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I Killed My Last Pokemon

My original thought for installing Pokemon was for online interaction. Pokemon hasn’t any online interaction. The interaction I read on an article comes from the face-to-face encounters while playing Pokemon.

I do see the value of video gaming in missions, but I am not a video game person. In fact, our Wii is now in storage. We haven’t played it for a year. That, too, was great for get-togethers and online interaction. Pokemon riveted the country and had very intense reactions when it came out.

The people against Pokemon spoke out about it as if it were a political figure. A security firm zero’d in on the security weaknesses in the app and created a way for companies to kill Pokemon (literally). My newsfeed for a few weeks was a storm of adverse reactions. So here’s my take on Pokemon.

Pokemon has been uninstalled from my phone, but not because I’m in the anti-Pokemon party. Pokemon has some points to consider and churches should be encouraged to use it. Pokemon gyms are popping up. People are using it to connect in face-to-face situations. Conversations and good-hearted competition are occuring. Like any online tool, there are drawbacks and safety concerns.

Just a reminder: Pokemon is just a game. Like in the days of World War II when people flocked to movies to escape from the reality of the war, Pokemon is a good distraction. It gets the kids and adults outside, teaches them about landmarks in their city, and leads them to face-to-face conversations. It brings the fun back into our over-serious, anxiety-ridden, quick-tempered, fearful society, and distracts us from violence, racism, hate, bigotry, terrorism, and the like.

The world is on fire. Let’s remember to have fun and connect with our friends and neighbors. It may not be Pokemon, but maybe you could think of something else.

Pokemon Go in a Fractured and Flattened World by TGC If you’re a parent who has questions about the game, check out this primer from Tony Kummer about what it is and how to avoid potential dangers (like, crossing the street without looking both ways!). Two friends of mine, Chris Martin and Aaron Earls, offer good advice for churches, as does Joshua Clayton of Southwestern Seminary. And there’s been some controversy regarding appropriate places to play. (Arlington Cemetery and the Holocaust Museum? Uh, no.) READ MORE

Serving is Messy #Voiceless

Voiceless: A Movie Review

“Voiceless was made to engage the church,” said producer, Stuart Migdon. He goes on to say, “We believe our film artfully presents the issue in a way that pro-life supporters can rally behind without alienating pro-choice viewers before they’ve had a chance to contemplate our story.” This description is spot-on.

A war veteran and his wife move to the inner city of Philadelphia. He’s the new outreach pastor, but the church he serves under is more concerned about filling seats than about serving the community. The opening scenes where Voiceless introduces the church shows a typical dying church—big, opulent, and filled with empty seats. A few parishioners fill a couple of pews and they look bored.

Notably, one of the biggest contributors to the church’s general fund runs several car washes and expects the church to be run his way because he’s the biggest (and only?) tither. As you’ll discover towards the end of the movie as the story builds, this brings the executive pastor into the crosshairs where he has to make a choice, too. It’s truly a living-on-faith movie that encourages the church to serve Jesus in meaningful and risky ways.

What we consider politically as activism should be considered as serving the Lord. There were clumsy starts to the outreach pastor’s attempts to reach the women going into the “Family Planning” center, and the Senior Adult who lives next door to the church provides humorous and poignant touches throughout the build of the story. An unexpected twist between the outreach pastor and his wife suddenly makes his crusade personal.

The movie highlights the problems with underfunded pregnancy centers and church congregation members that are pro-life, but unwilling to give of themselves to the community. The conversation with the outreach pastor and the head of the abortion clinic (a.k.a. Family Planning Center) was also interesting as it expressed the pro-choice viewpoint. The challenge of the older neighbor having to take in a family convicts me.

The question I asked myself then, “How far am I willing to go out of my comfort zone to help another in a difficult situation?” How far am I willing to go to serve the Lord? Am I willing to make waves or do I really want my church programs, my comfortable seats, or am I willing to go beyond this? Taking biblical risks come with consequences as the outreach pastor and his wife soon learns.

As a church, are we willing to offend to stand for something even if that means losing half of your congregation? The questions this movie forces us to think about are these:

How can we provide alternate medical help for those stuck in situations of unplanned pregnancies?
How can we learn to listen to those who have had abortions and who are seeking abortions?
How can we move the congregations to provide the means of escaping what abortion seekers think is the only way out of a horrible situation?

While only one minor problem exists with the movie, I choose to not discuss it in the blog. I’ll be happy to discuss it privately, but it’s more to do with storyline than the quality of the movie. I promise that there are no cheesy actors or actresses or pat answers in this movie. I gave it five stars.

Book Review: The City Baker’s Guide to Country Living

Olivia Rawlings’ life could be summed up by how many different colors she dyes her hair: restless, rootless, and ready to run when life gets complicated. The only thing constant in her life is her baking, Salty (her dog), and Hannah, her friend. Even her relationships are complex.

The scene opens up with Olivia setting fire to the restaurant because the restaurant owner is the man she is having an affair with and he won’t leave his wife. She’s not an arsonist. It was the combination of a wobbly food tray, vertigo, and 150-proof rum on sweet desserts set on fire. She finds her way to Guthrie, Vermont after quitting the Emmerson Club and in the employment of Margaret–a troubled and cranky Bed and Breakfast owner who doesn’t keep bakers around for too long.

While two different colored threads seem unrelated, the book begins to bring the fibers together at long last and we learn more about Guthrie, its gossip, its people, and why Margaret is cranky. We learn about Olivia’s friendship with Alfred. It is my sincere hope that Alfred gets his own story in the next book. He was too nice a man not to find his own, “happily ever after.” The only blemish was something that clashed with my own worldview as a Christian, but that part appeared and passed; almost felt preachy. Almost.

The whole book doesn’t align with Christian beliefs, but it does reflect the rough areas and choices of life. Having worked as a hostess, the people I worked with were like Olivia–jaded and foul-mouthed at times. Olivia’s character is perfectly outlined. She starts out rough, runs as per her character from a perceived situation, and in the end, makes the right choice. We grieve when she grieves and cheers when she finds her way out of the entanglements of her choices and own prejudgments of a town that had come to love this fiery, outspoken, and unusual baker.

I closed the book with a contented sigh. Never prejudge one chapter. I wish Christian fiction would write realistically like this, because we all began broken and God made us whole. We make mistakes, but when we repent, wonderful blessings abound. I love how Olivia became whole again. It’s amazing what happens when you stop running.

Now when does Alfred get his own story? I would love to see him find happiness.

*Book given by publisher to review. Reviewed from a Christian perspective.

Live Prayer Reminder

Coffee and Desserts

Can’t help me out financially?

Consider holding a dessert and coffee at your home or business. I ask that you invite your friends to it. I can provide the dessert, even the coffee. I will do a presentation to your friends, show videos, and talk to them, even answer their questions. If you think you would like to do this, please email me. Let’s work out the details.

Live Prayer Update: Psalm 5

Live Prayer is ongoing as we speak. You can view the live version or the recorded version on my social networks. Today’s verse is Psalm 5:

Psalm 5

For the music leader. For the flutes. A psalm of David.

5 Hear my words, Lord!
    Consider my groans!
²    Pay attention to the sound of my cries, my king and my God,
        because I am praying to you!
³Lord, in the morning you hear my voice.
    In the morning I lay it all out before you.
    Then I wait expectantly.
⁴Because you aren’t a God
    who enjoys wickedness;
    evil doesn’t live with you.
⁵Arrogant people won’t last long
in your sight;
    you hate all evildoers;
⁶    you destroy liars.
    The Lord despises people who are violent and dishonest.

⁷But me? I will enter your house
    because of your abundant, faithful love;
    I will bow down at your holy temple,
        honoring you.
⁸Lord, because of many enemies,
    please lead me in your righteousness.
    Make your way clear,
        right in front of me.
⁹Because there’s no truth in my enemies’ mouths,
    all they have inside them is destruction.
    Their throats are open graves;
    their tongues slick with talk.
¹⁰Condemn them, God!
    Let them fail by their own plans.
Throw them out for their many sins
    because they’ve rebelled against you.
¹¹But let all who take refuge in you celebrate.
    Let them sing out loud forever!
Protect them
    so that all who love your name
    can rejoice in you.
¹²Because you, Lord, bless the righteous.
    You cover them with favor like a shield.

When I Handed Her My Resume

When I handed my resume to the woman in the power suit, she took it from me, and bent her head to read it. The marble floors, glass partitions, and rich woods made me more conscious of the black permanent marker I used on my Kmart special black heels to hide a worn spot near the toe or the clear nail polish I used in the parking garage on a run on my panty hose.

A few minutes passed, and she looked up from the paper at me and said: “It sounds like you are applying to be a writer, not a receptionist?”

This was several years ago as a young woman applying to work at a magazine located in downtown Phoenix. There’s value in starting from the bottom. Whether you are a receptionist answering phone calls or a brand new missionary appointee learning cross-cultural communication and the complex issues regarding the peoples on the move, nothing is ever wasted. In fact, coming from a position of a learner and working your way up is better.

You get to know the organization.
People mentor you and you learn from this.
God grows you through the experiences, mistakes, and successes.
And no action is “beneath you” to do no matter where you go in life.

Today, I thought about that moment in the magazine office, and when I did, I felt a twinge of worry.

“Lord, how do I do this ministry? There is so much information to absorb and learn!”

Matthew 4:19 in the CEB returned to me:

“Come, follow me,” he said, “and I’ll show you how to fish for people.”

This time it held new meaning for me. Everyone begins somewhere in a new career. They learn new things, new habits, disciplines, and it can be challenging. God will show me how, not just in technology, but in cross-cultural communication, too. Already, I feel like I am changing as I wrestle with my own prejudices and political beliefs against what the Bible says. That wrestling though didn’t start with my appointment with WorldVenture.

A certain Latino pastor came into my life who started changing my worldview. WorldVenture simply clarified my direction.

Now my daunting task isn’t riding an elevator up a skyscraper and crossing marble floors as quietly as possible in uncomfortable black heels; instead, it is learning about the Peoples on the Move and reaching them through technology. I am not alone. Many wonderful people with WorldVenture and others around the world are taking up that call. I am praying for 100% funding by March, 2017.

When I see that deadline, I feel like that girl again in black heels reaching my resume across the desk to a woman in a power suit.

God says, “and I’ll show you how to fish for people.” He calls the unqualified.

Incidentally, I did not get the job at the magazine as a receptionist or a writer. As you can see, God had other plans for me.

Live Prayer Update: Psalm 4

Live Prayer Going On Now

Go to Facebook page, personal, Periscope, or Twitter between 5 a.m. and 5:30 a.m.

Psalm 4

For the music leader. With stringed instruments. A psalm of David.

4 Answer me when I cry out, my righteous God!
    Set me free from my troubles!
        Have mercy on me!
        Listen to my prayer!

²How long, you people,
    will my reputation be insulted?
How long will you continue
    to love what is worthless
    and go after lies? Selah
³Know this: the Lord takes
    personal care of the faithful.
The Lord will hear me
    when I cry out to him.
⁴So be afraid, and don’t sin!
    Think hard about it in your bed
    and weep over it! Selah
⁵Bring righteous offerings,
    and trust the Lord!

⁶Many people say,
    “We can’t find goodness anywhere.
    The light of your face has left us, Lord!”
⁷But you have filled my heart with more joy
    than when their wheat and wine are everywhere!
⁸I will lie down and fall asleep in peace
    because you alone, Lord, let me live in safety.

Common English Bible (CEB)READ MORE