Hotel Rwanda & Abraham's blessing

g'afternoon! it kind of feels like it should be evening, though its only early in the afternoon. we went to bed late last night after watching 'hotel rwanda' (more about this later in the blog) and then i woke up at 2am to the sounds of my husband's sickness-inspired moaning. he has been feeling 'off' for about a week now and it seems to come and go, but last night he awoke with an upset stomach and a horrible headache. then he had to get up at 5:30am to make the charity golf scamble he's currently participating in..i took him and then tried to go back to sleep- no luck. sleeping isn't my forte to begin with and once i am awake, it usually a lost cause.

i had weird dreams last night during the few hours i actually was asleep. its no wonder where the dreams came from- we attempted to fall asleep after watching the movie 'hotel rwanda'- its not the kind of movie you can watch and then roll over say 'g'night' to yoru beloved and drift off into cotton-candy dreamland. not at all. but don't let that deter you from seeing it- PLEASE see it. and i would love to hear how it affects you.

i kept having two thoughts. 1.) i cannot even remotely imagine living in such a war-torn place...looking down the street and seeing your neighbors drug from their homes and beaten...i cannot imagine worrying about what regime would next take over...in the movie, the parents are forced to think about what to do if they are faced with the corrupt soldiers at their door- whether to be shot or to jump form the roof with their children. i cannot even tihnk like that. it made me want to be thankful for the freedoms we selfishly enjoy, but i couldn't quite get there... and 2.) it made me think that if i was in that world, i would be glad to be married to my husband...because he is so quick on his feet and courageous. ( and i am not just saying that because he might read this- i mean it)

anyway, we are going to africa sometime in the next 6 months...we are still working out how to do that (with or without attaching ourselves to another group and $ and all of that)...but we are going. even if we have to pay a boat load of cash from our own pockets. its something we are really passionate about. we want to go and stay in a village for some substantial time (3-4 weeks)...shawn is going to photo journal the whole thing and i am going to write the stories of the people he photographs. anyway...after seeing that movie, it made it all more real to me...it made me think working on this book could very well be one of the hardest and most important things we ever do...

so, go and see the movie. i wish i could say more about it, but after seeing something so powerful sometimes it feels like there isn't much left to say...seeing it yourself will suffice.

so i am almost half way through the book mentioned in the last post ("a generous orthodoxy" by brian mclaren) and i can honestly say i am enjoying it. really and truly enjoying it. i think the guy (unjustly) gets a bad rap from the majority of the Christian community. i would say if you are an adult who has lived a little and loves Jesus, you should read this book. you don't have to agree with everything the guys says (i don't) but i think if you read it with an open heart and mind and keep your eyes on Jesus, it has the potential to really enrich you as a follower of Jesus.

he says a couple of things i couldn't help but agree with...

"1. the more i study the Bible and reflect on the life and teachings of Jesus, the more i think most of Christianity as practiced today has very little to do with the real Jesus found there. 2. often i don't tihnk Jesus would be caught dead as a Christian, were He physically here today 3. Generally, i don't think Chsitians would like Jesus if he showed up today as he did 2,000 years ago. in fact, i think we'd call him a heretic and plot to kill him, too."

...you might not agree with all of those statements or even any of them fully, but it should make you think. i wonder if there is any truth to that? i wonder if we have moved so far from what is really is to be a little Christ, that even Jesus Himself wouldn't want to be one? bold statements? absolutely (brave too) completely far fetched? i don't think so. you can call mclaren a heretic, but i think he might be on to something here. even if you think he is dead wrong on every count..
.at least do yourself the favor of considering his claims...at very minimum ASK GOD what He thinks...that's where i am. i really want to know what God thinks about that... cause if mclaren is wrong, cool. then i guess we can all go on patting ourselves on the back and feeling really smart and 'right' but if not, well..i need to know that. like yesterday. so please don't just react to the name 'mclaren' (now i am wishing i left his name out of it.oh well) but consider those comments and pray and then please share...

the other thing in the book that has been 'rocking me' (i am learning to speak like my hubby *grin*) is this... the thought that as Christians we are to be a blessing to the world. this thought may seem obvious to some of you (good for you, if that's the case) but for me its kind of revolutionary. not that i didn't mentally know it, but maybe i haven't heard it expressed much in the Christian circles i have run in. especially since i mean the whole world and not just the Christians...but i love the thought for a few reasons... 1. because it solves most of my problems with cultural Christianity (you know, how selfish we can be...how hard on 'outsiders' we are...the arrogance that comes from thinking its all about us and how much better we are than the unbelievers we know and the believers who don't know how 'right' we are...) 2. it really seems the most like Jesus 3. its BIBLICAL...God told Abraham "I will bless you and I will make you a blessing to others. I will make your name and nation great AND through you all nations will be blessed."

i have heard a lot about the first part- the whole 'your name will be great and your nation blessed'... as a spiritual seed of Abraham, i have heard that a lot. and i believe it too. attach the second half of that promise though and you get a fuller picture 'through you ALL nations will be blessed'. i so desperately want to be that blessing in my little world...i want to be a follower of Christ and seed of Abraham that proves God to be the ultimate promise-keeper. i want to bless the earth and the peoples in it- i want to be a member of the body that does that...instead of Christianity being seen as judgemental and arrogant and the cause of a lot of problems in history and in the world, wouldn't it be awesome to see that view evolve into a picture of the Church as a blessing?!?! wouldn't it be great to be able to say you are a Christian without wanting to add a disclaimer..wouldn't it be amazing to say it and to know the image in people's mind is one of service to the poor of love and truth lived out in an attractive way ? (i don't mean attractive as in 'cool', but as in 'drawing people to')

okay this is long and probably somewhat disjointed because i have been writing all day with various disruptions (ahh...life *grin*) would love to hear your thoughts...

from one hopeful believer to another...have a blessed day!