wise guy

If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, 

and it will be given to him. -James 1.5

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As I've been praying and consulting and thinking and pondering about life choices for the past few weeks, I found this little excerpt from one of our assigned school books quite insightful for this period of life. Enjoy! 

from Knowing God, by J.I. Packer
"We ask again: what does it mean for God to give us wisdom? What kind of a gift is it?  

...It is like being taught to drive. What matters in driving is the speed and appropriateness of your reactions to things, and the soundness of your judgment as to what scope a situation gives you. You do not ask yourself why the road should narrow or screw itself into a dog-leg wiggle, just where it does, nor why that van should be parked where it is, nor why the lady (or gentleman) in front should hug the crown of the road so lovingly; you simply try to see and do the right thing in the actual situation that presents itself. The effect of divine wisdom is to enable you and me to do just that in the actual situations of everyday life.
To drive well, you have to keep your eyes skinned to notice exactly what is in front of you. To live wisely, you have to be clear-sighted and realistic--ruthlessly so--in looking at life as it is. Wisdom will not go with comforting illusions, false sentiment, or the use of rose-coloured spectacles.
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The kind of wisdom that God waits to give to those who ask Him, is a wisdom that will bind us to Himself, a wisdom that will find expression in a spirit of faith and a life of faithfulness." 

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The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; 

fools despise wisdom and instruction.

-Proverbs 1.7

swimming in the gray area

I used to believe that as long as one studied long and hard, any student could pass any class. Academic failure was a result of laziness, lack of discipline, and wrong priorities. 

Reality has a much grayer scale than that. 

I’m learning that there are some kids who try hard, who study for hours, who have the right priorities, and who still fail. Would you be surprised to hear that it’s not my obviously special-needs student who is teaching me this? 

I don’t want to discount laziness. For me (and for many people), academic failure DOES mean laziness and should receive discipline...for laziness, not for “bad” grades. But for some kids, who look and act and seem completely normal, academic failure is not at all an indicator of laziness. It could signify poor teaching method, lack of enough practice, a badly chosen curriculum, a completely unique learning style, a learning disability, or a combination of multiple of these things! 

This year is stretching me in so many ways. Some days I feel like I’ve been tossed into the very middle of the really deep part of a large and rather murky pool that might possibly have sharks...and told to teach the two people there with me how to swim! 

Teachers make teaching look so easy. 

Back to the gray scale of reality: What is the balance of teaching so a person actually learns the subject versus teaching so a person is forced to learn how to cope in the ‘real’ world? Academics after 6^th grade increase exponentially in their left-brain requirements. What does that mean for those students who process ‘differently’? 

My heart breaks for one struggling student, whom at least I can try to help (because Someone first reached out to help me). What about the hundreds of other kids who slip through the academic cracks, labeled with disorders and given medications, who really just need someone to explain things a little differently? 

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom,

and knowledge of the Holy One is insight.

-Proverbs 9.10

When kids are consistently frustrated with school, how will they learn to desire wisdom and insight? If traditional learning involves feeling like a failure, what are we teaching kids about the life-long process of learning to become like Jesus? 

my favorite washroom sign of all time

I saw this sign over two years ago when visiting Uganda for the first time, and every bathroom sign I've seen since has been compared to it. I finally nabbed a picture of this extremely memorable sign the last time I was there because I simply had to share with you.

I will grant you that this sign is somewhat vulgar...but it just CRACKS me up. Hopefully it will provide you with a mid-week laugh as well.

Baganda Cultural Night - Video

Enjoy!

A gomez is the traditional female wear for special events (and apparently for everyday wear in rural areas). It's quite the ensemble and notoriously warm. Apparently, the gomez was originally designed as the outfit for boarding school girls in the 1940s, and from there, it was adopted in various forms throughout Uganda. So fascinating to learn about cultural clothing traditions!!

Baganda Cultural Night

So the internet finally worked to upload pictures. Video to come tomorrow!

During Envisioning, we had a cultural night hosted by the Baganda people (the main tribe in Uganda's central region). It was quite the experience and really fun! I definitely felt out of place as an American, though eating on the ground wasn't completely abnormal thanks to my camp experiences. ;) 

Fiona and Aunt Noelina serving up the meal.

We all sat on mats on the ground, except for the family father. I was with Samuel family, my family group. Fiona, an older high school student, acted as our family "mother," with a full gomez borrowed from Aunt Esther, the real family mother. In the Baganda tradition, the family mother is responsible for serving the food to the family. 

Kenneth - our family "father," hence the fancy table & chair

We had 15 people in our circle, but no one was allowed to eat until everyone had been served and the family father had taken the first bite. Kenneth, an Investment Year student (IY is basically a gap year mid-high school), served as our family "father." 

 The strangest part of the evening was definitely eating with my hands. No left hand allowed; instead, you use the first three fingers of your right hand (thumb, pointer, and middle finger). It astounds me how cleanly the Ugandans can eat with their hands...my hand was a nasty mess after dinner! 

Our dinner!

For dinner, we had wambo (peanut paste served in a banana leaf packet), matoke (yellow banana mash), sweet potato (which is actually white here), cassava (indescribable...), and meat sauce.

I managed to eat about half my plate! Thankfully, Uncle Godfrey explained that leaving food on your plate is a good thing in the Baganda culture, because it means you are satisfied. Still not entirely sure I believe that, but it made me feel better that night!

Decisions, decisions

For those who receive my email updates, this may sound repetitive...but I think it's important enough to record on the blog for posterity! 

Making decisions can be tough. 

A decision means that all the choices, all the other opportunities, all the exciting possibilities are done. A decision means commitment, for better or for worse. And in a century where anything is possible and choices are endless, commitment can be rough. As Kevin DeYoung says, “Our freedom to do anything and go anywhere ends up feeling like bondage more than liberty, because decision making feels like pain, not pleasure.”* 

My life is at a junction right now. We finish the school year in early June, at which point my current one-year commitment with NHU will end. However, the Dangers have asked me to continue as their tutor for one more school year, through May 2014.

At the same time, I also have the opportunity to return to the adventure camp where I worked in summer of 2012, to pursue a passion that seems to be from God. 

Both good options. Both opportunities to grow closer to Jesus. Both chances to serve God. Both with the possibility to share Jesus with kids. 

There are many more factors involved in this decision that I won’t spell out here. But I would ask that you join me during the next month in praying for clarity, wisdom, discernment, and a choice based on faith, hope, and love instead of selfish motives. 

*from Just Do Something, an extraordinarily valuable little book about God’s will. 

Back to Africa

The past week has been a whirlwind of moving back to Uganda, figuring out a new house, renewing friendships, and meeting an influx of new folks. It’s been surprisingly good to return, far better than I had expected, by God’s grace for a variety of reasons. Probably the main reason is the simple fact that I am more familiar with life here and can skip culture shock, allowing me to instead focus on deepening relationships I’ve already built.

Passion 2013!

Another reason might be the fantastic start to the new year that I received: free tickets to the first evening of Passion 2013, an event for 18-25 year olds hosted by Louie Giglio and Chris Tomlin (among others!). 

The Refuge at Passion - a God-incidence. 

Jennifer and I were so blessed by the Passion’s staff’s willingness to give us access to an amazingly refreshing evening of worship and encouragement. Louie Giglio’s teaching on the dry bones of Ezekiel 37 and a father’s small seed of faith in Mark 9 were words that boosted my hope for a less painful second half of my Ugandan experience...and God has thus far abundantly answered and increased that hope!

Anna--SO excited to worship with her the day before leaving!

Now that I'm back in Africa, we're currently in the midst of Envisioning, an annual five-day, all-staff event at New Hope Uganda. NHU’s leaders teach several sessions each day on a variety of spiritual topics, all focused on a particular theme for the year. This year’s theme is “In Christ Alone”; our guest speaker, Bishop Edward Muhima, opened Envisioning with two excellent chats about salvation, transformation, and life in Christ. I wish so badly that my church peeps and camp pals could be here to learn with me--if any of you ever have the chance to come to Envisioning at New Hope, take it without hesitation!

Jennifer: the girl who can take credit for me being in Uganda....and with whom I always have exciting adventures...

The only rough part so far is that sitting to listen for 7 hours daily while battling jet lag and a head cold has been difficult, to say the least. My roommate and I keep falling asleep during the mid-morning sessions. I would classify this week as one of those times where maybe I might need “Jesus plus”--”plus” taking the form of coffee! 

"Gourmet" coffee: a new norm

Jesus, Jack Bauer, Ann Voskamp, and 2013

Somewhere about the middle of Jesus’ famous mountain theologue, He has a section about worry. “Do not worry,” he says. “Can you even add one hour to your life through anxiety? So go, seek God’s Kingdom, and don’t worry about your life--God will provide all you need. Today has enough trouble; let tomorrow worry about itself.” 

In the midst of preparing to return to Uganda, worry about tomorrow comes quite naturally. Will I be so lonely this time? Will I continue making friends? Will I like living on Primary or will I miss Secondary? Will five months be easier or harder than three and a half months? Will I miss Uganda when I leave? Will I enjoy Uganda while I’m there? 

All these worries swirl around my head, pulling me into a cycle of anxiety focused on possibilities and fears. I fight to ignore the future, to interact with real life, with what’s occurring in the moment. So I enter the present and end up watching 24 with my parents. Watching, I’m addicted and the future recedes...yet the more I watch, the more the lesson of saving tomorrow’s troubles for tomorrow strikes home. Jack Bauer, the starring secret agent, lives every hour to the fullest. From the beginning of his day, he doesn’t worry about saving energy for the next 18 hours, let alone the next day (a brand new season!). Jack does whatever is necessary in the moment wholeheartedly, letting consequences and future trouble fall by the wayside in full pursuit of whatever needs to happen at that moment, to fulfill the ultimate goal of saving the world. 

I want to live like that, my heart whispers. I want to breathe every moment, to grasp every opportunity, without regard to my fears, to ‘what ifs,’ in pursuit of my ultimate goal, in pursuit of knowing Jesus. What’s the secret to living like Jack Bauer?

The answer comes unexpectedly that night, as I finally finish the book I started four months ago,1,000 Gifts, so aptly a gift from a friend with the note: “It’ll change your life.” 

The secret to a grace-filled, in-the-moment, seeking-after-Christ life, write Ann Voskamp, is eucharisteo: giving thanks in all circumstances. God blesses every day with limitless gifts, big and small. We must seek them, count them, use them as weapons to fight the battle against fear, against worry, against Satan’s whispered lies that perhaps God is not entirely good. The gifts of a sunrise, a friend, a bargain, a breath, are all assurances that God is good, that He gives good gifts, and that He is involved in the details of my life.

the gift of Bubba!

To live outside of worry, to live as Jack Bauer, is to live with thanksgiving continually on my lips. The revelation is simple, probably a repeat of something I’ve heard in the past, but this time it sticks. And so, lying on my bed one cold December night, I develop my 2013 resolution: to find and list 1,000 gifts during the next five months. 

That’s 7 gifts a day, 49 gifts a week, 200 gifts a month, 1000 gifts in 5 months. Starting today, all these gifts, counted in one little book, exploring the idea of thankfulness as the anecdote to worry, the technique for leaving tomorrow’s troubles in tomorrow, the secret to living fully like Jack Bauer.

my 1000 gifts book

PS--so if someone wanted to send me a season of 24, that person would likely make the top of my gifts list for at least 24 days…