Beating Around...Pro ALL life (Prall-Life if you will)

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Rally for Life in D.C.

From the Womb to the Tomb… that is how long we value life as Catholics. That is right: all life is sacred and all humanity has dignity. But in light of my experience at the March for Life last year, I have been asking myself the same question for the last 9 months. From the womb to the tomb… are we trying to make a point or are we trying to make a difference?

This January, I hopped onto a charter bus in eager spirits with about 50 other people (most of them high school students) to embark on a 14 hour bus drive from Florida to Washington D.C. Having never led a trip like this, I was told that we were going on a pilgrimage (not a vacation) to give a voice to the millions of tiny humans who would never get to use their own and to protect the lives of those who have no protection. After all, we are Catholic; we are pro-life; this is what we do.

The March was life changing. I returned from D.C. even more passionate about pro-life issues than ever, but I will let someone else tell you those details because I also came back angry and I write now to tell you why.

See, on the day before we actually marched onto the Supreme Court steps for the 39^th year in a row, I sat in the pews of a church in the middle of a random neighborhood and noticed that I was exhausted and in a terrible mood yet I had done nothing to earn my exhaustion. My group and I had literally toured churches all day. We started with the Basilica of the National Shrine, headed over to the Franciscan catacombs and were now at a high school Salesian rally for life.  As I sat there exhausted from lack of activity (lactivity, if you will) and stained glass overload, I had another thought… there were at least 500 of us in this church singing (a little) and talking about churchy things yet no one in the surrounding neighborhood knew that we were there. Did we really travel all the way to Washington D.C. to sit in churches until we could hold up some signs and be proud of the work we that we had done to build a culture of life?

Balloons for Baby's. I'm trying to be artistic...FAIL

 At first I thought it was just my group that performed a hiding act until the March, but the more I talked to my other friends, the more I realized that this was pretty much everyone’s experience… go to the holocaust museum, go on retreat, go to church, march and go home.  Now I am in NO WAY saying that there is no value in these activities. The experience can be so beautiful, but if we are on a platform for our American brothers and sisters to see the love of God, this just won’t do.

Every single year, 200,000 Christians go to Washington D.C. on the SAME WEEKEND! My friends, this should be Washington D.C’s favorite weekend of the year and yet it goes unnoticed. We should not be just sitting in churches. Sure, let’s gather together at the Supper of the Lamb and build each other up as the body of Christ but then let’s go out and take care of the rest of our body! If we say that we value life from the womb to the tomb, why aren’t we taking care of all the people who are in between during that weekend?

Friends At the March... Imagine What We Could Do!

Could you imagine what it would look like if 200,000 Christians stormed on D.C. and just infiltrated the soup kitchens, pregnancy centers, homeless ministries, adoption agencies, battered women shelters, and rehab centers? Could you imagine 200,000 Christians looking into the eyes of a woman who has had abortions and showing her the actions of love, understanding and forgiveness instead of the words of condemnation? What if we showed the people in our Capitol that we as Catholics and as Christians really do value ALL life, even the lives that are not well lived. What if we showed them that we are not there to condemn, that we are there to build up a culture that celebrates when the lost are found.

Maybe then our society would be more open to talk about pro-life issues instead of dismissing us as “warring on women” or the “extreme right wing”. Maybe when we come out from our churches and from behind the words on our poster boards to share the GOSPEL with our brothers and sisters, we will have an impact. If 120 believers received the Holy Spirit in the Acts of the Apostles and added 3000 people to their number… how can 200,000 Christians in one city not make a dent! ?

So my friends, this is what I ask: I realize that I am ranting about an ideal and that every ideal has a practical nature and a logistical side. If you are leading a trip to the March for Life this year (I assume you are planning right now), call a church in the D.C. area (if that's too hard, email me at mallorybueche@gmail.com and I will help). Find out how you can serve the city with them even if it’s only for a few hours. Make a partnership and help out. It doesn’t have to be very complicated and it will definitely add to the impact that your trip or pilgrimage will have on the people that you bring. I know I would have preferred to be exhausted from serving others rather than simply sitting in a pew.  Our world is full of people making points; it needs people who will just be Christ… He made all the difference.

Beating Around...FOCUS

Friends, family, visitors! Hello and welcome to the end of summer. I hope that your summer has been absolutely incredible and relaxing. Mine has been absolutely crazy and the next week will not slow down as I will drive to Tampa only to pick up and move to Knoxville, Tennessee. This life is such an adventure but sometimes I just want to take a nap!

Any who, for all of you who read my last post, I was in the middle of telling you why I joined FOCUS (Fellowship of Catholic University Students) and I explained  that the message and model of Jesus Christ is the only way that we can successfully change hearts, lives and eventually….. THE WORRLLDDDD!!!!!!!!  And so here is the second part of that post… let’s focus on FOCUS.

Truth time: I have written two complete posts about FOCUS and have deleted them both. I have this tremendous desire to spark in you the same pride in this organization that I feel through my eloquent words but it is just not going to happen that way. So here is the Mallory version of FOCUS.

As my mom and I drove to New Orleans I thought to myself , “ Man I would love to have some oysters from Drago’s today but we aren’t downtown.” Not mentioning this desire to my mom, we shopped for a bit before eating salads at La Madeline French Bistro in Metarie. This was all fine and dandy until we walked out of the restaurant. Imagine the horror when my eyes fell upon the Drago’s Seafood sign literally less than 500 yards to my right. I ate a standard salad when I could have had some DELICIOUS charbroiled oysters… my heart’s true desire. I settled…I knew it … and it was painful.

I tell you this story because the more I get to know Jesus and the more I understand my faith (which isn’t much) the more I am convinced that we as a culture are settling over and over again in our personal lives and in our faith lives.

In our personal lives we settle for image when we could have true self worth. We settle for sex when we could have romance. We settle for romance when we could have love. We settle money when we could have meaning. We settle for niceties when we could have truth (I hear that it sets you free).

In our faith life we settle for behavior modification (rules) instead of really knowing Jesus Christ (relationship). We settle for Sunday obligation when we could participate with the angels and the saints praising the God of the universe as one with all of our being. We settle for giving God our wave of the hand when we could give him our whole heart. We settle of common sayings when we could have true knowledge of the word of God, which is eerily relevant believe it or not.

We are settling for shadows and we are disappointed when they don’t fulfill. And by God (literally) I want to do something about it. FOCUS is doing a lot about it and I am so proud to have joined the movement.

FOCUS is a national outreach organization that works with the individuals on the college campus “inviting them into a growing relationship with Jesus Christ and His Church inspiring and equipping them for a lifetime of Christ-centered evangelization, discipleship, and friendship in which they lead others to do the same.”

See, the reality is that right now 9 out of 10 college students are walking away from their faith in college. This would be fine if suicide wasn’t the 2^nd leading cause of death in college students (1^st is alcoholism), depression wasn’t so prevalent on our campuses, the divorce rate wasn’t so high, the over all respect for human life and dignity wasn’t so low. But it is, and Jesus said that He came so we could have a life that is truly life… so is it possible that the further we move away from Him the less that the lives we lead will actually have LIFE?

The upside of this is that the people of FOCUS see this as an opportunity. I just spent five weeks with 300 the most amazing men and women who have chosen to go onto the college campus full time in order to change our culture. By building genuine friendships with students, small group bible studies and large group outreach FOCUS has changed thousands of lives. Of the 150 new missionaries who are in my class I would guess that 95% of them became a missionary because God used another missionary to change their life. 

 

Samantha Kelley FOCUS missionary at UT Austin tells her story

Think about it, when students realize that Jesus Christ offers them a life that is so much more joyful, so much deeper and so much more fulfilling than what they are settling for, they stop settling. Instead of settling for salaries void of happiness, romance void of love, and life void of LIFE. They will desire for LIFE to fill their very being no matter their circumstances, they will demand Jesus instead of mere church. They will be better spouses, better parents, better employers and employees and our future is now filled with joyful promises instead of illusions that leave us wanting. This is how we change the culture; this is the message and model of Jesus Christ at work.

Who loves a good head shot

I believe that we will only change our world and revive our fellow Catholics by spreading true Christianity and I believe that one of the most efficient and effective ways to do this is by changing the college campus. As such, next year I will be working full time at the University of Tennessee with my teammate Andrea Francois to reach students where they are (no crazy signs or condemning messages).

Here we are again! TEAM WORK in the boat races

If you agree, let me know because I genuinely want you in on this mission. I want to call you and find out how God is working in your life and I want to send you updates about what God is doing at the University of Tennessee. If you would like to be on my financial support team through monthly tax deductible donations or special donations  (also tax deductible) please take a look at my donations page. www.focus.org/goto/mbueche. As a FOCUS missionary, I am funded 100% by people who believe in this cause so get your butts on board and let FOCUS’s mission and my mission become OUR mission to spread the gospel!! (like that line??? Are you convinced yet?). See if I don’t get funded then I don’t go on campus and the students that God has for me to reach will not be reached. See how instrumental I just made you? Get in on this goodness!!!

Ok, there will be more about FOCUS and what we are doing in the future but now that you know about it, I can blog about other fun things.

John 10:10

^“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life,^(A) and have it to the full.^”

Beating Around...Benchmarks

FOCUS MISSIONARIES 2012-2013 I promise I am in there! I am dressed like Waldo!

Happy Summer everyone! I know I said that my posts would be sporadic but they are about to become more frequent as I decided to add it to my job description. Therefore, I am obligated to write to you my thoughts, feelings and experiences as if they are worthy to be seen by all. I have on my heart so many topics to share with you, which means I need to sit my happy butt down and write. And so, to start my string of frequent, well written, probably not typo free blog posts. I would like to tell you about the largest change in my life and why I am excited, scared, and even more excited to be part of this.

Moment = History

But first...Allow me to set the stage

In 2008, I remember sitting on the couch watching as our new president stood victoriously in Chicago, and spoke with the ora of an American (fist slam) prophet to a population that is desperately yearning for hope and change. Barack Obama, a well-educated, charismatic politician was quite literally the face that would save the United States. Although I did not vote for him, I hoped that his actions and policies would rise up to the standards placed on him by American (fist slam) citizens and that with his leadership, our country could rise out of the mess in which it sat to become noble, thriving and powerful, as it once had been.

Side Note: I remember my lovely ex-boyfriend telling me how excited he was about our new president, one friend throwing out extremely racist comments about him and one friend genuinely wanting to know if he is the anti-Christ. OH HUMANITY!

Fast forward to July 12, 2012 and not much has changed. Unemployment is still at 8.2%, our national debt literally makes me cringe (and so I ignore it just like our politicians…HIYOOO!), and the state of the individual person is rather mundane on average. In the past four years, I have not seen a resurgence of hope in our nation nor have I seen much positive change at all.

I do not write this to bash any political leaders, for I do not know enough to merit that right. I recall the 2009 election point out one thing. Americans (fist slam) know that there is something wrong. We know that there is something different in our world than in past worlds that makes us just a little bit lonelier, a little bit more insecure, a little bit sadder and cynical. Honestly, it makes no sense.

We have more disposable income than ever before. We have more information at our fingertips than any other civilization in human history. We have more opportunity, more equality, broader connectivity and more fun in our lives that ANY OTHER GENERATION IN HUMAN HISTORY!!! And yet we cannot manage our money, the population as a whole is less smart; we are less decisive, less loving, less personal, and more bored than any other generation in human history.  Suicide is the 2^nd leading cause of death in college students. Just think about how many alcoholics you know and if you are one my friend… there is hope. We are a society plagued with depression and addiction whether it is to drugs, alcohol, money, sex, insecurity or loneliness.  Just look around the streets of your city and see the desperation. Our world does need hope. It does need change AND WE HAVE KNOWN IT FOR A LONG TIME!

In the business world (a world in which I spent some time), we would look at the current state of affairs and decide that if more hope, more joy, and better quality of life are the objectives; our processes to reach these objectives are not effective or efficient. We would then look for a benchmark… that is an example of a model that has been both effective and efficient to foster hope, joy and better quality of life. Once we found this example, we would adopt it to reach our objective. 

My friends, from a completely secular standpoint, our benchmark to foster hope and change in this world is quite simply the model that Jesus Christ used. Riddle me this, how is it possible that the son of a carpenter spent only 3 years of His life preaching a message of love and sacrifice and yet 2000 years later He is still the most famous, written about, sung about man in history (must have been a god or something tehe …ok that wasn’t secular). He spent the majority of His time pouring into twelve subpar, blue-collar workers. He walked with them, ate with them, and most importantly revealed to them God the Father. He built them up and when He left this earth, sent them out to preach His message. Every single one of them became missionary for Him and every single one of them died a martyr’s death.

The Early Church: Absolutely Wreckless

Jesus Christ, through deep personal relationships with 12 men as well as small and large group outreach turned the entire Middle East on its head and completely changed Rome the most badass empire of all time. He changed the whole western world, has done so for 2000 years and will not stop any time soon.

We can start our new movements, we can create new methods of out reach and we can look to new leaders to bring people back to life, but no other movement or outreach has ever been as effective at bringing hope, joy and quality of life than the model and message set before us by Jesus. The more new stuff we try, as well intentioned as it might be, the more of a mess we seem to make for ourselves (i.e. welfare, social security). So seriously, can we stop trying to reinvent the wheel and just accept that the method of the man who leads the religion of your parents just might be the answer to our problems?

Think about it!

I have actually thought about it for a while now and that is why I joined FOCUS which I will actually explain in my next post. Until then, if you are human, I love you!

1Samuel 10:6 “The Spirit of the Lord will come powerfully upon you, and you will prophesy with them; and you will be CHANGED into a different person.”

Colossians 1:26-27 “The mystery that has been kept hidden for ages and generations, but is now disclosed to the Lord’s people. To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the HOPE of glory.

Beating Around ... the Eucha-What!

His Holiness holding Holiness Himself. Happy Corpus Christi

Hello Everyone!! It has been a while but I have just accepted that for now my blog posts are going to be sporadic because well…life is CA-RAZY! I recently joined an organization called FOCUS (Fellowship of Catholic University Students) and will be doing ministry at the University of Tennessee next year. I am currently at a 5 week training in Champaign, Illinois with 150 first year young adults who are totally on fire for God and want to see the world transformed from a culture of despair to a culture of joy. I will write about that and post pictures later because it is AMAZING!! But we have bigger and more amazing fish to fry because today my friends is the feast of CORPUS  CHRISTI or for those of us who don’t speak Latin… a celebration and reminder that Christ is still among us in the form of the Eucharist(I’ll try to keep this brief)

First Communion early 90's style

So if you were raised Catholic in the least bit, you made your first communion. If you were anything like me (just strange) you were SUPER EXCITED about it because you FINALLY got to receive that little white bread that your parents receive. Yes that is right, no more crossed armed blessings for me Father Priest, I’ll have the real stuff! Note: I thought that the “real stuff” would taste like candy… I was wrong and so were you!

Maybe not everyone was as creepily excited as I was but I would imagine that many of us at least made somewhat of an ordeal about our first communion. We practiced, got white dresses and little suits as well as rosary gifts and prayer books (where were the first communion transformers or Lego sets?). As second graders, this is a big deal to our parents and to us. So my question is… what happened?

Why is it that we have no reverence at all for the white wafer, which we eat, and the wine, which we drink. There must be a disconnect when 80% of Catholic church goers don’t actually believe that the Eucharist is really the physical and spiritual presence of Jesus but the people that run our faith (oh you know the Pope and the Magesterium and yes they are smarter than you) call that white wafer the body, blood, soul, and divinity of Jesus Christ as well as the “source and summit” the Christian life ( Blessed J. P. II). So the Church tells us that it is EVERYTHING because body, blood, soul and divinity of Christ together linked with the source and summit of life is pretty all-inclusive. But the majority of the church treats it as nothing. So what is the big deal about the Eucharist and are we peasants correct or is it the authority of the Church?

Before I give my feeble explanation, I just want to say that I am no apologist, I just want to share with you all (my inta-net friends) the challenges that lead me to literally “stake my life” on the fact that Jesus Christ my Savior is physically present in the Eucharist, becoming one with me every week at mass (and who says God doesn’t create modern day miracles). This is not some grand argument… I will leave that to church fathers, this is just food for thought.

Without further ado let’s just go to our destination…

John 6: 28- 29 “ Then they asked him, “ What must we do to do the works that God requires” Jesus answered, “ The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent”.   

Three words. PIECE. OF. CAKE. Just believe in Jesus.

Or is it…

Most Christians (whether they know it or not) agree that it is faith IN Jesus Christ that will be our ticket to heaven as opposed our white knuckled moral discipline. Most Christians also believe that good works are an expression of salvation and that while our good works will not save us, if tangible effort is not present in one’s life…others will wonder if that person is actually saved.  What we miss sometimes however is that faith is not belief THAT something is real, it is believing IN something. Trusting that something will do what it was made to do.

James 2:19 “ You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe and shudder”.

So Jesus said in order to do what God requires, we must believe in Him. This means that we must believe that He is able to do what He is intended to do. And so if He says He is God in the flesh (which He does… A LOT) then if I believe IN Him, I am jumping on that train. If He tells me that He came to die and rise again and I believe IN Him, then I am also going to jump on that train. Faith IN Jesus means that if He said it… I am in on it. As Andy Stanley said it “ If Jesus Christ ACTUALLY rose from the dead, no matter what he is about… I am with that guy” and so let’s quote some Jesus words.

John 6: 50-51“ But here is the bread that came down from Heaven, which man may eat and not die. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. This bread IS my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world"

Ok. Yes, this is super weird and I don’t think any one is denying that, but will we deny the power of God for the sake of normalcy? There is almost nothing conventional about any of Salvation history so if we can believe in all of these other fantastical miracles…why exclude this one. I mean we happily claim that this Godman rose from the dead without really blinking an eye… why can’t He choose to give His true physical presence in the bread and wine in order to physically become one with us… He did create the universe in the physical and spiritual realms, to trust In Him means to trust that He makes the rules and we might not understand them.

If we read on, in the very next sentence, the Jews begin to argue sharply among themselves saying “ How can this man give us his flesh to eat?’” and Jesus replies “ No guys, total misunderstanding… you know I speak in crazy parable language… I mean that bread and grape juice only symbolize my flesh and blood as the redemption of the world… creepy cannibals!”

Convert to the Faith First Communion. Unbelievable

Oh Wait… NO HE DIDN’T say that!!!

He said “ Truly, truly I tell you, UNLESS you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life within you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life and I will raise him up on the last day. For my flesh is REAL food and my blood is REAL drink. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I IN HIM!”

I actually don’t understand where the idea that the Eucharist is the body, blood, soul and divinity of Jesus Christ got lost because our Lord is clear about it. If belief IN Him is the very “simple” requirement for salvation then should we not believe that what He tells us is true?

In fact… the father of the Reformation Martin Luther agrees, "Who, but the devil, has granted such license of wresting the words of the holy Scripture? Who ever read in the Scriptures, that 'my body' is the same as 'the sign of my body'? or, that 'is' is the same as 'it signifies'? What language in the world ever spoke so? It is only then the devil, that imposes upon us by these fanatical men. Not one of the Fathers of the Church, though so numerous, ever spoke as the Sacramentarians: not one of them ever said, It is only bread and wine; or, the body and blood of Christ is not there present.”

My friends, if you are Catholic, I am asking you to realize the unending depth of the mass. Jesus Christ is THERE every Sunday becoming part of us and we don’t even care. I would imagine that it is a lot like a normal middle eastern man walking around Jerusalem claiming to be God, many people didn't care. Oh how humanity doesn’t change at all! 

But let’s change this! I triple dog dare us to even try to fathom a God that loves us little screw ups SO MUCH that he humbled himself down to fit in our hand, became small enough to physically enter into us and transform our mess into His glory. If you are a Catholic friend of mine… I challenge you to read these links! Good Explanation of the Eucharist, The Fouth Cup.If you are an amazing on fire Protestant friend of mine, I challenge you to ask yourself… could this be? And if it is… what does it mean?

The white wafer that we as second graders got so excited to finally receive is the salvation of the world. The Jews were right, this IS a hard teaching, but let’s not walk away, let’s give God His due glory and choose to have faith IN His word because it can and it will transform us. WE ONLY HAVE TO ALLOW IT!

"If I really believed that was God up there, I would crawl on my belly down the aisle to receive Him." – Rocking Protestant Man (somebody help me out)

Beating Around...Family Values

Red Yellow Black and White, All Are Precious

Hello everyone! I hope that if you take the time to read this page of tiny thoughts from my tiny mind that you missed me…because I missed you. So without wasting time…let’s begin.

Bible verse: “He answered, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’  “You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied. “Do this and you will live.  But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” Luke 10: 27-29

Who is my neighbor? WHAT A GREAT QUESTION!

notice the missing finger

Meet Laney the major (only because I got her first). You had your crazily messed up stuffed animal that you mangled up as a childhood toy and I had Laney my favorite baby doll (and better than your childhood toy no doubt). Although my 25 year old self is a little freaked out by her now, 4 year old Mallory thought there no better, more beautiful doll in the world. Best friends we were (Yoda language), until one day, through the intense amount of time spent together, she lost a finger and I pitched a fit. Believe it or not, my wailings made it all the way to the Easter Bunny who heeded my plea and delivered a brand new Laney (the minor) to me on Easter morning.

Twin Laneys?

 Sweet! Now I can take them both everywhere…. AND I DID!

But what would I have done if my mom has asked me to let go of one of the dolls? I would have thrown a fit because both of the dolls were MINE. Laney the minor was pretty with all 10 fingers, but Laney the major was a deeply filled treasure chest of memories. Yes, I loved each doll in a different way, but the bottom line is that I loved them because they were both MINE. I was their mom and they were my twin daughters, sisters, and yes… NEIGHBORS.

We actually ARE our brother's keeper

So seriously, who is our neighbor? What do we have in common with the unfamiliar faces and unfamiliar races around us? Our common ground is that we all of have the same Dad. We have all been created by the amazing creator of the universe. We are his sons and daughters, siblings and yes… NEIGHBORS.

No matter what we look like, where we have been, how we act, what we do or how we treat people… God looks at us and says “Mine. That one struggles with addiction but he is MINE. That one can’t let go of her pride but she is MY daughter. Those are self righteous, by they are MY self righteous children. He is homeless, a criminal, a prostitute, just plain annoying and selfish, hurt, broken, joyful, rich, or poor. All are different. All have different struggles. THEY ARE ALL MINE! Therefore, THEY ARE ALL EACH OTHERS!”

God's children

Created by Your Heavenly Father

Your sisters

 This means that we are quite literally family and that family code applies here (you know the “I can talk about my mama but you can’t talk about my mama “ attitude) The idea is that we have each other’s back no matter what.

We have all heard this verse preached at church and written on coffee mugs. I would even guess that we cradled Catholics know this verse by heart (that and the ole John 3:16). So if that is true, then why don’t we live it? Why is it not visible to the world that we genuinely love (not necessarily like) EVERY one of our neighbors to the point that it is evident in our actions? I would propose that it is because we do not in fact love our neighbor as we love ourselves. The verse is often skimmed over, the term love is diluted and many of us do not in fact love ourselves which leaves little room for us to love others.

SOOO how do we regain its meaning?

What if we exchanged the word “love” for the word “focus” so now it reads,

 “ FOCUS on your neighbor as you would FOCUS on yourself.”

Does that not shoot through our hearts a new challenge? Even if we struggle to love ourselves we still focus on our wants, our needs, our conveniences and much more than the needs and wants of others. Christ is calling us to take all the energy that we use to focus on ourselves and turn it to focus on His children, our siblings and our neighbors. That kind of attention should only then be turned into action.

If we so choose to do this in the way to which our savior calls us, we will be inconvenienced. We will have to face the fact that there is stuff going on in the world to which we as Americans can easily turn a blind eye. We will have to admit that there is more selfishness and greed in our hearts than we want to recognize. BUT… in the midst of that there is a really cool affect of putting this radical teaching into practice. See when we focus less on ourselves, the obscure neighbor that we are supposed to “love” gains a face, an identity and a story and our heavenly family begins to expand our horizon grows. Our tiny little kingdoms that we create begin to grow and look more like the kingdom that God created…the one that we are supposed to be working for.

Beating Around...Good Friday Truthiness

I was not going to write today (like I write every day or something). But I had a small, familiar epiphany this morning and I feel the need to share.

I have struggled so much in the past months with the feeling that I can never perform well enough as a Christian (btw this is the ultimate joy stealer). I mean I have had unbelievably petty battles in my head regarding this issue. Just last night, I was sitting in my bed praying a rosary for Holy Thursday and instead of meditating all I could think was… I bet this would be more pleasing to God if I were kneeling. I am also car shopping because I recently totaled mine and I (still) can not shake the feeling that God’s affection for me will be driven (pun intended) by what kind of car I end up buying.

Do you ever feel this way? That no matter what you DO, you could have done better and God would love you more? Is this not the most bonding feeling in the world? Is that not contrary to the gospel message, that we have been set free from bondage?

This Is How Precious You Are!!!!

Well God gave me a loving reminder this morning as I focused on the events of Good Friday. See, I was journaling and had all of this toil and angst weighing down on my heart. I was trying to fight it as I read John’s account of the crucifixion but couldn’t. And then I came to Christ’s final words, IT. IS. FINISHED. The bible then says the He exhaled and surrendered His spirit. All I could picture was an incomprehensibly exhausted Jesus Christ FINALLY finishing His task. After all the mockery and hate…it was finally over. Whether you believe in Him or not, you cannot deny what He endured, we will NEVER EVER EVER understand. But the end did come, and with a final surrender His sufferings ended and His glory began.

As I read this, I was overwhelmed with this conviction… Jesus Christ went through ultimate and humiliation so that I would know that I AM PRECIOUS and I am busy over here worried about kneeling or sitting to win His affection. Why am I wasting my time trying to 1. Earn what I can’t 2. Make God love me when He already does beyond my imagination?

You are taught this, but do you know it? Do you own it? Or do you look in the mirror and see the subpar? Do you go to church (or not go) and feel like you will never measure up? Do you live your life trying to be good so that you will be loved? Do you measure God’s affection for you based on your “good person” performance that week? Are you exhausted by it? Just stop! God CAN NOT possibly love you anymore, He knows all of your weaknesses and he still endured every step of Calvary to show you how precious you are to Him.

Do you wallow in any type of regret? Do you let your insecurities rule the way you look at yourself and others? Are you self-righteous because you cannot possibly understand a love this deep so you focus on tangible behavior? Do you struggle with addiction of any type at all? Do you have issues in your mind and heart that you believe would appall the loved ones around you? If any of your struggles, no matter what they are, cause you to questions Christ’s love for you, JUST STOP! Today we celebrate that fact that NONE OF IT MATTERS! All the weight of our wickedness was taken away! Christ sees you as precious, live in that truth! Don’t believe the lie that God’s affection for you can ever be earned.

 Therefore, if I stare at the crucifix and continue to wallow in my sin…I am again slapping and mocking my God because I am saying that after the price He paid to tell me that I am lovely wasn’t enough. But my friends, as He said, “ It Is Finished”, exhaled the last of His suffering and died… He looked at YOU and said… You ARE LOVELY!

YOU ARE ENOUGH! Believe that today!

Happy Good Friday!

Beating Around...A Resounding Amen!

I took this picture! (JK!) Can't wait though!

Can you believe it is already Wednesday of Holy Week? 2012 is literally flying by which means that it will be the end of the world before we know it (just kidding! Please don’t take that seriously). As I write this, I can picture in my mind a rather large cup of coffee complete with a touch of almond milk, a hint of sugar with a little cartoon face saying, “Mallory, I have missed you. Don’t ever leave me again!” But selfish desires aside, before that cup of coffee finally takes its place in my hand, we have much more joyful, victorious and humbling matters to cover!

As many of us know (and if you don’t…email me and we can chat), tomorrow starts the yearly celebration of the most important four days in the history of the universe. An ordinary man, from an ordinary profession with an ordinary pedigree did in fact turn out to be an extraordinary God. He was humiliated (great link about Christ and humiliation there), mocked, beaten and killed and for those who were with Him, nothing spells defeat more than a dead man on a cross. But what a happy trickster is our Lord and savior! While the fallen human eye saw a dead man, the spiritual world saw a one perfect life finally live and the King of Glory raised. Satan became the dead man and we received eternal life! Again, if you are a Christian, the next four days are the climax of our existence, no big deal.

In light of these AMAZING mysteries, I want to focus on one word. Having just learned the depth of its meaning, I wonder of the rest of us know what we are saying when we say… AMEN! To my dear Catholic friends, we say this word up to twenty-five times in the mass. To my dear Protestant friends, depending on your church, this word could be uttered more than twenty-five times during a deserving sermon. In both realms however, I would bet that like the word “love”, it has lost a bit of its meaning.

Is this cute enough to hold your attention?

See, many of us were taught that Amen means, “Yes, I agree”. While this is true, doesn’t it portray an amiable tip of the hat? For example, the Priest says, “The Body of Christ” and our response resembles a very lighthearted “I’ll cheers to that”. Yes, it is a friendly response, but our faith is so much more than friendly.

The actual meaning of the word is infinitely deeper, much more extreme and convicting. Although the origin of the word Amen goes back to Egypt, it was used by the Hebrews and literally meant, “ to stake one’s tent in the ground”. Over time this meaning evolved into a resounding, risky “I WOULD STAKE MY LIFE ON THAT.”

I know that I agree whole-heartedly with a spectrum of subjects on which I would never stake my life. For example, I agree with those who think that Harry Potter is better than Twilight (HOLLAR). I would NEVER however, bet my life on such an issue. Therefore, I cannot Amen that; I would be a liar.  I also agree with someone who thinks that ice-cream is best dessert in the world or that Mad Men is a great show. I would NEVER stake my life on these things.

It is only proven, indisputable truths on which I can sincerely bet my life like gravity or the existence of the tree against which I’m leaning(I know… creative examples). But there is still a risky difference when it comes to our faith. I would stake my life on gravity because it is proven. I can bet my life on the existence of that tree because I can touch it. It is easy to make such a profound statement like that because believing in the tangible requires no faith. Faith however, is not tangible or scientifically proven.  

While faith requires faith (hehe) we AMEN TWENTY-FIVE times during the mass! We AMEN to the resurrection of Jesus Christ when some don’t even believe that He existed. We AMEN to the body and the blood of Christ, one of the hardest concepts for the Christian to accept. WE BET OUR LIVES ON IT EVERYTIME WE SAY AMEN! We bet our lives on the truth of everything that Jesus ever did or said, the miracles He performed, and the commands He gave. We bet our lives on the truth of the bible and the truths of the church. Does anyone else not find this terrifying? See, if we wouldn’t bet our lives on this faith that we profess, and then every time we say Amen, we are lying. Friendly? I think not! And I am willing to bet my life that many of us (including myself) would not actually bet our lives on this stuff.

So here is my encouragement for this wonderful Easter week. No matter what you do for Easter, if you are in a Christian service, hearing yet again the glory of the passion and resurrection of our Lord and are tempted to think that it is the same old thing, ask yourself if you would bet your life on these events. Ask yourself if you would bet your life on the fact that one perfect God loves the train wreck that you are so much that he gave one perfect man to live a perfect life and die in perfect humility so that we could be free to delight in God as He delights in us. If you would, then say Amen as loudly and proudly as you can without being super obnoxious. If you don’t, then tell God (FYI He already knows) and ask Him for the faith to believe that deeply! Either way, I promise that this Easter will be more risky, a little less friendly and a  lot deeper.

Romans 11:36 “ For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be the glory forever! AMEN!”

Love you all!

Beating Around...Solar System Fun Time!

Holy Week is around the corner and I am so very excited for a couple of reasons! The first obviously being that we get to celebrate the single greatest act of love ever committed that simultaneously defeated evil (Jesus Christ Superstar?). The second being that I desperately want an obnoxiously large cup of coffee in my hand ASAP (followed by a piece of chocolate and later… a glass of wine).

With the Passion of Christ in mind, I decided that last night’s middle school youth night should be about…THE SOLAR SYSTEM!!! Holy Week equals the Solar System makes perfect sense right? Well I thought so and I hope you do to!

Our middle school sun...doesn't he look thrilled!

When we think about the solar system (only up to earth for now) we naturally picture the sun in the middle (because it is). It is stationary because its gravitational pull is so strong that the planets have no other choice but to revolve around it. Each planet’s gravitational pull is nothing compared to that of the sun. And so, the sun is literally the star of the solar system and everything else by its mere existence testifies to the its power and majesty.

Our earth for the night, what I make these poor kids do!

It would be foolish of us to say that earth, or any other planet (including Pluto as a planet) planets do not give off light or heat. 

So if we messed with our 5^th grade candy solar systems by say… placing the earth in the center, we would have all failed. If any other object in our solar system were placed in the middle besides the sun, the entire system would stop working.

Further more, the relationship between the earth and the sun is absolutely perfect for sustaining life on a planet. How crazy is it that if the distance between the earth and the sun were only slightly changed, all creation would cease to exist. Yes, even the slightest shift in the relationship between the earth and the sun would be fatal to all creation, as we know it.

Me explaining the workings of our solars system! (or half solar system as we only went up to the moon.

And this illustration my friends… is why Holy Week and the Passion of Christ is SO POWERFUL!

Enter: Break Down

So God created man to be in perfect relationship with him. God is perfect. Man was perfect. God is the life giver. Man is the life receiver. Therefore, God was the center of creation and the life of man revolved around God. This relationship was as perfect as the relationship between the sun and the earth. We (man) however decided that we don’t like having to revolve around God, but that we want creation to revolve around us. We therefore, shifted the relationship out of perfection and into perversion. It wasn’t a dramatic shift. It didn’t cause an earthquake or a volcanic explosion. No, it was a quiet rebellion in which we tried to switch the sun (God) and the earth (us). But as we have already discussed, the earth in the middle of the solar system leads to the death of the solar system. Man as the center of creation leads to the death of creation.

BUT (and this is a good but), because God so loved the world (John 3:16, someone shout out GLO-RAY). He knew that the only salvage this relationship was to shift it back into a God centric relationship yet also pay for the death that we caused by attempting to have everything revolve around us. And so, Jesus Christ, full man walked through this earth in perfect, original relationship with the Father so that God would be properly glorified as the center of our universe and we would receive life from Him, not death from ourselves.

My friends, this is what Jesus was passionate about! Every single moment of His life was lived for one thing and one thing only, to bring the focus back to God, giving life back to us (makes our passions look super lame doesn’t it). This is what kept him up at night. Every single action he took, every word he spoke, every drop of blood that he shed happened in order to prepare Him to finish what he started and to prepare us for the shift that would restore us to perfect relationship with our Father.

And so, as Jesus entered into Jerusalem on a donkey, the pinnacle of our history began. The last supper, the sweating of blood in the garden, the unceasing prayer, the handling of an angry mob, the condemnation of the Sanhedrin, the carrying of the cross, the death and the resurrection all occurred so that God the Father could be rightly glorified! So this means, that IT IS NOT ABOUT US!

How great is that news! One perfect man was SO passionate about the glory of the Father that he endured every single moment of what we celebrate as Holy Week. We read about it, we ponder it, we think that it is all about us and our salvation which is not false, but there is SO MUCH MORE here! Our salvation lies in the fact that this life is not about us, we didn’t reach perfection, we don’t deserve the credit and by the death of Jesus, we are free to revolve around God! And isn’t life a whole lot more satisfying when credit is given where credit is due?

Example

Proverbs 3: 6-7 says “ Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in ALL your ways SUBMIT to him, and he will make straight your paths.”

In another translation, the same verse reads, ACKNOWLEDGE HIM IN ALL YOUR WAYS! ALL YOUR WAYS! That means EVERYTHING! What would that look like? Would that change the way we view our Creator? Would it change the way we worship? Would it change the way we view our salvation if we am focused on His majesty instead of our brokenness? Well I did a little experiment…

Waking up: I am not responsible for the breath that gives me life. I did not think of it. He is the one who created breath. He is the one who thought of lungs and air. He is the one who created the sleep cycle that tells me when to sleep and when to wake. It was His idea to connect my brain to my heart, my eyes, my lungs so that in one glorious instant my eyes pop open to the rays of the sun, my lungs expand, and my brain tells me that it is time to get out of bed. God created it, so my waking up is not about me, it is about Him and His biological genius.

SO SCARY with eyeballs!

Brushing my teeth: I did not think of teeth, my God did. And aren’t teeth a funny thing anyway (imagine those wind up chattering teeth when they are by themselves). My God in his great humor thought of teeth and created all the workings of my mouth to be the avenue through which I am nourished. So my mouth, my teeth, what I eat and what I say should be an example of praise to the One who created it. Credit is due to my God with a sense of humor, not myself!

Breakfast and Coffee: This is my favorite time of day. But guess what, I did not come up with the idea of coffee (although I wish I could take credit for this one). My God produced the plant that produced the coffee bean. My God created the mind that decided to grind that bean and make it a drink. I can create a painting of a coffee mug (although God thought of paintings) but my delightful Father in Heaven created a delightful drink. And so, when I drink my coffee, it is not to my own credit, but the credit of my Father in Heaven. Credit is due my God with a sense of expression, not myself.

Leaving the house: As the sun rises over the Floridian bay, I drive over the bridge to work. I did not think of the sun! I did not think of the water! How lucky, how humble am I that I can even enjoy the view of such an ARTIST! At that moment, the idea that I was not the one to create anything that I have enjoyed, my breath, my awakening, my teeth brushing, my breakfast, or my environment. How can I possibly want to give myself credit for any of it? My GOD created it ALL!!! So should I ACKNOWLEDGE HIM IN ALL MY WAYS! I did not create my ways, HE DID. It is in this attitude and this focus that my salvation will bring me joy!

And so, life is more vibrant when God is the center of it because my Father is way more brilliant, way more hilarious and artistic than I!

This was Christ’s passion! This is what He died for! That we would recognize that our entire life is not a result of our brilliance but of God’s brilliance… it is in this mere fact that we have been set free!

Beating Around...Daddy Issues

This weekend, I was privileged to study the actions of species called the  “new grandparent” right in my own home. My parents came to visit and in hind sight… I should have made a documentary.  See, my clever, creative and cunning (always room for alliteration) sister-in-law started a blog in which my nephew Philip can share his thoughts and post video.I must say, he is incredibly well written for 3-month-old. It was such a brilliant idea, that my parents are playing Philip videos constantly. I have found myself starting to do the same. Here is the video so you can laugh before I go all heavy on you… no worries there always a hope at the end of my posts.

IS HE NOT THE BEE KNEES!!!!

Oh Hello World, I'm Philip and this is my Amazed Face!

My parents are both incredible human beings and did an amazing job parenting my brother and I (just look at the prodigies that Jared and I have become!) and we had a lovely time together (love you mam and dad)! Any who, during our 35^th visit to the blog this weekend there was a small line written by my nephew (tehe) that struck an unusual chord in my heart. In a perfect world, it should have been nothing more than a common statement, but if you live anywhere but under a rock, you know that our world is far from perfect. This is what Philip wrote,

“Highs, lows, a couple of surprises and one very pleasing compromise all occurred this week. Last week ended on a low point for me, but it was for a good reason. My daddy left for Maxwell Air Force Base on Saturday to begin his Commissioned Officer Training, which means mommy and I won’t see him for 5 weeks when we move to Virginia Beach. Even though mommy and I are sad that we can’t be with him, my daddy is my hero and we are very proud of him for his choice to serve our nation.”

My FAVORITE new family!

The issue of fatherhood for some reason has been reoccurring in my life if only to compel me to write to all of you. How many of us actually think of our dad’s as heroes… as OUR heroes? The answer should be 100% but if I were a bettin’ woman, I would place a lot of money on a less than 50% statistic that we look at our fathers and think … My Hero!

My dear friend Anthony said a few weeks ago “ I believe that one of the devil’s greatest victory has been to destroy fatherhood in this nation”, and I tell you that my heart stopped at the truth in this statement.

Think about it. If it is a man’s deepest desire to know that he has what it takes and it is a woman’s deepest desire to know that she is lovely then who are the first people to which we look for this answer? Our parents! And who is supposed to be the leader of the family? Our father! We as young children look to our fathers for the answer to this question but often times, because of either his words, his actions, or his absence, we hear a very loud no when we should have hear yes.

Where do we go? What do we do if the earthly man responsible for our life tells us that we do not have what it takes or we are not beautiful? No matter what excuse we make for ourselves, the disaster of fatherhood taking place in the world today is sending us spiraling; we are looking for someone, anyone to tell us “Yes, my son you DO have what it takes. Yes my daughter, you ARE lovely.” But the problem is no matter how many times we get a yes from others, we have one NO screaming to our hearts in the background, ruining everything.

Yes, Anthony… the devils biggest victory was to destroy fatherhood because in destroying the role of a dad, the family is destroyed, our self-worth is distorted, and we can’t even begin to love our Heavenly Father… our image of Him looks too much like that of our earthly father. Devastating.

So then what do we do? To spend our lives wallowing in the identity given to us by our earthly fathers will lead us to way too many terrible choices for which our father’s can not be held responsible. There must be a better option… especially since the devil is NOT the victor in this story.

My suggestion (take it or leave it) is to become an adult.  

 St. Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 13: 10 – 12

“But when the perfect arrives, the imperfect passes away. When I was a child, I spoke like a child. But when I became a man, I put aside the things of the child.”

When we walk out of our childhood into adulthood we can give our earthly fathers a break because perfection has arrived, our Heavenly Father. If we are looking to the Heavenly Father for the answers to our questions, then the distorted answers that we were given as a child (the imperfection) pass away. All of a sudden, the “No you do not have what it takes” and the “ No you are not lovely” noise that is constantly screaming in our hearts is stomped out and overcome with a resounding and permanent YES MY SON, YES MY DAUGHTER! YOU DO HAVE WHAT IT TAKES! YOU ARE LOVELY!

When we walk out of our childhood into adulthood we can forgive our earthly fathers because we see that they might be just as confused and lost as we. Imperfection passes, and perfection arrives. Our Heavenly Father is NOT CONFUSED or LOST! He knows our identity and he is constantly reminding us of whom we are,

1 John 3:1 “ How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, we should be called children of God! AND THAT IS WHAT WE ARE!”

Finally, we walk out of our childhood into adulthood we can take responsibility for the family that we will have one day. If we are looking to Perfection for our identity, then our children will not hear no when they ask us if they are worthy. They will hear a loud and permanent YES, because we are free to give them one.

We can be the generation that restores the beauty of the family and it starts with fatherhood (sorry men, no pressure!). Women, hold the men around you up to a new standard, to an adult standard! It’s time that we quit allowing our twenty somethings to be boys who can shave (shout out Matt Chander for the term) and have sex!

Men look to the Father for your worth and act out of the identity that HE gives you. This will guarantee that your children will be saying what my nephew did “ Daddy is my hero”.

Love you all!  

     Mallory