a non-football person. He trended on social media all the way from John 3:16 to taking a knee and causing people to either love or hate him. So I agreed to review this book to see if Tim Tebow was more than just social media hype and was blown away.

Here are some highlights:

His parents were missionaries.
John 3:16 written in blacking on Tim Tebow during a play caused 90 million searches on Google to find out about John 3:16.
His book focused on the kids in his organization and how their faith impacted him.
Scripture is peppered throughout.
He always brings it back to God.
It’s a pep talk with delightful pockets of deep thought.

He’s a very positive person. It was difficult for me to comprehend though what it is like to go through losing a job in the NFL when most of us are struggling paycheck to paycheck and don’t have anything to fall back on if we lost our jobs. His perspective on the press and how difficult it was for him to deal with the negative and the sometimes confining aspect of being a public figure made me appreciate him more. We need more positive role models in the NFL. The way he uses his resources and time to reinvest in the people in our communities is refreshing. Tebow reminded me that something as well-known as John 3:16 in the Christian world is not as well-known in the secular world.

Shaken tells the story of Tim Tebow’s faith, his work, and his story on a level that is easy to digest and non-judgmental. The struggle to make the team and run his career is real. Tebow talked about having a Circle of Trust which inspired me, as a mentor on social media, to also have one. My group was re-named to remind me of the responsibility entrusted to me. Every person should consider a “Circle of Trust.” We all aspire to greater things, but without someone who has permission to speak truth in our lives, we will fail because of temptation. Busyness would keep us from digging into the Bible to refresh ourselves and keep the foundation of our faith strong without an accountability partner.

So, for someone new to the faith or inquiring, Shaken is a great read.

*Early copy of this book given by the publisher to review*

Wilderness Trekking Video Series

We are still locating people willing to share their testimony in our series. I have not forgotten. With raising financial partnerships, it’s been busy these past couple of months.