In a time when few of us agree on much, it’s nice to focus on what cannot be ignored. We didn’t create all this. We didn’t create ourselves. And there are certain things we have no control over.

Fortunately, the God Who made it all is both powerful and kind. Let’s rest in that today.

“‘They are your servants and your people, whom you redeemed by your great strength and your mighty hand. O Lord, let your ear be attentive to the prayer of this your servant and to the prayer of your servants who delight in revering your name. Give your servant success today by granting him favor in the presence of this man.’

I was the cupbearer to the king.”

Nehemiah 1:10-11

Last time Nehemiah asked God to remember the promise He made to His people: if they bodyguard and accomplish His commands, He would bring them Home to the place His Name dwells. Today we conclude Nehemiah’s prayer.

“God, we are your slaves ransomed by Your vast power and fierce ability alongside us. Adonai, let your ear be attentive to the prayer of your servant and of your servants who take pleasure in revering Your Name.

Give me success by granting me deep compassion before the face of the king – for I was a butler, one giving him drink.”

Such goodness in the wording. I particularly love how Nehemiah recounts the way God ransomed His people: by His chazaq yad – mighty hand. Chazaq can mean fierce, stubborn, stalwart. Yad (hand) translates to authority, care, ability, alongside. Entrust.

Oh yes, we can trust Him. Even (especially?) when things feel upside down. My Word this morning was Romans 8:18: “Yet what we suffer now is nothing compared to the glory he will reveal to us later.”

And we suffer here, don’t we? It is not all tiny, it’s simply tiny in comparison to what lies ahead. Glory, the masterpiece of a tapestry He’s weaving all over the world in people’s hearts. More than we could ever ask or imagine among those who take pleasure in revering His Name; who want to make Him famous. His stubborn, fierce authority and care and ability alongside of us is enough to make it. Oh yes, in the meantime we groan. But He makes it all worth something. And He really can be trusted.

We also finally see Nehemiah’s role in the king’s court: a cupbearer. The priority task in this role was to taste the wine before the king to ensure it wasn’t poisoned. While that might seem a menial job, as we will see later, it was one that held much trust and esteem with the king. Nehemiah saw him daily and clearly had his ear.

The Hebrew in Nehemiah’s prayer for mercy before this king is tender. “Grant me success by giving me deep compassion before the face of the king.” Surely that’s what mercy is, that mercy that is new every morning, giving us a fresh start.

When I pray for our family to have tender hearts toward God and people, I haven’t thought much about how that prayer is simply a request for our hearts to be more like His. Tender, deep compassion. So tender God can grant it to a pagan king on behalf of a people he likely never thinks about.

Fortunately, The One Who rules the universe is always thinking of us. And His compassions never fail.

Coming up at Watermark: Sheila Kohler with a reading of her book Once We Were Sisters tomorrow, January 20 at 6:00 pm. Then Elizabeth McKenzie will be here next Wednesday the 25th at 6 for a signing of her book The Portable Veblen.

The Extension Office is offering a court-approved bi-lingual class Great Beginnings for Families beginning today, January 19th. This class is held once a week for 3 weeks and there is still time to register.

Today at Wichita Art Museum enjoy the Presence Program: The Gift of Art. This is for adults with early to mid-stage memory loss and care partners beginning at 10:30.

Do you know about Wichita Restaurant Week? With a heads up from Wichita on the Cheap, I was reminded of the opportunity to try a participating restaurant or a new menu item with 10% going toward the Boys and Girls Club of South Central Kansas.

Green Acres West and Bradley Fair are hosting their Annual Health Fair this Saturday the 21st from 11-2. Enjoy visits with local practitioners, samples, in-store savings, and more.

Whole Foods is hosting Community Giving Day and Food Bag Building for Kids. First, this Monday the 23rd from 7:30-9:00, 5% of Whole Foods profits will be donated to the Kansas Food Bank’s program Food 4 Kids.

Then come back on Wednesday the 25th any time from 6-8 pm to help fill 250 empty bags with goodies for kids who can’t count on meals at home on the weekends. You can spend a few minutes or an hour helping, with sample stations throughout the store to stay energized.

Catch Dennis Ray Miller performing at Mead’s Corner tomorrow, January 20th, from 7-9 pm.

Then Saturday the 21st, come to Game Night at Reverie from 5:30-8:00.

Also saw at Wichita on the Cheap a Free Movie Night at The Orpheum Friday the 20th at 7:00 pm.

Library

Did you know the Library is hosting an online book club (#ICTBC)? You can log on to their Facebook page for live discussions.

And see all upcoming events here, including Lost Census Data: Bridging the Gap by the Wichita Genealogical Society, and Fracking and Earthquakes: Is There a Link?

Have a great weekend!

Cauliflower pizza crust

Parents dropped off a mattress topper. Looked like something else.

Ice

Winter Glory

Your 7 Days?

“Never before have I written so long a letter…I can assure you that it would have been much shorter if I had been writing from a comfortable desk, but what else can one do when he is alone in a narrow jail cell, other than write long letters, think long thoughts and pray long prayers?”

Truth be told, I haven’t ever read a full letter of Martin Luther King’s. But I read the following Letter from a Birmingham Jail in its entirety this morning. It was eloquent, convicting, incredible. May we use the day honoring his memory to understand what he did, why he did it, and how we can continue to use our voice in our divided nation:

Letter from a Birmingham Jail

“Remember the instruction you gave your servant Moses, saying,

‘If you are unfaithful, I will scatter you among the nations, but if you return to me and obey my commands, then even if your exiled people are at the farthest horizon, I will gather them from there and bring them to the place I have chosen as a dwelling for my Name.'”

Nehemiah 1:8-9

Last time Nehemiah led us in ensuring we include ourselves in yadah – thankful confession. Today we continue to peek in on the next word of His prayer: Remember.

“LORD, Bring to mind the charge you laid upon your servant Moses:

If you act treacherously, I Myself will shake you to the nations. But if you turn back towards Me by bodyguarding and accomplishing my commands…I will gather you (though you are driven to the edge of the heavens) and bring you to the home where I have chosen My Name and Fame to settle down and dwell.”

I appreciate so much of the Hebrew wording in this. Particularly the doubles: I Myself will shake you. We never have to wonder if our Good, Good Father is behind any discipline in our lives. Of course He is. He loves us too much to be indifferent. And if we’re really honest with ourselves we are so glad.

I also love turn back and towards Me. “Don’t just turn, turn to Me!” We don’t just turn away from what we know isn’t best for us; we turn right into His arms. If we know Him this way, repentance is a relief.

And the way we turn into His arms by doing two things: bodyguarding His commands and actually doing them. In the Hebrew there are two separate words used. Yes, we carefully observe and watch over His commands, but the way we do that is by obeying them. Bringing them forth into the world in our sphere of influence. What we know in our head moves its way into our hearts and, after a while, we realize we are walking this thing out with Him. It really does look better to us to give than receive. We really do desire to turn the other cheek, live lives of servanthood, pray for those who persecute us and die to ourselves so we can live for Him.

Ah, but now the best part: No matter how far away we’ve roamed or He’s scattered us as His people, He will gather us and He Himself will bring us Home. It’s what we all want, isn’t it? To be Home? In a place of perfect comfort and acceptance, yet where we’re challenged to grow and learn and discover and have dominion.

But the best news is we don’t have to wait until the New Earth. We have a taste of this here and now, amidst the chaos of brokenness. We ourselves are the place He has chosen to dwell. Our union has begun. Because of the Cross we are perfectly accepted and forgiven and chosen now. We are given work and challenged to grow and commanded to ask, seek, and knock now.

Oh praise the One Who paid my debt and raised this life up from the dead!

It’s 2nd Saturday time! Save some money, share some local love.

Feel the BRRR: Art Start for Groups at Wichita Art Museum is today at 10:00 and 1:30. Your kids can show different expression of cold in this free class. Registration is required.

So great: Children’s Book Sale at Watermark begins tomorrow the 13th and goes through Monday the 16th. Shop local and find great gifts for the kids in your life. (And their Cafe is hiring.)

Did you know the Bridal Expo is coming up this weekend? Come to Century II the 14th-15th from 10-5 for prizes, 260 booths, and samples of cakes and catering.

Check out Green Acres Bradley Fair’s Garden of Life Tent Sale today through the 14th.

Also Breakfast with Matt this Saturday the 14th as he discusses Iodine: how it can help fight disease, inflammation, and more. Please RSVP at 316.634.1088.

Oh good: the Bike Walk Wichita Workshop at Whole Foods is back on tonight from 6-7.

And Yoga for Runners workshop is on Sunday the 15th from 10:30-11:30 next door to Whole Foods at lululemon.

And Smoothies for Kids class is coming up Monday the 15th at Whole Foods from 10-11.

Come see Shapes at Mead’s Corner this Saturday from 7-9. And Poetry for Parents Open Mic Wednesday the 18th from 7-9 pm.

The Caffeinated Lab Class at Reverie this Saturday is Cupping Essentials from 10-11:30. Make sure to get your ticket first.

Come to the Donut Whole tomorrow night, Friday the 13th (really?), for Karaoke for all ages

And the Kansas Grown Farmers Market will be holding their Indoor Sale this Saturday the 14th in the Sedgwick County Extension Center.

Library:

Have you heard about the 1000 Books Before Kindergarten Reading Challenge?

And we know 2nd Saturday means Second Saturdays of Code

There’s so much more coming up, including a Toddler Dance Party. So you know that will be good times.

Have a great weekend!

Checkers with GGPa

Doodle Dice with GGMa

(Cold) walk to the river

Glory (via The DIY Mommy)

Your 7 Days?

I saw a tweet this weekend that’s had me thinking. “What if we assigned positive intent to others’ motives?”

What would happen if we did this one thing? Of course, with people in our real lives. But also with those we interact with online, whose podcasts or sermons or blog posts we read? What if, unless we sit down face to face or over the phone and discover otherwise, we assume they are not deliberately looking for conflict or upset things we hold dear?

I think it could change a lot. It will take a lot of tenderizing of our hearts. It will mean taking those assumed slights to prayer instead of the internet. But I think we can do it.

I realize there are many exceptions. Some people are looking for a fight. But even so, could we think through their “why?”. Could we still take the majority of conflict to the Throne instead of the Twitter?

Obviously, if peace-making does not include peace-keeping, there will be times when we take up conflicting ideas and situations and systemic practices and assumptions and seek change. But could we do it in a way that does not attack character or individual people? Could we assume there are reasons behind why people do what they do and believe what they believe? I think we could. As another tweet I read recently asserted, “Empathy and resistance are not mutually exclusive.”

What do you think?

“I confess the sins we Israelites, including myself and my father’s house, have committed against you. We have acted very wickedly toward you. We have not obeyed the commands, decrees and laws you gave your servant Moses.”

Nehemiah 1:6b-7

Last time we got a memoir-level view of Nehemiah’s new place to dwell: in prayer for his brothers and sisters. Today we get to dig more deeply into this prayer, starting with yadah – thankful confession. He is very aware of how the sins are hovering over the Israelites. But not just those back in Jerusalem – Nehemiah  makes sure to include himself and his father’s house. Not only his generation but also the ones before responsible for being sent into exile.

We are all guilty. We all have borne the loss of His presence, sent out of Eden. None of us have perfectly bodyguarded His commands, the boundaries He lovingly places in our lives, or His beautiful mishpat – loving justice and judgments to which He charges us as His messengers in a world desperate to know them.

So perhaps the second thing Nehemiah’s actions teach us is how to include ourselves in thankful confession. The awareness of our own shortcomings and sins in any situation. It is almost never good side/bad side. Situations in life are often way more nuanced than that. Fortunately we have a Just Judge Who sees all.

And His perfect mishpat has made a way for all who believe to be righteous.