Jesus Needs New PR

I'm hesitant to write this post. When somebody else writes this kind of post, my hypocrite radar goes off when I read it. So let me be clear. This is something I struggle with too. It may manifest itself in more subtle ways, but it's in me too. This post is first and foremost a reminder to me.

As I was driving home yesterday, I noticed that the car in front of me had a cross pendant hanging from the rear view mirror. Suddenly, another car in the adjacent lane merged over in front of the cross car. In my opinion, it wasn't a super dangerous maneuver, but I could see where the lady in the cross car could have felt that she was cut off.

In response to being cut off, the lady in the cross car honked her horn profusely and flipped off the driver of the merging car. She then proceeded to change lanes so she could get right up next to the merging car, roll her window down, yell at the other driver and flip him off again. Nice.

I would roll my eyes at this behavior under any circumstance, but the fact that the lady is openly professing to be a Christian and still chooses to conduct herself in this manner really bothers me. Now I admit that I am making several assumptions here. First, this may not be her car and even if it is, she may not have been the one to hang the cross on the mirror. But, for the sake of conversation, let's just assume that it's her car and she hung the cross.

I realize that this is a relatively insignificant example, but it's no wonder why people have trouble rationalizing Christians with Christ. We preach love and grace and mercy, but are we living it out?

Am I living it out? Can strangers tell that I love Jesus? Can my co-workers? Can my family?

St. Francis of Assisi is credited with saying something along the lines of "Preach the Gospel always. Use words only as a last resort." Easier said than done, but I for one am going to try harder in this area.

Love Song

So I've told you that I'm all about the band Gungor right now. I like their whole album, but this song is really resonating with me. The lyrics are actually from an ancient text by St. Augustine.

There's no doubt about it. This is a love song. I used to think it was weird to sing love songs to God. Songs about how awesome God is I got. Songs about how much God loves us I got. Songs about just about every other aspect of God I got. But I didn't get the love songs. I just didn't see God in that way. But after hearing this song, I'm starting to come around. Maybe it's because I'm starting to become more aware of the characteristics of God in my marriage. Maybe it's because God is using this song to chip away at my heart and teach me more about what he's like. He likes to do that with me.

What about you? Do you see God in this way? Are there other things about God that you thought didn't apply to you, but now do? Just wondering.

Book Review: The Selfless Gene by Charles Foster

• Why are there two apparently conflicting accounts of creation in the book of Genesis?
• Do evolutionists really believe that man came from ooze?
• Did the fall of man or natural selection cause all the suffering we see in the natural world?
• Where do dinosaurs and cavemen fit into the story?
• Is there a middle ground between the neo-Darwinists and the young earth creationists?

I don’t know about you, but these are things that cross my mind. Charles Foster's book, The Selfless Gene, seeks to answer these questions and explores the idea that evolutionary theory and Christianity are not mutually exclusive worldviews. Foster respectively analyzes this often dicey subject through the lens of both science and religion and convincingly asserts that the two can in fact be reconciled.

I have to tell you that I really enjoyed this book although, I was a little weary at the onsite. In a review of the book, respected scientist, Simon Conway Morris, stated "If you are a creationist it is most unlikely you'll be one by the time you finish reading this thought-provoking book. But anyone who is, like myself, a Darwinian is equally at risk." I, like perhaps some of you, tend to get a little uncomfortable when someone starts challenging things I believe in. But, I would encourage anyone to read Foster's thorough review of the subject.

Admittedly, the first few chapters are heavy on the science side. The reading got a little tedious at times, even for a molecular biologist that is at least somewhat familiar with evolutionary theory. However, this comprehensive analysis is completely necessary for the comparisons and contrasts presented in the rest of the book. I liken it to having to eat your brussels sprouts before getting to enjoy the dessert of the last half of the book. And let me tell you, that last half was well worth the wait. There, Foster took an in-depth analysis of the creation stories presented in Genesis. I've read those accounts many times before, but his take on them was like a breath of fresh air. Additionally, I enjoyed how Foster peppered the entire book with other aspects of Christianity (like Hebrew culture, prophesy, and environmentalism) that I wasn't expecting to encounter. All in all, I found this book very well written and somewhat reassuring to this Christ-following scientist.

You Make Beautiful Things

I continue to be amazed at how the city of Nashville is pulling together to help one another. Something that was so devastating is becoming life giving. Something that was so ugly is becoming beautiful.

This is what God does. He takes heart ache and transforms it into joy.

If you let him.

And we're not just talking about flood damage here. He takes broken relationships and restores them. He takes death and creates new life. He takes mistakes and turns them into wisdom.

If you let him.

And You Think You're Having A Bad Day

I don't know about you, but I feel like this sometimes. Now granted, it may not be as dramatic as this but sometimes I do I feel like my brain has been taken over by a nasty fungus and I become toxic to those around me.

I'm getting better at identifying what my triggers are. Sometimes it's money related, sometimes it's husband related, sometimes it's work related. But, unlike this poor ant, my fungus is not real. It's just self created stress and anxiety.

I'm making progress in this area, though.

I'm learning to focus on what is true, not what I feel.

Can anyone else relate?

Wavy

Did you know that you have beautiful things like this floating around in your body? We are fearfully and wonderfully made.

Game Changer

Good Friday

Today was a good day.

My daughter actually said the following: My mommy loves me.

Score!

Also, I totally got my butt kicked at a circuit training class that Rob and I took at the gym. It was horrible and awesome all at the same time.

Also, I have a Savior who specializes in resurrections. You can read more about that here.

Also, I like this song.

Sometimes I Need A Reminder

Sometimes anxiety hits me out of nowhere. This morning I was thrown into an internal panic over Rob having to take one of our cars into the shop to have a relatively minor repair. But, we just had to get our other car fixed last month, and we owe on our taxes this year, and we still haven't sold our house in Cincinnati, and we need to sell the third car that's sitting in our driveway, and, and, and... Things just snowball in my mind sometimes and it gets me all worked up. I worry about money. Specifically, I worry about not having enough money. But the truth is that we do have enough money and all of the above things will be taken care of. But man, I can say those words to myself and still feel very anxious on the inside. Why is it that I know that God will provide for us (because I've seen Him do it before) and I still fear not having enough? And not only has He provided for us, but He has blessed us with unbelievable gifts. So today I am reminding myself that I am not in charge and that everything is going to be ok.

Proverbs

So...I've been reading through the book of Proverbs lately. One of the churches in our neck of the woods has challenged everyone to read one chapter of Proverbs every day for the month of January. 31 chapters in 31 days. I'll be honest. Proverbs never really excited me all that much before. Don't get me wrong. There are some catchy life lessons in there, but it always seemed like more of a bathroom book (sorry if that offends anyone) than one of the better books of the Bible. However, as I read through Proverbs, my opinion of it is definitely changing.

I'm only on chapter 13, but God is really using this challenge to do some heart surgery on me. I am being confronted with things that I don't really like to acknowledge about myself like how I struggle with being prideful and self important. It's also giving me a new appreciation for just how valuable wisdom is. I know a lot of stuff. But, I have a long way to go in the wisdom department.

I would encourage everyone to start reading through Proverbs. Start today. It's well worth it. If you want to follow along with the Crosspoint 31 day challenge, they have a blog where they post daily thoughts about each chapter. Some good conversation happens in the comment section of that blog. Check it out. All the cool kids are doing it.

How I'm Wired

A couple thoughts for today:

I did my first training run (I use that word lightly) last night. I may have bitten off more than I can chew. But, I'm going to stick with it. I can do this. I may not like it, but I can do it.

Secondly, I heard this song on Sunday and it's been in my head ever since.

I've heard it many times before, but this time, it really pierced my heart. Here are the lyrics to the chorus:

Heal my heart and make it clean
Open up my eyes to the things unseen
Show me how to love like you have loved me

Break my heart for what breaks yours
Everything I am for your kingdoms cause
As I go from nothing to eternity

These lines hit me like a ton of bricks. These are all things I've been praying for and here they are in a nice little chorus.

I have always had a thing for music. In middle and high school, I would sit in my room for hours reading through the song lyrics and liner notes of all of my cds. I never quite understood why I was so obsessive about music. I figured that it was because I started playing music at a young age and I had just grown into a music snob of sorts. But over the last few years, I've started listening to more worship music and it has become clear to me that God uses music to get through to me. He can tell me things over and over again, but when I hear it in a song, for some reason, I just receive it better. It gets downloaded directly to my heart. So, now I know why I've always been obsessive about music. I was made to. It's how I'm wired. Can any of you relate?

Tis The Season For The Sickness

Well, it's been an exciting couple of days. Actually, it hasn't been exciting at all. In fact, Harper and I have been pretty much glued to the couch since Sunday afternoon. She's sick. She's had a fever since Sunday and it hasn't broken yet. I took her to the pediatrician yesterday. She had a flu test that came back negative (thank goodness because she has had both the seasonal flu and H1N1 vaccines). Her ears aren't infected and she doesn't have strep. All of these are good things, but it doesn't explain what she has. Her doctor said that it is a flu-like virus. I can understand that diagnosis, but as a mom that just wants her kid to feel better, that's not very helpful. I continue to give her Tylenol, but it's not making that much of a difference. She really hasn't eaten much, but she is drinking juice. Not fun.

But, I will tell you about something cool that happened this morning. We are currently renting our house in Nashville (because we STILL haven't sold our house in Cincinnati.) The rental company that we are working with sends out an inspector 4 times a year to make sure that we are taking good care of the property. Our first inspection was this morning. Harper and I had spent most of the night on the couch, so I'm sure we were a fine sight for Roy, the inspector, when we answered the door at 8am. I explained to him that Harper wasn't feeling well. He said that he hoped she would feel better and continued his inspection. After he was done, he turned to Rob and said, would you mind if I prayed with you and your family? Of course Rob said yes and we all went in the living room and Roy prayed that Harper would be healed. It was beautiful. In fact, he specifically prayed that her fever would break (I hadn't told him anything specific about her symptoms). I was blown away that a complete stranger would be so bold to pray for my little girl. I know that prayer works and I am thankful that Roy came to our house this morning. All day I have been thinking that I need to be more like Roy and step out in faith when an opportunity to pray presents itself. I know that God hates that Harper is sick. But, even in her sickness, He was glorified.

The Power of a Praying Parent

I just started reading a book called The Power of a Praying Parent. My church started up a life group for new moms and this is the first book that we're all reading. I'm only on the first chapter, but it is already speaking to me. As I read it, I'm going to try to post some of the ideas that really hit home for me. So here goes:

• It's never too early or too late to start praying for your kids.
• If we are praying, something is happening whether we can see it or not. James 5:16 says the effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.
• Including Scripture in your prayers is a very powerful thing. It seems like a no-brainer, but I don't do this very often. The author promises to give us lots of good verses to use for many different types of prayers. I'm going to try hard to start doing this.
• The book suggests making an extensive and personalized prayer list for each child. The author said that she made a list for each of her kids at the beginning of the year and saved all of the previous lists so that she could look back on them and see how God faithfully answered her prayers. Great idea. I'm totally going to do this.
• Ask God to show you how to pray for your child. Another great idea. While I think I may know what Harper needs, God definitely does and He wants to tell me.

Like I said, I'm only on the first chapter, but already I have some great things to think about. I would encourage all of you that have kids or are thinking about having kids to get this book. We can read it together. It will be fun!

What Is God?

This movie looks pretty cool.

Some Things That Make Me Happy

I'll be honest, today is not my favorite day. It started out at 5am with my husband waking me up because he couldn't find something that he needed for work. We looked and didn't find it. Not a nice way to start off the day. To add to that, it's raining and gray. And, I forgot to get Harper a pumpkin to take to baby school, so she had to take one of our prized pumpkins from the front porch. And, she would not let me do her hair this morning. And, and, and, and...

But, I did learn something this weekend and I'm determined to live it out. Peace and joy are not based on circumstances. Today, I choose peace and joy. There. Take that. Below I am listing some things that make me happy this morning.

1. I teach a graduate histology class and today I get to lecture about blood vessels. I love blood vessels. They are so cool. Check out this picture of pericyte cells attached to a capillary. It just doesn't get much better than that.

2. I was at Target last night and I saw that they already have Little Debbie Christmas Trees! Oh how I love the Christmas Trees - film and all.

3. My parents will be here in 2 days!

4. Harper and I get to hang out with Katie tonight.

5. This song is good.

A New Season

Oh man. What a weekend. I went to our annual women's retreat in the mountains of Beersheba Springs, Tennessee. There's not much in Beersheba Springs - mostly just beautiful fall foliage. It was a perfect setting for our retreat. This year, our theme was the fruit of the spirit ( love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control). I'm fairly certain that I can't articulate most of the amazing things that happened this weekend, but here are just a couple bullet points that I'm going to have to chew on for a while.

• Self control is an act of worship. This really hit home for me. I have been feeling the need to re-devote myself to spending quality time with the Lord every day - not just praying in the car on the way to work or quickly doing my Bible study homework right before our meeting. I need to set aside quiet time every day to worship Him and listen to what He has to say to me. If you talk to me, ask me if I am following through with this.
• Doing good is not an option for those who know Jesus. James 4:17 So then, if you know the good you ought to do and don't do it, you sin. Ouch. This one is hard for me. Most of the time, I know what the right thing to do is. But a lot of the time, I chose to ignore the right thing and do my own thing.
• Joy is a choice. We have to choose to experience joy everyday. The opposite of joy is discontent which produces feelings of selfishness, bitterness, and anger. Most of the time, I don't choose joy. Most of the time, I wait for things to bring me joy and I find myself feeling selfish, bitter, and angry more than joyful. This needs to change.
• There is unbelievable power in testimony. You have a story and you need to share it. Someone will be blessed by it.
• Sometimes we need to be absolutely drained in order to be filled up with something better. My heart was poured out this weekend only to be filled with something much much better. Hearts are leaky and I will need to keep seeking His spirit to top me off.
• Whether or not I like it, God will prune the branches of my heart that bear no fruit. Thank goodness for that.

On another note, a boy that lived across the street from me growing up died unexpectedly on Friday morning. I don't know if he knew the Lord. I hope he did. His funeral is this afternoon. If you would, can you please say a prayer for his family and friends. I know that God is good all the time. I pray that He is glorified even in situations like this.

Everything

This stupid video chokes me up every time I watch it. I hate it when things predictably choke me up - hence the title stupid video. I actually secretly love this video. I think it gets to me because it makes me think of all of the horrible stuff Harper may encounter in her life. Thank goodness she has a Father who loves her even more than I do. Please watch this video. I know it's over 5 mins long, but it is totally worth it.

Monday Morning Can of Worms

Today, I would like to put forth some ideas about global climate change (a fun and light topic for a Monday). In the spirit of full disclosure, this is NOT meant to be a political post. This is just the opinions I have formed after evaluating the data (I am a scientist after all. I like data.). Below are some of the conclusions that I have come to (my personal commentary is in blue). Please leave a comment so that we can have a conversation about this issue.

1. The temperature of the earth is affected by 3 things: solar output (changes in how much heat the sun gives off), the earth's orbit, and greenhouse gas levels. Nearly everyone regardless of which side of the issue they fall on agrees with this observation.

2. Solar output and earth's orbit are not impacted by man. However, greenhouse gas levels can be influenced by human actions. Again, not really a point of contention.

3. Evidence to support a warming trend for earth's climate include the fact that sea level has risen 6.7 inches in the last century (and in the last decade, the rate of rise has almost doubled), global surface air temperatures rose 1.5 degrees Fahrenheit in the last century with the steepest increase in temperature coming in the past 50 years, 11 of the last 12 years ( from 1995-2006) are the warmest since accurate recordkeeping began in 1850, the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets have shrunk in both area and mass, mountain glaciers and snow cover have declined in both hemispheres and in places like the Himalayas, the snow cover may disappear all together by 2030, many species of plants and animals are responding to temperature changes by changing their migration patterns and permanently moving to higher elevations or closer to the poles. Lots of people disagree with some or all of these statements. There are independent studies to both support and discount all of this information. In my opinion, each individual study has to be examined carefully to see how they did the experiment and who funded the work. As a scientist, I know that just about any piece of data can be manipulated.

4. The earth's climate has changed throughout history (there are 7 documented cycles of climate change measured by glacial advance and retreat). Not very controversial. Most people who discount human induced climate change use the argument of cyclical climate change to support their opinion.

5. The rate of current climate change is progressing much faster than any of the previous warming cycles. Again, different studies have different findings. The majority of respectable studies (a judgement call made by me) agrees that the temperature began increasing at a faster rate beginning at a time point that corresponds to the start of the Industrial Revolution.

6. The levels of carbon dioxide (a greenhouse gas) are higher now than they have ever been in the last 650,000 years as measured by atmospheric evidence preserved in tree rings, coral reefs, and ice cores. Same deal. Different studies say different things, but this is a general consensus. A source of carbon dioxide that is released into the atmosphere comes from burning fossil fuels (something that we humans have control over).

So...what does all of this mean? Well, to me this means that yes, climate change is cyclical, but humans are doing a pretty good job of speeding things up. Why should we care about this? Well, for several reasons. First, climate change affects a wide variety of things including agricultural yield, species extinction, flooding, availability of fresh water, etc. Secondly, I think that we have a divine responsibility to tend to the earth in a responsible way. God gave us this beautiful garden to live in and instructed us to be good caretakers of it. I'm pretty sure we are dropping the ball on that one. I have no idea what the correct solution to this problem is. However, I take issue with people who contend that global warming is a myth because they disagree with policies and strategies that have been put forth as solutions. To me, the evidence is clear. Global climate change exists and is being sped up by increased production of greenhouse gases. While this is my conclusion, I would encourage everyone to dig and come to their own conclusion.

To end this ridiculously long post, I would like to borrow something my friend Katie said regarding this issue. "As with many other issues, we all allow man-induced conflict and controversy to divert our attention from God’s desires for us; to let man’s interpretation warp a kingdom issue." It's my belief that climate change is a kingdom issue. God wants us to be good stewards of this planet and to do so we must acknowledge and find a solution to the problem of global warming. I will now be stepping down from my soap box.

Breathe

I love this video. This is the only full length version that I could find online. Watch it. Seriously.

Part 1:

Part 2:

Housing Crisis

We moved from Cincinnati to Nashville almost a year ago. We still own our house in Cincinnati. It's been on the market for over a year now and hasn't sold yet. That kind of sucks. We are currently living in a rather nice apartment in Nashville. Our lease is going to be up soon and we need to decide whether we want to sign another one (which of course, then rent has significantly gone up) or find somewhere else to live.

While we are certainly not hurting as much as some families, our own personal housing crisis has definitely effected me. This whole house situation has kept me up more nights that I would like to admit to. When we first put our old house on the market, I was sure that God knew what our time frame was and would make sure it sold in time for our move. I mean, God loves me, right? He knows what I need, right? It was Him that facilitated our move to Nashville in the first place, right? I was sure He'd come through. Our moving date came and went and the house didn't sell. And here we are, a year later, and the house still hasn't sold. The house that I love and that I would pick up and move to Nashville if it was physically possible.

I've been through several emotional phases over the last year regarding this situation. First there was hope. Then disappointment. Then stress. Then I tried to ignore the whole situation. Then stress. Then hope. Then more disappointment and stress. My prayer life also went through phases. At first, I was praying regularly to God asking Him to let our house sell quickly. Then I pleaded with Him. Then I stopped talking to Him about it. Then I would mention it every once in awhile. Now, I'm in the occasional pleading phase but mostly trying to ignore it.

I'm smart enough to realize that my timeline is not God's timeline and that He is probably using this situation to teach me about His provision. Blah, blah, blah. My head knows these things, but they haven't downloaded to my heart yet. Ideally, I would love to sell our house in Cincinnati so that we can buy one here in Nashville and put down some roots. But, I don't know what God wants. I'm trying to ask and listen. Your prayers would be appreciated.