^{v. 10}  For a day in your courts is better than a thousand elsewhere. I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of wickedness.  Psalm 84:10 (ESV)

Why is being with God better?

BUT WHY?… why is it better? why? I’ve heard this verse used as the beginning to worship sets and services for years. And sometimes the reasons were hinted at, but really never examined. Why is “being in worship” (which it almost always got translated to somehow) better than being elsewhere? – Is it because church people are extra nice and friendly?, or because music is beautiful or sermons are inspirational? Maybe those things are true. (or maybe not?) but the Psalmist boldly gives the answer explicitly in the lines before and after the ones always quoted:

v. 9 Behold our shield – God; look on the face of your anointed!

v. 11 For the Lord God is a sun and shield;

God is our Shield!

It seemed a bit disingenuous. Jake Anton requested that we sing “Better is One Day” this week at church worship. So we were set to open up the service with that song, from that Psalm but honestly it was a rough week. It started off with the Boston bombing, and didn’t get much better. And it seemed a bit superficial to start off a morning service saying how good it is to be here, when I think a lot our thoughts were elsewhere.

But, read in context the Psalmist isn’t just saying “great to be here this morning” or “smile, it could be worse” – His joy is tempered by the desperate need for protection – God is our Shield! And I don’t really need a shield per se because I’ve found other ways of not getting shot by arrows (hint, staying away from archery ranges)  - But for we who are worried about bombs, terrorism, relationships, safety, etc – THIS IS HUGE.  The presence of God is better than anywhere else because it’s a place where we are reminded of two things: 1) Who God is, and 2) What He promises for us. And knowing those two things makes us secure. That… is better than anywhere else.

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Let this be recorded for a generation to come, so that a people yet to be created may praise the Lord…(psalm 102:18)

Do whatever you can to help your children love Jesus, and be obedient to God. Protect them, father them well and strong and teach them to delight in a God who is majestic, glorious and grand.

Know that you are depraved. It keeps you humble. The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it? (Jeremiah 17:9) Our children are depraved too.

Think about suffering, and know how to truthfully answer the question “why do bad things happen to good people?”  When you, or your family or a loved one close to you is suffering remember God’s faithfulness in the past and ultimately remember Jesus and that he bore our sin, and suffered even though he was blameless. I think developing a proper theology of suffering is crucial to a pilgrim’s walk. How haughty and arrogant we are when angry at God.

Look to Jesus, look to Jesus, look to Jesus.

2 Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, ² then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind. ³ Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, ⁴ not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.

⁵ In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus:

⁶ Who, being in very nature^[a] God,
    did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;
⁷ rather, he made himself nothing
    by taking the very nature^[b] of a servant,
    being made in human likeness.
⁸ And being found in appearance as a man,
    he humbled himself
    by becoming obedient to death—
        even death on a cross!

⁹ Therefore God exalted him to the highest place
    and gave him the name that is above every name,
¹⁰ that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
    in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
¹¹ and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord,
    to the glory of God the Father.

Be intentional in showing your children the many blessings they have. Get creative and cultivate thankful hearts in yourself and your children.  Tenderly and with wisdom expose your children to a greater world broader than the one they are consumed with in efforts to maintain a proper perspective on their blessings and sorrow.

Know God’s word.  Let’s be resolved to depend on that more and less on programs. Teach your children to know and read God’s word within the daily routine of  life. Don’t depend on a weekly activity at church to do that.  Don’t be lazy and say the Bible is too difficult to read or that study is too hard. Let’s be a little hard on ourselves and be people who are disciplined in prayer and reading scripture.

Sam and I were recently discussing a book titled The Scandal of the Evangelical Mind which argues that there is not much of an evangelical mind. I think the greatest challenge to Christians today is that our minds have turned to mush and we are doing an awful job of heeding David’s charge to Solomon:

“And you, Solomon my son, know the God of your father and serve him with a whole heart and a willing mind, for the LORD searches all hearts and understands every plan and thought. If you seek him, he will be found by you, but if you forsake him, he will cast you off forever. “ (1 Chronicles 28:9)

Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.  (Phil 4:5-7)

The notes in my bible say “reasonableness is crucial for maintaining community. It is the disposition that seeks what is best for everyone and not just for oneself.”

Let’s be marked by our reasonableness.  Let’s get smarter and more disciplined. If we’re going to do this Christian life, let’s do it well.

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I don’t always like marketer’s observations about business and church, but Seth Godin’s latest struck me as piercingly  relevant to the kind of ministry I spend a lot of time thinking about: Here’s what he wrote:

Every once in a while someone will say to me, “yeah, sure, I’ve heard that before… what do you have that’s new?”

In contemporary art or movies, it makes perfect sense to be focused on the bleeding edge, on the new idea that’s never been previously contemplated.

But when we’re discussing our goals, our passion and the way we interact with the culture, it seems to me that what works is significantly more important than what’s new. Racing to build your organization around the latest social network tool or graphics-rendering technology permits you to spend a lot of time learning the new system and skiing in the fresh powder of the unproven, but it might just distract you from the difficult work of telling the truth, looking people in the eye and making a difference.

“I can’t describe the value we deliver, I’m too busy integrating this new technology into my workflow!”

All too often, the ones who are aggressively seeking the theory of the day don’t have a lot to show for what they did yesterday. – Seth Godin

In ministry “what works” is the wrong question – because following Jesus is more important than business-type success. BUT in church - especially youth -ministry there is the same temptation to aways be looking for something novel, interesting, different, edgy, fresh, “reach people in new ways”, etc – and that pursuit can sometimes get in the way of what really matters.  For Christians, our job is almost boring – faithfully follow Jesus – bearing our cross daily. We try and use the rhetoric of that task being radical, or adventurous… and in some sense it is all those things – but at the end of the day our mission often looks like simple day in and day out faithfulness. Repentance, worship. And sometimes our quest for novelty can become it’s own overly-busy consuming god. It can actually get in the way of what Jesus wants.

People tired of pastors constantly ringing the bell for – Bible Reading, Bible Memorization, Prayer, Worship, Evangelism. And YES, we should work at finding ways to make that mission fresh and relevant. But we can’t let novelty distract, or be self-serving. So… sorry to sound old guys… but…go read your Bible, repent, worship and pray. I don’t really have a better plan than that.

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Just a bit of good news on a Wednesday evening.

This necklace is a Noonday Collection top seller.

It is made in Ethiopia out of up-cycled artillery pieces by a very special group of artisans.

Today the Noonday home office received some great news from the Ethiopian group:

 ”Thank you for your huge order.We are very glad to inform you that we are

preparing to give a chance of work to 25 more women who are oppressed.“

Thank YOU for making dreams come true.

The whole concept behind Noonday is working.

If you want to be part of the solution – please contact me about hosting a trunk show.

When you host, you become an advocate for the oppressed.

ashley.noonday@gmail.com

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Spring Cleaning around my house unearthed some treasures  – one in the form of a notebook from 4 years ago, filled with the prayer requests of my small group girls when they were still in junior high. I had to smile – there was a lot of time discussing and praying for pets back then — I can remember constantly questioning if what I was doing was important – trying to get a bunch of talkative middle school girls to quiet down only to have them talk about sick cats for a while–and then try to connect that to something biblical.  I couldn’t believe they’d return week after week.

This weekend we’ll be attending a sweet 16. These parties are always a little bitter sweet for me. It feels like we’re dancing our feet off at a sweet 16,  go to bed, wake up and then all of a sudden I’m sitting around a table with the other youth workers planning that girl’s senior banquet. I can anticipate the challenges that will soon be upon them, and they’ll be walking some new roads which have the potential to make or break their young adult years.

I was thinking about their maturation in Christ through the lenses of what their prayer requests are at each age.  From praying for sick cats and geriatric dogs in junior high, to becoming concerned for their friends and their parents in high school to the really big things–anxiety over the future, doubts about their faith, longing to see God move through seasons of suffering–that college age girls have shed some tears over while sitting on my couch…All hard things for each girl in that moment.  All things that are being used to draw them nearer to Him.  

^“From one man he made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands. ²⁷ God did this so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from any one of us.” Acts 17:26,27

Easter morning at church I was surprised by what I was focused on – my small group girls. I so badly want them to trust in Christ completely for their salvation – Easter is a time to celebrate what God has done for us, simply because he loves us and how I long for them to deeply know that now, so the power of the gospel would carry them through every temptation and hardship.

As a youth worker who is now a mom, I often am questioning how to play my role – should I be more of a mom? More of a friend? When do I speak up and when do I just shut up and pray? And in every dilemma when dealing with high school students I am reminded that to change the minds and hearts of these girls, I must be first changed, the gospel ever affecting me.  But I am comforted by the activity of the Holy Spirit on their hearts.

One of my most memorable moments as a youth leader was when I was closing up small group one night, asking for prayer requests. One girl, who typically was honest and open about hard things, had not yet contributed. So when I asked her again if she had any requests I was overjoyed by her response:

“well, I could give you a long list. But God knows. I’m ok.”

I loved that because it indicated to me her humble confidence in God. The God of Psalm 46 – a God who is our refuge. Whenever I come to verses 4 & 5, I read and (pray for) my own heart into this Psalm, and now I pray the same for the hearts of our DHEFC students and gleefully rejoice as I see them faithful, humble and confident in a God who has saved them.

⁴ There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,
    the holy place where the Most High dwells.
⁵ God is within her, she will not fall;
    God will help her at break of day.

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One of my professors once started a class by asking “what are the first names of your great grandparents?”

Not one person knew the answer.

Point is – in two generations you will likely be forgotten, and I found that kind of humbling, so it’s spurred me to ask questions – even about mundane topics.

Last month I was able to visit my grandma. She lives on the west coast and tended to come east to visit us. So I haven’t really been in her house as an adult and cared to ask questions like “what were you like as a young women?” or “were you as frightened after Pearl Harbor as I was after 9/11?”.

So I really enjoyed having the opportunity to look over her pictures and ask some of these questions – also, I found these pictures of her.  Visually, I’ve been finding them inspiring. I just love how women dressed in the 40′s. Whenever I watch a WWII period movie, I always wonder how did the women get their hair to do that. I asked my grandma – she said she can’t remember. She is in her 90′s, so I gave her a little grace.

My grandma looks like an anthropologie model.

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This is not my idea – you can find where I’m stealing it from here.

There are many things in life that I want to be REALLY intentional about, like how we celebrate Jesus at Christmas and Easter. There’s just too many things distracting us from what’s really important.

So, instead of an Easter basket – Miss C will be getting an Easter jar. It will be filled with some treats, and one egg. Within the egg – a verse, chosen by her parents, that we’ll be mindful of as we pray over her throughout the year.

This verse leaves me compelled. I read this, and I just want to follow him more. And when it was mentioned during the sermon yesterday – I decided this would be what I pray for my daughter.

When he saw the crowds,

he had compassion on them, 

because they were harassed and helpless,

like sheep without a shepherd.

matthew 9:36

So my sweet girl – it is my hope and prayer, that as you grow, that you will trust in Christ for your salvation, and grow like him. May you look at people and have compassion on them along with the wisdom to understand what they really need. Whomever is influenced by you, everyone from your little friends to the children of your own you might have – I pray that you will shepherd them with compassion – humbly leading them to Christ, knowing he is the good shepherd, the one they need. When others fail you and when you fail too – I hope you are drawn to Jesus and the grace he gives, for he sees you. He has compassion on you, and he has come to save you.

I took Miss C to Disney World, er…ah store.. She lovingly picked up this snow white doll and told me “Show Pop Pop.” Needless to say, Snow White came home with us.

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I went digging in the basement today and found a box of dearly loved books that were exceedingly influential on my heart and found this little gem – “The Reformed Pastor” by Richard Baxter(1615-1691). I laughed out loud for two reasons – a) My brain used to process so much more stuff, my nose is more likely to be found in a Toot & Puddle book and b) HAH! At the time I read this  I never could have imagined I would actually be married to a reformed pastor – I distinctly remember thinking that it was sooo freeeing to not be tied to someone in the clergy.

(Sam, you are a precious gift and I am amazed that God chose you for me. I don’t even play piano.)

Apparently I had held a page with a post-it and on that page was underlined “Now if the work of the Lord be not soundly done upon your own hearts, how can you expect that he will bless your labours for effecting it in others.”

Thank you vicar of Kidderminster for speaking straight to my guts.

I have been a hot (and I say hot because when I have cried tears of frustration they have felt like hot, angry tears. Don’t judge. Jesus says not too, it’s in the bible) mess lately – feeling overwhelmed by scheduling, upset and disillusioned. TGC had this great post that spoke to every {negative} thought I’ve been having.

Which brings me back to this – I need the gospel, I need to be reminded of it, refreshed by it and keep it in its rightful prioritized place.  I need it so I can be a minister of it to my husband when he is discouraged, my daughter when she needs to be disciplined and my small group girls when they share their burdens.

God sent Jesus to rescue me. At Easter we celebrate that he has risen from the dead conquering the punishment I deserve. Often, I learn about obedience through suffering, and it is hard and tough. But my inheritance is great.  People are lost, discouraged and looking for the good news. Today, I am encouraged because incredibly difficult seasons are opportunities for growth, illogical as that may seem.

God’s word is powerful, accomplishes much and changes me.  Last month I bumped into a girl who I had shared a verse with and she told me that I set her soul free with that verse.  Honestly, she had been getting on my nerves and I just wanted her to stop talking so I gave her that verse. And God used it. I gave it to her out of impatience (that’s not a fruit of the spirit by the way) and he used it.  Now you all know how awful I am. It’s okay, I believe in total depravity.

So I give you some of God’s word – and I pray he sets your soul free. If the gospel were drinkable, I’d want a whole pitcher. If I could eat it, we’d have it for dinner. I just need it so badly- the good news is, that everything the gospel encompasses is satisfying (Psalm 63).  Keep thinking about the gospel.

isaiah 25:8 

he will swallow up death forever.
The Sovereign Lord will wipe away the tears
from all faces;
he will remove his people’s disgrace
from all the earth.

deuteronomy 4:31

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This week Pastor Stephen referenced a handout from a past sermon – Idols of the Heart II. This is a pretty powerful set of questions that can really get to our own personal idols that hide so well. It’s worth spending some time with this handout with an open heart where we had false gods.

X-Ray Questions[1]

“These questions can help you think more clearly and deeply about why you do the things you do. They can give you a better idea of which things typically morph from good to god in your life. These discoveries are a blessing because they help you to see how truly lavish the grace of God is.

I hope you can take the time for some honest self-examination and the result would be more holiness and glorifying and enjoying God in all of life for you.”

1. What do you love? Is there something you love more than God or your neighbor?
2. What do you want? What do you desire? What do you crave, long for, wish? Whose desires do you obey?
3. What do you seek? What are your personal expectations and goals? What are your intentions? What are you working for?
4. Where do you bank your hopes? What hope are you working toward or building your life around?
5. What do you fear? Fear is the flip side of desire. For example, if I desire your acceptance, then I fear your rejection.
6. What do you feel like doing? This is a synonym for desire. Sometimes we feel like eating a gallon of ice cream, or staying in bed, or refusing to talk, etc.
7. What do you think you need? In most cases a person’s felt needs picture his or her idol cravings. Often what we have called necessities are actually deceptive masters that rule our hearts. They control us because they seem plausible. They don’t seem so bad on the surface and it isn’t sin to want them. However, I must not be ruled by the “need” to feel good about myself, to feel loved and accepted, to feel some sense of accomplishment, to have financial security, to experience good health, to live a life that is organized, pain-free, and happy.
8. What are your plans, agendas, strategies, and intentions designed to accomplish? What are you really going after in the situations and relationships of life? What are you really working to get?
9. What makes you tick? What sun does your planet revolve around? Where do you find your garden of delight? What lights up your world? What food sustains your life? What really matters to you? What are you living for?
10. Where do you find refuge, safety, comfort, and escape? When you are fearful, discouraged, and upset, where do you run? Do you run to God for comfort and safety or to something else? (To food, to others, to work, to solitude?)
11. What do you trust? Do you functionally rest in the Lord? Do you find your sense of well-being in His presence and promises? Or do you rest in something or someone else?
12. Whose performance matters to you? This question digs out self-reliance or self-righteousness. It digs out living through another. Do you get depressed when you are wrong or when you fail? Have you pinned your hopes on another person? Are you too dependent on the performance of your husband, wife, children or friends?
13. Whom must you please? Whose opinion counts? From whom do you desire approval or fear rejection? Whose value system do you measure yourself against? In whose eyes are you living?
14. Who are your role models? Who are the people you respect? Who do you want to be like? Who is your “idol”? (In our culture, this word is used for role model.)
15. What do you desperately hope will last in your life? What do you feel must always be there? What can’t you live without?
16. How do you define success or failure in any particular situation? Are your standards God’s standards? Do you define success as the ability to reach your goals? The respect and approval of others? Is it defined by a certain position or the ability to maintain a certain lifestyle? By affluence? By appearance? By acceptance? By location? By accomplishment?
17. What makes you feel rich, secure, and prosperous? The possession, experience, and enjoyment of what would make you happy? The Bible uses the metaphor of treasure here.
18. What would bring you the greatest pleasure? The greatest misery?
19. Whose political power would make everything better for you? Don’t just think in a national sense. Think about the workplace and the church. Whose agenda would you like to see succeed and why?
20. Whose victory and success would make your life happy? How do you define victory and success?
21. What do you see as your rights? What do you feel entitled to? What do you feel is your right to expect, seek, require, or demand?
22. In what situations do you feel pressured or tense? When do you feel confident and relaxed? When you are pressured, where do you turn? What do you think about? What do you fear? What do you seek to escape from? What do you escape to?
23. What do you really want out of life? What payoff are you seeking from the things you do? What is the return you are working for?
24. What do you pray for? The fact that we pray does not necessarily mean we are where we should be spiritually. On the contrary, prayer can be a key revealer of the idols of our hearts. Prayer can reveal patterns of self-centeredness, self-righteousness, materialism, fear of man, etc.
25. What do you think about most often? In the morning, to what does your mind drift instinctively? When you are doing a menial task or driving alone in your car, what captures your mind? What is your mindset?
26. What do you talk about? What occupies your conversations with others? What subjects do you tend to discuss over and over with your friends? The Bible says it is out of the heart that our mouths speak.
27. How do you spend your time? What are your daily priorities? What things do you invest time in every day?
28. What are your fantasies? What are your dreams at night? What do you daydream about?
29. What is your belief system? What beliefs do you hold about life, God, yourself, others? What is your worldview? What is the personal “mythology” that structures the way you interpret things? What are your specific beliefs about your present situation? What do you value?
30. What are your idols or false gods? In what do you place yoru trust or set your hopes? What do you consistently turn to or regularly seek? Where do you take refuge? Who is the savior, judge, controller of your world? Whom do you serve? What voice controls you?
31. In what ways do you live for yourself?
32. In what ways do you live as a slave to the Devil? Where are you susceptible to his lies? Where do you give in to deceit?
33. When do you say, “If only…”? Our “if onlys” actually define our vision of paradise. They picture our biggest fears and greatest disappointments. They can reveal where we tend to envy others. They picture where we wish we could rewrite our life story. They picture where we are dissatisfied and what we crave.
34. What instinctively feels right to you? What are your opinions — those things that you feel are true?

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What would help? What type of developments should take place? What do the people need? How could the church be involved? Does anyone else care? What would improve the quality of life?

When I first heard about Source the Station, I was really excited. A few years back I had visited Greenville, SC and seen a snapshot of what happens when revitalization happens in a community (check out this website for a peek) . As I was standing in the midst of a beautiful green-space in the heart of the down-town area, watching residents walk by who were enjoying their community, I wondered why is nothing like this happening back home on Long Island…enter Source The Station!!

To understand the concept behind Source the Station, I recommend you watch the video below.   I want to be passionate for my community and be an agent of good change – that’s why I’ve been supportive of Source the Station.

On March 23^rd, STS will be hosting a Community Fest (10 am-4pm, in the parking lot across from The Yankee Peddler on New York Avenue – lot of games, food, music, etc).  I’ll be there representing Noonday, and hosting a trunk show where 10% of sales will go towards the adoption of a couple from the community who are waiting for their son or daughter to come into their life. I want to encourage all my friends to come out, learn more about STS and their efforts and come meet other people who care about the community. Let us not grow apathetic, or lazy or cynical.  I love being around people who are doing something, working earnestly for good change.  Come out and celebrate revitalization and love where you live.

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