IKEA Made in Europe

One thing I’ve learned about Europe is IKEA is a big deal. Practically every country I’ve visited since September has an IKEA. I’ve slept in IKEA beds, read by the light of IKEA lamps, and drank from numerous IKEA glasses of all shapes and sizes.

The tagline at the bottom of each glass, “IKEA – Made in Bulgaria, or Turkey, or France,” has become a comfort of home. Odd – yes – as in the U.S. I can count on one hand how many times I’ve stepped through IKEA’s doors into the warehouse-style shopping Mecca. It’s big and cheap, which let’s be honest is the American way, yet it doesn’t have the presence in the U.S. like it does in Europe.

How could a store, which I have not actually been to in Europe (ironically), be a sign of home? I’ve come to the conclusion that home is relative. It’s a feeling. A comfort. It’s people. But it’s not a place.

I’ve been happy to be at home in many countries but it has nothing to do with the country itself, or the bed I sleep in, the lamp I read by, or the glass I drink from. It’s the people. How enormously blessed I am to have “homes” around the world. When the people you serve and work with are family, well home becomes where they are, not just a building or a bed.

“Home is where the heart is” is perhaps one of the worst clichés, but for these last two months I thank God it’s true. 

Gate Crashing an Epic Party

You may not know what ‘gate crashing’ is but that is 100% what I did at the U.S.-sent leadership meeting a couple of weeks ago. I happened to be in the same place at the same time, so obviously the most logical thing to do was invite myself to leadership meetings, which I had no place in and really no right to be at.

Now, if my life was a 80s high school movie, I’d be the loveable nerd who gate crashed the party and got kicked out as soon as I was discovered by the popular kids, probably after being publically embarrassed in some way. I thank God my org is not high school and instead of being shunned like the nerd I am, I was embraced with open arms and practically force-fed chocolate (not torture by any means.)

Me, a minion in the cog of the great organization, was welcomed a peer. This may have been amazing, and I may have taken a few pictures here and there, but the true blessing was listening to the stories of the Lord’s work around the world. I sat there, basking in HIS glory because of timing and the welcoming arms of my colleagues.

I could have easily been swept aside, treated as an outcast, but I was welcomed into the inner circle, my opinion and perceptions were even shared with the group by the ‘commander and chief’ of the org. Me, a small piece of the working machine, had a voice. Who wouldn’t want to a part of a company like that?

Moral of my story – crash more parties. You might be surprised by the welcome you get.

Empowerment in Marriage - What Can I Learn?

Many things in recent months have given me pause and caused me to reflect on ministry, the state of the world, the plight of my generation, how the Lord works in miraculous ways (I could keep going but I won't); however, one thing that has struck me and continues to impact me is witnessing the marriages of people across the world.

I am not married, although I hope that is in God's plan for my life, but that doesn't mean that strong marriages don't have a lesson relevant to relationships in general. I have been blessed by a family of strong marriages, although my grandparents and parents have their faults, healthy marriages have been modeled for me since childhood. There are many things one might learn from a healthy marriage but what I have witnessed these last months and has really stuck with me is the idea of partnership with one another and empowerment of your significant other. 

As I write, I have visited nine OC couples and have been blessed in how they partner in ministry together, and more importantly how they empower each other to use their God-given gifts. This has looked different with each family but the common thread is the desire to champion the gifts each person possesses. Often in different seasons perhaps some gifts have been "benched," when needs of children or aging parents take priority; however, what I have seen in each couple is the desire for their partner to be fulfilled in the work the Lord has for them.

In my limited knowledge, I think a good marriage stems from a centered and healthy relationship with Jesus and through that a desire to die to oneself and become joined with another. As I think about my relationships, I should not yet be joined with another but an attitude of selflessness should be dawned. Obviously, we are less than human and complete selflessness cannot be achieved, but I have been blessed to witness those couples who strive to love each other as Christ loved the church.

This is but a small reflection from my time with some incredible families the Lord has placed in my life. Thank you to all who have blessed me by loving each other.

Give a Bit a Time -- See a Revolution

Sometimes in life you are blessed to hear a speaker that's "got it." After listening to Helder Favarin for three days on the British coast, I know I've heard a man anointed by Christ and who will be used by Him to ignite a revolution in Europe's young people.

Helder speaking at a conference in Worthing, England.

After to listening to Helder speak, I'm ready to join in that revolution. If I was one prone to impulse, I'd fill out the next application to be a youth leader and start pouring into the lives of young people around the world. Let's be honest, the millennial generation is the future. Why shouldn't we invest in building them up to be leaders with a strong faith and a heart for Christ?

My love for investing in peers and those younger than myself should come as no surprise, after all, I've been hearing people stories and praying for my fellow MKs since I was 14. I left the comforts of the US to pursue teaching and coaching at Faith Academy for a virtually non-existent pay check. This weekend has just brought the need of my generation and younger to the forefront of my mind and heart once again.

Now, I'm not going to rush into full-time youth ministry just yet. This weekend has reminded me that we don't have to be professionally involved in ministry to invest in another person. "I'm too busy" is not an excuse! People my age and younger need to feel valued and be mentored by others. Millennials have the potential to revolutionize the world today but the fact is we can't do it alone. We need wisdom and truth poured into our lives by those around us, men and women who are strong in the faith.

Serving in the church, outreach in your local community, attending church and Bible study are all good and should not be forgotten, but the truth is that if you are not mentoring or shepherding a young person to take up and champion your ministry, it will not last. Many missionaries I know invest in local leadership of the church, which is a high value. Many people build friend groups with peers and lead a Bible studies, all good things. But if you don't invest in the younger generation then how can you expect any impact on your community to be sustainable?

Whether you like it or not, that 20 year old sitting in the pew, attached to his/her smart phone, tweeting the words you say, is the future. There's no getting around it. So why not pour into their lives now, break bread together and share in relationship? It makes no sense to just live in the now, the future is coming. You can't stop it. You have an expiration date, we all do.

Here's the tricky part: you have to mentor youth on their terms. What does that mean? You have to have a relationship before you can speak into their lives. There needs to be mutual trust and respect. Listen with open and non-judgemental ears. Be willing to discuss and answer the hard questions, no subject should be off limits. Communicate via Facebook, Twitter or the 100 other social media sites. Respect them and value their opinion.

If you breath, and love Christ, this message is for you! No one is exempt, least of all church leadership or people involved in ministry. Nothing you do is more important than investing a part of your time in this generation. Take off your blinders and see the potential. You're missing out.

It's not going to be easy, the generation gap is real. But if you don't see the value in giving some of your time into this generation, then you will be sitting in retirement, complaining about the state of the world when you passed by the opportunity to invest in it while it was young.

Away I Go!

You might know that I am set to leave on a 3 mo. journalism trip to Europe, N. Africa and the Mid East. I get on a plane tomorrow, so I wanted to write a quick post. 

Coming up on the blog will be some awesome pictures, stories, and perhaps even video, of my adventures over the next three months. Stay tuned for interesting (and hopefully entertaining) posts to come. 

I am in the midst of packing and tying up loose ends, so for now this is it. Based on the pic, can you guess where I am going first? It's an easy one :)

Goodbyes SUCK!

The dirty truth of goodbyes is that it doesn't matter how good you are at them they always hurt. Where others express pain through tear-filled hugs, my pain manifests itself in a sick feeling rooted deep in my stomach that spreads and aches in every part of my body. It sounds dramatic but it's a feeling I know well.

Recently I spent two weeks with 55 amazing Mks and their families in the mountains of Colorado. It was a unforgettable time: we hung out, laughed, shared our experiences and bonded quickly. You haven't witnessed bonding like this until you've met a missionary kid. You would think that we would hold people at arms length because of the goodbyes we say, but here's the funny thing -- we don't and we do. It's a paradox that is hard to explain. It's like we soak up all we can in the time we spend together, going deep quickly but yet very few reach the real people underneath. That might not explain it well but it's the best I can do.

These two weeks of my organization's Personnel Enrichment Program are my favorite time of year but after the time is over I have to say goodbye all over again. This was my 12th year being a part of the staff. Many of the missionary-kid staff asked how I do the program every year when the goodbyes are so hard. One wondered how my sister and I had not become callus to goodbyes since we experience them so often. The only answer I know is that I don't know how we do it. All I can say is that I have had the opportunity to see kids grow up and mature into young men and young women. I get to meet new people every year because kids change a lot in four years. No summer is the same, yet they are all amazing. God has blessed me with friends all over the world. Also, if you haven't met a missionary kid or a third-culture kid, you are missing out. Mks/Tcks are complex human beings, with layers and layers of emotions and experiences. Yes, we can be weird, misunderstood, and hard to relate to at times, but the layers are worth peeling back to see the center. The layers can be broken, sour, bitter, confused and unpleasant but the center, at the heart of it, is always uniquely created and sweet. That's why I do it, I get glimpses of the center and get to share in the lives of people that will one day change the world.

Of course, this doesn't make goodbyes any easier to swallow but I wouldn't want to miss a summer. PEP 2013 was one I will always remember and I have been truly blessed by the kids and young adults I experienced it with.

Rabbit Trails

Rabbit trails - we all follow them, we know how to get teachers to step away from lesson plans and follow them, we all need them and we all complain when someone takes us on one against our will.

What got me on this thought process was when Meg, one of the greatest friends ever, posted a Dawson's Creek buzzfeed on my Facebook, which then led me down the rabbit trail of other Dawson's trivia nonsense, a great distraction for a less-than-great Monday morning. This happens to me all the time, I click on a popular video on YouTube and hours later I remember that I was supposed to be doing something, like sleep. Wikipedia is the worst, just ask Meg and her Wiki serial killer phase, you may know the name Charles Manson but do you real know the horrific things he was responsible for? To tease you curiosity, Manson's crew is the reason Roman Polanski went nuts, is now wanted by the U.S. justice system and directed one of the most horrific scenes in Shakespearean film history - Macbeth, 1971, yikes. (Look it up, fascinating stuff)

My recent foray into this pop culture rabbit trail got me thinking about the distractions life brings everyday, rabbit trails we take to avoid or detain from reality. We all do it. A relationship that's not right but fun. An ill-advised trip. A job that you take to just pay the bills but becomes a career.

Sometimes I feel like life right now is rabbit trail, something I was led on against my will. These are my worst times. When I think clearly I realize that I am learning a lot, mainly how to rely on and trust that God is in control. It's hard to trust God completely. We might say that's our desire but do we really relax our grasp on our finances, family, relationships, worries, heartbreaks and let him completely take it over? That's the biggest lesson I am learning during this "rabbit trail;" relying on God means giving up control. It doesn't mean being lazy or complacent, it means putting my faith in Him.

Sometimes rabbit trails aren't a waste of time and energy, sometimes they are lessons to learn, a sideways journey that will lead to a better understanding of His true plan.