We Are Hackers of God's Way

We are hackers of God's way.

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, in The Hacker Way, defines hacking as "building something quickly or testing the limits of what can be done."

Our general impression of hacking is negative; his is positive. In fact, the address of Facebook's main building at Menlo Park is 1 Hacker Way.

God has a Way. He outlines it in writing (the Bible), whispers it (through His Spirit), and lets us sabotage it with our own way.

How peculiar.

Our address is also 1 Hacker Way. We often view ourselves as top dog, with God as either ineffective or parked until we need Him.

God's general impression of our hacking (His Way) is probably negative. Why does ours remain positive?

We are always trying to build something (like our character) too quickly and testing the limits of what can be done.

I'm sure we should trade in Our Hacker Way for The Best Way.

Lord, help me face the right Book and the right Way.

That Pesky Pedestal of Sanctimony

That pesky pedestal of sanctimony:

Do you have a perch there?

I do.

Beneath my perch lies all the things I think I am above.

My perches become fewer only if I give God permission to knock me off.

Sometimes He doesn't wait for my permission.

If I am in any way representing Him as a Christ-follower, He shows His abhorrence for perches.

Lord, I grant You continued permission to help me off my perches.

The Sweet Leadership of Brokenness

More and more I understand why the brokenness of sin and shortcoming is such a sweet aroma to God.

It makes room, in a human heart, for the colossal forgiving love that God loves to grant.

Genuine brokenness releases us from the approval-disapproval swing of others (administered out of their hardened judgment) and propels us into the heart of God for comfort and safety. There is nothing left to prove or hide.

It is a most beautiful place to be.

Out of it grows the sweet leadership of brokenness.

This sweet leadership first leads self with an utter dependence on God and a new mouthpiece of humility.

God takes this newly humbled and broken self and places him or her into all the settings where the sweet leadership can flourish and impact others.

When the prodigal son returned from his reckless life of sin, he alone had room in his heart for the colossal forgiving love that was his father's to grant. The brother stood by in hardened judgment.

If I needed to choose a leader out of those two brothers at that point in time, I would want the prodigal.

He would have the unique skillset of brokenness, humility and the colossal forgiving love of God, ready to impact himself and others.

I am such the prodigal daughter, hoping that I am learning the sweet leadership of brokenness.

Jodi Was Right All Along

Jodi, our pastor's wife and one of my dearest friends, said to me, in all seriousness:

I think if I could just talk to Satan long enough, I could convince him that he needs God.

We have, of course, never let her forget that. We laugh and I feel compelled to say, "Evil is really evil," and we move on.

But her comment gives rise to a startling thought:

What if every person on earth, on a given day, brought to bear in every interaction the love and forgiveness of Christ?

Satan may not decide he needs God but he would be stuck in a sea of absorbing love for sure. What then?

Dr. Scott Peck discusses the healing of evil in his book, People of the Lie. He concludes:

The healing of evil--scientifically or otherwise--can be accomplished only by the love of individuals. A willing sacrifice is required. The individual healer must allow his or her own soul to become the battleground...Whenever this happens there is a slight shift in the balance of power in the world. 

Jodi is one of those individuals. It seems that, embedded in her very DNA, lies the gift God may treasure most:

Giving love and acceptance to broken, hurting people, regardless of cost or expectation.

Thanks, Jodi, for moving us forward with your incredible heart. You were right all along.

When Two Words Create a Tidal Wave

I was the speaker at our church on Sunday.

Message: Where Does Strength Lie?

You can read the entire message or try and understand the tidal wave of meaning in my friend Doug's two words.

Doug is seasoned and wise in his understanding of all things God. He listens intently and is an avid learner. Though I haven't known him long, I always make it a point to listen to his listening.

He made a beeline for me after the service. He said,

I get it. Love and forgiveness.

I tucked the comment away for later, knowing that what I said in ten pages he had just converted into two words.

Love. Forgiveness.

Where does strength lie? Always in love, always in forgiveness.

Thanks, Doug.

Our Most Exquisite Journey

You are going on the trip of a lifetime.

You start planning, even packing, weeks in advance.

So many last minute details...so much excitement.

The day arrives. The weeks of preparation have you situated just right to make the most of your journey.

What if...we prepared for eternity with the same vigor and view?

We are going on the trip that culminates our lifetime.

We start planning now, regardless of our age or years left on earth.

So many details--pursuing God, loving each other, practicing forgiveness--so much excitement in living (and preparing) this way.

The day arrives. The years of preparation have us situated just right to meet the Living God, the Host and Reason for our journey.

What if...

Breathe One More Minute

A young mom was describing her depression.

She said she would go get her son and put him in bed with her, reminding herself of the reason she needed to breathe one more minute.

She is certainly taking all the steps needed to find the best intervention, to reverse this course, to come out from under.

Breathe one more minute.

All of us will face that dilemma through grief or hardship or depression.

My children were school-age and I was driving by myself, telling God how I couldn't breathe even one more minute. It seems odd to me now that I couldn't see the beauty of the motherhood journey in that critical thought process.

It is when pain of circumstances outweighs reason and the heart.

I looked up and saw sun rays breaking through clouds with a luminosity I can't describe. It prompted me to say to God, Okay, I won't quit.

A few moments later, the pain washed over me again and I could only see the idea of exiting altogether.

Immediately, a new set of sun rays blazed down. It was unmistakable.

After the third display, I regained my emotional footing. Somehow I was able to stand on my commitment to keep on trucking.

Now, six grandchildren and thousands of precious memories later, I am so thankful for the message I fully believe was from God. He was saying,

Breathe one more minute.

When it is your time to hear, I pray you will allow God to carry you through.

The sun can break through once again.