Fleshing Out God's Call, Family Style....

So.  Today I am speaking for a BIG 10 Minutes to a small group of people about my involvement with The Spero Project.  (A local non-profit ministering to the under-resourced populations in Oklahoma City).  I got this text from Kim, the co-founder, she was really specific with her request and asked me to speak on:

"What the crafting co-op has meant to me and what I've learned."

um.

well.

(I was unsure where to begin. So I sat down to hash is out on the key board.  (I like the sound of myself typing much more than the sound of myself talking!)  Plus many of you know I am involved with Spero, but don't know how I initially got involved.) 

I thought I would start off by telling you how it all began.

3 years ago, Denver played a show for an organization called Keep It Local, here in Oklahoma City to benefit a "new" local non-profit, The Spero Project.  I was invited through Facebook to attend.  When I clicked on the "event" page to confirm my attendance, I saw a link posted for The Spero Project.  So.  I clicked.  Curiously, I surfed around the site, and instantly my heart was drawn to their mission.

"Confronting injustice and oppression by mobilizing the Church to fully engage in a Biblical response to under-resourced populations."

At the time I was in a strange point in my faith.  I was currently in a Bible study at church, and really digging into scripture with a group of amazing women.  We were knee deep in the old testament and I felt spiritually saturated, as if I needed to wring myself out... I visited another Bible Study (out of curiosity).  They were studying Isaiah.  This Bible study group was well known for digging into the word, and picking apart scripture, I was excited because I felt like I needed something "deeper".  After attending for 3-4 weeks I realized this was NOT the "deeper" I anticipated.  Yes, it was an in-depth study on Isaiah, but my discerning spirit kept nudging me, telling me this is not the place I was to be.  

I remember sitting in a circle and looking around the room the women.  We all looked alike, we all probably shopped at the mall, we all probably ate at Chick-fil-a, we all probably attended church, we all probably went to college, we all probably drove mini-vans... We sat there, in that circle discussing the following verse: 

Isaiah 1:17- 

"Take your evil deeds

out of my sight!

Stop doing wrong, 

learn to do what is right!

Seek justice, 

encourage the oppressed.

Defend the cause of the fatherless, 

plead the cause of the widow."

Out of no where I felt disgust ripping through my chest.  My eyes went blank and I mentally removed myself from the conversation that was going on within the circle I sat.  Suddenly, I found myself begging the questions:  WHY are we sitting in this million dollar building, talking about these issues, and why are we NOT doing them?!!?!  All of these women are 20, 30, 40 years old... WHY are we still talking about seeking justice, encouraging the oppressed, defending the fatherless and pleading for the widow????  WHY are we talking and WHY we are NOT DOING?!?!?! WHY?!?!  

I left Bible study that day feeling so unsure, convicted, repentant, burdened, overwhelmed... I had no means of articulating the emotions rising up in me that were spurred by this one small verse.  

I drove home, went on with life, but this inner rage never left.  It was as if God opened my heart and mind to things unseen and I could no longer look away, my soul scarred from the Holy Spirits prodding. (I have learned that  when true conviction sets in by the means of the Holy Spirit, you may run, you may try to hide, but He will seek you out, at all cost.)

God and I conversed continuously over those few weeks. I countered His calling with statements and questions like: How do I live this way; seeking, encouraging, defending, pleading?  My kids are too small (2 and 6 mo at the time). I have no money to donate.  I cannot drop my family and move to an orphanage in Africa, God.  I have children to care for, a husband to love, a family to build, how do I have time for this commissioning you have put on my heart??  He kept gently responding with, "I know, Heather.  Trust me.  Give ME the reigns to your life."  In our conversation I kept yanking those reigns tighter, claiming ownership to the life He gave me.  I came up with every excuse in the book, and God kept nodding, confirming that He knew my current situation, and the life He created for me did not discount the call he placed in my life.... Then, I had a revelation... God's Call and My Life are not mutually exclusive... They are instead harmonious, and when blended into ONE they are a beautiful display of sacrificial living.  

The lightbulb clicked on, shining a light on the fact that my life was caged by the excuses I was uttering.  I set up fences, gates, doors, barriers, walls because I had children who were growing and I had a marriage that was thriving... 

Thoughts started taking over my mind.  What would it look like if I sought justice with my children by my side?  What would it look like if my husband, children and I encouraged the oppressed in our neighborhood?  How could the family God gave me defend the fatherless?  Hand in hand, could we serve the widow?   

I had come to  point where I was willing to let the fence I built around my life fall.  Letting go of security and ownership of my own family I was willing to say "Yes" to the Holy Spirits nudge.  At the time I was unsure of what I was saying yes to.  I didn't know of the ugly tears that I would cry or how parched my soul had become, and no destination was set in front  of me.  I was simply saying yes to obedience. 

One morning, I happened to run an errand for my husband and I stopped in a local store, Shop Good to buy some tickets to a Charlie Hall cd release show.  I walked in, lugging my giant infant carseat, ready to buy 2 tickets, when I met Audrey, one of the owners of Shop Good.  We instantly hit it off (only because we were meant to be friends) she began telling me about The Spero Project.  Every purchase made in Shop Good gives back locally or internationally, and the local non-profit they were currently supporting was The Spero Project.  I knew that rang a bell, because Denver was playing a benefit show for them coming up... so she gave me more and more info on what they did and gave me an e-mail of one of the girls who helps coordinate volunteers.

I left Shop Good that warm morning, with e-mail in hand... not knowing the repercussions of that encounter.  Later that day, I e-mailed Kelly (the name on the card) and met up with her the next week.

As we sat in a crowded Starbucks on a crowded Friday morning she asked:

Kelly: "Do you know what a refugee is?"

Me:  "Do we have refugees in Oklahoma!?"

Kelly:  "Yes.  Do you know where Burma is?"

Me: "Wait....We. Have. Refugees. In. Oklahoma. ?"

Kelly: "Yes...from Burma, Russia, Iraq, Afganistan, the Congo, Kenya, Jordan, Iran..... Can you come next week to our crafting co-op?  Wednesday night at 7:00." 

Thoughts started pouring into my head (Wait, Wednesday night?  I will have my kids.  Alone.  And...7:00... that's around bedtime....no. way. can. I. do. this.)

Me: "Can I bring my kids?"

Kelly: "They would LOVE for you to bring your kids"

Me: "I will be there...." 

I got into the car that morning, unsure of what I had committed to, but I knew it was right.  The next week I met the women and community that would change my life.  An entire community full of families: men, women, and children affected by war, genocide, religious persecution... within 10 miles from my doorstep. I saw families who had children snatched out of their homes to fight war; families that spent years in the jungle displaced because of war; families that had to pack 1 suitcase in a matter of minutes to leave the only life they ever knew because of war...  Families who were oppressed, children who were fatherless, women who were widowed... because of injustice. Isaiah 1:17 fleshed out.

I began to be involved in the refugee crafting co-operative through The Spero Project.  Women, sitting in a circle, on the floor, sewing, cutting, gluing, crafting... And through the work of our hands relationships were forged that went deeper than language, a love was developed that was carved in my heart so hard it will never leave, a respect grew that exceeds all the mountains in my life, and friendship that knows no cultural boundaries.  I am humbled by these women who I have sat with for 3 years, women from Burma, from Thailand, from Jordan, from Russia.  I am thankful for their children, who have played with my children, who have held my babies, who have braided my daughters hair and made my sons laugh.

After having my 3rd baby, the girls insisted I have a native Burmese wrap to carry my babies in.   I have yet to master the native art of "baby wearing" but Zadie sure enjoys it! 

As I reflect on the question "What the crafting co-op has meant to me, and what I have learned" words cannot express rapid beating in my heart, the swelling of my soul and the tingling in my eyes.  The tears shed, the nights I have lied in bed asking "why God?" on their behalf, the embarrassment I have bore because of our self-absorbed American culture, and the indignation I have felt towards a church that have looked over this population... no words can express these emotions that rise up in me.  No words can express the gratitude rooted in my soul, or the joy I feel after being with my community.

I did it because I was called, I do it because I love. 

Kim-chee is from Burma.  She came to our most recent Christmas craft co-operative.  She has been in the US for  under a year. 

War Gay is Karen, she is from Burma and has been doing work for the crafting co-op  since it's creation.  Her work is meticulous and all hand done.  She embroiders most of the clothing and Tom's that we have done.

Today I read Ezekiel 17:22-24

²² “‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: I myself will take a shoot from the very top of a cedar and plant it; I will break off a tender sprig from its topmost shoots and plant it on a high and lofty mountain. ²³ On the mountain heights of Israel I will plant it; it will produce branches and bear fruit and become a splendid cedar. Birds of every kind will nest in it; they will find shelter in the shade of its branches. ²⁴ All the trees of the forest will know that I the Lord bring down the tall tree and make the low tree grow tall. I dry up the green tree and make the dry tree flourish.

“‘I the Lord have spoken, and I will do it.’”

Birds of every kind will nest in it; they will find shelter in the shade of it's branches.  Yes.  Yes, they will.

I encourage you to say yes to obedience, and let that direct your path.  Your path will not be my own.  Maybe it is allowing your widowed grandmother to live with your family, serving the homeless, visiting a nursing home or helping a non-profit in your local church community.  Whatever it is be sensitive to the Holy Spirit's nudge, and don't allow your family to be an excuse, but invite your children to serve alongside you.  Hold their hand, walk with them into ministry, talk about needs of people in front of your children, encourage their questions, and give them SAFE and controlled opportunities to serve.  Sometimes their innocence, laughter and their smile can break barriers and bring peace to those in need the most.

Here are some projects our co-op has done through the years.

TOMS, TOMS AND MORE TOMS

We have hand embroidered over 500 pairs of Toms for Blue 7 here in Oklahoma City.  We have done mustache Toms, Scissor Tail Toms (shown below), Thunder Toms, OK Toms, Redbud Toms ... 

And we thank the staff at Blue 7  for supporting the refugee co-op in this way.   

(You can purchase our TOMS at Blue 7) 

OKLAHOMA CANVASES

We have done a variety of Oklahoma themed canvases that we have sold at SHOP GOOD in Oklahoma City.  

CUSTOM JEWELRY AND ACCESSORIES 

Throughout the years we have done a variety of handmade custom jewelry and accessories.  We have done necklaces, earring, pins, headbands, and clips.  These are just a few that I have pictures of.  We sell our custom jewelry at SHOP GOOD 

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Spiritual Warfare on the Home-front

I love C.S. Lewis.  I am not sure if it is because he captured my heart and mind in his Chronicles of Narnia, or that when I read his theological essays or books I feel intelligent. (*wink*)  But needless to say, his work has made an impact on my life.

God has been nudging me to reread C.S. Lewis's book, The Screwtape Letters recently.  (<-- Thats a link to an online PDF version you can read for free) I read them 7-8 years ago, and I felt the need to go back to them and delve a little deeper.  If you are unfamiliar with The Screwtape Letters, it is a series of letters from the a demon named Screwtape, to his apprentice demon (also nephew) Wormwood.  Here is Wikipedia's summary of the book: 

In The Screwtape Letters, C.S. Lewis provides a series of lessons in the importance of taking a deliberate role in living out Christian faith by portraying a typical human life, with all its temptations and failings, as seen from devils' viewpoints. Screwtape holds an administrative post in the bureaucracy ("Lowerarchy") of Hell, and acts as a mentor to Wormwood, the inexperienced tempter. In the body of the thirty-one letters which make up the book, Screwtape gives Wormwood detailed advice on various methods of undermining faith and promoting sin in the Patient, interspersed with observations on human nature and Christian doctrine. Wormwood and Screwtape live in a peculiarly morally reversed world, where individual benefit and greed are seen as the greatest good, and neither demon is capable of comprehending God's love for man or acknowledging true human virtue when he sees it.

One of the main reason I love The Screwtape Letters is that it gives the reader a glimpse into the mind of the enemy in a tangible way.  So often our knees buckle at the thought of "spiritual warfare".  We hear that cliche phrase and immediately change the subject or we respond with something like "that stuff creeps me out"...  Well, unfortunately turning a blind eye, hiding in a hole of ignorance or pretending that its imaginary is exactly what the enemy wants us to do.   

In Screwtape's third letter he talks about a certain situation that has proven to take ahold of me time and time again. Wormwood's patient has recently become a believer and he has moved in with his mother.  Screwtape gives some instruction on how to drive a wedge between the patient's mother and himself.  This is what he said in the 3rd and 4th point: 

"3. When two humans have lived together for many years it usually happens that each has tones of voice and expressions of face which are almost unendurably irritating to the other. Work on that. Bring fully into the consciousness of your patient that particular lift of his mother's eyebrows which he learned to dislike in the nursery, and let him think how much he dislikes it. Let him assume that she knows how annoying it is and does it to annoy—if you know your job he will not notice the immense improbability of the assumption. And, of course, never let him suspect that he has tones and looks which similarly annoy her. As he cannot see or hear himself, this is easily managed.

4. In civilised life domestic hatred usually expresses itself by saying things which would appear quite harmless on paper (the words are not offensive) but in such a voice, or at such a moment, that they are not far short of a blow in the face. To keep this game up you and Glubose must see to it that each of these two fools has a sort of double standard. Your patient must demand that all his own utterances are to be taken at their face value and judged simply on the actual words, while at the same time judging all his mother's utterances with the fullest and most oversensitive interpretation of the tone and the context and the suspected intention. She must be encouraged to do the same to him. Hence from every quarrel they can both go away convinced, or very nearly convinced, that they are quite innocent. You know the kind of thing: "I simply ask her what time dinner will be and she flies into a temper." 

As I read through this "instruction" from Screwtape to Wormwood, I thought about my own actions with my spouse, with family members, or co-workers... Yikes, this is a trap I can easily fall into.  Those irritating glances, or using "innocent" words but with a condescending tone... Ouch, again!!

After suddenly becoming aware of my own faults I realized that I was not only hurting those around me, but I was falling right into the hands of my enemy... Satan.  He was playing me like a fiddle.

Satan wants us to believe that Spiritual Warfare only exists in taro cards, crystal balls and seances, but the reality is that he (Satan) can be at work in patronizing remarks, judgmental thoughts, jabbing jargon and snobbish glances.  This is exactly how he creeps into or relationships with friends, family and especially our spouse.  All it takes is experiencing one or two of those "blow to the face" comments to drive a thick wedge between you and someone you love.

Just as I can be the one dishing out those arrogant arguments, I can just as easily be the party guilty of "oversensitive interpretation"....  So, count me as guilty on both counts!  (boo) 

What an easy whirlpool to get caught up in... each reaction will spawn the other spinning faster and faster until your relationship is damaged or broken.  (which is Satan's anticipated result) 

SO HOW DO WE GUARD AGAINST THE ENEMY????

Don't be ignorant....Be ALERT and of SOBER MIND:  Before reading this letter, I knew that my behavior was not "the best" but I was ignorant (in some ways) that it was actually "falling victim to temptation" or falling into the category of "spiritual warfare".

1 Peter 5:8-9 says: "⁸ Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. ⁹ Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings."

We must:

• Be Alert and of Sober Mind by living in the reality that Satan's mission is to devour. 
• Resist Satan by identifying his voice and turning away.
• Stand Firm in Faith by being in the Word, praying, participating in corporate worship regularly. 
• Not Feel Alone by knowing GOD is on your side and surrounding yourself with likeminded people. 

Satan desires the antithesis of this: to be isolated, lacking faith, and to be used by him.   Of course you read that and think, "oh, I would never be at that point", but reality is that most of us have been there.  

Remind yourself of what Jesus said in John 10:10

"The thief comes only to steal, kill and destroy, but I have come so that they may have life, and have it to the full."

I ask this question to you and to myself.... Are you living life to the full as Christ intended?  Or are you allowing Satan to steal your joy, kill your relationships and destroy your witness? 

Its a daily process, we must reassess each day.  God is for us!  He wants our relationships to thrive, he wants our marriages to survive, he wants healthy families.  He also wants us to live in the light, and sometimes that is hard to do, because we must face our faults and fess up to our mistakes, making amends where necessary and changing our behavior when conviction takes hold of our hearts. His ways are greater than our own, and we must trust them. Even though the skeptic in us wants to believe our husband had an ulterior motive in folding the laundry for us, sometimes the reality is that he was just trying to help! 

James 4:7- 

So humble yourself before God. Resist the devil [stand firm against him], and he will flee from you.

Thanks for reading. 

This post is linked up to


"Prowess and Pearls" Doing You Well Wednesday #11