"The Lord looked straight at Peter. Then Peter remembered the word the Lord had spoken to him..." Luke 22:61
This past year I've been part of a group going through the Beth Moore study "Jesus the One and Only". If you're not familiar with the study series, let me just say that they are as in depth as any Bible course.
Today my reading took me to the scene where Peter denied Jesus. It hit me hard how easy it is to deny Jesus, not just by what I say or do, but by what I don't say or do. That is where I fall the hardest; when no one is aware of my shortcuts or temptation to relax with a few more minutes of TV, one more chapter in the book I'm reading and so on.
During a baptism yesterday at church I was also reminded that as a parent, I am not the only one that is impacted by my relationship with God, my children and those that live with us are also impacted. Above all, it is my children that see what I do, or do not do. Above all they are the ones that hear my harsh words or are touched by the effects of the stress I encounter. It hits me hard when I consider the challenge to keep my relationship with God on track, but when I also see how it relates to the rest of my household and those I encounter throughout the day then it hits me even harder.
As a Christian I have to remember that, as Max Lucado writes, "It's not about me." In today's world, especially in the West, that is a very radical statement. Even from Nigeria, the belief that I "deserve" certain things in life, or the idea I might "deserve" an outcome, like a job promotion, to be in my favor are the norm.
Lent is nearly over and Easter is right around the corner so it is a good time to examine how we each deny the cross in a variety of ways. Let us not be guilty of putting ourselves before God or God's will. Let us not be guilty of giving anyone we meet during the day cause to wonder whether or not we are Christians or do assume that we support an idea or attitude that is not of God.
In the end, it is so reassuring that, just as Peter discovered, Jesus does not abandon us when we forsake him. He knows the limitations of our humanity and understands that we are often so hardheaded that we have to learn some lessons many times in the course of our lives. Thankfully, He is always waiting for us to call on His divine intervention and lean on Him even more; He will even carry us if only we ask!
May you too recognize that accepting our human limitations does not deny who we are, but opens up the possibility to become who God envisions us to be!
Have a blessed day!
Dorthea
Monday, March 30, 2009
Friday, March 27, 2009
SpringBreak
It's funny how we anticapate something like a holiday and then it comes and before we hardly realize it, it is over! Our break from school was only ten days, and now there are only three left. Since I'm a teacher, I'm already thinking about the marking I hope to make a bigger dent in, reading to do, a paper teachers are expected to submit, and lessons to think about.
It's a good thing I'm trying to give up on stressing out, or I'd be climbing a tree by now.
Last month I felt like I was still dealing with crisis issues, but then I finally got around to having a debriefing and realized how much God has guided my life over the years and, amazingly, a few people have noted how much more calm I am or to ask me for advice on living in Nigeria!
Now that I've reached my mid 40's, I feel like I am finally dealing with today, today (as we say here, that means, the here and now). Tomorrow is there waiting, and being prepared for things like retirement is a wise thing to aim for, but I'm finally at that stage where I am happy with where I am in life.
I don't have to stress about finishing school like my high school students, I don't have to worry about furthering my education like the young adults around me, I don't have to worry about finding a husband (God sent me a great man!), I don't have to worry about having babies (I trust that stage has past!), I enjoy guiding my own children through their stages, but don't want to rush them...I enjoy my career (any change there is up to God) and so on...
Oh, don't get me wrong, I still struggle with issues and students at school, I still shout at my kids sometimes and I still struggle with housekeeping, getting to school on time and meeting various deadlines, but seeing God's hand in my life is a great gift and is a great stress reducer!
I pray that God is revealing Himself to you too and that His hand is visible in your life. If you can't quite see it, try meeting him more often. Hearing God takes time, and the best way to hear him better is by taking more time to listen to His voice in His word, in prayer and in fellowship with other seeking Christians.
Take time to open your eyes and your ears!
Dorthea
It's a good thing I'm trying to give up on stressing out, or I'd be climbing a tree by now.
Last month I felt like I was still dealing with crisis issues, but then I finally got around to having a debriefing and realized how much God has guided my life over the years and, amazingly, a few people have noted how much more calm I am or to ask me for advice on living in Nigeria!
Now that I've reached my mid 40's, I feel like I am finally dealing with today, today (as we say here, that means, the here and now). Tomorrow is there waiting, and being prepared for things like retirement is a wise thing to aim for, but I'm finally at that stage where I am happy with where I am in life.
I don't have to stress about finishing school like my high school students, I don't have to worry about furthering my education like the young adults around me, I don't have to worry about finding a husband (God sent me a great man!), I don't have to worry about having babies (I trust that stage has past!), I enjoy guiding my own children through their stages, but don't want to rush them...I enjoy my career (any change there is up to God) and so on...
Oh, don't get me wrong, I still struggle with issues and students at school, I still shout at my kids sometimes and I still struggle with housekeeping, getting to school on time and meeting various deadlines, but seeing God's hand in my life is a great gift and is a great stress reducer!
I pray that God is revealing Himself to you too and that His hand is visible in your life. If you can't quite see it, try meeting him more often. Hearing God takes time, and the best way to hear him better is by taking more time to listen to His voice in His word, in prayer and in fellowship with other seeking Christians.
Take time to open your eyes and your ears!
Dorthea
Friday, February 20, 2009
Life Goes On...
Not really much to write. I have been busy with school, family, Facebook, travelling to the village, managing life while my husband travels in and out of the country and haven't had time to focus on blogging...
Through it all we had one more rumor of possible trouble, but life has stayed peaceful.
One thing that I am trying to work on for school is a required paper on Christian Education. Over the past few years we have read five books and now have to write a kind of summary paper. I've only begun to think about what I've learned, but was reviewing my notes the other day and came across that I don't remember before.
One book suggested that we should teach (live)knowing that we stand in as a proxy for Jesus. That kind of blew me away. It is both an honor and a great challenge to teach and act in a way that mirrors how I think Christ might teach and act. I know I fall so short of how he might lead my class, but I pray that my students can see glimpses of him in what I do and say.
In spite of the challenge, or perhaps partly because of it, I am enjoying life these days. Oh, life certainly has its ups and downs, but God has kept my family and I safe and healthy in all our travels and continues to watch over us and for that I am very thankful. May you too enjoy God's blessings, great and small, in your life!
Dorthea
Not really much to write. I have been busy with school, family, Facebook, travelling to the village, managing life while my husband travels in and out of the country and haven't had time to focus on blogging...
Through it all we had one more rumor of possible trouble, but life has stayed peaceful.
One thing that I am trying to work on for school is a required paper on Christian Education. Over the past few years we have read five books and now have to write a kind of summary paper. I've only begun to think about what I've learned, but was reviewing my notes the other day and came across that I don't remember before.
One book suggested that we should teach (live)knowing that we stand in as a proxy for Jesus. That kind of blew me away. It is both an honor and a great challenge to teach and act in a way that mirrors how I think Christ might teach and act. I know I fall so short of how he might lead my class, but I pray that my students can see glimpses of him in what I do and say.
In spite of the challenge, or perhaps partly because of it, I am enjoying life these days. Oh, life certainly has its ups and downs, but God has kept my family and I safe and healthy in all our travels and continues to watch over us and for that I am very thankful. May you too enjoy God's blessings, great and small, in your life!
Dorthea
Friday, January 30, 2009
Peace
And the peace of God, which passes all understanding, will keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:7
These past few days in Jos we have had rumors of more violence. It resurfaced some of my fears and motivated me to be more ready in the midst of it.
Yet it was still a challenge to focus on the tasks demanding my attention. As I sat at my desk in my classroom, trying to focus on marking papers before my next lesson, I had to stop and pray; then this verse came to mind.
The passage begins with, "Rejoice in the Lord always...have no anxiety about anything..." and ends with the verse above. In the past it was the other verses that claimed my attention, but with the rumors flying the words of peace were given new meaning.
I remember hearing a story when I first arrived in Nigeria on the heels of a similar crisis that hit Kano in 1990. One of the missionaries gave the following account. After the crisis he met a Muslim that he had known for some time and asked him about the crisis. The man admitted that they had been on their way to burn down his compound when they had turned and saw smoke rising as if it was already burning. It wasn't until the fighting had stopped that they realized otherwise.
This story has prompted me to pray for angels with flaming swords to stand on our compound walls and provide similar protection. I am realizing more and more that God can deliver peace in ways that no human mind can understand.
As humans, we want to retaliate. Even people who have preached peace begin to say, "It is enough!" Some churches have been burned several times over the years. When destruction and loss of life has no rhyme or reason it becomes harder to preach peace and yet we have to remember that God's ways are not the world's ways.
These days I pray more and more for this kind of peace. I don't need to understand it, but I do claim it!
I saw another need for this kind of prayer yesterday when one student came in full of anger, annoyance, and frustration claiming he was going to quit school before he hurt someone! It is so easy to fall into traps of anger when we feel slighted or misunderstood. I pray for God's peace to enter the heart of my student too. May you too join me in my prayer for God's peace wherever and whenever you see the need for it.
Oh, soon I have my next women's fellowship meeting. We were only five last week, but again the bonds of connection were made stronger as we realized none of us had ever been in a church group like it. I had thought it was only me! I will share this message with them today and pray that it will also strengthen them and give them a sense of calm and hope in our city Jos.
These past few days in Jos we have had rumors of more violence. It resurfaced some of my fears and motivated me to be more ready in the midst of it.
Yet it was still a challenge to focus on the tasks demanding my attention. As I sat at my desk in my classroom, trying to focus on marking papers before my next lesson, I had to stop and pray; then this verse came to mind.
The passage begins with, "Rejoice in the Lord always...have no anxiety about anything..." and ends with the verse above. In the past it was the other verses that claimed my attention, but with the rumors flying the words of peace were given new meaning.
I remember hearing a story when I first arrived in Nigeria on the heels of a similar crisis that hit Kano in 1990. One of the missionaries gave the following account. After the crisis he met a Muslim that he had known for some time and asked him about the crisis. The man admitted that they had been on their way to burn down his compound when they had turned and saw smoke rising as if it was already burning. It wasn't until the fighting had stopped that they realized otherwise.
This story has prompted me to pray for angels with flaming swords to stand on our compound walls and provide similar protection. I am realizing more and more that God can deliver peace in ways that no human mind can understand.
As humans, we want to retaliate. Even people who have preached peace begin to say, "It is enough!" Some churches have been burned several times over the years. When destruction and loss of life has no rhyme or reason it becomes harder to preach peace and yet we have to remember that God's ways are not the world's ways.
These days I pray more and more for this kind of peace. I don't need to understand it, but I do claim it!
I saw another need for this kind of prayer yesterday when one student came in full of anger, annoyance, and frustration claiming he was going to quit school before he hurt someone! It is so easy to fall into traps of anger when we feel slighted or misunderstood. I pray for God's peace to enter the heart of my student too. May you too join me in my prayer for God's peace wherever and whenever you see the need for it.
Oh, soon I have my next women's fellowship meeting. We were only five last week, but again the bonds of connection were made stronger as we realized none of us had ever been in a church group like it. I had thought it was only me! I will share this message with them today and pray that it will also strengthen them and give them a sense of calm and hope in our city Jos.
Sunday, January 18, 2009
GOING OUT OF THE BOX
Today I joined the Women's Fellowship gourp in the Nigerian church. After almost thirteen years of being married here, it is high time I did, but it never felt right until now.
The church we attend now is a fairly new congregation and the only one in the Lutheran Church of Christ in Nigeria that uses English alone for worship services and meetings. The combination and the new congregation and not having to deal with the language challenges makes me interested this time. So when one of the older women challenged us to finally form the group, it seemed right.
There are several other factors that also help make it seem right. First of all, God has been sending me several reminders these past years that I need to strengthen my committment to my local church and make attendence and involvement a bigger issue.
Another factor is that several of the other women, we are only eight at the moment, are also professional women who are very busy with work so I can't use my own work as an excuse this time around.
Plus, it really helps that we can all speak English and have post secondary education. I think I can connect with these women.
At the same time I am a bit nervous. We are planning to meet every Saturday from 8:45-10:00 AM. I am fortunate that we meet very close by so it is just a short walk to the meetings, but I have liked not having to rush off on Saturday mornings!
No matter, I think I am ready for this part of my Nigerian journey and God has been preparing me for this for two or three years so I am ready as I'll ever be.
Stretchin myslef out also makes me a little nervous, but I have to trust God that it will be a good experience. This makes three fellowship groups I am in. One that meets after school is also every week, but the other is one Saturday a month.I'll keep you posted about how the group is.
I guess I am a little excited. My question for you today is to ask YOU how God is challenging you to stretch your committment in the larger Christian family. Are you accepting His challenge????? If so, I pray God will give you courage and bring many blessings your way!
Dorthea
Today I joined the Women's Fellowship gourp in the Nigerian church. After almost thirteen years of being married here, it is high time I did, but it never felt right until now.
The church we attend now is a fairly new congregation and the only one in the Lutheran Church of Christ in Nigeria that uses English alone for worship services and meetings. The combination and the new congregation and not having to deal with the language challenges makes me interested this time. So when one of the older women challenged us to finally form the group, it seemed right.
There are several other factors that also help make it seem right. First of all, God has been sending me several reminders these past years that I need to strengthen my committment to my local church and make attendence and involvement a bigger issue.
Another factor is that several of the other women, we are only eight at the moment, are also professional women who are very busy with work so I can't use my own work as an excuse this time around.
Plus, it really helps that we can all speak English and have post secondary education. I think I can connect with these women.
At the same time I am a bit nervous. We are planning to meet every Saturday from 8:45-10:00 AM. I am fortunate that we meet very close by so it is just a short walk to the meetings, but I have liked not having to rush off on Saturday mornings!
No matter, I think I am ready for this part of my Nigerian journey and God has been preparing me for this for two or three years so I am ready as I'll ever be.
Stretchin myslef out also makes me a little nervous, but I have to trust God that it will be a good experience. This makes three fellowship groups I am in. One that meets after school is also every week, but the other is one Saturday a month.I'll keep you posted about how the group is.
I guess I am a little excited. My question for you today is to ask YOU how God is challenging you to stretch your committment in the larger Christian family. Are you accepting His challenge????? If so, I pray God will give you courage and bring many blessings your way!
Dorthea
Friday, January 9, 2009
Back in Jos
There are many titles I could use for today's blog, Had I been able to change they type setting in the title I would have called this,
"Afraid?" Give it to God...
Earlier this week I was contemplating our return to Jos and the tears started falling. As is often the case, it was late at night and everyone else was fast asleep so it was just me and God.
I had been reading a book by Lori Wick, Every Storm and was reminded of God's steadfastness. "The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold in my life; of whom shall I be afraid? Psalm 27:1 The passage goes on to describe those that might be after us and the writer offers shouts of joy knowing that, "he will hide me in his shelter in the day of trouble..." verse 5a.
Claiming these verses gave me peace. That idea of peace continues to be on the forefront of my mind and I can see it is on the mind of many.
How many are not living in peace right now? My husband is hoping to travel to Israel soon; as I write this I hear the news of Israel and Palestine. I pray for peace there.
I have not been following much news lately, but I read that in my home state there are many fearing floods; the elements too can create fear in our hearts.
Life is so unpredictable that I am reassured to seek peace and protection in God's shelter. I have always felt I could trust God with my life and He has so often given me courage, I should say, COURAGE! I have put him to the test so many times in the past years, not just the eighteen that I have spent in Nigeria, but even as a child when life's challenges seemed too great for me, He was there reminding me of the price he paid on Calvary and that if He could rise up from the cross, I too can rise up from whatever happens to me.
There is a lot of Peace in the Promise of His Love! Sharing love can bring a lot of peace, but persnally Knowing the Source of that Love clears the worry and stress that tries to cloud my vision. When my tears stop falling and my vision clears, His Presence is always clearer and I thank and praise Him for the assurance He offers. God is Peace and through Jesus Christ there is joy no matter what happens to us!
May you too know His Peace and Trust His Steadfastness!
Dorthea
"Afraid?" Give it to God...
Earlier this week I was contemplating our return to Jos and the tears started falling. As is often the case, it was late at night and everyone else was fast asleep so it was just me and God.
I had been reading a book by Lori Wick, Every Storm and was reminded of God's steadfastness. "The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold in my life; of whom shall I be afraid? Psalm 27:1 The passage goes on to describe those that might be after us and the writer offers shouts of joy knowing that, "he will hide me in his shelter in the day of trouble..." verse 5a.
Claiming these verses gave me peace. That idea of peace continues to be on the forefront of my mind and I can see it is on the mind of many.
How many are not living in peace right now? My husband is hoping to travel to Israel soon; as I write this I hear the news of Israel and Palestine. I pray for peace there.
I have not been following much news lately, but I read that in my home state there are many fearing floods; the elements too can create fear in our hearts.
Life is so unpredictable that I am reassured to seek peace and protection in God's shelter. I have always felt I could trust God with my life and He has so often given me courage, I should say, COURAGE! I have put him to the test so many times in the past years, not just the eighteen that I have spent in Nigeria, but even as a child when life's challenges seemed too great for me, He was there reminding me of the price he paid on Calvary and that if He could rise up from the cross, I too can rise up from whatever happens to me.
There is a lot of Peace in the Promise of His Love! Sharing love can bring a lot of peace, but persnally Knowing the Source of that Love clears the worry and stress that tries to cloud my vision. When my tears stop falling and my vision clears, His Presence is always clearer and I thank and praise Him for the assurance He offers. God is Peace and through Jesus Christ there is joy no matter what happens to us!
May you too know His Peace and Trust His Steadfastness!
Dorthea
Sunday, December 21, 2008
Waiting for the Christmas Celebration
As a child, I remember waiting for Christmas meant waiting to put up all the decorations, waiting to get to eat the Christmas cookies we had been making, watching all the gifts under the tree pile up, and finally waiting to see what was in my Christmas stocking.
As I live in Nigeria, my children experience some of these material parts of Christmas, the decorations, the cookies, and the stockings. But most Nigerians don’t think about Christmas until school is out and they decide where they will spend it; in their homes in the city or in the village where most people prefer and usually have a home. Of course my experiences come from northern Nigeria.
City Christmas doesn’t have much more than going to church and visiting family that might live nearby, but in the village, they DANCE! But still, there are few preparations, it just happens. All of a sudden, the church is decorated with lots of flashy decorations and lights around the altar, and the women and youth present their songs and dramas and after a long Christmas Eve Service everyone goes to the village center and the dancing starts.
On Christmas Day neighbors and extended family members exchange pots of rice and stew, little doughnut holes, a drink called kunun zaki or other foods they have an abundance of. Children wander around in groups in their new clothes (new clothes is usually their only gift from their parents) and collect Christmas sweets or a little money from extended family and friends.
At church, there is another long service lasting three to five hours. Then, after lunch, they gather at the village center again and the Boys Brigade parade around and a program is presented by some village group.
In the evenings, sometimes for several evenings, the dancing will continue until the wee hours of the morning. Sometimes a specific night might focus on the women or the men, but then the youth will take over and dance until they drop. Occasionally the youth will stay outside your compound singing and singing until you pay something to send them on their way.
While Christmas is celebrated with lots of fanfare in the village, I find I still have to search for the fragments of Christmas that are familiar and give meaning to my celebration. Usually I find meaning most in the scripture words that we read; the angels’ song and the shepherds’ awe, and the birth of the babe, Mary basking in the babe’s glory and knowing that Christ is still among us. That is what my Christmas involves. While I enjoy the village experience and feel very comforable with the extended family there, I find myself experiencing it more through my children's eyes and trying not to think of my own family in the US.
No matter how I many traditions I try to bring from my upbringing, it always seems to come down to Christ's birth and sharing time with family and friends that gives me the most joy to my Christmas.
May you each celebrate Christmas in a way that allows you too to bask in the babe’s glory so that the wonder of Christ’s birth might fill your hearts with peace and hope for the new year. Peace is something I crave this year, both inner peace and peace around me. May God's Peace, Love, Joy, and Hope fill your holiday season and the New Year.
Merry Christmas! Barka da Krismati! Happy Christmas!
Dorthea
As I live in Nigeria, my children experience some of these material parts of Christmas, the decorations, the cookies, and the stockings. But most Nigerians don’t think about Christmas until school is out and they decide where they will spend it; in their homes in the city or in the village where most people prefer and usually have a home. Of course my experiences come from northern Nigeria.
City Christmas doesn’t have much more than going to church and visiting family that might live nearby, but in the village, they DANCE! But still, there are few preparations, it just happens. All of a sudden, the church is decorated with lots of flashy decorations and lights around the altar, and the women and youth present their songs and dramas and after a long Christmas Eve Service everyone goes to the village center and the dancing starts.
On Christmas Day neighbors and extended family members exchange pots of rice and stew, little doughnut holes, a drink called kunun zaki or other foods they have an abundance of. Children wander around in groups in their new clothes (new clothes is usually their only gift from their parents) and collect Christmas sweets or a little money from extended family and friends.
At church, there is another long service lasting three to five hours. Then, after lunch, they gather at the village center again and the Boys Brigade parade around and a program is presented by some village group.
In the evenings, sometimes for several evenings, the dancing will continue until the wee hours of the morning. Sometimes a specific night might focus on the women or the men, but then the youth will take over and dance until they drop. Occasionally the youth will stay outside your compound singing and singing until you pay something to send them on their way.
While Christmas is celebrated with lots of fanfare in the village, I find I still have to search for the fragments of Christmas that are familiar and give meaning to my celebration. Usually I find meaning most in the scripture words that we read; the angels’ song and the shepherds’ awe, and the birth of the babe, Mary basking in the babe’s glory and knowing that Christ is still among us. That is what my Christmas involves. While I enjoy the village experience and feel very comforable with the extended family there, I find myself experiencing it more through my children's eyes and trying not to think of my own family in the US.
No matter how I many traditions I try to bring from my upbringing, it always seems to come down to Christ's birth and sharing time with family and friends that gives me the most joy to my Christmas.
May you each celebrate Christmas in a way that allows you too to bask in the babe’s glory so that the wonder of Christ’s birth might fill your hearts with peace and hope for the new year. Peace is something I crave this year, both inner peace and peace around me. May God's Peace, Love, Joy, and Hope fill your holiday season and the New Year.
Merry Christmas! Barka da Krismati! Happy Christmas!
Dorthea
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