African Dawn: May 2011

Monday, May 30, 2011

For the Love of ...

Let's get these feet to Africa where they belong!

Money? Seriously? Yes. I read a devotional today from Youth Specialties. And it was about, well, you guessed it. Money! Why is this so significant, especially today? Timing. It's all about God's timing. And His promise. And my lack of ... faith. Thought I was going to say "money"? Well, I thought about it. But that's really not the issue here. I'll explain after you read the devotional. It's short, so I've included it.

No Money Week: Never Enough

Posted by Christopher Lyon on Mon, May 30, 2011

"Whoever loves money never has money enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with his income. This too is meaningless." (Ecclesiastes 5:10)

Does it seem like the whole world is crying about money these days? We're going to spend this next week talking about being broke and being rich and loving money and how worthless money is and why it's a trap and a gift from God. Money is complicated.

We'll listen in to Solomon's financial advice from Ecclesiastes 5. Not only was he extremely wise, David's son was also loaded. He had money and wisdom to burn. So his words should be worth hearing.

His first observation: People with an appetite for money never get full. They never say, "No, I couldn't possibly take another dollar. Where would I put it?" One way that money fails as a life goal, Solomon wrote, is that it doesn't have a finish line. You can never win the race. You can never stop running.

Think: Frankly, lots of students who hear this verse don't believe it. They think they could be satisfied if they just had "x" number of dollars. How much money do you think it would take to make you satisfied with your life? (Warning: trick question.)

Pray: Thank God for revealing to you through His Word that no amount of dollars will ever make a money-lover happy. Ask Him to help you not to love money.

Do: Notice in your real life and media life this week how many conversations have to do with loving and/or desperately needing money.

Hudson Taylor, founder of China Inland Mission, is a missionary whom I admire greatly. One of the most important lessons I took away from reading his biography was his principle on money and his faith in God to provide what he needed when he needed it. So when I accepted the call to serve God as a full-time missionary, I prayed and asked Him if this was how I should approach working for the Lord on a faith based salary. This means that I will work a regular type job somewhere where He sends me, doing something He wants me to do and do it without receiving a regular paycheck--at least earning money in the way we typically earn money in the USA. My "salary" will be 100% faith based. People who are called by God to partner with me in ministry will give money on either a regular basis or a one-time gift. Does this mean I have to rely on man to provide for me? Or does this mean that I still must rely on God to provide for me? Well, I think I'll choose the latter, thank you very much.

I'm fairly sure that I would never make a good salesperson. I don't like trying to convince people they should buy something or invest in something, especially when I, myself, may not be interested in buying or investing in the product I'm trying to sell! I have a fear of being too "pushy" or "needy" or "greedy" or "annoying". I'm very sensitive and I would probably fold if I kept getting "no's" from the people to whom I'm trying to sell. Besides, I'm much more interested in getting to know the person instead of trying to sell to them! Not a good combination, I suppose. What does all of this have to do with money, and me, and this devotional?

This is where I am today: I am a member of Wycliffe Bible Translators planning to serve in Yaoundé, Cameroon, West Central Africa. I will be teaching at Rain Forest International School, a secondary school for grades 7-12. I am currently in the partnership development phase, which means that I am raising support for my service overseas. I am praying to God and trusting Him that He will speak clearly to those who are called to support me financially and they will answer that call and trust in God that He will provide the funds for them to support me. My goal is to have 100% of my budget pledged plus money for start-up costs, including money for airfare, which could be $2000-$3000, all by the first of July. That's just 4 weeks! This seems like a daunting task and it is! I most certainly can't do it on my own, in my own strength, and by myself. And I'm not. God is in charge of this thing. I once heard from some fellow short-term missionaries, "God's will is God's bill." So...will you pray with me that God will call His people to invest in His Kingdom? I'm done talking about money. I don't love money. I love God! And I'm trusting in Him!

Because of His love...

Sunday, May 29, 2011

The Beauty of the View

I read a friend's blog a while back. She had a picture posted on her blog of a beautiful view from a window of a castle [somewhere in Germany]. Although I had no idea what the castle looked like, her picture of the view inspired me.

I love photography. I'm not a photographer though. I own only a point and shoot camera (which I love and am very grateful--don't get me wrong). Even still, I love photography. I would love to take some classes and own an awesome DSLR with some awesome lenses. I would love to learn how to take incredible pictures and not just get "lucky" with some of the ones I take. Anyway.

I was analyzing the picture. Studying it closely. Looking at the picture as if I were the very one looking out the window. I loved how she framed the view with the window from inside the castle. The view was spectacular. Lush, green grass. Tall, thick trees. A lake with water that looks like frosted glass. A town that seems so tiny from the distance and elevation of the castle. Another castle, buttercream yellow, across the valley, slightly up in the mountains. Mountains lavishly covered in trees so thick you can hardly see where one tree ends and another begins. Sparse clouds drifting through the hollows of the mountains. Darker, cottony clouds fill part of the sky and the sun tries to shine through the haze. Random patches of snow left over from the winter storms speckle the rocky mountains. I wish I could have been there. It looks so beautiful and serene.

This line really annoys me: "Beauty is not what's on the outside; it what's on the inside." I wonder how many people really believe that. It seems that we are all judged on our beauty (or the lack thereof). We are bombarded with beauty products, claims to make us look younger, prettier, skinnier, taller, thinner. Have perfect hair, flawless skin. Wear make-up to bring out our natural beauty, clothes for our body type. Skinny jeans, hip jeans. Spaghetti straps, no straps. What? The people you see on TV, in movies, on stage, in pictures, photos and paintings are typically what the world call beautiful people. And the ones that aren't consider beautiful are made fun of, laughed at, ignored, judged, put down, discarded, thought less of and so on and so forth.

Young girls, older girls, women of all ages, young guys and older guys too, are faced with so much pressure to be the best, do the best, have the best, look the best. All of this is about the outside.

Let's move on to the inside. [Disclaimer: I am not necessarily against any of the following. I am simply using these as examples.] Self-help books, videos and seminars. Classes and Bible study groups. Counseling and group therapy. Prescription drugs to make us "feel" better. Pep talks and pep rallies. Inspirational conferences and retreats. We use these things--and more--to "better" ourselves, to learn who we really are, to become (or try to become) who God created us to be. That's great and all. But is there something more?

I have no picture of a beautiful view like the one I described (I thought about copying the image, but I didn't want to "steal" her picture). I'll let you paint your own picture in your mind. What I saw in the picture, though, was the view.

Beauty is not what's on the outside. It's not what's on the inside either. Beauty IS in the eye of the Beholder. The One who created each of His children sees them as more beautiful than the most spectacular view (which He created). The One who gives us eyes to see also gives us a heart to see. Beauty is so much more than we can think or imagine. Beauty is how we see, not necessarily what we see. I pray I can see beauty in everything. I pray I can see people like God sees His people. I'm not talking about wearing rose-colored glasses. I'm talking about having the eyes of Jesus. I'm talking about seeing the beauty of the view.

Because of His love...