Hidden Waving Flags

I can already feel the tension of some of my friends as I post this photo.

I can also feel the excitement, the hope, from others.

As I have transversed through Nashville these past few weeks, I have noticed a lot of flags. This may be due to the fact that our ice hockey team, the Predators, were in the Stanley Cup recently and Nashville's annual Pride Festival was last weekend.

As I walk into coffee shops, workspaces, and businesses there are banners adorning walls and the sides of buildings. As I scroll through my feeds I notice the pride emoticon, new profile photo layouts, and even a rainbow reaction (I have yet to find out how to use).

In my particular place in life, I find it fascinating that people are willing to wave flags in the middle of the storm.... whether that be a catfish thrown in the middle of the Penguins ice arena or a rainbow flag hung on the outside of a place of business who has everything to lose.

Don't get me wrong, I am an 8 on the Enneagram (find out what you are here). Basically, that means I am a natural "challenger" of the norm; always wanting to enter into the fight and release the firestorm. I am the rare breed that feels compelled to poke the bear because it is "the right thing to do." I feel strong. I feel I can fight. I feel compelled.

When it comes to pride, flags play an important role. I think of the German flag being waved at the 2014 Fifa World Cup and how for some of my German friends, they experienced national pride for the first time in their lives. I think of our local heroes, the Predators. Having never before made it to a Stanley Cup. The national news outlets were surprised by fan support in Nashville. I also think about the rainbow flag and how almost two years ago to the day it covered everything from the internet to the White House when same-sex marriage was legalized in the US in all 50 states.

A lot of the support that is being shown lately is to combat the decade-long (and in some cases centuries-long) oppression and shame that many people have told by society in direct and indirect ways that they embody. On a small scale it means just not ranking as important: being the underdogs. On a large scale, it means being remembered only for your ancestor's atrocities or being systematically disenfranchised and even abused.

In one of the most surprising and enlightening exchanges in Genesis is the story of Hagar. The story is a kind of flag, waving as a symbol, what we are about.

Sarai is the wife of Abram when God comes and promises him as many children and grandchildren as the stars in the sky. Even though God promises that this would happen through Sarai, Sarai is nervous. So she gives her servant, Hagar, to be Abram's wife too in order to fulfill God's promise of descendants.

But Sarai comes to hate Hagar; even though the situation is the result of her own inability to believe God. She treats Hagar so badly that Hagar decides to runs away. As Hagar sits by a well, God comes to her and asks her where she has come from and where she is going. Then, God tells her that she will give birth to a son named Ishmael and that the blessing of descendants will also be hers*.

Then something amazing happens. The story says, "So she named the Lord who spoke to her, 'You are El-roi'; for she said, 'Have I really seen God and remained alive after seeing him?'" El-roi means, "The God who sees me."

You can't miss the context here. For them, "naming" only happened when you had power over someone. It is the position of influence.

We learn something from this story. It is a formative story for us.

Those who are oppressed are not only seen by God, but have the power to name God. Our sacred stories suggest that if anyone has power over God... it is the oppressed.

Now back to pride.

The Spirit of God compels Christians to go to the oppressed like God did in the story of Hagar. We must go to the oppressed, the underdog, those who have a flag to wave... and submit to being named by them.

Christians don't have a banner, we have a presence. We have a love, a blessing, a baby to give.

Humans get so caught up in trying to put people in their place. From political dualism to generational bias to sexual orientation, humans just love to put people in a box. It is natural, but it is not okay.

When Christ's body shows up, loves, and blesses... the oppressed are freed to name God "El-roi."

Don't get me wrong, I am not talking about positions, doctrines, walls, or laws.

In my heart, I feel a flag being raised up. It is not the German flag from 2014, it is not the rainbow flag from 2015, and it is not the Preds flag from 2017, but you could say in encompasses all of those flags. It is a flag for the oppressed that waves in every Christians heart, enlivened by the Spirit of God.

That hidden waving flag rises up when others face injustice and oppression. It comes to those who are waving flags and it stands next to them.

If you feel this, it is God speaking and showing up in your life.

If you want to join God and God's church, becoming breeze that blows the waving flag of the oppressed, PM me https://www.facebook.com/emilyjoannhaynes


*The whole story can be found in Genesis 16. I like the New Revised Standard Version.

25 Ways To Save Money

Poverty, Wisdom and the Unhacked Life

Recently, my family has gone through a pretty big transition. This year, we grew into a family of 4 and doubled our self-employment efforts. Our own blood, sweat, and tears (literally) are the resources we have to pay our bills... and I'm still not sure if they will be enough.

Once our taxes were all said and done last year, I had the realization that we live in poverty. This knowledge should probably cause me great distress, but honestly, I feel surprisingly grateful. There are so many people in our lives that make us more wealthy that the government knows how to measure on a Form 1099. In friendships, home-cooked meals, community connections, family support and love our lives are very, very rich.

After 2 months of marriage, when it became clear that I was going to be our family's financial guru, I knew I had a large task ahead of me. These "ways to save" were conceived over excel spreadsheets that didn't add up and the prayers for wisdom that accompanied them.

In an internet culture that strives for relevance, click-bait "hacks" have become popular ways to systematize a series of creative fixes for wherever you may feel is a pain-point. If you need an organized kitchen, ways to save time or want to become highly successful look no further than the hack articles. They will give you everything you need; everything but wisdom.

A mindset lurks behind these hacks that I have become more and more sensitive to. Like an allergic reaction that gets worse with continued exposure, I suffer from the message these articles send. They paint a world where success is dependent on cheating life.

I watched a commercial for a new rheumatoid arthritis medicine the other day that made me actually wish I had arthritis. The picture of smiling moms pushing their kids on bikes and connecting with each other was almost too good to pass up. If an arthritis medicine will also cure the longings of my soul, sign me up for the disease.

As much as I wish we could buy or cheat our way to a beautifully fulfilled life, the disease of our heart calls out to us with tears and begs us to surrender. Life is not simple, it doesn't always have happy endings. My husband, Caleb, likes to say, "Life isn't an Instagram." To me, that is wisdom.

So no, these ways to save money won't save your marriage, your longing for success or your loneliness. For those things, you need wisdom (and I would suggest a hospitable faith community, a counselor, and some good coffee while you are at it).

I hope this article can remind you today, that we are all just barely making it out there and you are not alone. I also hope these practical tips will spur some creativity about how you can do the hard work of poverty, wisdom and the unhacked life.

The List

1. Choose An Honest Mechanic

Finding an honest mechanic is about as easy as figuring out how the physical part of the internet works (amazing by the way). Don't give up! There are very few things that will cost you more unnecessary money over the years than relying on a dealership or an oil change place to tell you what is wrong with your car. They prey on women, ignorance, and fear. One oil changing company told my husband they could not give him our car back because it was too unsafe to drive, which was a ridiculous way of trying to pressure him to let them "fix" some unbroken part. He promptly drove to our HONEST mechanic, Robert, who checked it out and said it was fine. 

2. Think About Gifts

Five minutes before we rush out the door to a birthday party I think, "Oh no, what are we going to give them!" Let's stop at Target on the way and I'll grab something I tell my husband, who is frustrated that we will be late. I'm confident this has never happened to anyone else, but I think I still can help cut down the high cost of fancy gifts for family and friends for you. The key is to think. It is amazing how revolutionary this idea is in our consumer culture. Think about someone's special day far enough in advance to plan a great gift that doesn't break the bank. Our family and friends love us; not our cheaply crafted Target emergency guilt-purchases. Thinking how to celebrate someone's life can be as simple as thinking deeply about that person and the things they need or love. I know everyone is not good at it, so I suggest cheating a little. See if they have an Amazon wish list, Pinterest board or check their Facebook posts for ideas. Create something that they love like home-made pickles or give them a night out by volunteering to babysit their kids for free. If it is a child you are buying for, ask the parents what they are into right now or what experiences they would like to have. As a parent, I would love to have a say in what my children receive. 

3. Social Crowd Source
Use this sparingly, but in areas that the cost of something new is high and the likelihood of someone else having an old one sitting in their Goodwill donate pile is also high: throw up what you need on your favorite social media platform. I have used this a few times with great success. Sometimes, I wanted to purchase something used to cut costs and consumerism (like an extra set of baby monitors when I had #2) and sometimes I was trying to keep from paying retail (like an old phone when mine broke). I would venture to guess your community wants to help you if they can, and they can’t if they don’t know what you need!

4. Throw Cheap Parties
So your graduating, your baby is turning 1, you have an annual Christmas cookie party, or you are throwing your best friend's bachelorette party: start with an informed budget. Check out the elements that are essentials (for me that is always paper invitations, food and décor). Draft some line items and put down something reasonable and affordable. If you can only afford $15 then read this great post about throwing your kids birthday party for that. You can do it! It may not be everything you wanted, but when you simplify a party you have more time to focus on celebrating in the midst of it instead of hosting. That should be your #1 goal. Tips: Borrow, borrow, borrow. Find someone who regularly gets asked to host parties and ask if you can go through their party stash and borrow a few things. They are usually more than happy to share the love with a friend. Party stuff is expensive and only gets used a few times. Ask away.

5. Credit Card Churning
I am not a big advocate of credit card churning for one reason: it is complex and I want life to be as simple as possible. However, when you are planning on spending a bunch of money at once (think home renovations or buying a new car), consider signing up for a card or two that will give you a massive amount of credit card points for spending 2-4K in the first 3 months. Then go to Hawaii for you 30th birthday like I’m doing next year. Just be sure and cancel the cards before the first annual fee hits.

6. Eat at Home
For the first time in history, Americans are spending more money at restaurants than they are buying groceries to cook at home. In Michael Pollen’s documentary series, “Cooked” research draws a correlation between the amount of time you spend cooking at home and how healthy someone is. Home cooked meals are not only more nutritious, but they are WAY less expensive. Tips: Buy snack food too and treats if you eat them. That will save a bundle at convenience stores and late-night ice cream runs. 

7. Barter
It is not practical for every area of life, but bartering is the only way to eliminate the government from taxing trade. Swap goods, food and childcare. There is really no limit to the kind of things you can barter. I’m currently looking for more ideas about how to barter. If you have some, share!

8. Chiropractic Care
If you know me well at all, I have probably talked about Chiropractic at some point with you. I can sing those praises all day. About 6 years ago I was in constant pain while sitting, standing and lying down. My doctor at the time gave me some exercises to do, when that didn’t work he said he wanted to diagnose me with Fibromyalgia. I asked him, “What is that?” His response, “It is something we use to diagnose women when they have pain and we don’t know why.” That is when I started researching Chiropractors in the area. I found one and after a few tears about the price, an adjusted billing amount and a couple months of visits I was pain-free. To maintain health and freedom from pain, I continue to go about 1x a month or more often if I am pregnant or sick. My AWESOME chiropractor has cured ear infections for my daughters, colds, headaches and most miraculously, the TMJ had since I was a child. You may be asking yourself how this saves you money. Chiropractic care cures problems that surgeons and physical therapists hundreds of thousands of dollars to cure with surgery and exercise. It is proven that prevention is way less expensive than full-blown disease. Chiropractic are is a way to feel good now and let your wallet feel good later.

9. Get Rid of your Clothes Dryer
So you have a couple kids and this doesn’t sound appealing. I might agree if I had done it after having kids, but let me try to sell you on it.
Reason #1 your electric bill: A dryer uses up more energy than almost any other single item in your house, get rid of yours and you should see an immediate drop in how much you are paying
Reason #2 your clothes: My family recently watched the documentary True Costs. Well that just changed everything about how we buy clothes, but also how we care for them after we have them. It affirmed the desire in us to keep our clothes as long as we can. Did you know that not drying your clothes means they will last 2x as long?
Reason #3 the environment/global warming (yes, you can call me a hippie now): Dryers are one of the largest pollutants in a house emitting gasses into the atmosphere and burning dirty coal that adds to global warming. The most immediate way you can subsidize your carbon footprint is to switch to solar power when it comes to drying your clothes.

10. Weatherize and Thermostatize

Okay "thermostatize" is not a word, but if you live in Nashville and qualify, weatherization could be free. Check here and here. There are likely similar programs in other cities. Weatherization is sealing up cracks, installing insulation and providing repairs that make your home stay warmer in the winter, cooler in the summer and cheaper all the time. The idea is both eco-friendly and budget friendly. Weatherization fixes the problems that cost you and our limited energy resources unnecessarily. When I say thermostatize I mean to try to set you thermostat as close to 68 degrees in the winter and 78 degrees

11. If you need a pet, get a turtle

Call me a hater but after paying for the pet, shots, litter, food, bedding, treats, pet rent and for all the shoes you will have to replace a turtle is the money-saving pet of choice. Just be sure your pet is legal.

12. Unsubscribe
Groupon taught me an important lesson: if you see a great deal on a massage you start to think how much you could use a massage. Quickly you realize how much you need a massage and in a moment of weakness when you really just need sympathy from your boss or care from your spouse, you buy said massage. It was a good deal after all. As my mom said when she went on a budget for the first time at 59 years of age, “I have just got to stop going to stores.” Good advice mom, but remember to keep marketers out of your inbox too. If the email is selling you something, unsubscribe. Especially if it is something you are tempted by.

13. Switch to Save
There are a few industries that for whatever reason are both highly competitive and highly corrupt. The two that stand out to me the most are car insurance companies and cell phone companies. Both of these areas of your budget you will have to deal with, but chances are, if you haven’t reviewed your plan or changed providers in a while, you are probably missing the best rates in the biz. I know it is time-consuming, but renegotiating your plan or changing providers every two years could save you as much as $100 a month between these two line items. Tips: add roadside assistance to car insurance for a couple dollars a month instead of paying for AAA. Know what you need before you go shopping for a cell plan and talk to a friend who works in the business before you talk to a salesperson. If your phone breaks ask friends for old phones before you go buy a new one.

14. Refer Your Friends
Remember how I like massages? Sometimes you can get them for free. Add value to a business that you really believe in: refer your friends. I remember after referring at least half a dozen friends to my chiropractor, he was saying thanks and I said, “How about a free massage?” He said, “You got it.” There are a ton of businesses that offer referral kickbacks or benefits, but I found the most valuable ones are the ones you have personal relationships with that you will actually have to ask for.

15. Borrow it
I have a library in my mind of who owns what. I’m not a creeper, I love to throw awesome parties and a great party is in the details. So I remember who has those awesome serving platters, the beautiful tablecloths, the chalkboard signs, the nice cream and sugar containers and the pretty winter décor. I don’t ask to borrow stuff that I think someone is likely to use or need, I try to stick to the stuff in storage. Party supplies are expensive, so when I ask around my friends are usually happy someone is using the thing they spent so much to use once or twice.

16. Community Supported Agriculture
Some would probably describe my cooking/eating as picky, but I am really only picky about one thing: quality. Give me a corn-dog or raw kale and I’ll be into it as long as it doesn’t have high-fructose corn syrup, isn’t laced with pesticides and doesn’t have ingredients that have been injected with a virus to modify its genes. My grocery budget is the only budget that I plan to increase in coming years. Quality is a huge value. While I feel spoiled at Whole Foods, I might miss a mortgage payment if I shop there on a regular basis. For the past 5 years, my family has shared a single share of a 30-week CSA with another family. Not only does sharing cut the cost of all my vegetables to $10 a week, many of the foods are labeled “free choice” meaning, even for as little as $10 we can get as many sweet potatoes or tomatoes we can eat that week. We have also done a fabulous meat CSA at times. Oh yeah, did I mention the vegetables are all locally grown and biodynamic? I’d say “beet that,” but I’m not corny.

17. Taxes the Professional Way
It is tempting to do it online yourself for free. I mean if you are making about 40K, it seems pretty straight forward. BUT if you own a business, a house, are a pastor, or are even close to low income, you should definitely use a tax professional. Tax law is just too complex and too important when it comes to credits, deductions, business expense and clergy. It might cost you a little, but you will likely see a bigger refund (or at least less expense). It is painful to pay, but this is one area where a calculated cost could save you a lot. There are free programs, but just make sure the person you use is a specialist in the areas you need. 

18. Don’t Opt Out of Worker’s Compensation
Just. Don’t. Do. It. Under certain circumstances, you may be eligible to opt out of paying the mandatory worker's compensation insurance. There is a reason worker's comp is mandatory. It is important. When my husband cut 5 tendons, 2 nerves and an artery in his wrist on the job last December, we became aware of just how important worker's comp is. It pays all medical expenses and 66% of your income while you are out of work. Just be sure and apply within 24 hours of the injury or you could miss your window. 

19. Health Care
Christian Healthcare Ministries: This one not everyone will or can get into, but it will be a great option for some. Being self-employed as well as generally hating health insurance companies pushed me to search out other options. We joined Christian Healthcare Ministries about 5 years ago before both of my daughters were born. This non-profit Christian organization requires you don't smoke and that you drink only within Biblical guidelines. You also must profess to be Christian (not my rules). We have filed 4 claims in the past 5 years under their Gold Level membership, 2 for my births, 1 for a hospital stay for me and 1 for a broken nose for my husband. They have always been faithful to pay their part and I love to know my monthly contribution is going to help other's medical bills instead of the man's yacht. Oh yeah, and the best part is it only costs $300 a month and qualifies as acceptable insurance under the Affordable Care Act. Several moms I have talked to have paid $5,000 or more out-of-pocket for their hospital births, after insurance. I got to have my births my way at home and paid only $500 each time. It is a lovely program and they are lovely people. 

TennCare: The bane of my existence does really provide great care for my children. We could not afford health insurance for my kiddos without it, so I am thankful. 

20. Dental Insurance
If you are like me and have been cursed with a mouth full of a very risky inheritance, then my advice is to calculate the cost to see if dental insurance is worth it for you. We pay $64 a month for my husband and me to have insurance. This year we have probably saved about $1,500 in dental expenses because of it (that is after we paid the yearly $768 for insurance). Tip: Find a dentist you like and who likes you! I had to have a root canal and crown last November (cost: $2,500 without insurance) and this week had to have that tooth pulled because the root cracked. My WONDERFUL dentist (thanks Dr. Andrews!) is giving me a free implant and crown because he felt bad about me paying for the same tooth twice in one year.

21. Childcare Creativity
I have to admit that I have struggled with this one more than most. A recent study found childcare costs for non-school aged children has now risen above college tuition in some areas of the country. This has been a hard reality for me and my family to swallow. When my first daughter was born we were able to work out a beautiful situation of childcare-swapping with another family who had a baby about the same time. Her mother worked 16 hours a week and we were able to synchronize our schedules so that the other one of us had both children while we weren’t working 4 days a week. My mother-in-law stepped in and watched my baby on Fridays which gave me 24 work hours a week. This resulted in what looked like free childcare on paper. We also had the pleasure of developing a close relationship to that child that we still cherish to this day. After that period ended, in a great act of self-sacrifice another friend offered to watch my child for free two days a week for several months. This was a gift we will never be able to repay. Finally, as my second daughter was born and I was starting my business, we had to find something more sustainable and we enrolled my daughter in a government approved pre-school where she attends at least two days a week. My youngest is on the waiting list for the infant classroom in that preschool and we have applied for government assistance that (if we get approved) should take our weekly childcare costs down to about $84 weekly.

22. Browser Extensions
Honey: A browser extension that reads what site you are on and searches recorded discount codes. Here is the beautiful part: when you allow it, Honey tests available codes for the popular shopping site you are on and then automatically applies the one that gives the best discount. Tips: Honey only tends to work on more well-known sites.
Ebates: If you don’t spend a lot online, this won’t save you a bundle, but there is no reason not to take advantage of the money you could get back from a third party referral site like Ebates.com. They make kickback money when they refer people to retail sites and share part of that with you. The convenient thing is that they have a browser extension that prompts you to activate cash back on relevant sites. So with one-click you could literally earn dozens of dollars. The best deal I have run across was 10% back at Microsoft when I was looking at buying a $1,000 computer. Earning $100 in one second is well worth the one minute it will take you to sign up.

23. Make Baby Food & Buy Cheerios
Under these next two items I would say, “don’t have kids,” but my heart would be lying. Have kids if you can, if you can’t, adopt or foster. Adopt or foster anyway. Kids are amazing. Okay, enough mushy stuff… on to baby food. Baby food is extremely expensive for what it is: watered down simple foods that cost almost nothing when you buy them in their original state. How much is a banana? $0.10? How much is a jar of banana baby food that contains about 1/3 of an actual banana? $1. That is 30x the cost! Don’t get suckered into advertising. It is a little more work, but pureeing food is about as easy as it gets when it comes to cooking. I use the Baby Bullet and the same brand steamer. I puree bananas, avocados, squash, carrots, potatoes, peas, rice, mac and cheese, pears and watermelon. I buy cans of organic beans and corn. I buy simple oat baby cereal. I buy organic hummus, plain yogurt, and applesauce. After your baby can handle those little pieces of puff gold, see if they can handle Cheerios (or the off brand), you will save about 90%. Be smart don’t buy in.

24. Cloth Diaper
There is a small percentage of people who might be swayed to cloth diaper if you’re just starting out… I’m talking to you! Diapers are VERY expensive and are packed with chemicals. Some are natural and even biodegradable, but they are MORE expensive and there is nowhere (around Nashville) to take industrial biodegradable compost. There is a very cheap, very natural, very eco-friendly way to pamper that smooth baby booty. Cloth diapers can be very cheap if you want to work a little harder (think pre-folds and covers) or a little more expensive up front if you want it to be easy. I spent about $270 of gift money up front and received several diapers and supplies at my baby shower to get the one-size, all-in-one options. You can buy used diapers on Craigslist or other like-sites and you can use cloth wipes. Modest estimates are that cloth diapers will save you about $500 a year after the initial costs.

25. Understand Life Insurance
This is an important one because if an accident happens, your family will be dependent on your planning or lack thereof around life insurance. In my opinion, there are few things more confusing than understanding the different kinds of life insurance and why you would need one kind or amount over another in different seasons of your life. I never understood it myself until I met with a financial advisor who literally drew me a map of a lifespan and explained why we might need certain life insurance now that we won't need later. We ended up taking half a million dollar more out in life insurance after that conversation and I feel much more confident about our plan in the event of a tragedy. Check out David Pankake if you need an advisor of your own.

Bringing hope out of the shadows

- http://www.harmreduction.org …

First time looking at this website after reading an article about Harm Reduction in a current Contributor article (the Nashville homeless paper). I have literally been shocked by this whole thing.
The idea that we can create “safe space” for something so destructive as drug use is ridiculous. At its core it’s back to the whole “give our teenagers condoms” bit… except some would argue perhaps it’s a step further.

After looking at the website for only 10 minutes so far it has peaked on the topic of equality over and over again. I understand that they are presenting the difference when it comes to the kind of medical attention a lot of those “different” or “lower class” people receive. Therefore basically saying that upper class folks have the opportunity to essentially shoot up in safety, while there are thousands of poor folks who don’t get that “privilege.”

To me it’s as if we’ve lost all faith when we’ve resigned to something as horrid as this. Yes, I agree that the repercussions of “unclean” drug use are extreme and disastrous, but aren’t the repercussions of “clean” drug use just as damaging? People continually decide to jump out of airplanes and so we try to be there at the door to hand them parachutes each time they jump? Do we throw mattresses on the ground so as to ease their hard fall?
So what then, do we have no hope to speak of for tomorrow!? Hope says, “please sir, please, stop jumping… down there is only pain and a life filled with sorrow and a false reality… come with me, there is something to live for!” And so you say “haven’t we tried this before?” Yes, of course we have! And have people found hope? Yes in fact they have! But do we continue to see HIV, Hepatitis C, and overdosing? Sadly, yes we do. So what then? The fact is there will always be suffering and pain in the world. There will always brokenness around us. But most of all, there will always be hope and there will always be a better life. If we find ourselves running around trying to reduce the size and consequences of our harmful actions we will always be throwing pillows under falling children and never helping them to grow. Do I believe having clean needles as opposed to dirty ones are good? Yes, I do. But do I believe there is more hope than that and that there are better ways? I most certainly do. If you really want to start dreaming about doing some good in the world in relation to harm reduction, make a friend who really needs a friend. Most people in life who are homeless or who are at the “bottom of the chain” are there because they have little to no social connections. Imagine if you had no friend or family to turn to, no one who cared about you? Who would you be? Where would you be? What would you be doing? It’s when we can begin to give of ourselves, jump in and grab somebody who really needs us instead of handing them a band-aid through a glass window, that hopefully we will not only begin a process of healing but also begin a real healing relationship. And just maybe in the midst of it all learn a little more of what life is about ourselves.

I understand that these are real people with real problems. That you can’t just ‘step right out’ of an addiction (unless of course God’s hand is directly at work to do so). I do think there should be organizations to help people reduce the harm they do to themselves through drug use! But we simply can’t treat it all as if it’s “okay.” Recovery should never just be an option but the goal. Just as I was recently on the Harm Reduction webpage a video link appeared called “After Party videos,” as I clicked I was taken to these videos that we’re titled with names like Ecstasy or Marijuana telling me to “Hit it right” and use a condom. So basically I’ve got the Harm Reduction Coalition straight up telling me that it’s all good if I’m getting ready to shoot up my stuff at the after party just as long as I’ve got my clean needles. Am I supposed to believe that this is about changing lives, really?
Lives become changed when we are willing to give our own lives for others to find theirs, not when we show them how to party safely. Until then we may just be covering a wound instead of healing it. Those who are wounded need people like you and me, people who are also wounded from relationships and brokenness caused by this fallen world. They need us to come beside them and declare that there is life beyond the brokenness and that we are in this thing together. Our lives, amidst the hurt and pain, are meant to be a vessels of hope for those around us. So then, we must get beyond wallowing in our own pain while trying to stick bandages on others and learn how to use our fragile lives and it’s scars to help mend our brothers and sisters and speak a word of hope.

Thoughts for Goodness-sake

I'm currently sitting in a coffee shop of which ive only been to now twice, staring out the window watching some guy who from a distance remarkably reminds me of James Earl Jones washing the window of some car accross the street. ... probably not him, but you never know. What is it with coffee shops and white people. Its actually kind of ridiculous lol. Give us some cozy furniture, something warm to sip on, and a few good tunes, and bam! we're there!

Anyway, i'm actually trying to work on a message that I plan on giving in the very near future... but sometimes you just have to push the reset button on your head and wait a little while.

Okay so the first time I was here there were like 5 other people... and I'm starting to wonder if that was just because it was snowing that day... because its way too crowded now :/
theres like some random photo shoot going on in front of me and a bunch of people chatty everywhere...
On one hand its fun because I think people watching is always interesting but on another hand its kind of frustrating if you're trying to concentrate on anything important..

On another note, my feet are freezing... why are my feet always cold?

This blog is beginning to sound kind of sad lol!

Anyway, i've determined that there are alot of good things happening in the world...

But It’s funny to me because most good things I know that are going on in the world.. non-profits, clubs, random groups doing acts of kindness… have almost always been started by Christians…

Anyway as I am sitting in this coffee shop, the one on music row with all the “cool people”… Everyone here just looked so darn trendy!

I even caught myself looking down to see what I was wearing as I sat thinking:… man I hope it’s ok that I’m wearing this scarf I bought for 50 cents at the Christian thrift store…

Anywho, as I’m sitting here noticing there are only younger white people in this place.. these two guys come in, one white American about my age.. and the other of some middle Eastern ethnicity who was a little older...

They sat down at the bigger table in the place and I over-heard a little of their conversation…

The white guy was welcoming the other and telling him about the “group” that apparently he was in and that this meeting was about…

I didn’t catch it all but enough to over hear that he was a Christian and also all his friends who like began this club to welcome people like him (foreigners) to Vanderbilt or something…. And as I sat there several other people began to join them, a few Asians, a German, and some other ethnicities I believe.

The thing that I would say I find ironic, even though other people may be offended by the statement… is that God is behind all truly good things
The ironic part is that many people who are doing good in the world find themselves in the middle of all sorts of beliefs or none at all…
But… ALL Good things ultimately come from the Source of All Goodness....

But the difference between those who follow Jesus and express love through good deeds in the world and other people who just give themselves to good things in the world, is that the ultimate end for those who follow Jesus is Jesus. Everything we do comes out of our desire for Christ and that gives us the strength to run and not grow weary...
Being spurred on to do good by any other desire... to do good for the sake of any other reason but Jesus... will always fall short of true purpose.

How can you do good apart from The True Good?

Networking

I’m witnessing how it seems that our culture and our technology is and will continue to push us, the consumers of them, into hyper drive.
By the force of such a fast paced culture, the cultural business that we so easily become sucked into, in turn sucks us dry and empty. This is because it’s not just a culture that says things should be fast and instantaneous... but it is a culture that continually seeks to increase its speed, and so when do we stand up and say, ok I think that’s fast enough? Especially if the old saying holds true that time is money.
Not many more things grab the hearts of men than their paycheck.

And the other side of the coin is technology. Our fast pace culture and our continual absolute craving for new technology go hand in hand. These new tools and toys give us superhuman abilities to try and accumulate our normal pace human bodies and brains to a higher rate of movement... in which I’m not so sure we were designed for.

I believe in all of this there will be one particular thing that, as we see now as a huge leap into something great, will and is coming back to burn us all out.
- And that is our ability to Network.
Our networking abilities, now through our culture and technology, is in all sense of the word, awesome. Who would have thought just 100 years ago we would be where we are now. The fact is we can connect with pretty much anyone we want to across the world, practically in an instant. Well anyone within our social sphere that is, a sphere that is in actuality massive and continuing to grow.
We live in an age when every time we meet someone now, they are no longer simply a new friend, or new relationship, or just a person passing through our lives, they are now connected into part of our network... they are opportunity.
We ask questions like, “how can I influence this person toward my causes”, or “how can this person’s abilities be used for this purpose” ...

In the beginning stages, which in many ways we are just getting on our feet with this, there is a lot of good things that can be done in the world through such networking.
We’ve already accomplished a great deal in such a short amount of time because of it.

But I would also say we’ve probably caused a great deal of damage as-well.
Now, I will take a second to say that I am not against technology; I use these platforms almost as much as the next guy. But I’m coming to a realization that I don’t think we are necessarily “wired” in a way that we are supposed to be “connected” to so many outlets.

I’m finding that our to do lists and tasks are ever increasing with this new speed and these new platforms, while at the end of the day, our one mind and our two hands are still what is behind the wheel of these fast cars.
Eventually we will find ourselves driving at speeds we can no longer control, (if we haven’t already) and we’ll crash and burn.

Call me crazy, but I think we’re created to live this life for a singular community, for only a couple purposes at a time.
I think that’s when the Kingdom comes the most.

Transformational buildings or bust

Every time I’m at Blakemore there is always someone here. It’s a pretty funny sometimes because I’ll be in the office or something then hear doors opening and closing, you never know who will be popping in next.
Its actually pretty amazing, I’ve been around church buildings all my life, always in and around when no one else is ever there... which is pretty close to any time other than Sundays and Wednesday nights.

I’d say they’re onto something here. This building is used for... I don’t know how many random things.
I’ve thought for a long time that church buildings were mostly the biggest waste of space. And I still believe that if you are starting a church; do it without a building.

But the truth is there are tons of these old, and new, church buildings sitting around everywhere (at least in the southeast).
Church buildings seem to me to be good for nothing sometimes, but perhaps...
that’s the very reason they are good for a lot of things.

Perhaps now the only way many pastors and churches can redeem their buildings are by using them as platforms.
If we decided to stop thinking about this old rickety buildings as too holy to touch, and began to think about them more like community centers... maybe the kingdom could break into these walls and so into hearts for more than one day a week.
If we could make these places not so fragile, not so stiff, not so wifi-less... then really the possibilities for a lot of these buildings are massive.

I predict, (if America is headed the direction of Germany, which I definitely think it is) that in a good 30 to 40 years we will really begin to see a wave of church building abandonment. There’s been all this hoopla lately over this historic old church building in west Nashville. The congregation built a new building and they have been trying to sell their old one. Well they couldn’t sell it, and they can’t keep paying for it when they’re not using it. So they are finally tearing this pretty old church building down.
It’s like this whole news thing in the Tennessean.
Well, I think we should probably get used to it, because I believe it will probably be the first of others to follow around here.

One day we’re going to look up and see all these old fossils, cold and lifeless, empty. And we won’t know what to do with any of them but tear them down or let them sit and rot.
They’ll be like tombstones of some former foreign world when things used to be a lot more structured in our faith.
Maybe, maybe not.

Point is, now there is still a window of opportunity for people to begin using these buildings as platforms for community. If they want to keep their buildings so bad, then they’re going to have to stop worrying about how pretty they are, about if kids run in them, about if there is food in the ‘sanctuary’ (and personally I believe if Jesus was hanging out in one of these buildings, He’d have food in the sanctuary every time He walked in, it’d just be like one big fellowship hall).
These buildings have some opportunity still, sure. But even if they all take advantage of this, they still won’t all be around in a several years... at least that’s my 2 cents.

I’ve always been frustrated by there not really being any good places you can go to read or just hangout that you don’t have to pay. If you go anywhere from a coffee shop to McDonalds you always have to buy something.
I remember when I lived in Germany and had no money at all. I always wanted to just get out of the house and go somewhere and study, or read, or just hang out. But I never had any money to do it. And believe me you don’t always want to be outside..
I just recently found out that the community center down the street that we go to sometimes is about to start charging three dollars to even go in... how stupid.
It’s official now there is nowhere to go for the poor man.

Why can’t the church building be that place. Open door policy. A nice and fun place to hang out, no strings attached. Sure we’ve got coffee and stuff, heck you don’t have to buy it though to hang out here... actually we just might give it to you.
It could be a beautiful thing.
Almost makes me want to have a church building, almost, but not quite ;)

And props to those few congregations out there that are doing that with their facilities in some form or fashion. Just like anything else worth doing, don't find yourself doing it half-way.
The church already has too many things we "produce" that are not-so-amazing quality.


Now, I will take a moment and say that I’m not against having sacred space. I believe we must all have those places that are sacred, set apart, holy, for us to go and meet with our God.
I just believe that if we are going there to meet with the God of Scripture, the God who died on the cross to pay for our sins, we shouldn’t always expect that our encounters with this God will be such a nice and tidy experience.. it’s not a nice and tidy gospel, He’s not a “nice and tidy” God.

He’s the God who calls Himself “Jahweh” “I will be whoever I will be.”

Fake potatoes, ice cream, and real people

So, I'm doing something right now that I never do. That my wife may consider as sin.
I'm sitting in a McDonald's. And not just sitting here, I've got a small fry and a chocolate sundae. Scandalous right?

Honestly, I get tired always trying to find inspiration in coffee shops. It's not always the environment either. But it seems that every coffee shop I walk into these days, (well almost anyway) is full of a bunch of people who are too much like me.
Young, mostly white, American people who are out to seek knowledge or try to do something good in the world, people who are at least dreaming about transforming lives.

I figure if we're all sitting around in the same places whose hanging out with the people whose lives we want to change?
At least that will be my excuse today for McDonalds.

It is definitely true though that McDonald's is full of a lot more colorful and different people than a coffee shop. Around me are people of all different races and ages... I avoid feeding these corporations so much that I forget people still come to these places and it gives me some kind of minor culture shock.

On a side note I'm debating seeing if the french fry effect (ya know how everyone says that McyD's fries never change no matter how long they sit around) will apply to my McDonald's ice cream... actually it's not really melting so far. hmmm..

And I definitely like the music so far... we got some linkin park, the fray, and some other old school bands...
and now that they're all going toward the McCafe look, it's actually pretty nice... with flat screens with CNN on, and little bar lights and bar stools. Nice shades of green.

Are all McDonald's like this now?

What happened to the bright red and yellow of my childhood with the huge plastic play places?

Ok, my ice cream melting now. That's probably a good sign.

Maybe this just goes to show. Don't get so caught up in dreaming good dreams, that you are too good to hang out with the real people and get some fries sometimes.