States of Life
Now that I have your attention…
First of all, because this is such a hot-button topic, I will lay out several items. 1) I have a close family member who is gay, and who has been in several monogamous relationships, including at least one that she considered to be “marriage” before this was even a dream in the heart of legislators. I love her dearly; she is important to me, and I have no intention of causing her heartache. This is ultimately an issue between her and the Lord. 2) Having attended eight years of art school and being in the art-making business for over ten years, I have had friendships, some very close, with several peers that self-identify as gay or lesbian. Some are still following that lifestyle; some are not. Not all that have left it have done so because of spiritual conviction. I believe firmly in taking people at face value, protecting their dignity and loving them unconditionally. I have never, and will never, shun or attack someone because of their sexual orientation. 3) I am intentionally not posting this on my facebook or twitter because I don’t believe that a one-liner world is the place to have an intelligent discussion about this. Because a blog from a teeny church in New Jersey is. Ha ha. 4) Be it ever so unpopular, I know Whom I have believed, and believe that His Word is unchanging, true for all time, and I am always seeking to become more literate in the Biblical narrative and underlying meaning as a whole. I am committed to Jesus Christ, and I believe His is the way of Truth and Love.
Now. I’ve been very troubled by the growing wave of believers in Christ that are willing to go along with the movement to legalize same-sex marriage. Somehow we have believed the age old half-truth about God being a God of love and acceptance. “Isn’t God a God of love?” we hear the pundits say (most recently, Brian Lehrer from WNYC in his completely irresponsible and sensational coverage of the NY situation). And then a well-meaning person on the other side will say, “Well, that’s the way marriage has always been.” Then Brian will invoke the example of slavery in the Bible. And the whole argument goes down the tubes. (more…)
Posted by Vesper on June 10th, 2009 in May 2009, Society, States of Life | 5 Comments »
Time was, when the pastorate was something that fine, respectable families sent their children off to do; it was a mark of honor on the family to say that their child was becoming a priest or pastor. Maybe that had to do with the rigorous study involved; kind of like having a “My Child is an Honor Student at XYZ School” bumper sticker. (And if I had a bumper sticker, it’d probably be the “My Kid Beat Up Your Honor Student” one. OK, well, I digress.) My point is that I think those days are over. The days of ministry as a symbol of respectability and achievement, and yes, of power, are being replaced by a new paradigm. It’s one we’ve heard of before, but I believe that the rubber is about to hit the road. These are the days of servant leadership.
When I say this, take it with a huge grain of salt–try to forget the messenger for a minute. I’m so at the beginning stages of this, that it’s only 1% past theory for me. But it’s something that God is pressing home. (more…)
Posted by Vesper on June 10th, 2009 in Going Deeper, May 2009, States of Life | No Comments »
The Five Fold Ministry: Individuals, part of a whole.
“The seasons of our ministries is over. It’s the hour of Christ and the corporate manifestation of Him in us.” –Allen Hood
When I had been a Christian for just a few months, I was sitting on a greyhound bus, and the Lord spoke to me as clear as day: “Denominations are not going to matter. People are going to unite under the banner of Christ.” I understood that to mean that denominations would still exist, but that people would not define themselves by them as they had in the past. And I can tell you–I wonder if you agree–that since I became a Christ-follower 15 years ago, that is most definitely true. I think that happens when people meet the Man first, and not just his messengers. He’s irresistible–a huge cornerstone–to fall upon or be crushed by. And I think that when we meet Him, we see less and less of ourselves, while at the same time he makes us more and more who we are.
The Five Fold Ministry
God has been bringing the “five-fold ministry” to my mind, and I’m going to post a couple of entries about it. Ephesians 4 says that when Christ ascended, he gave some gifts to people: the gifts to be apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers. Some people may have more than one of these–and it’s possible that some may have none of these. I don’t think this list is exhaustive, but it has an important purpose, which I’ll discuss in part 2. In any case, I believe that the Lord is awakening and honing people; awakening them to their callings and mandates, because a time is coming, yea, is already here, when we are going to need to know exactly which direction to move in; which area to put our energies in. (more…)
Posted by Vesper on April 30th, 2009 in April 2009, Going Deeper, States of Life | 4 Comments »
I’ve recently started back in web design, after a hiatus based on the fact that I’d rather be illustrating. In researching some current design issues, I came across this great blog entry that I thought would be of interest to all working mothers, and anyone pondering issues of women’s equality and gender roles. (And for the designers here at Lamb, a great blog in general!)
Design Observer article by Michael Beirut
It is very interesting to me, because it states the obvious, as much as we would like it to be different: That the reason there are so few female “superstars” in the design world is because of the choice of many female designers to leave the field for a time, or at least slow down their self-promotion, to focus on raising families.
The glass ceiling is a very real thing, i believe, but I do believe it is true that family vs. career is often an either-or thing for women.
As always, I invite your comments.
Posted by Vesper on January 13th, 2009 in January 2009, States of Life | 1 Comment »
Someone once asked me if our youth group tradition of the “CHRISTMAS BALL” was born out of Troy’s silent rebellion to his Pentecostal upbringing (his version of “Footloose”, if you will…) or my deprived home schooled soul, who never had a prom…
Hmmm….
Perhaps the answer to the question would be… Yes. Yes to both. :) But really…
For the past five years, the youth ministry of L.O.G., has held the tradition of an annual Christmas Ball (a glorified dance party) to celebrate the birth of our King – Jesus Christ. Every year the students come dressed in semi-formal wear and together we dance the night away, while mix master, DJ’ Marco spins his music for us. It’s one of my favorite youth group events. I love seeing our kids so dressed up and dancing. We have a pretty good looking bunch of kids who have got some smooth moves…
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Posted by Vesper on December 25th, 2008 in Contributing Authors, December 2008, IHOP trip, States of Life | 3 Comments »
I did not vote for either major candidate today. Even though I LOVE Obama and strongly agree with him on 99% of the issues. I donated to his campaign twice. I feel really, really great about my choice though. I wrote in a pro-life democrat that wasn’t even running, on a suggestion from a friend. God showed up with a way for me, at the 11th hour. Praise you, Jesus–you are so good, kind and attentive to the way my heart works.
I have a consistent ethic of life–which means that i am against the shedding of blood in any way–by killing unborn babies, the death penalty, torture, people dying through lack of universal health coverage, destroying the environment, etc. I consider myself a feminist–I believe that anything that is against life is against women and vice-versa. Abortion is a big eugenics experiment and it baffles me that people actually fight for the “right” to shed innocent blood.
The reason I favored Obama originally (until even a few days ago!) was because of his social agenda, including his “abortion reduction plan”. I believed it until I saw the video of him at a Planned Parenthood pledging to sign FOCA (Freedom of Choice Act) into law as one of his first acts in office. To me, you can’t have it both ways. You can’t reduce smoking by pandering to the tobacco lobby. If, as I’ve heard Obama insiders say, he is personally against abortion, why is he making any promised to PP? That’s hypocrisy writ large.
As far as being a “single issue voter”, fine–but I ask myself this: Where would I have wanted to be counted on the single issue of Slavery? Abortion, like slavery, is an issue that trumps every other, even those social issues that I strongly favor, because it is a foundational issue of what it means to be human (as slavery was). If we don’t believe in the dignity of every human being in the womb, what right have we to fight for that dignity when they’re adults?
At the end of the day, though, I know this was a very difficult choice for every Christian I know. There’s not one Christian I know of who did not agonize over this. What I saw was that every one of you, in your heart, wanted to please the Lord, and I believe with all of mine that it’s the heart that He sees, and that he’s pleased with our desire to please Him. Lord, help us–bring our country back to you in the way only YOU can do–by wooing the HEART.
Posted by Vesper on November 4th, 2008 in November 2008, States of Life | No Comments »
Psalm 118:8-9 It is better to take refuge in the Lord
than to trust in man. It is better to take refuge in the Lord
than to trust in princes.
I am meditating on “Empty Arms”. Tonight I was looking through an old photo album that I brought home from my grandmother’s house that had a lot of my baby pictures in it, and it also had photos from the wedding of my mom and stepfather. I’ve looked at it now about five times, but tonight, something about it took off a scab I thought was healed. I’ve forgiven my stepfather many times over the years, but it is so deeply seated in that primal place of the parent-child relationship that I know it will be with me until I die. He chose to empty his arms of me early on. I have never know what it is like to be held by an earthly father, and I never will. Empty arms.
Today, my son jumped off of his bunk bed with a stringy stuffed animal around his neck. Thankfully, all he got was a flesh wound (a nasty one). But don’t think it escaped me in how many different scenarios
he could have gotten seriously hurt, or worse. I faced the possibility of empty arms, as every mother does at least once in her motherhood. But there is Ben’s cousin, Sarah, sitting in a hospital room with her 7-year old, who is suffering with lymphoma, whose pain meds don’t even take because the chemo sucks them right out of his little body. And he is scared. He looks at his mom with pain and fear in his eyes, and she is powerless to do anything. She faces the very real possibility of empty arms.
Sisters, this world is painful. I know it with you. Whether by choice or not, our arms will ache with emptiness at least once in this world. The only thing we can do it throw them up in the air, with a raw, vulnerable heart open to the only one in whom we can take refuge: Jesus Christ, the one who allowed himself to be pried out of the Father’s arms. Oh, to think–that every mother who has ever had to bury a child, and every child who has never known a parent’s tenderness–has an intercessor who sympathizes. A Father and a Son who emptied their arms of each other in order to fill them with you and I.
And so how can we ever cause each other strife? Oh, sisters, we need to embrace each other, put aside grievances, expectations, slanders, misunderstandings, and simply…ache with each other when it aches, rejoice when it’s really good…but guard ourselves against strife and fill each other’s empty arms with each other and with Christ.
Posted by Vesper on July 17th, 2008 in Going Deeper, Healing, Musings, Sharing Jesus, States of Life | No Comments »
Ladies (and lurking gentlemen),
I need your best one-dish, 30 minute meals. Especially great if they’re grain-free, but I’ll take anything. Let’s help each other get dinner on the table. I’m sure all you harem girls have a hot dinner on the table by 5 pm, but here in Esther’s place it’s PB&J or cereal about a third of the week.
Bring it on!
Posted by Vesper on November 29th, 2007 in Musings, States of Life | 8 Comments »
A review of “The Business of Being Born”, from Variety: “The statistics are sobering: Though the United States spends almost twice as much as any other nation on delivering babies, the rate of infant mortality is the second worst in the developed world. Docu cites several causes, particularly the absence of midwives from most hospitals, and a cycle of methods that seeks to impose artificial time constraints on a natural process, with an eye toward the bottom line.”
Why does birth matter? Birth matters because women and their babies are made in God’s image, and with every new life, God gets another chance to show himself through them to the world. Satan hates God and those made in His image. And if you’ve read the book “Captivating”, you understand that Satan has a special hatred for women. I really believe that. And I really believe that women matter to God. Not as a creationary afterthought, but as a vital completion, the crown of creation, the finishing brushstroke.
I have to tell you right off the bat that I consider myself a feminist. For those of you that think that’s a dirty word, let me explain. As I look out over human history, I see how from the first moment of sin, women have been specially targeted by the enemy. And look at what God pronounces will happen as a result of the first sin (I don’t believe this is his punishment, but rather the natural consequences): “Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you.” Women want to be loved, cherished, adored–yes, even worshiped, as some of my girlfriends have candidly said–and they will do stupid things to get that. The put themselves under the care of domineering men sometimes, thinking that this means protection for them. And the desire for approval from men can be so strong, that it rules over us. We should desire our husbands, and they should be over us in a protective role; but look at the wording God uses here as the consequence of sin.
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Posted by Vesper on November 14th, 2007 in Birth, Our Bodies, Ourselves, States of Life | 2 Comments »
OK, so even in Esther’s harem, kids get stomach flus and fevers and Esther doesn’t get to shower for several days, let alone blog. Well, I thank those of you that noticed that I hadn’t written in a bit. It means a lot that you’re reading. :^)
I just got back from an advance screening of a movie that I believe is going to make a lot of waves. It’s a movie produced by Ricki Lake, called The Business of Being Born. I believe every woman, especially those of us with daughters, need to see this movie. It will be in theaters in January, in NYC, San Fran and LA. Please visit http://www.thebusinessofbeingborn.com/trailer.htm for more. It is one of the best movies about birth I have ever seen (and as a childbirth educator, believe me…I have seen a LOT of them). The filmmakers did a wonderful job of conveying a message in a way that is not polarizing, not political, and not shaming–rather, it shows the possibilities for women giving birth. I really encourage you to see it in January, or get it from Netflix (February). I’m going to see about hosting a local screening so I can get it to you early. I think it is very accessible, enjoyable, funny, thought-provoking, beautiful–and important. No matter what your experience or philosophy of childbirth, you will take something away from this movie that will stay with you.
OK, and Rosie O’Donnell introduced the panel speakers. Now THAT was worth the price of admission. Let me tell you, in a room full of midwives, celebrity matters…not at all. Maybe it comes from seeing so much anatomy up-close-and-personal. OK, sorry, it’s late, and if I’m not careful, I’ll start (like Scott) talking about sleeper trains and the Cleveland 49ers. (Yeah, I know my sports. Tennis, anyone?)
Now, I promised myself that I would be careful how I used Lamb’s webspace for my own personal views. And I want you to know that I am aware that my views on birth can be controversial. But I also have something that I desperately desire women to know, and that is this: that the way we bring our babies into the world *matters*. I want to write more about this, and I will–it’s after 1:30 am, though. I’m pretty pumped up about this movie, so I could stay up all night, but I do have 2 small ones who will be up in a matter of hours. Please know, though, as I hope anyone who has personally talked to me about the subject, that my concern is for the glory of God and the encouragement of women to receive all they can from him. I mess it up sometimes, to be sure, but he knows my heart, and I do my homework. So I will pose a question for you to consider.
Why does birth matter? I mean, more than the old proverb “All that matters is a healthy mom and a healthy baby”. Why does it matter whether we have drugs, no drugs, surgery, jacuzzis, whatever? Does it really matter–to us, to our babies–to God?
I would like to let you ruminate on that question, and please comment on it. Please, please, don’t let this be a one-sided conversation. I’m not afraid of anyone’s strong feelings on this issue–I welcome them, and I welcome you. But—more later, when I’ve had more sleep.
It’s good to be back, ladies. (And Jeff. Ha ha.)
Posted by Vesper on October 25th, 2007 in Birth, Healing, Our Bodies, Ourselves, States of Life | 6 Comments »
