Made for a Woman

At that time Deborah, a prophetess, wife of Lappidoth, was judging Israel. She used to sit under the palm of Deborah between Ramah and Bethel in the hill country of Ephraim; and the Israelites came up to her for judgment. She sent and summoned Barak son of Abinoam from Kedesh in Naphtali, and said to him, ‘The LORD, the God of Israel, commands you, “Go, take position at Mount Tabor, bringing ten thousand from the tribe of Naphtali and the tribe of Zebulun. I will draw out Sisera, the general of Jabin’s army, to meet you by the Wadi Kishon with his chariots and his troops; and I will give him into your hand.” ’ Barak said to her, ‘If you will go with me, I will go; but if you will not go with me, I will not go.’ And she said, ‘I will surely go with you; nevertheless, the road on which you are going will not lead to your glory, for the LORD will sell Sisera into the hand of a woman.’ Judges 4:4-9

Anyone who knows me knows I am not a feminist; I like having help from a man (especially a tall one who can reach things for me). But the other day my work gloves started to give out and the equality-seeking woman in me started to show. Good construction gloves are hard to find to begin with and on top of that I have very small hands (almost kid size). But Lowes and Home Depot seem to think the only work women do is in the garden. Women have been hard-core since the Old Testament; the above is an excerpt from Judges where the prophetess and warrior Deborah is rallying a general for war against Israel’s suppressor, King Jabin of Canaan. So the general gathered his troops and Deborah said to him, “Up! For this is the day on which the Lord has given Sisera into your hand. The Lord is indeed going out before you.”(v.14). The war was a great success, but the commander, Sisera, fled the battle. He ran to a nearby tent and asked the woman inside to hide him. She was of neutral tribe, but knew what was going on; she offered him some milk and hid him under a rug. When he fell asleep she grabbed a mallet and drove a tent peg through the side of his head. Now remember I am as peace-loving as the next tree-hugger but I think even a Tibetan monk could admit that is pretty bold (and I doubt she had gloves on). Women are extreme.

And don’t forget Mary the mother of Jesus, how devoted was she? ‘Yeah God, I’ll have your baby, no big deal.’ The bible just barely touches on what she must have gone through; having to ride a donkey to Bethlehem, running to Egypt so they didn’t kill her son, losing Him in the temple. Then she saw him grow into a man, lead the disciples, preach to large crowds, heal the sick and then lost Him to the cross. She watched her own son die. Women are strong.

At Wonderful Wednesday Worship two women went forward, one to give a testimony and another because she wanted a soul change. The first just wanted to thank the church for everything they had done for her, she was a young mother with two children, both out of wedlock, who was raised in the church, left for a few years and returned a short time ago. She cried as she thanked everyone for what they had done for her and acknowledged how lucky she is to be in the Ebenezer church family. The other woman had a similar story but she was not from this church. She had gone through a nasty divorce and lost her mother, moved to Hattiesburg for a job and just recently got to her feet. It was then she realized she was still missing something, she has provided for all the physical needs of her and her children but their spirits where still lacking. She went forward for prayer and to renew her commitment to the Lord. Pastor always calls the deacons to come forward and lay hands on whoever needs prayer, but this time he called all the women who could relate with this woman to encircle her. She was still dealing with some of the dark areas in her life, such as what she had to do to keep her children fed; but as she was surrounded by women saying, “I’ve been there, don’t give up”, “Give it to God”, and “We love you” her spirit was lifted and her heart filled. Women are powerful.

I am lucky to be surrounded by great women in my life, not only do I have my own mother, aunts and grandmothers, but now I have Jordan’s mother, aunts and grandmothers. Here in Hattiesburg I live with a very wonderful woman (the superintendent of Hattiesburg Public Schools) and have had the chance to meet many more in Sunday school at Ebenezer and at St. Thomas Catholic Church. And I’ll not forget Mother Earth who gives us everything we have. Women are wonderful.

Just a little tribute to women. The pictures are from a bike ride to church and visiting the goat woman in Virginia (the goat is only two days old, and was trying to lick my face. Note Jordan in the background creeping on another goat).

The PSA for today is for something I could find in my size. These are Vibram Five Finger Barefoot shoes. Originally designed for rock climbing, but then redesigned for everything. They feel like you are barefoot and I can’t wait to dance around at Blissfest in them. Being barefoot is a way of life, a peaceful, joyful way of life and our world today has tried to make that dangerous. So we just wanted to thank Vibram for making a shoe that lets us experience the euphoric state of barefootness and safety too.


Peace and Love,
Jess and Jordan

Lean on me

“Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. For if they fall, one will lift the other; but woe to one who is alone and falls and does not have another to help. Again, if two lie together, they keep warm; but how can one keep warm alone? And though one might prevail against another, two will withstand one. A threefold cord is not quickly broken.” – Ecclesiastes 4:14

Much has happened recently and many thoughts have been on my mind, so I ask you all to bear with me on my scattered thoughts within this posting. Hopefully, I will be able to tie them all together.

First, I would like to mention that the 6th year anniversary of the Iraq War just passed by last Thursday (March 19th). I would like to call to mind not only the thousands of American men and women who have lost their lives, but also the millions of Iraqis who have lost their lives as a result of the American war in Iraq. I hope that all of you reading this may be able to take a moment to pray for an end to the bloodshed in Iraq and elsewhere across the globe.

Just the other day I was watching the last few episodes of Band of Brothers on television. For those of you who don’t know, Band of Brothers is an HBO series that was created following the true story of Easy Company from the 101st Airborne Division in World War II. This company saw their first bit of action on D-Day and fought through the bloodiest battles of the war. One of the battles was the Battle of Bastogne. This battle took place in the Ardennes mountain range around Christmas time and the ground was covered with snow. These soldiers were surrounded on all sides by Germans, lived out of holes which they dug in the ground and were constantly being fired on by artillery which they could not see. On top of this, they had no supplies and many were without food, clothes, and ammo to defend themselves. In this episode it was very clear that the soldiers limits were being pushed and many were breaking down not only physically but mentally. The only place they found warmth and comfort was with each other. They spent their time paired by two’s cuddling in their “foxholes” trying to keep each other warm and telling each other stories about their friends and family back home.

Every hour or so a new round of explosions from artillery fire would go off around them and last for 10 minutes or so. After each round, more soldiers would be found dead when the firing was done. It was the soldiers who lost their buddy which suffered most. They were left alone in the cold, silent woods by themselves sitting in a hole with death all around them. The commanders and other soldiers did their best to comfort each other, but it was not wise for them to leave their own foxholes to check on others, because the bombing could happen at any moment.

Fast-forward to today’s war in Iraq. Our soldiers are no longer fighting this sort of trench war-fare and the coldness is replaced with unbearable heat, but one thing still remains, the importance of “brotherhood” within the armed forces. Last January the Army lost 24 soldiers due to suicide. That same, month 16 deaths were also reported due to combat. This means that more soldiers died due to suicide, than combat. According to CBS, 120 veterans committed suicide per week in 2005 and the numbers have grown each year. No one knows the exact reason why this is happening, but a large amount of them are soldiers dealing with Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome. The next question is, “How do we stop this?” In the bible passage above I find a small answer: Friendship. In the bible, this passage particularly, the importance of friendship and companionship is pointed out. When a person goes through a rough time, they need another person to help bring them out of it. When soldiers comes home, they need family and friends to help bring them back to normalcy, to help them put to past the things they may have done in the war and to notice once again the beauty of life, most importantly, the beauty found in each and every individual. This beauty can only be found through the love of someone close.

Lastly, we should recall Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane the night he was betrayed. All he asked for was his apostles, his closest friends, to stay awake with him and pray. At this moment in the garden Jesus was being crucified spiritually, and coming to terms with the fact that he was to be crucified in order to carry out his fathers will. In this most trying hour all he asked for was his friends to be awake and nearby.

This week I will be thanking God for the friends and family which he has provided me. All of you have shaped my life in one way or another and without all of you I would not be as strong as I am today. I am also greatly thankful for Jess, my closest friend, and partner in my journey to be more like Christ. Finally, I would like to thank Lance, Felicia and Danny for coming out here to Hattiesburg and visiting us. It was extremely nice and refreshing to be able to spend some time with friends and just relax.

Peace and Love,
Jordan and Jess

Love Wins

If anyone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, cannot love God whom he has not seen.
1 John 4:20

We had a wonderful mini-vacation at my Grandma Wambold’s house on Tybee Island in Georgia. My brother, his girlfriend Ashley, my four-month old nephew Logan, my mother, and my Grandma Garthe all came up for the weekend. Saturday night Jade, my brother, talked Jordan, Ashley and I into going into Savannah. For those of you not familiar with the area, Savannah has the largest St. Patrick’s Day party in the United States. Now St. Patties Day isn’t until Tuesday but the party started this weekend. So we went down to River Street (think Bourbon Street, in New Orleans, the weekend before Mardi Gras). As we neared we saw more and more green beads, crazy hats, and drunken people. But the first thing we saw when we reached river level was hateful ‘Jesus’ signs (i.e. “Ask me why you are going to HELL” and another listing “Drunkards/Homos/Muslims/Catholics/Fornicators/Mormons/… YOU WILL BE JUDGED”). The group of ‘Christian protesters’ were getting lots of attention from party goers and the yelling party goers were being watched by nearby police.

The above verse ran through my head; Jordan and I had recently sent the verse to a friend in Los Angeles who was protesting against the famous Fred Phelps/Westboro Baptist Church group. They were in LA holding signs outside the Oscar Awards reading “God Hates You” (the group is best known for protesting homosexuality at soldiers funerals). The people we encountered were much more civil and signs slightly less hateful. The four of us walked by and spent a few hours down on the river doing some AMAZING people watching. But Jordan couldn’t get the protesters off his mind. After awhile he said, “You know, this is Babylon.” Looking around I couldn’t help but agree; when I think of Old Testament cities, like Sodom and Gomorrah, I do think of drunken people partying and obsessed with sex (just less green stilettos and more togas). Then thinking back to the prophets of that time they did stand and yell in the streets, telling of the impending destruction because of the people’s sin. Then we asked ourselves: As modern day Christians are we to be mimicking Ezekiel and Isaiah?

DID WE FORGET ABOUT JESUS?

Jesus came into the world with one word- LOVE. We are no longer called to stone sinners as in the Old Testament—Let he without sin cast the first stone (John 8:2-11). Jesus spent time with sinners not condemning them from a soap box. Jesus asked to stay at Zacchaeus’ house (Luke 19:1-10); he didn’t call him out of the tree to tell him his sins will send him into a fiery pit. Jesus never called the woman at the well a slut (John 4:4-29). He simply lived in a way that drew non-believers to him. (And that practice is not outdated, people did it then and throughout history. I am currently reading Little Flowers of Saint Francis Assisi – great stories of Jesus-like faith and devotion.) However, Jesus was rough sometimes, turning tables in the temple and referring to some as a “brood of vipers”; but those were believers who had gone astray. We are called to hold each other accountable. We are not to be out there judging non-Christians, a coach can’t tell kids to practice if they aren’t on the team and he never invited them to play.

On our way out we stopped and talked to one of the sign holders about everything we had been discussing. He was receptive to our message and pointed out his sign (with a verse from Romans calling everyone to be holy) was well thought out and not hateful like the others. Hopefully he will pass on the message to his fellow protesters and they will rethink how to better relay Jesus’ message of love. It is unfortunate that these protesters are shaping the view of modern day Christians. I would guess that most of the people on River Street that night were not church goers, and for some this may have been their first experience with Jesus. It is just disappointing that their first impression of our loving Christ is one filled with hate.

Peace and Love,
Jessie and Jordan

Blinding Noise

"So Balaam got up in the morning, saddled his donkey, and went with the officials of Moab. Gods anger was kindled because he was going, and the angel of the Lord took his stand in the road as his adversary. Now he was riding on the donkey, and his two servants were with him. The donkey saw the angel of the Lord standing in the road, with a drawn sword in his hand; so the donkey turned off the road, and went into the field; and Balaam struck the donkey, to turn it back on the road. Then the angel of the Lord stood in a narrow path between vineyards, with a wall on either side. When the donkey saw the angel of the Lord, it scraped against the wall, and scraped Balaam's foot against the wall; so he struck it again. Then the angel of the Lord went ahead, and stood in a narrow place, where there was no way to turn either to the right or to the left. When the donkey saw the angel of the Lord, it lay down under Balaam; and Balaam's anger was kindled, and he struck the donkey with his staff. Then the Lord opened the mouth of the donkey, and it said to Balaam, 'What have I done to you, that you have struck me three times?' Balaam said to the donkey, 'Because you have made a fool of me! I wish I had a sword in my hand! I would kill you right now!' But the donkey said to Balaam, 'Am I not your donkey, which you have ridden all your life to this day? Have I been in the habit of treating you this way?' And he said, 'No.' Then the Lord opened the eyes of Balaam, and he saw the angel of the Lord standing in the road, with his drawn sword in his hand; and he bowed down, falling on his face."

Numbers 22:21-31

Jess and I for the last week have been on a little adventure. Last Tuesday (March 3rd) we traveled with Ray to some property which he owns in Virginia. We were planning on being in Savannah Georgia by the March 10, to visit Jess' grandma and Ray was heading to his property to clear some of the land, so he offered to take us up with him, we would help him out and then he would drop us off in Atlanta where we would catch a bus to Savannah. We arrived in Virginia to Ray's property and to our surprise there was snow on the ground. Living in Hattiesburg, Mississippi we sometimes forget that it is winter elsewhere, especially when it is so warm. Our plan was to camp out of a 9 foot by 15 foot tent/shelter on his 13 acres and each day we would work to clear/thin out his property so that it can be landscaped. The first night we were there it was extremely cold with snow on the ground and temperature in the 20's. We survived the night and the next day we woke up and began work. Being in the woods was extremely relaxing and it was good for both Jess and I. Sometimes we get stressed out when we are in cities like Hattiesburg and we get caught up in our work, traffic, schedule and other frivolous things.

When we were in Virginia we woke up to the sunlight, ate and began work. We ate lunch when we got hungry during the heat of the day and ended work towards sunset so we could prepare our dinner over the campfire. Even though we were working we felt much more relaxed in the fresh air, surrounded by trees and the chirping of birds. Sometimes in houses we get caught up in the electronics, TVs, four walls and confined spaces. In our daily routine we magnify ourselves and consume our days in a hectic schedule which we create for ourselves. It is in the wilderness and peacefulness of nature which I feel dwarfed by trees and vulnerable to the elements. It is in nature that I feel the magnificence of Gods presence.

One of the days we went down the road to his neighbor who had a goat farm. On that particular day two goats had been born. We were able to hold them and learn about raising goats. On this farm we also saw a donkey. Now Jess and I had just read the above passage a couple days before going to the farm and when I saw the donkey I couldn't help but imagine it saying "Hello" to me, in a Eddie Murphy voice, just like in the movie Shrek. How amazing it would be to hear an animal speak to you! The rest of the week I reflected on that passage and how it fits in my life. I imagine Balaam had many things on his mind. He must have been concerned about the journey. He was probably thinking about what the Lord told him about Israel but also tempted by the silver and gold to disobey the Lord and help out his friend. In whatever thoughts and moments he was caught up in, he was blind to the presence of God and beat his donkey who was innocently being obedient to God. During Lent I have kept in mind the distractions in my life which blind me from the ever presence of God. Do I find myself distracted by my own daily routine that Gods presence is put aside? Am I caught up in my life to the extent that others who are obedient to God are being hurt, like the donkey? I think these are questions we all need to ask ourselves from time to time. How are we blinding ourselves to Gods presence and are we hurting those closest to us by pursuing our own pleasures and wants? In pursuing those answers I suggest spending time in silence or somewhere out of the ordinary and away from your daily routine. Whether this means turning off the t.v. and spending time in silent reflection, taking a walk on your lunch break by yourself instead of eating in the office; putting time aside to spend in a park, or elsewhere in the midst of Gods beautiful creation. Let the birds, trees and donkeys remind you of Gods ever presence.

Peace and Love,

Jordan and Jess